Step aside Google, Sony and HTC. McDonald's is joining the virtual reality party with a VR headset of its own this month called "Happy Goggles" made out of its Happy Meal box.
The virtual reality headsets, which will be available from March 5 to March 12 in 14 McDonald's restaurants in Sweden, will be somewhat of a collector's item for VR and McDonald's aficionados alike, with only 3,500 of them to be made available to the general public.
"To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Happy Meal in Sweden, McDonald's Sweden has developed Happy Goggles. By re-folding the Happy Meal box, customers can create a pair of virtual-reality glasses which makes it possible to experience virtual reality with a smartphone," McDonald's said.
"The Happy Meal simply must move with the times. But evolution doesn't always mean radical change. For us it meant a bit of ripping, folding and sliding," the company said.
McDonald's says the "Happy Goggles" will work with the Swedish game "Se Upp I Backen" or "Watch Out on the Slopes" in English and is tied to a Swedish holiday known as Sportlov, in which families traditionally head out on skiing trips. Reports even suggest that McDonald's claims that the game is officially endorsed by the Swedish alpine ski team.
However the new goggles purpose isn't only for the sake of playing games, according to Jeff Jackett, marketing director at McDonald's Sweden, who notes that the goggles as well as VR as a whole, provide "a really exciting opportunity to connect families in digital times."
"Parents can learn more about their children's knowledge and experience of the digital world. And purposeful gaming can also be a great joint activity that helps families interact on equal terms."
For now, families outside of Sweden are out of luck, however Jackett notes that the goggles have a chance to be expanded and released globally if they prove popular enough.
