There was a strange twist to Sony’s E3 2012 keynote. As well as all of the new games on display, some of which – The Last Of Us, Beyond: Two Souls – look awesome, there was a new edutainment title for Move revealed.
It’s called Wonderbook and it’s a combination of physical book, Move wand, and interactive software. The image above does well in explaining how it works; essentially the book comes to life in front of your eyes by being manipulated.
Wonderbook got a good response from casual gamers, while the hardcore spent the duration of the unveiling confused. They’re going to be even more confused by the news that Wonderbook: Book of Spells (a Harry Potter tie-in) is going to be the main attraction for Sony this holiday season.
In an interview with MCV, PlayStation UK boss Fergal Gara said:
“Wonderbook is top of the pile and certainly the biggest number we’ll be going after and it’s tremendous that we have such great early feedback. I still think there’s a job to do.”
“On day one when Book of Spell lands, you need the book, you need the software, a PS3 and a Move controller. Some will have the PS3 and just need the controller and software. Others will have a Move and just need the book. But Wonderbook should bring new people into the PlayStation 3 universe, and they need the lot, so we need to think about their needs and how to put the product together with that in mind.”
“This, for me, is certainly the most inspirational product we’ve seen for the Move in the two years since it’s been out … if you asked me what’s the stand out title, it’s indisputably Book of Spells.”
Wonderbook is very clever, and if I was a young child it would be high on my Christmas list. But most gamers, especially PS3 gamers, are not young children, so this focusing in on one product could backfire spectacularly.
