Format: PlayStation 3
Developer: Sony London Studio
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Released: TBC 2012
With many questioning the relevance of the console focused videogame shindig that is E3 in a world where gaming is becoming ever broader, Sony impressed with the quality and breadth of its press conference this year.
Nestling between the ambitious, if resolutely hardcore, The Last of Us and grown-up aspirations of Beyond, was a new accessory for the PlayStation 3’s Move controller-camera complex. WonderBook, a name that still feels a little silly to type never mind say out loud, is an augmented reality interactive storybook complete with turn-able pages that come to life on screen when placed in-front of the PlayStation Eye camera.
Sony spent a considerable slice of their E3 press conference demonstrating the new toy, and understandably trumpeting the first book available for WonderBook, an exclusive title from J K Rowling. Book of Spells not only bears the author’s name but extends the Harry Potter universe into interactive territory with fresh content.
It was something of a shame that Rowling, who developed her own successful Pottermore website, was not on hand to talk directly about her involvement in the Sony project. We were left with a rather dry statement alongside the E3 demonstration that did enough to pique interest while not proving totally flawless.
The technology and implementation comes from the team who brought EyePet to the PlayStation 3 and PSP. Like the augmented virtual pet, the delivery of Wonderbook is solid and provides more than a little panache. Given their pedigree I wouldn’t be surprised to see a PS Vita version -- and perhaps even features introduced that use the Vita in conjunction with the PS3, although such daydreams are for another day.
Trying Book of Spells out behind closed doors in Sony’s E3 pressroom offered a better impression of what WonderBook could actually deliver to the player/reader. The accessory is made of robust grey cardboard and incorporates a number of pages that are blank baring the usual augmented reality reference points. Put this in front of the camera and it is transformed into one of the best uses of AR that I’ve seen to date.
On screen the Book of Spells offers a magical range of pop-up style content and interactive elements that make use of the PlayStation Move controller as a magician’s wand. Beyond the motion controls it’s the physical connection made by turning WonderBook’s virtual pages that really stands out -- an interactive metaphor that is as instinctive as opening a door. It’s a combination that not only works well together but also makes a lot of sense given the apprentice magician context of the book.
As with any of these technologies it’s not perfect. To quibble over moments when the system doesn’t perfectly represent real-world motions on-screen is to miss the point though. This technology, similar to Kinect, Move or MotionPlus games, is effective because players will be happy to invest time and effort to get it working. The key thing is not whether it is perfectly reliable but whether the experience on offer is enough of an incentive to make the compromise viable.
This is where WonderBook excels. The tactile nature of its pop-up story books and ability to interact with them using either hands or Move controlled wand creates a strong connection between the player and the game. Add to this the desirability of the Harry Potter brand and you have a product that would be a winner if it worked even half the time. In these terms, WonderBook is even more robust than it needs to be and (in the ideally lit E3 locations at least) worked near perfectly.
Beyond this technical delivery, the greater challenge for Sony will be to provide a continuing stream of interesting content. This will be determined as much by its ability to attract unusual and wide-ranging content partners -- as Microsoft have done with Kinect and the likes of Sesame Street and National Geographic. The thought of Charlie and Lola or Thomas the Tank Engine at one end of the reading spectrum, and His Dark Materials or the Lord of the Rings trilogy at the other, would be mouth-watering prospects for WonderBook.
Provided it is more than a one trick pony, it has a rich future ahead of it and may well take the PlayStation 3 into all sorts of unexpected educational and therapeutic contexts in the coming years. Certainly, it paints the oft core-centric console in much more family friendly tones.
Although Sony didn’t announce a firm price or date for WonderBook, it should see the light of day later this year in time for the crucial Christmas period.
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Andy Robertson (@geekdadgamer) reviews family games and produces Family Gamer TV
