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June 5, 2009 10:22 AM PDT

Augmented reality, meet PSP (E3 Trailer: Invizimals)

by Scott Stein

E3's come and gone, but some oddities still linger. Shown during the Sony E3 press conference and discussed little after that, Invizimals is a curious game using the PSP's camera to create augmented reality "animal ghosts" that appear in real-life settings. Coded capture cards seem to attract the beasts, after which they do battle to each other. Nintendo DS-like blow-and-shake controls add extra input to the critter-fighting.

Confused? Check out the trailer. Would augmented reality gaming be something you'd like to see more of? Would it be something you'd trust the children with? And, most importantly, where is our PSP camera? Perhaps it is on its way with a certain Invizimals?

Hopefully the end result will be more compelling than the admirable but incredibly arcane augmented reality PlayStation Eye trading card game The Eye of Judgment.

Scott Stein, a New York Jets fan and CNET senior associate editor, has written about tech, entertainment, video games, and viral culture for outlets including Laptop, Wired, Maxim, Esquire Online, Asylum, and Men's Journal. He also appears on the Digital City podcast. In his spare time, you might see him performing improv in New York City (when he's not being a dad).
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by tipoo_ June 5, 2009 11:48 AM PDT
Cool, probably more for kids but still this is pretty innovative.
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by Xanthus179 June 5, 2009 12:27 PM PDT
That's kind of what I was thinking. I'd certainly like to try it out, but I don't know anyone else around that would.
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