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EyeToy - Chat Turns PS2 Into Videophone

Posted by simoniker on from the eee-teeee? dept.

Thanks to GameSpot for its coverage of Sony Europe's announcement of Eye Toy: Chat for PlayStation 2, a piece of software that works with Sony's Eye Toy USB camera and "allows users to communicate with each other in four different ways, namely text, voice, video mail, and one-to-one video chat." It's also explained: "While engaging in a one-on-one video chat, users will have the option to play games against each other, including chess, checkers, and naval war." The article has further clarification on potential worries for parents: "SCEE is eager to point out that that it has been working very closely with several children's charities in order to ensure that EyeToy: Chat is safe for even the youngest PS2 fans to enjoy."

10 of 23 comments (clear)

  1. Quote: by Poster+Nutbag · · Score: 3, Funny

    SCEE is eager to point out that that it has been working very closely with several children's charities in order to ensure that EyeToy: Chat is safe for even the youngest PS2 fans to enjoy. New Chat users will be required to register and verify their details at PlayStation Net. There will be a number of strict safety measures and chat room moderators in place when the service launches this summer.

    In other words, it won't be any fun, and nobody over the age of 12 is going to buy this.

    1. Re:Quote: by Acidic_Diarrhea · · Score: 3, Insightful
      "There will be a number of strict safety measures and chat room moderators in place when the service launches this summer."

      "In other words, it won't be any fun, and nobody over the age of 12 is going to buy this."

      Anyone over 12 who wants to use video chat wants to do so for genital exposing and/or foul mouthed reasons? That's odd, I wasn't aware our age group was so easily categorized.

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    2. Re:Quote: by Quobobo · · Score: 2, Insightful

      It all depends on what you read into it. If "strict safety measures" means I can't have a private conversation with a friend, it seems like a waste of money to me. But, then again, the article was pretty light on details.

  2. More and better board games by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I hope they have some more board games than the typical handful like chess, checkers, backgammon, and such. It would be nice to get some advanced German board games like Settlers of Catan, Puerto Rico, any of Reiner Knizia's games or El Grande since this is coming from Sony Europe. I know Capcom released a network version of Settlers for PS2 in Japan that they gave away. Surely SCEE can arrange to give them a buck or two each copy to include something a little more interesting that can be played with more than just two people.

  3. One-on-one privacy/safety by RotJ · · Score: 2, Insightful

    How will they keep the private chats between two people safe for kids? Will moderators invisibly jump from place to place, peeking into the conversations?

  4. The best part about the eye-toy by Mike+Hawk · · Score: 2, Funny

    The best thing is that there is no way to use the eye-toy without appearing utterly insane. You make a bunch of gestures at the TV!!11 Please always use the eye-toy with your shades open so your neighbors can laugh at you appropriately.

    You know how someone looks driving and talking into a hands-free cell phone? Picture that, but talking at the TV. OMFG.

  5. EyeToy and Gestural Interfaces by MiceHead · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Cheap techology is great -- make digital cameras inexpensive, offer an SDK to grab their output, and folks will come up with wonderful ideas for how to abuse them. Devices like EyeToy are mostly just oddities now, but I'd like to see them used to popularize gestural interfaces.

    Arkane Studios' RPG, Arx Fatalis is one of a handful of titles that offers gestural input, with its mouse-gesture-based spells. But this was more a novelty than a boon for usability -- it would have been easier to cast a spell by clicking icons. Perhaps a sequel will allow you to embellish your runes with serifs to achieve subtle variations on an incantation?

    Avant Browser offers up a more useful gestural interface -- and I like it because it allows me to execute common tasks more easily. Rather than having to hit a smallish "new window" icon, I can rudely right-click anywhere on a window and sloppily drag my mouse upwards to open a new window.

    EyeToy takes this a step further and does away with the mouse altogether; and though I had modest luck with the thing when I played against the noisy backdrop at Toys "R" Us, here's hoping that it's the first among many such interfaces. Perhaps five years down the road, a) gestures will be common, b) we'll laugh at what Minority Report got wrong, and c) we'll thank goofy gadgets like this one for paving the way.

    After all, it was pretty silly to have a "Rat" for the Atari 800.
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    1. Re:EyeToy and Gestural Interfaces by nicky_d · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I picked up an EyeToy last week, and it's pretty impressive. The key to getting good results is lighting - there's a game with Play that has you cleaning suds off a window (the whole screen, basically). Our front room is lit by an eco-friendly bulb, which is a fairly soft light, and as you 'wipe' the screen the remaining suds clearly cling to shadowy areas that aren't picking up movement so well. Play with a bright light, however, and the system is good enough to allow for some fast and accurate gaming. Play comes with a version of PS2 launch title Fantavision, played entirely through gestures, and it plays well.

      In terms of picture quality, it's not that great. But at this stage, sheer novelty compensates for that. But I think it bodes very well for future efforts, with sharper images and HDTV resolution. And, being an 'ancient' gamer dating back to the 8-bit era, I'm given to stepping back every once in a while and trying to calculate how violently this would have blown my 12-year-old mind...

    2. Re:EyeToy and Gestural Interfaces by droleary · · Score: 2, Funny

      . . . there's a game with Play that has you cleaning suds off a window . . . I'm given to stepping back every once in a while and trying to calculate how violently this would have blown my 12-year-old mind...

      I agree that the idea of paying $50 to wash windows would have really blown my mind at 12, too. In fact, I'm still having a hard time wrapping my head around it today!

  6. Re:EyeToy and Metal Gear Solid by nicky_d · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Yeah, and then combine it with what Rockstar have already done in Manhunt - use a USB headset to hear instructions, and then if you accidentally speak out loud or make any noise, it alerts the characters in the game (you can also use it as a deliberate decoy tactic). That approach with the Eyetoy thrown in could be a real winner, though you'd really need to have it as an optional feature to have any commercial success - e.g. you don't NEED a headset for Manhunt, but it can add a lot to the experience.