A whole new ballgame: Baseball cards enter augmented reality

New York – Adding an additional dimension to collectors’ sports cards, a new augmented reality baseball card by Topps is bringing players out of their traditional 2-D state. The cards, developed in collaboration with augmented reality specialists Total Immersion, offer a new possibility for the trading cards brand to help consumers engage in a different way with their physical environment.

A 3-D avatar appears on the Topps 3D Live trading card when the card is held in front of a webcam; users rotate the card to make the 3-D figure rotate as well, giving a fully augmented experience.

With growing competition from sports websites and video games, baseball cards are now fighting back with even more advanced technology, aiming to re-engage with an internet-savvy audience. ‘This is the ‘Beam me up, Scotty’ version of a baseball card that will get kids to buy more,’ says chief digital officer Steve Grimes.