PlayStation maker Sony has revealed a new way to take real card games into the digital world

As the line between physical and digital games continues to blur as the result of hybrid games like Beasts of Balance and companion apps in titles such as Mansions of Madness, PlayStation firm Sony has revealed a whole new way to take real-world games into a virtual space.

The technology company has unveiled Project Field, a platform designed for card games that combines a normal smartphone or tablet device with special play surfaces that track the placement of physical cards.

The pads use a combination of NFC, sensors, LEDs and Bluetooth to work out what card has been placed on it and where each game is subsequently moved during a game.

This movement then relates to on-screen actions on the mobile device, which displays the core gameplay of the title. The cards themselves could also store data, tracking upgrades and progression.

Basically, you could hypothetically put down a Magic: The Gathering card and see the land, monster, spell and so on pop up as a 3D animation with graphics and sounds, with the main battle taking place inside the digital game.

The first title confirmed for release on the platform is a card game based on Yo-kai Watch, which is similar to beloved video/trading card game Pokémon.