Computer Graphics World

F or almost 60 years, children of all ages have been col- lecting Topps baseball cards, each sporting a photo of a player, a facsimile of his autograph, and statistical and biographical information. In addition, each pack contained a piece of chewing gum—originally, the objective of packaging baseball cards with the gum was to sell more gum. e combination of bubblegum and baseball cards became very attractive for young kids, particularly boys, and it didn't take long for the cards to become the primary prize. So much so that, in 1992, Topps stopped adding the pink stick to the pack, much to the relief of card collectors who wanted to keep their investments free of stains and gum residue. Certain cards, particularly those of rookie players who later became superstars, have come to be worth a lot of money. As a result, the sport of collecting cards has transformed into big business. Nevertheless, plenty of youngsters still enjoy the rela- tively inexpensive hobby of collecting and trading these paper icons, with the goal of obtaining cards featuring their favorite players or teams. Today, little has changed in terms of this ritual. Yet, so much has changed. is past spring, e Topps Company launched a game-changing addition to the Topps 2009 Baseball Series packs by pairing them up with augmented reality technology that brings the static image of the player on the card to animated life via the collector's com- puter. With the Topps 3D Live cards, fans control the action and step into the role of the major league player as the athlete digitally emerges from the card ready to play by pitching, bat- ting, or catching his way around the computer desktop. For Topps, the 3D Live baseball trading cards mark a groundbreaking enhancement to an American classic, delivering an unprecedented level of interactivity for card collectors of all ages. Athletes pictured on baseball cards spring to animated life thanks to cutting-edge technology By KAren MoltenBrey July 2009 62 n n n n Augmented Reality

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