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PAX 2009: Digital Comic Reader Hands-On
Cat checks out the ultimate in geek technology as she previews the upcoming digital comic book reader from Sony for their handheld system the PSP.
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Unveiled at Gamescom just over a month ago, I got a chance at PAX to try out Sony's Digital Comic Reader for the PSP and PSPgo. The DCR allows users to purchase and download comics from the PlayStation Store and read them on their handheld. Since I'm not much of a fan of reading anything in digital format (yeah, I know) and way too nostalgic about the whole holding a book/mange/comic in your grubby little hands experience, I was skeptically interested in how exactly Sony could make this a pleasant experience. Spoiler: they managed it, and I want it now.
Comics downloaded to your device are viewable by genre, series and then by issue. The titles, all contained in a carousel, move in a slick, rather iTunes way. The library looks wholly impressive gliding through all those covers. As you skim through a series there is a number indication how many issues are contained in each, and when you view a given issue a synopsis is displayed along with credits for the publisher, the original issue date, writer and artists.
There are two control schemes that map slightly differently and boil down to a matter of ease and preference. From Select you can even bring up your own music player, a great inclusion for those of us that like some music while we read. Among the other options is the page turn effect (that I enjoyed) which can be turned on or off, and the speed of the Autoflow feature.
Autoflow is by far the most fascinating thing about the Reader. Dictated entirely by the publisher the Autoflow directs the comic's framing, zooming and entirely controls the way you view and read the work. It is an wholly cinematic effect most like the featuring of comics and graphic novels in video games, the trademark story-telling mechanic of developers like Sucker Punch. If you prefer to tackle things in your own way, the analog stick allows you to free roam and determine the pace and direction as you scour the comic.A bookmark feature allows you drop in a placeholder wherever you like and return later. Bookmark in place you can abandon the comic entirely or even skip ahead then return to a different part of the book.
The Reader will be available through a firmware update in December of this year. The PlayStation Store will eventually get a little storefront remodel of its own to include a Comics tab (like that of the Game and Video sections). The demo I played around with included forty issues across eight series in one genre, but there are one thousand comics due for the December release window. Additionally, Sony is looking to bring in graphic novels and manga, but in the meantime the number of classic issues available holds a draw not only for longtime fans, but younger readers looking to play a little catch up on the likes of Marvel Entertainment's Spider-Man, X-Men and the Fantastic Four, or IDW's TRANSFORMERS and Star Trek.
A digital reader skeptic at heart, after playing around with the Digital Comic Reader I have to admit that I wish I could read all of my comics with Autoflow. Too often when I come to a new page of a book I'm so hell bent on getting to what is happening next I can't keep my eagerness in check and advance to a frame too early. More than just a spoiler-avoidance mechanism, Autoflow brings the comics to life with a beautiful cinematic effect that will, come December, have me preserving print copies in favor of reading them on handheld.
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