About
TIME’s Virtual Reality Magazine Cover refers to the cover of the August 17th issue of TIME magazine, which featured Oculus founder Palmer Luckey wearing an Oculus Rift and standing in a bizarre pose. The image was quickly parodied by many across various websites.
Origin
Early on August 6th, 2015, TIME unveiled the cover for their upcoming August 17th issue which would focus on virtual reality, specifically on the Oculus Rift (shown below).[1] The official Twitter account for TIME then tweeted an animated version of the cover.[2] Following the reveal, many noted the ridiculousness of the image across various social media platforms.
Later that same day Twitter user Ryan Evans tweeted a photoshopped image of the Luckey featured on the cover onto a horse in the middle of a field (shown below). Within several hours the tweet gained nearly 200 retweets and over 200 favorites.
— Ryan Evans (@rje) August 6, 2015
Spread
Various news sites began to report on the magazine cover, as well as the photoshopped parodies, such as Forbes,[3] VG24/7,[4] as well as several others.[5][6][7][8] Following the onslaught of the parody images TIME released a list of their 37 favorite Photoshop parodies.[9]
Notable Examples
Search Interest
Not Currently Available
External References
[1]TIME– Why Virtual Reality Is About to Change the World
[2]Twitter – TIME’s new cover: Virtual Reality. Why it’s about to change the world
[3]Forbes – Debate Rages Over Whether Or Not TIME’s Oculus Cover Has Killed VR
[4]VG24/7 – Time Magazine cover featuring Oculus Rift’s Palmer Luckey looks incredibly stupid
[5]Twinfinite – The Internet Ravenously Photoshops TIME Magazine Oculus Rift Cover with Magical Results
[6]GamerGen – #INSOLITE– Quand Time Magazine s’intéresse à l’Oculus Rift et la réalité virtuelle, le web en fait un grand détournement
[7]Tech Crunch – Did Virtual Reality Just Have Its Google Glass “Shower” Moment?
[9]Gameplanet – Oculus CEO floats awkwardly on Time magazine cover
[9]TIME– Here Are 37 of Our Favorite TIME Virtual Reality Memes