Muggles assemble! You've probably been wondering what Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling has been up to lately.
A lot — including the new "Wonderbook: Book of Spells," a pretty cool, original experience for the PlayStation 3. The game/book/interactive adventure tells its entertaining story in an effort to bring magic to life using augmented reality technology via the PlayStation Eye camera and PlayStation Move motion controller
This is the first product to result from Sony's partnership with Pottermore, Rowling's free-to-use website that builds an online experience around the reading of her Potter books.
Rowlings, obviously, is a fan.
"'Wonderbook: Book of Spells' is the closest a Muggle can come to a real spellbook," Rowling said.
"I've loved working with Sony's 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."
What does that mean to the rest of us? It means you can use your PlayStation Move controller as a magic wand as you learn the secrets of wizardry. The idea is to replicate the feeling of being a student at Hogwarts. Who wouldn't want that?
Players can practice familiar spells such as Incendio, Wingardium Leviosa and Expelliarmus, as well as discover mischievous notes and spells scribbled into the margins by previous Hogwarts students. The author has also included a conundrum to lead players through the experience, providing insight into what makes a successful witch or wizard.
I know what you Potter fans are thinking. Where does this fit into the Harry Potter canon? Book of Spells was written over 200 years ago by Miranda Goshawk, a name fans of the series will recognize as the author of The Standard Book of Spells series.
However, unlike those volumes, Book of Spells can only be found in the "Restricted Section" of the Hogwarts library.
And now you can find it in your living room.
The title is the first for Sony's new Wonderbook peripheral. It uses the PlayStation Eye camera to augment the reality of your living room while drawing you into new worlds and stories that you can tilt or rotate, or simply turn the pages.
Down the road you can expect new titles such as Diggs Nightcrawler, a film noir detective story from the Academy Award winning studio Moonbot, Walking with Dinosaurs from the BBC, a partnership with Disney, and more.
For more information visit www.playstationwonderbook.com.