AR Reading A No Go? : Wonderbook

About a year ago, the AR concept known as Wonderbook launched. At the time, it only supported a single book: J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter: Book of Spells. The announcement caused quite a stir, but did many people actually buy it? The setup required a lot of equipment, and for those who didn’t already own a PlayStation Camera and Move controller, the cost was prohibitively high.

I’ve already written a full article about the first book—check it out if you missed it the first time around, link to article:  https://blog.amigaguru.com/?p=299

My biggest concerns back then were the price, replay value, and the amount of lighting and space it would require in your living room. On top of that, there was only one game available, and the next release was still far off—it took six months to arrive. While Diggs Nightcrawler was great, the Wonderbook still had a long way to go before it could truly be considered a “must-have” product.

In November/December 2013, two new Wonderbook releases arrived, a year after the first book. One of them was Book of Potions, another title by J.K. Rowling that should have caused a media frenzy—but surprisingly, it received very little coverage. It almost seems like everyone, including Sony, forgot it even existed.

The fourth book, Walking with Dinosaurs, was another high-profile release, yet again it suffered from minimal marketing. Judging by its disappearance from the shelves, it seems this one also quietly vanished without making much of an impact.

Book of Spells was the first Wonderbook release, and it was a genuinely good title. Impressively, like all four books, it required very little lighting compared to other PS Move games. When it launched, it was clear to me that the Wonderbook had enormous potential—it just needed more titles to fully explore the possibilities of AR combined with the Move controller and camera.

Diggs Nightcrawler was the second Wonderbook release, and it represented a huge boost in quality and feature use. It was especially impressive to see how the game used the book itself—moving it around, peering into it as if it contained actual holes, and interacting with the world in clever ways.

I completed the game and should have earned a platinum trophy, but due to a glitch, I didn’t—so for me, this game earns a big AAAAARGH!

The voices and graphic style are top-notch, including the Norwegian voiceovers, which were a pleasant surprise.

Book of Potions, the third Wonderbook release, was another step up in features and overall fun. While the game mainly focuses on mixing potions, it’s still thoroughly enjoyable. My four-year-old son absolutely loved it, even though he ran into the usual PS Move issues—like moving out of the camera’s view and forgetting to focus on the book instead of just the TV.

The voice acting is excellent, and while the graphics aren’t groundbreaking, they’re more than sufficient to enjoy the experience without being distracting or frustrating.

The fourth—and possibly final—Wonderbook release is Walking With Dinosaurs. I think it’s a really good game, though my son found it a bit scary because of the sounds and effects. That’s probably why it carries a rating of 7. The voice capture and motion features work very well, but I do recommend keeping the camera away from your TV speakers, and of course, make sure the camera microphone is enabled—otherwise, the experience won’t function properly. (Hi MJ’MSV!)

Here’s my main concern: these games should be popular. With four releases now, the series easily justifies the price of the games and equipment. On their own, each game costs a little over £10 online. Yet, I’ve noticed Amazon and GameStop have heavily discounted all four titles, including the bundles with the Wonderbook. I even spotted all four here in my town for less than €15, including the Wonderbook. To me, it looks like Sony is clearing out stock and potentially abandoning the series.

The normal retail price for these Wonderbook titles used to be around €55, and they were widely available. Now, however, I’m seeing all four of them in bargain bins—not just the first two. Does Sony even realise this is happening? Maybe they should actually try marketing the product properly. They’ve promised to bring Wonderbook to the PS4 as well, but judging by the current trajectory, that seems increasingly unlikely.

It’s a bit alarming how much influence media, reviews, and websites have in today’s gaming market. They often decide which games become hits and which fade into obscurity. Over the years, there have been some truly excellent games that might never have succeeded without strong marketing from their publishers or developers—a reminder of just how fragile success can be in this industry.

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