Harry Potter 'Book of Spells' will come to life via Sony
It鈥檚 being called the reinvention of the storybook.
At a Monday announcement at the annual video game conference known as the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles, Sony Entertainment of America announced J.K. Rowling鈥檚 鈥淲onderbook: Book of Spells,鈥� an interactive spell book that comes alive on PlayStation 3 videogame consoles.
鈥淭his takes you on a journey of learning magic, like a student at Howarts,鈥� Sony Computer Entertainment chief Andrew House said at the conference. 鈥淲elcome to the reinvention of the storybook.鈥�
Sony鈥檚 new 鈥淲onderbook鈥� technology is an augmented reality platform for the Playstation 3 that presents virtual books on screen as stunning pop-up books that readers can interact with.
In 鈥淏ook of Spells,鈥� readers use a PlayStation Move motion controller as a magic wand to flip through pages of this spellbook written more than 200 years ago by fictional character Miranda Goshawk. Users wave the wand in specific patterns as if they were Hogwarts students as the spellbook teaches them the art of casting magic spells, dueling, making fire, unlocking gates, and more 鈥� all as they move through new 鈥減op-up鈥� stories written by Rowling.
鈥淲onderbook: Book of Spells is the closest a Muggle can come to a real spellbook,鈥� Rowling said in a statement. 鈥淚鈥檝e loved working with Sony鈥檚 creative team to bring my spells, and some of the history behind them, to life. This is an extraordinary device that offers a reading experience like no other.鈥�
At a demonstration staged at the E3 conference, a 鈥�PlayStation Eye camera put students into on-screen scenes that then tested their abilities to set things ablaze or levitate objects in settings reminiscent of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry,鈥� according to . The level of detail is impressive: In the demo, a player summoned a dragon that burned the book, reports , and the player used his hands to wipe soot off the book. 聽
鈥淏ook of Spells鈥� will be the first in what is to become a vast virtual library of 鈥淲onderbooks,鈥� according to Sony鈥檚 Mr. House.
鈥淲e are working with some of the world鈥檚 best developers and authors to make a broad library of content,鈥� he said. 鈥淚magine walking with dinosaurs or sailing the seven seas to explore an atlas.鈥�
What book would you like to see come to life in Wonderbooks?
Husna Haq is a Monitor correspondent.
