New York Times partners with Google to launch VR storytelling app
The New York Times has become one of the first news organisations to embrace virtual reality with the launch of a mobile storytelling app capable of simulating immersive environments.
Armed with the NYT VR app, a phone, headphones and Google Cardboard, viewers can be transported around the world to locales of the papers choosing; from warzones in the Ukraine and Syria and areas of political instability such as South Sudan and Lebanon.
Those who download the can also watch a short virtual reality film ‘Walking New York’ in which a NYT cover artist explains the creative processes behind a great front page.
Jake Silverstein, editor of the New York Times magazine said: “This new filmmaking technology enables an uncanny feeling of connection with people whose lives are far from our own.”
To facilitate this experience the NYT has teamed up with Google to supply all New York Times home delivery subscribers in the US with free Cardboard VR viewers.