Sony thinks it has discovered the next step forward in books.
Before Sony’s official E3 media event last night in Los Angeles, there were rumors circulating that the company would announce some sort of ebook platform for the PS3.
That left a lot of people scratching their heads because the entire point of an ebook is that it’s portable and convertible, neither of which describes the PS3.
But when this rumor turned into something official, and we got the full details, it made a lot more sense. It isn’t really an ebook platform. It’s something designed to turn hard-copy books into a digital, interactive experience.
Called Wonderbook, the new platform allows users to flip through pages of a book and, using the Playstation Eye, bring the adventure to life.
The first title to come out will be called Book of Spells, which is being written by none other than JK Rowling.
Here’s the idea – the book will contain all sorts of different “spells.” As players flip through the book, they can learn various magic spells and then actually perform those spells with the power of the Playstation Eye and the PS3.
Other than the admittedly impressive collaboration with JK Rowling, no other Wonderbook titles have been announced at this time.
Augmented reality for a home console is something no company has successfully been able to generate interest for up until now. We’ll see if this changes things.
