Media booms, and magazine markets slide. The digital world we live is increasingly replacing paper media, and magazine closures have been occurring more frequently in Japan, although Japanese major manga magazine Shonen Jump still holds strong with leading quality content like Naruto and One Piece. But regardless, the reality of the world's digital conversion cannot be ignored.

It's either keep up or get left behind in this ever-changing industry, and on December 15th, Shonen Jump’s publisher Shueisha launched Japan’s first virtual reality (VR) magazine in an effort to stay relevant. Priced at 1,080 yen (9.15 USD), VR Jump introduces readers to the world of virtual reality hardware like the PlayStation VR, HTC Vive, and Oculus Rift, as well as topics of trending VR games.

Besides VR info, it comes with an “omake” (giveaway). The freebie is a VR head-mounted display for readers to enjoy virtual content via the app BotsNew, even without owning a fancy VR device.

Since the leading manga magazine Shonen Jump has made its first VR move, it won't be long before other publishers start charging forward in the same direction.


By - grape Japan editorial staff.