How can one improve on books? According to Sony at E3 2012, what books need are a Playstation 3 console, the PS3 Eye camera, the Move motion controller and the newly announced Wonderbook.
The Wonderbook is a physical book with pages full of augmented reality (AR) markers. Using the Eye camera, the console captures interactions with the book before showing the same book transformed into an impressive enhanced pop up book on TV.
Sony already has a flagship Wonderbook title-- The Book of Spells, a collaboration with Harry Potter creator JK Rowling. Described by the author as "the closest a Muggle can come to a real spellbook,” users not only watch and read, but also perform spells with the Move controller.
Rowling writes anecdotes and stories relating to the spells, as well as expands the lore of the Harry Potter universe.
It seems the console vendors (Nintendo, Microsoft, Sony) are pushing for more than just games in their war for living room dominance this E3... Wonderbook should hit the market sometime around November 2012.
