Just recently, at the yearly Electronic Entertainment Expo conference, Sony showed off what they call the Sony Playstation Eye. Ring any bells? You could be thinking back to Sony’s EyeToy, a add-on for the Playstation 2 that pioneered the realisation of the real time movements of the player. The Eye builds upon this feature in certain fantastic ways, however they are not completely original ones. However, it is increasingly difficult to know just how much this feature will really change the gaming community, if indeed it can.
For those that didn’t see the Electronic Entertainment Expo, one of the primary features of Sony Playstation Eye is the motion sensing. Just how sensing is achieved is through the tracking of the special orb at the edge of the control created for the Eye. Sony’s representatives then went on to show a live performance of the hardware’s skills, using the remote to correspond with a 3D interface inside the TV screen and demonstrating exactly how the technology could be integrated in games like first-person shooters, real-time strategy, and also action. Each movement the player makes with the remote control is mirrored onscreen with 1 to 1 precision.
But see, does not that sound familiar? At last year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo, Nintendo accomplished the very same presentation using their Wii Motion Plus peripheral. It too captures and mirrors actions at 1:1 accuracy. The only major distinction amid these 2 peripherals is that the Sony Playstation Eye asks an updated edition of their EyeToy camera to track the remotes, while Nintendo’s Wii Motion Plus attaches to to an independent sensor bar wirelessly. If anything, Sony’s latest approach seems less advanced compared to the year old technology of Nintendo.
Whilst trailing in the shadow of existing ideas, the Eye remains an impressive example of hardware that’s guarenteed to please many owners of the PS3. Although it won’t drastically affect the realm of gaming completely, the Sony Playstation Eye accomplishes a step forward for Sony’s future, and will possibly assist the developers recover regarding improvement.
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