EyeToy...why didn't Sony use it?

[Kaotik]

Well, devs themselves are unclear as to the 'prelim' research that Sony put into SIXAXIS. Some of them had actually been requesting such a feature from Sony. I mean, I certainly don't know the full deal, it's just that given Kutaragi's own unveiling of the feature, his level of pride, and the secrecy surrounding it... I just wouldn't be surprised if Sony had a concurrent development track in that regard.

That said, I of course would not be surprised if they actually did just get the idea from Nintendo. It just seems to be one of those Sony-isms we may never have fully clarified (for better or worse).

IIRC the devs of that.. uhm.. what's the game they demoed a lot as one of the first playable PS3 games, the one you fly around with some plane-ish thing and shoot things? Anyway, devs of that game IIRC stated that they were informed about week or two before E3 that there will be motion sensing, and that Sony wants them to have it in by E3 for demoing, which pretty much clarifies how suddenly that thing came in, which leads to simple conclusion of "total ripoff" considering all the hype over Wiimotes motion sensing.

 

[Nesh]

I agree, and I never said instead of SIXAXIS. I'd say both are warranted to give PS3 a unique identity with unique features, and differentiate it from the competition.

Yep. I know you didnt Shifty. It was avaya who kind of did thats why I replied in the thread.

 

[avaya]

Sorry for the confusion, I didn't mean it should be EyeToy instead of Sixaxis! I'm with Shifty on this, I wanted both but EyeToy would have been more of the focus since it could have allowed a much greater degree of product differentiation.

 

[patsu]

The Eyetoy installed base in the UK is huge, more than 2 million.

This is why I envy the European PS2 owners (Just a little, coz you get new consoles later than US. muahaha !): You have a critical mass of EyeToy owners to try out new concepts.

I guess the it might be a similar story across Europe.

Sony actually released Eyetoy Sports this Christmas, sort of like a direct challenge to Wii sports. Eyetoy Play 3 already had a number of sports games like Bowling and Volleyball, which I assume are as entertaining as the Wii equivalents.

I think Sony already have a strong grip on the casual party crowd with Eyetoy, Singstar, Buzz and Dancemat games.

Despite the Wii's early sellout, in the UK it still has a long way to go before it represents any serious threat to the role the PS2 has for the casual crowd.

There is no reason why Sony couldn't release a version of the Sixaxis for the PS2.

I thought they were going to link up the Sixaxis with the Eyetoy HD and use the LEDs on the back of the sixaxis to allow the Eyetoy to place the sixaxis in 3D space. There was a thread about this.

Edge had a report on the Gametek guys who have developed a microwave based motion sensing tech, this would be available for PC, PS2/3 and Xbox360. If motion sensing has commercial legs, I don't see why everybody won't get in on the act. This is Wii's achilles heel, it's won't be unique in the market for very long, if it is a success.

Companies are always on the move, and Wii is on a fast train. I don't think you need to worry about Nintendo just yet.

 

[Nesh]

Sorry for the confusion, I didn't mean it should be EyeToy instead of Sixaxis! I'm with Shifty on this, I wanted both but EyeToy would have been more of the focus since it could have allowed a much greater degree of product differentiation.

Its ok. I agree with you now. Perhaps it was my fault and not yours for not understanding clearly what you tried to say

 

[LogisticX]

There certainly still is time for Sony to make a splash with the eyetoy and make it a standard peripheral for the PS3. After all, we've seen this kind of thing done with the PSone when later in the life of the console the "Dual Shock" was released and similarly, Microsoft included the more streamlined JPN controller and replaced the bulky original design.

With such a relatively small userbase of PS3's right now, its not completely infeasible I think for Sony to now include the new Eyetoy (if cost effective) with the purchase of a new console AND offer a rebate to current owners somehow.

I think if you simply pack it in with a game similar to what was done with the original EyeToy you aren't going to likely get a real response from the market that will warrant it being a "mainstream" peripheral for the console. Sony needs to back the technology up with sufficient marketing and bundling strategies otherwise it'll suffer the same fate as the original which would be a shame.

Right now, I agree, Microsoft and Nintendo definitely have the upper-hand in the console war in terms of offering diverse gaming functionality that none of the others can offer (with Live and the Wii's control scheme). Sony doesn't really offer anything that sets it apart from the others other than promised technological advantage which has shown time and time again not to have an effective impact on gaining marketshare (that is, consoles have never gained more marketshare simply because they can offer better graphics).

Anyway, the point of it all is simply that EyeToy needs push from Sony if they want to make people take notice.


BTW, I don't see what good it does to call out Sony for "copying" someone other than to facilitate fanatical agendas for or against certain companies. If it serves the greater good, then who cares. Don't they say that being mimicked is the greatest compliment one can give? A good idea is a good idea. I'm done rambling.

 

[archangelmorph]

I don't think eyetoy will ever have mass market appeal unless:

- Sony start to bundle their consoles with the peripheral
- More dev's begin to adopt inclusion of it to add some kind of functionality in their games

Personally I think the eyetoy is a great little gadget which has the potential to add as much innovation into gaming input as the Wii, just on a different level..

All the buzz surrounding the Wii stems from the consumers impression that the wii controller will somehow make games more realistic.. I think that (especially from the kind of games we've seen so far, added to that fact that performance of the hardware) it *may* do, but it's more likely to do well based on the fact that it adds more dynamic interaction and increases the dimensions of game control (like adding more buttons to a pad but much less complicated and far more user-friendly).. I think that wii games will become far more abstract in terms of developers using a much less "natural" input paradigm in favour of more abstract interactions..

This is exactly what the eyetoy does at the moment and has been doing far earlier than the wii has been around..

I really hope the penetration rate of the eyetoy increases dramatically and Sony start to push the hardware into PS2 owner's homes. Eyetoy is as fun as the wii and all it would take would be for the level of consumer exposure to the peripheral and an increased library of eyetoy games with richer, deeper gameplay, and the PS market could open up even further to attract the same kind of people nintendo are so intently pursuing..

And i'm not just saying this because I work for a company who does eyetoy games..

:smile: