Baseball cards and web cams

In its never-ending quest to remain relevant, Topps is designing new baseball cards that come to life online in order to attract new, young card collectors.

Consumers who buy the Topps 2009 Series 1 deck of baseball cards for $1.99 have an option to pull the "magic" card from the deck, sign onto ToppsTown.com with a code, download a browser plug in and pitch, bat or catch in games served up from the Web site. The cards, which sport members of major league baseball (MLB) franchises, also are available through the Topps Attax baseball card game.

The consumer's Web camera pointed at the two-dimensional card laying on someone's desk or in their hand projects the picture of Tampa Bay's Evan Longoria to the computer screen, for example, allowing the picture of the baseball player to come to life in 3D.

The augmented reality technology from Total Immersion lives on Topps's server. It recognizes the image of the player on the card. One player from each baseball team has been digitized.

"Topps hopes to stir new excitement about baseball cards, particularly kids who tells us they like collecting trading cards but no longer rely on them for information," said Steve Grimes, chief digital officer, The Topps Co. "So, we want to give them new uses for the cards, whether that's 3D animation or playing games or unlocking other experiences online."

It's an interesting idea, but my guess is enthusiasm wanes rather quickly. Offering online games based on the cards and the players' statistics might be a better way to maintain interest, but that's what video games are all about. Good luck, Topps.