I remember collecting sports cards as a kid, I always seemed to end up with too many of certain players and a shortage of others – usually the most sought after cards were the star players. Thinking back, I now realise that this was less to do with chance and very much a deliberate marketing ploy to get us to keep spending until we got the full set. Sports cards seem so yesterday but they have been given a new twist that breathes new life into collecting.

Topps Baseball Cards has released a set of cards that use augmented reality to bring your favourite players to life as a 3D avatar so you can literally play ball with them. Forget the humble baseball card, you can now collect ‘Topps 3D Live cards’.

Don’t be too freaked out by the technology however, I’m told what we’re looking at is simply a monitor-created graphic in real time memorising glyphs and replacing them with a 3D image or movie.

Try out your baseball skills at the Topps Baseball Cards below:

If you find this interesting, read how the New York Times reported it:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/09/technology/09topps.html

And furthermore: the technology was used to great effect previously by Jack Link’s Beef Jerky and their living sasquatch campaign:
http://www.livingsasquatch.com/