J.K. Rowling will soon cast a spell on the Sony PlayStation 3. At this week's E3, Sony announced Wonderbook, a new Harry Potter-themed peripheral.
The first Wonderbook title will be Book of Spells, an extension of the Harry Potter universe that lets gamers learn and cast spells using the Sony PlayStation Move Motion Controller and an augmented reality peripheral Sony is calling Wonderbook.
The peripheral is a device about the size of a children's book or coffee table book -- and it even opens like a book. When combined with the PlayStation Move Motion Controller and the PlayStation Eye Camera, the Wonderbook will create interactive gaming experiences. The Wonderbook behaves similar to digital paper. When gamers point the Move controller to locations on the book, it will unlock certain events in the game.
The Book of Spells title offers a Hogwarts-esque gaming experience where gamers can practice magic without some of the dangerous repercussions. "The book can create a safe environment for us to practice our spells," explained Andrew House, president and group CEO at Sony Computer Entertainment at the E3 press conference.
The Harry Potter title is also the first page in a long partnership between Sony and J.K. Rowling's online portal, Pottermore. The magic will begin this holiday season, when Book of Spells Wonderbook hits the U.S. market on December 2, 2012. Additional Wonderbook titles will follow shortly after. For instance, Moonbot Studios is working on a noir detective Wonderbook called Diggs Nightcrawler.
"Wonderbook puts a physical book in your hands, and brings new gaming experiences," said House. "It allows you to explore and interact like never before."
That said, it's not all a world of wonder for Sony. The console manufacturer is also booking a slate of titles for the PlayStation 3 that use the controllers we've been using since the PlayStation 3's release six years ago. Upcoming games include PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, which pits classic PlayStation characters against each other. Look for some of those familiar faces to include Sweet Tooth from the Twisted Metal franchise, as well as Sly Cooper and Ratchet & Clank.
Sony also showed early scenes from Beyond: Two Souls, a haunting adventure starring actress Ellen Page (Inception) and Naughty Dog's The Last of Us.
Finally, Sony announced plans to enhance PSOne support, with new and classic titles coming out for the PlayStation Vita. Games under the PlayStation One umbrella will start to roll out over the summer with a number of favorites, such as Final Fantasy VII from Square Enix, Resident Evil Director's Cut from Capcom, and Crash Bandicoot from Sony Computer Entertainment. PlayStation Vita owners can also expect to see a Tomb Raider title out over the summer.
Like Microsoft, Sony discussed several partnerships that make a wide variety of entertainment content available through the PlayStation network. Partnerships include Hulu Plus, CinemaNow, Amazon Instant Video, VUDU, MLB.TV, NHL Gamecenter Live, ESPN, Netflix and NFL Sunday Ticket. The PlayStation Vita also has several upcoming content channels including YouTube, and Crackle Television.
From the magic of Wonderbook to classics coming out of the closet on the PlayStation One on Vita, Sony plans to sustain momentum for its PlayStation platforms.
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