Well they certainly kept this one quiet! Pedigree Books have announced that they will be releasing a new Sonic The Hedgehog Interactive Annual which is expected in stores this August. However, this isn’t just your typical annual or yearbook, this one has a special party trick. It takes advantage of Augmented Reality.

If you have a smart phone or another device that can perform this party piece, if you hold it above certain pages, you’ll be treated to additional content such as stories, activities, annimations, puzzles and even extended character profiles. Pedigree claims 20% of the book will have the ability to do this.

The range will be sold alongside other franchises and be catergorised as ‘Super Interactive Annuals’ and will go on sale this August. No details on prices or if this would be released worldwide were given, however odds are you’ll probably find a comic book store or online bookshop that might be willing to import it for you.

As a bit of trivia, to my knowledge, the last time a Sonic annual/yearbook came out was back in 1992, twenty one years ago… if you are old enough to remember seeing these in bookshops, high-five… that was a totally radical time.