Playstation Eye Interview
N’Gai Croal had a chance to talk to Dr. Richard Marks, the man behind the upcoming PLAYSTATION EYE.
It’s an interesting interview. It discusses the trade-offs they had to make when it came to resolution, speed, audio, and price. For example:
For Playstation Eye, we worked closely with Omnivision, our sensor chip partner, on a design that is counter to the mainstream trend of smaller pixels. In low-light conditions, this means that each sensor pixel is able to gather more of the available light and produce a better signal.
Which basically means that they traded higher resolution for better performance in low-light conditions. Makes a bit more sense now that the EYE isn’t HD.
I’m still torn. I have an EyeToy camera already. I’ll have to see if any games come out that support the EYE but not the EyeToy…
The Playstation Eye is Nearly Upon Us. Dr. Richard Marks Takes Us Behind the Scenes of its Birth
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May 1st, 2007 at 1:38 pm
Well.. I want one if they change the design alittle
May 1st, 2007 at 2:53 pm
I don’t think they can change the design.
The top part is 4 mics. The 2 side sensors are for light sensing. From that interview they are able to filter out background noise and the sounds from the PS3 games themselves. That’s pretty sweet. Suppose to be as clear as talking on a headset.
The res isn’t the bad. It’s DVD quality but the capture rates are insane. They can actually make a game with complete motion capture if they get this right. Be like playing Wii play without holding a controller.
Wonder if we will see Eyedentity once this is released. I haven’t heard of that game in 2 years.
Eye of judgment doesn’t look like that camera though. I Wonder if it comes with a tripod like stand you see in the demos.
I’m still not convinced on this though. Eyetoy had like what, 3 games. All party and then was barely supported. If Sony is serious about this they should make facial captures libraries for devs for use on create a character games so people with this can map their own face onto their avatars. Home is a good example.
The minority report demo looked kinda interesting but what kind of game would they really make around that? Its more like a dashboard navigation system.
May 1st, 2007 at 7:10 pm
Hm Sporty, in Europe, there are PLENTY Eyetoy games! Most of them are minigame compilations unfortunately
If the camera now gets used right (not just minigames like Play), it can propel gaming into another dimension. I mean seriously, only imagination is the limiting factor. Eyedentify caught my eye right on the spot!! Sort of like a Charlies Angels (not as bad as the movies but the concept) and you are Charly^^
May 1st, 2007 at 10:39 pm
It seems to me that the tradeoffs are worth it. Not only is this thing 4 times the picture quality of eyetoy, but it has some pretty impressive framerates. And the sensitivity to low light conditions is a plus, especially considering how often the lighting isnt flooding a room (as was sometimes nessecary with some eyetoy games). The higher definition, sensetive (and smart) mic, and nice framerates will make it far easier to recognize movement. Now as opposed to moving your entire body, the camera is sensetve enough to pick up subtler gestures.
May 2nd, 2007 at 12:08 am
LOOKS HOT I WILL BUY IT FOR MY PS3.
May 2nd, 2007 at 8:57 am
when and where does it go on sell ?
May 2nd, 2007 at 9:36 am
I might wait for the EYE instead of buying a headset.
May 2nd, 2007 at 9:53 am
I would rather it work in low light than have higher pixels honestly. That’s one weakness of the current eye toy.