Technology is in the Eye of the Beholder
The next-generation microphone-and-camera-in-one device is the PlayStation Eye. First details on it and its prime executor, The Eye of Judgment, within.
Published: April 26, 2007
One of the less-notorious highlights of Sony's E3 2006 press conference nearly year ago came in the form of a camera-sensitive card-battling work-in-progress from SCEJ known as The Eye of Judgment. While the demonstration -- conducted by EyeToy creator Dr. Richard Marks himself -- wasn't totally up to par, the concept was a clever one: have the player physically interact with cards on the table, on-camera, as on screen those cards' respective monsters would appear and proceed to battle it out.
It's been a long time coming, but today Sony finally offered the follow-up details as to what we can expect of the game and, more importantly, the camera device that will be powering it and much more.
It's called the PlayStation Eye, a PS3-specific evolution of sorts to the USB-powered microphone and camera technology (namely, the EyeToy) from the system's previous generation. The device, "designed specifically to work with the next generation of social gaming titles and new services being developed for PS3," is all-in-one encompassing of a sophisticated, speech-sensitive microphone with the ability to reduce background noise and echo, as well as an advanced camera with a two position zoom, capable of 120 fps and functional in low-light conditions.
The PlayStation Eye, releasing this summer, comes standard with EyeCreate editing software, allowing users to edit and add visual effects to any photo, video or audio clip before saving it directly to the PS3's hard drive, where they can then throw on addition capturing modes such as slow motion and time-lapse.
"With the release of PlayStation Eye we will be able to dramatically enhance the consumer's PS3 experience," said Richard Marks, research and development at Sony Computer Entertainment America. "Beyond audio/video chat and the ability to save videos to your PS3 hard drive, PlayStation Eye opens up a whole new world of entertainment options and adds a new dimensions to games across multiple genres."
Technically, it breaks down something like this:
-- 4 channel audio input:16 bits/channel, 48kHz, SNR 90db
-- 56 degree or 75 degree Field of View zoom lens
-- 2.1 F-stop, < 1% distortion, fixed focus (25cm to 8 at 75 degree FOV)
-- 640 x 480 at 60 frames/second
-- 320 x 240 at 120 frames/second
-- USB2 high-speed data transfer
-- Uncompressed video or optional JPEG compression
The Eye, unsurprisingly, will tie into another optical application: The Eye of Judgment. The trading cards used in the game (which will be made and distributed globally by Hasbro, as announced today, so as to play nice with the patent-holding Magic makers at Wizards of the Coast, a subsidiary of Hasbro) will be encrypted with CyberCode, in turn digitally rendering the cards' respective creatures when placed in front of the PlayStation Eye on the 3x3 board (presumably not sold separately).
"We are very excited to enter into a collaboration with Sony Computer Entertainment on trading cards for The Eye of Judgment which will deliver a ground-breaking entertainment experience that uniquely blends the global popularity of traditional trading card games with next-generation video games," said Phil Jackson, Group Executive of Hasbro Games. "Together we're creating a virtual world that brings fantastic trading card-based creatures to life for unprecedented interactive battles that will appeal to millions of fans around the world. It is innovation at its best."
Says SCEI corporate executive, president of SCE Worldwide Studios and the very British Phil Harrison, "The Eye of Judgment represents a totally new genre in gaming. Combining Hasbro's clear market leadership in trading card games with the immense power of PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Eye, is a powerful formula that will result in a revolutionary video game experience that will amaze and engage gamers around the world."
Judgment Day will fall sometime in fall 2007, meaning you'll have a few months before then to work out the nuances of the PlayStation Eye. We'll keep you posted!
It's been a long time coming, but today Sony finally offered the follow-up details as to what we can expect of the game and, more importantly, the camera device that will be powering it and much more.
It's called the PlayStation Eye, a PS3-specific evolution of sorts to the USB-powered microphone and camera technology (namely, the EyeToy) from the system's previous generation. The device, "designed specifically to work with the next generation of social gaming titles and new services being developed for PS3," is all-in-one encompassing of a sophisticated, speech-sensitive microphone with the ability to reduce background noise and echo, as well as an advanced camera with a two position zoom, capable of 120 fps and functional in low-light conditions.
The PlayStation Eye, releasing this summer, comes standard with EyeCreate editing software, allowing users to edit and add visual effects to any photo, video or audio clip before saving it directly to the PS3's hard drive, where they can then throw on addition capturing modes such as slow motion and time-lapse.
"With the release of PlayStation Eye we will be able to dramatically enhance the consumer's PS3 experience," said Richard Marks, research and development at Sony Computer Entertainment America. "Beyond audio/video chat and the ability to save videos to your PS3 hard drive, PlayStation Eye opens up a whole new world of entertainment options and adds a new dimensions to games across multiple genres."
Technically, it breaks down something like this:
-- 4 channel audio input:16 bits/channel, 48kHz, SNR 90db
-- 56 degree or 75 degree Field of View zoom lens
-- 2.1 F-stop, < 1% distortion, fixed focus (25cm to 8 at 75 degree FOV)
-- 640 x 480 at 60 frames/second
-- 320 x 240 at 120 frames/second
-- USB2 high-speed data transfer
-- Uncompressed video or optional JPEG compression
The Eye, unsurprisingly, will tie into another optical application: The Eye of Judgment. The trading cards used in the game (which will be made and distributed globally by Hasbro, as announced today, so as to play nice with the patent-holding Magic makers at Wizards of the Coast, a subsidiary of Hasbro) will be encrypted with CyberCode, in turn digitally rendering the cards' respective creatures when placed in front of the PlayStation Eye on the 3x3 board (presumably not sold separately).
"We are very excited to enter into a collaboration with Sony Computer Entertainment on trading cards for The Eye of Judgment which will deliver a ground-breaking entertainment experience that uniquely blends the global popularity of traditional trading card games with next-generation video games," said Phil Jackson, Group Executive of Hasbro Games. "Together we're creating a virtual world that brings fantastic trading card-based creatures to life for unprecedented interactive battles that will appeal to millions of fans around the world. It is innovation at its best."
Says SCEI corporate executive, president of SCE Worldwide Studios and the very British Phil Harrison, "The Eye of Judgment represents a totally new genre in gaming. Combining Hasbro's clear market leadership in trading card games with the immense power of PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Eye, is a powerful formula that will result in a revolutionary video game experience that will amaze and engage gamers around the world."
Judgment Day will fall sometime in fall 2007, meaning you'll have a few months before then to work out the nuances of the PlayStation Eye. We'll keep you posted!
