At long last, the very first title for the new Wonderbook peripheral, Wonderbook: Book of Spells, officially launches today in North America! The team at SCE London Studios worked hard to conjure up a truly amazing experience using the latest in augmented reality technology that combines Wonderbook with the PlayStation Eye camera. Starting today, you’ll be able to immerse yourself in the world of Harry Potter and begin learning the art of spell-casting while using your PlayStation Move motion controller as your magic wand. The book features new and original writing from J.K. Rowling, and will allow you to learn about the histories of some of the well-known spells from the Harry Potter series, as well as other interesting insights.

Over the past few months, we’ve shared that Wonderbook: Book of Spells unlocks the secrets of casting your favorite spells like Incendio, Wingardium Leviosa and Expelliarmus. Today, I’m excited to share that the book will also teach you a very powerful spell – Expecto Patronum! With this incantation, you’ll have the chance to discover the animal form of your very own Patronus, the manifestation of your positive thoughts and your best weapon to drive away attacks from Dementors. That’s just a small taste of the magic that we have in store for you!

To help celebrate the launch of Wonderbook: Book of Spells, we’re excited to give you a glimpse of the spellbinding experience in action in the new TV commercial (seen at the top of this post). Thanks for watching, and we hope that you enjoy checking out Wonderbook: Book of Spells with your families this festive season!

As you may have heard, PlayStation had some exciting news to reveal tonight.

For some time now, we have been working on a project called Wonderbook – an interactive book that uses Augmented Reality technology and PlayStation Move products to bring stories to life before your eyes. The AR in Wonderbook has been developed by London Studio – the team behind EyeToy and EyePet. We believe that this is the most advanced AR out there, not least because it utilizes brand new technology which enables enhanced fidelity.

Wonderbook is a physical book that will act as a platform for a range of different titles that the whole family will enjoy. Games, reading experiences, adventures – the possibilities are endless for Wonderbook, and we can’t wait to tell you more about the exciting things you can look forward to on this peripheral. It truly is one book, with a thousand stories. In North America, Wonderbook will be available for $39.99 for both the book and Blu-ray game.

The first story is one we are extremely proud to announce. Wonderbook: Book of Spells is a title developed by London Studio, with brand new writing from one of the world’s most popular authors – J.K. Rowling.

From the world of Harry Potter, Book of Spells is an enchanted textbook written over 200 years ago by Miranda Goshawk. Open the book and you are immediately transported to the Hogwarts library, where your lessons will begin. Chapter by chapter, you will be able to read about and practice 20 spells, picking up valuable experiences and lessons along the way – as well as house points – just like a student at Hogwarts.

We are proud to have the support and involvement from J.K. Rowling herself, who described the experience in her own words: “Wonderbook: Book of Spells is the closest a Muggle can come to a real spellbook. 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.”

From interactive reading experiences to dueling, spell-casting, and exciting new content, there’s so much to discover. We’re particularly proud of the Augmented Reality technology, and how we have used it to take storytelling to a whole new level. Over the coming months we’ll be bringing you dev diaries, behind the scenes previews, and much more – so watch this space. We can’t wait to tell you all about it – from what the artists have been working on, to how we brought J.K. Rowling’s background stories of the spells to life, so stay tuned for more on one of our most exciting titles this year.