PlayStation Camera: What are the benefits?

Relax. The PS4 is not an object of either hate or desire. i made a comment about them including the camera as part of the core system reviews. thats pretty much it.
 
Actually chanced upon a PS4 demo unit today and it had Playroom. Although the chords for the DualShocks were way too short, he still really loved playing with the little robots. He didn't want to leave, and was thrilled when I said he could play at home in two weeks. We also tried the pong game and that was actually fun for a bit, being able to twist and elongate the play field.

The rest of the demo unit was pretty dull though - pinball arcade looked ok but boring, the physics don't feel right and I didn't like the table. Knack was everything people said it was - some nice basic physics effects in the characters but insanely basic in all other respects. And then not at a stable frame rate? Was this made by some junior studio? Didn't try Octodad yet.

Bought the Bravia W656 though! 42" and omg, amazing. My wife noticed the difference with the old HD Ready TV instantly, especially the sharpness.
 
Face recognition for login is probably the most noticeable one. It's very quick.

I haven't tried the mic and echo cancellation yet.

What surprised me was the DS4 speaker. When I muted the TV, KZSF audio got piped to the DS4 speaker. Made me jumped a little since I didn't expect any sound from the game at that point.

Edit:
I tried the voice navigation a little. It's very quick too. Only 3-4 commands, so it's accurate (can't go wrong).
 
Face recognition for login is probably the most noticeable one. It's very quick.

I haven't tried the mic and echo cancellation yet.

What surprised me was the DS4 speaker. When I muted the TV, KZSF audio got piped to the DS4 speaker. Made me jumped a little since I didn't expect any sound from the game at that point.

Edit:
I tried the voice navigation a little. It's very quick too. Only 3-4 commands, so it's accurate (can't go wrong).

I'm quite surprised at how quick the facial recognition login in. It also re-positions the face and DS4 box based on your seating position. Haven't tried it in a dim room yet, I suspect that will be its Achilles’ heel. Voice works quite well too. However, the mic is too sensitive to loud noises and mistaking them for the "PlayStation" command it listens for.
 
The Spike TV PS event had an eye tracking demo video. I haven't found it on YouTube, yet. Geoff, apparently, experienced it first hand.

Edit: Here is the eye tracking (42 min mark)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIRfRPTGBgE

That is amazing! Though you can see that the camera would need to be super close.
If they ever implement it for aiming, it would be as if cheating, and destroy every other input method involving fingers.
In every game: your eyes see your enemy before you even position your cursor. So just look at the enemy head and it's done.
 
Face recognition for login is probably the most noticeable one. It's very quick.

I haven't tried the mic and echo cancellation yet.

What surprised me was the DS4 speaker. When I muted the TV, KZSF audio got piped to the DS4 speaker. Made me jumped a little since I didn't expect any sound from the game at that point.

Edit:
I tried the voice navigation a little. It's very quick too. Only 3-4 commands, so it's accurate (can't go wrong).

plenty of dialogue and squad commands get piped through the DS4 speaker during KZSF even when not muted. it made me jump the first time too :LOL:
 
Sony taps SoftKinetic’s 3D gesture recognition to bring motion-sensing games to PS4

just-dance-2014-softkinetic.jpg

Just Dance 2014
November 18, 2013 1:57 AM Dean Takahashi

SoftKinetic announced today that its gesture-recognition technology is being used to bring motion-sensing games to the PlayStation 4.

Brussels, Belgium-based SoftKinetic has provided its Iisu middleware to Ubisoft for its motion-sensing dance game Just Dance 2014 for the PlayStation 4. To play the game with gesture recognition, gamers have to buy the PlayStation Camera for the PS4, which went on sale last Thursday for $400. The camera costs an additional $60.

SoftKinetic’s Iisu middleware is a rival to Microsoft’s Kinect motion-sensing system for the Xbox One and the Xbox 360. SoftKinectic provides skeletal analysis and gesture recognition for developers who want to leverage the 3D tracking capability of the PS4′s camera. With Iisu, Just Dance 2014 can detect up to four players at a time. By comparison, Microsoft’s new Kinect can detect six players with the Xbox One version of the game.

The Iisu middleware works across platforms, including set-top boxes, smart TVs, PCs, laptops, and game consoles.

“We are excited to work with Sony Computer Entertainment to bring our award-winning 3D gesture recognition middleware to game titles for the PS4,” said Michel Tombroff, CEO of SoftKinetic. “We recognize that the game developer community is one of the most technically-advanced ecosystems, and we have therefore been very dedicated to providing the most sophisticated technology for the PS4. We are confident that the 3D gesture recognition capabilities will not only meet, but exceed, that of any other gaming console on the market today.”

http://venturebeat.com/2013/11/18/s...nition-to-bring-motion-sensing-games-to-ps-4/
I wonder what libraries Sony is using for Voice recognition on the PS4.
 
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"We are confident that the 3D gesture recognition capabilities will not only meet, but exceed, that of any other gaming console on the market today.”

Them's fighting words ...
 
"We are confident that the 3D gesture recognition capabilities will not only meet, but exceed, that of any other gaming console on the market today.”

Them's fighting words ...

Why? I see it as a technicality. The Kinect2 isn't on the market today. ;)
 
Why? I see it as a technicality. The Kinect2 isn't on the market today. ;)
Yep. That's what I read. Although beating Kinect would be very good for that side of gaming. How much more one wants for motion gaming, coupled with Move for certain genres, is debatable. For dance etc., Kinect quality with better accuracy and response would be just fine I think. I just don't trust the claim as promises invariably fall far short. eg. Leap Motion.
 
Why? I see it as a technicality. The Kinect2 isn't on the market today. ;)

Hahaha, true.

While we know that the XB1 has whatever it takes to handle the Kinect hardware, was there any comparison between the 2 systems in terms of the actual optical/sensor systems.
 
Ha ha, I didn't think of that >_>.

I think in theory under optimal conditions with unlimited resources, the PS Eye could do better in some use cases. It does have two cameras that have a higher resolution than the single camera, and it runs at double the framerate (or more if you want to sacrifice resolution) and I don't know that Kinect can do much with its 'regular' camera to help the analysis (maybe though).

In practice though I'd expect Kinect 2 to be far more robust in most cases. But we'll see. If controller augmentation becomes a thing (e.g. leaning, swiping, pointing), then I think in those areas the PS4 should win every time, because no matter of body tracking can compete with the tracking of the DS4 gyro and LED especially in terms of lag (30fps of Kinect 2 alone limits that), and the DS4 has the touchpad as well (which I tried in the store, and is actually pretty comfortable to use - though touchscreen would have been icing on the cake imho).

In the end, I'm just hoping we'll see some cool stuff with either of them.
 
A visor !
They could certainly include pupil tracking in an HMZ type device, as well as head tracking. They could then incorporate foveated rendering. Not sure that'd be a PS4 peripheral though, as the software would be quite different.
 
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