Harry Potter is back for more.........

 

J.K. Rowling is to revive Harry Potter for a virtual reality spellbook which will be Sony’s latest weapon against Microsoft in the computer games console battle.

The Book of Spells game features dozens of new spells and puzzles which appear to come to life on screen when accessed through the Wonderbook, an “augmented reality” addition to the Sony PlayStation 3.

Players use a Sony Move Controller which appears on the screen as a wand attachment to
bring the book to life. Gamers can learn “spells” as if they were at Hogwarts School with dragons and fire appearing to emerge from the book.

“This is the closest a Muggle can come to a real spellbook,” said Rowling, who created new Potter content for the game. “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.”

Rowling had been working with the Sony Computer Entertainment team in secret for months and the results were unveiled at the E3 games conference in Los Angeles. The Book of Spells is expected in stores at Christmas, selling for around £30.

Sony, competing against upgrades to Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and Nintendo’s Wii U consoles, is relying on the Wonderbook to retain gamers’ interest in the PlayStation 3 whilst its successor is being developed.

Sales of computer games have slumped in the US, down 42 per cent year-on-year in April and Sony’s investors have expressed concern at the competition that the technology giant faces from Samsung and Apple.

Although Rowling has announced her first post-Potter novel, a non-fantasy story called The Casual Vacancy, she continues to explore the Potter universe. The author announced on the revamped Pottermore website that she is working on an encyclopaedia of the Harry Potter world.


Adam Sherwin
Independent.co.uk

JK Rowling announces new novel - for adults

Photograph: David Fisher / Rex Features

Booksellers up and down the country will be rejoicing: JK Rowling has confirmed plans for a new novel, this time for adults and "very different" to Harry Potter.

The news should certainly help dissipate the trade's grief over the end of her bestselling Harry Potter sequence, which have together shifted more than 400m copies around the world.

The author is ruling a line under her children's output for publisher Bloomsbury – the imprint which has launched her work to a worldwide audience of both children and adults – by signing up to Little, Brown for her adult output in the UK and USA. Other Hachette imprints will be responsible for publication in other territories. Unlike the Potter books, the ebook version will be available simultaneously with print.

Rowling said of today's announcement: "Although I've enjoyed writing it every bit as much, my next book will be very different to the Harry Potter series … The freedom to explore new territory is a gift that Harry's success has brought me, and with that new territory it seemed a logical progression to have a new publisher. I am delighted to have a second publishing home in Little, Brown, and a publishing team that will be a great partner in this new phase of my writing life."

Rowling's new publisher is proving as tight-lipped as her old one. Apart from the fact that it's not written for children, Little, Brown is releasing very little information about the contents of the book. A spokesperson for the publisher refused to give any indication of what the book will be about or what its genre will be.

The book's title, publication date, and further details are being stored up for an announcement later this year. But if Rowling is entering "a new phase" of her writing life, grateful booksellers can presume more than one book for adults is on the way.

Lindesay Irvine

guardian.co.uk,