Sony’s Project Field looks a bit like a plastic cutting board. It is thin, light, portable and brings compatible chip-embedded real-world objects in-game – similar to a Lego Dimensions, Amiibo, Skylanders or (RIP) Disney Infinity port.
But instead of connecting to a console, it connects to a smartphone or a tablet via Bluetooth. So you take it everywhere you go. Well, that’s the idea, anyway.
“We believe this is a brand new platform that will allow for a playing style that has not existed up until now,” said Sony’s Project Field developer Kazuyuki Sakamoto, who described the idea as bringing “a digital spice to the experience of touching an analog thing” and added he is “open” to the device being used with consoles and televisions in the future, according to Bloomberg.
As for compatible games, Sony has teamed up with a number of developers – including LEVEL-5 and Bandai Namco. 3DS title Yokai-Watch is the only title confirmed at present.
There is no price or release date as yet.