playstation-eye
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Impressions: EyePet (PS3)
It's real, folks. We first learned of EyePet over a year ago, and approached it with both excitement and skepticism. When we had a chance to see EyePet running on PS3 live, we were blown away at how what we originally thought was a concept video had been completely real all along.For those not in the know, EyePet is a virtual pet simulator that takes advantage of the PlayStation Eye. With the addition of a "magic card," players will be able to play with a virtual monkey that lives in augmented reality. The television will display what the PlayStation Eye sees: you, and your body. Your on-screen pet will then be able to respond to all your actions. You'll be able to virtually pet the creature on the head, grab a bowl of food and feed it, and play a variety of mini-games. The tactile sensation of owning a pet will be gone, but in its stead will be an unworldly adorable creature that uses tech that feels like it's from the future.Perhaps it's best summed up with video, as EyePet truly needs to be seen to be understood. You can do so many things with the critter, and his incredibly detailed and lifelike animation makes this "game" all the more believable. For example, you can try sweeping your arm across the bottom of your TV view, and the pet will jump over your arm. When your pet goes to sleep, you can clap loudly and get it to wake up ... (although it might be grumpy!)%Gallery-30089%
PlayStation Eye gets utility boost, hacked to work as webcam
Remember that PlayStation Eye you purchased way back when? You know, that PS peripheral you used for all of 12 minutes before shelving indefinitely? It's time to break that bad boy back out, as a detailed hack from the NUI Group shows how to convert it into a working webcam within Windows. Make no mistake, this isn't the simplest hack in the whole wide world, but the long-winded instructions ought to guide you right through. What are you waiting for? Head on down and get to work![Via PS3 Fanboy]
Turn your PS Eye into a working webcam
With the exception of LittleBigPlanet and The Eye of Judgment, there hasn't been much reason to dust off the Eye. Well, put it to work! Get the camera off its lazy butt and have it become a fully functional PC webcam. The NUI Group is offering detailed instructions on how to get the Eye camera to work on your PC, with easy to install drivers.[Via N4G; Thanks, Jon K.!]
'Play Factory' found on Curve Studios website
The PlayStation Eye is looking to get its own minigame compilation, much like the EyeToy's EyeToy Play launch title, if Curve Studio's website is to be believed. On the list of games the developer has made, it shows a title named Play Factory which includes "six individual games developed for the PlayStation Eye." There's no indication on when it's due out, or what sort of games we can expect to find on the disc, but it's nice to know that with this and EyePet Sony isn't just ignoring the PlayStation Eye. Hopefully we'll see something a little more advanced than the downloadable interactive screensavers we've seen so far.
PlayStation Eye + EyePet = Who needs real pets?
click the monkey Our biggest problem with Sony's AIBO robotic dog was that, well ... it wasn't fake enough! Though it wasn't able to soil the floor, you could still touch it or (perish the thought!) pick it up. So it's with great interest that we bring you news of EyePet, a "responsive virtual pet who reacts to your every move" brought to you by our friends at SCEE. All you need is a PlayStation Eye camera, a PlayStation 3, and the ability to love."EyePet gives you all the lovable benefits and interaction of a real-life pet without tearing up your sofa or making a mess on the rug," says the totally understated press release. With a late 2009 release date, that gives you just enough time to forget all about that real miniature monkey thing you had when you were a kid. Video footage of your new best friend can be found after the break.%Gallery-30089%
New PlayStation Eye game announced: Eyepet
Download to PSP Do you love puppies and kittens? How about virtual puppies and kitties? If you do you, you might enjoy the new Eyepet game that's just been announced. Check it out in the video above.It's a virtual pet game that allows gamers to interact with their pet by utilizing the PlayStation Eye peripheral. If you put an object in front of the PS Eye, the pet will interact with it on screen. If you wave your fingers in front of the PS Eye, you can tickle your "loveable, simian-like pet." Eyepet is developed by SCEE and will be available in "late 2009" for PAL regions.%Gallery-30069%
PS Eye coming to Japan with software bundle
Famitsu is reporting that the PlayStation Eye will soon be heading to Japan. The peripheral is currently only available in a bundle with Eye of Judgment, but come July 24th this new software bundle will be unleashed within the region. The bundle, which will cost 5000 yen, will include the PlayStation Eye camera as well as a blu-ray disc containing a collection of mini games and interactive screensavers.Before you start filling up with envy, know this: these games are all currently available on the US and EU PSN Store. Once again we are seeing Japan's bizarre dislike of downloadable gaming resulting in a boxed release of games that elsewhere in the world are only available to download. If that's the way they'd rather do it, who are we to argue?
PS3 EndWar gets Minority Report-esque gesture controls
Sorry, Johnny. It seems like Ubisoft Shanghai might have beaten you to the punch with gesture controls in video games. According to Eurogamer, the team has integrated gesture-activated commands into the RTS Tom Clancy's EndWar. Using the Playstation Eye, the PS3 version of the game will allow players to wave their hands underneath the camera to navigate the game's overhead map. The feature is currently only being developed for the PS3 version, as the 360's Vision Camera lacks the stand to hold the camera vertically.Of course, like head tracking in Boom Blox, this somewhat ancillary feature might not make the final cut of the game. We'll keep our fingers crossed (and moving in a counter-clockwise circle, which is how our own fancy gesture control system knows we're being sincere).
Sony displays some fancy new motion sensing technology
If you're a long-time gamer from America, since we're not quite sure these made it overseas, you may have been to a giant arcade/restaurant called Dave and Busters. At these places, they usually had an area in the arcade that had "virtual reality" rings, where they slapped gloves and a big helmet on players willing to spend the big money so they could "virtually" move around in their own 3D world. It looked really ugly, too. Well, Sony has come up with a way for you to experience a 3D world without sticking anything on your body at all -- except recommending that you keep your head attached.With the PlayStation Eye, Sony has unveiled the ability to map your head movements in 3D. For example, if you want to look around a corner in a first-person shooter, with this technology you would simply crane your neck around the corner like you really would. And the Eye would catch this and the game would react accordingly. It's neat. Watch the video. End of line.[via CVG]
PS3 head tracking only needs camera
Last week, Sony showed off head tracking software for the PlayStation 3 using just the PS Eye camera (via MTV Multiplayer). That's right, no crazy hardware configurations devised by third parties (e.g. Johnny Lee, Electronic Arts), just software that identifies your head and its movement.A representative said the head tracking software has not been announced for any titles, but we'd love to see it show up soon for pretty much any genre of game. Video embedded after the break. (Note: It doesn't work for users with Canada, Japan or U.K. IPs.) While you're at it, (re)watch Lee's video to get a better idea of the potential of head tracking software (also embedded after the break).
Hacked PlayStation Eye does desktop VR
Yeah, we know an extremely similar program using a Wiimote was shown off a little over a month ago (OMG SoNy riped of Nitendo!!), but Wiis are still pretty hard to come by -- that's why we're sure many of you will appreciate the hard work of Thomas Miller, who has created an immersive desktop VR display using a PS3 dev kit, a PlayStation Eye, and a few homemade tools. Seriously, this guy is appears to be the MacGyver of peripheral modification, only without the debonair charm of Richard Dean Anderson.It appears Miller wouldn't mind sharing this cool bit of technology with interested developers, so again we ask: How 'bout it, Sony?
PlayStation Eye hacked for desktop VR use
The Wiimote may be spurring on the majority of desktop VR hackery these days, but at least one enterprising developer seems to be aiming to change that, and he's now showing that you can do more or less the same thing with a PlayStation Eye. As with the Wiimote, you need a pair of homemade IR-equipped glasses, but you'll also need to perform a couple of minor modifications to the PS Eye itself. That all-important detail consists simply of a homemade lens cap that houses some exposed and developed film, which lets the camera receive only the infrared signals from the glasses. Pair that with some custom-made software (now available for the taking), and you'll be giving unsuspecting visitors motion sickness in no time. Head on over after the break for a peek at the setup in action.
Intel predicts camera-powered, controller-free game system
While waggling your Wii remote around provides a decent approximation of natural motion, Intel predicts a future where cameras will provide highly accurate motion data to a game system. "We imagine some future generation of [Nintendo's] Wii won't have hand controllers," Intel Chief Technology Officer Justin Rattner, told Business Week. "You just set up the cameras around the room and wave your hand like you're playing tennis."It should be noted that there's nothing in the article to indicate that Rattner has any insider info on Nintendo's plans -- more than likely he was just theorizing about what he'd like to see in a future system. Still, the idea of a camera-based 3D motion-sensing setup has incredible potential for gaming. More than the simple video transposition of the Xbox Live Vision Camera or the PlayStation Eye, a multi-camera system could model your three-dimensional movements in real time, in effect placing a digital version of you in the game. The result could revolutionize the way we play games and even how they're made -- after all, why should developers use motion captured performances when the players can provide them for themselves?Such a theoretical system would take quite a bit of processing power, though, which might explain why Intel is talking it up -- after all, they already have a chip that can perform one trillion calculations a second. The future's so bright, we're using our Wii remotes as makeshift shades.
Two PlayStation Eye titles hit American PSN today
If you've yearned to have your PlayStation 3's electronic retina do something other than judge rectangular pieces of paper, today presents two new opportunities via the PlayStation Network store. The first, Operation: Creature Feature, has you herding little monsters through mazes, guiding them with the motion of your hands. The $4.99 investment might just help you defeat the habit of shaking your fist in the air whenever you feel frustrated -- every time you do that, you might inadvertently kill even more of the poor little things. If killing poor little things of the aquatic variety is also one of your neglectful habits, you'd best stick to the virtual fish in Aquatopia. Sure, it's a glorified $1.99 screensaver, but if you skipped Ratchet & Clank and Uncharted, it's probably the least fishy thing you'll have running on your PS3. It also explains the rather curious pile of Fish Flakes on top of James Ransom-Wiley's TV. [Via PS3 Fanboy]
Two PlayStation Eye games available on the PSN Store later today
A new post on the PlayStation.Blog details two PlayStation Eye "games" that are finally on their way to the American PSN Store. Operation Creature Feature and Aqua Vita have been available on the EU Store for a couple of weeks now, but later today they'll be available to download from the American store too. Operation Creature Feature will sell for $4.99 and the interactive screensaver Aqua Vita will cost only $1.99. The former is definitely worth a punt, especially for the cost, but Aqua Vita can probably be left unless you're a huge fan of digital fish. No doubt more PS Eye games will be put up in the coming weeks and today's update should also include some other content. We'll let you know what's available once we've found out.
See PlayStation Eye used to customize games
Long ago, cynicism hardened the hearts of the Joystiq staff to lumps of coal (or in Ludwig's case, a conflict diamond), so it's hard for us to get too excited about anything. That said, we're almost certain we feel a few cracks in our ticker when we watch these videos of Sony R&D using the PlayStation Eye to customize games. In one video, a staffer draws a spaceship and a planet surface on a sheet of paper then the PS3 generates an impromptu game of Lunar Lander with them on the fly. In another, a Combat-esque game is interrupted when another player wants to scan his own hand-drawn tank into the game. This is all just research at this point rather than an actual product, but it's hard not to be excited about the possibilities. (Little Big Planet object creation? Dare we dream?)
PlayStation Eye team experimenting with new ideas
The latest update to the Official PlayStation.blog is one of the best updates we've seen so far. The videos on display showcase some the truly incredible potential of the PlayStation Eye, where drawings come to life in video games. These are simply concepts, and aren't indicative of any games in development ... but we're excited nonetheless. Being able to transform your army men toys (pictured above) into playable characters on the television is certainly a fun way of merging the real world and the virtual one.It really is like jacking into the Matrix, Kaz! Thanks.
Kungfuruss reviews PlayStation Eye games on YouTube
While they may not be available on the US PlayStation Store, a number of PlayStation Eye games have been up on the EU store for a wee while now. A member of the PS3Forums community, Kungfuruss, has recorded a number of video reviews to let you know whether they are worthy of a download or not. All of these reviews are available on his YouTube account. Be sure to check them out if you're still on the fence about downloading the £1.99 titles. Or if you're not in the European territories, then be sure to watch them to see what you're missing. No doubt Kungfuruss will continue to record more video reviews as more PSN titles come out - we'll be keeping our eyes out for them.
See the promise of PS Eye software
The first round of PlayStation Eye titles already put everything on the EyeToy to shame; it's not even a contest. To prove that, check out this new compilation video, which showcases, not only the graphical power of the PS3, but also the potential of the PlayStation Eye. Europeans who own a PS Eye can already experience Tori Emaki and Mesmerize as they were just released yesterday on the PlayStation Network. Don't worry, though, fellow Americans, our time will come.
PlayStation Eye dated and priced for the UK
The PlayStation Eye is almost here. The Eye of Judgment will be available in Europe and America next week - make sure you check back later this week for our pre-release impressions - and the Eye will be available in the box. If, however, you don't fancy the potentially excellent collectible card video game then the PlayStation Eye will be available on its lonesome on November the 7th. For £24.99 you get the camera itself along with a disc containing EyeCreate (Eye of Judgment purchasers will be able to download EyeCreate for free from the PSN Store).More content for the PlayStation Eye is also being made available this month, with Operation Creature Feature, Trials of Topoq and Aqua Vita being made available sometime within the next two weeks. Add in the ability to video chat with other PS3 users, that's a ridiculously low price for an already decent amount of content.
