The Playstation Eye camera for PS3 is getting set to bring web-cam chatting and video recording to the next generation of Sony hardware. The camera itself can be attained either bundled with The Eye of Judgment on October 23rd in the U.S., October 24th in Europe and October 25th in Australia, or you can purchase the camera separately on Halloween in the U.S. (October 31st), in Europe on November 7th and in Australia on November 8th.
So what are the specific features of the Playstation Eye camera?
* Engineered from the beginning to work well in low-light conditions.
* Zoom lens has two settings, normal and wide, with fixed focus (which means less messing around with the camera to try and focus it).
* PlayStation Eye gets a sharp, clear picture at 640 x 480 resolution at 60 frames per second (at 320 x 240 it looks even better at 120 fps)!
* No need to focus, picks up image and motion in varying lighting conditions with ease.
* Built-in 4-microphone array. Allows for built in online audio video chat and in-game voice chat in a “natural environment”, no having to lean into the mic so it picks up your voice or using a headset.
* Excellent at filtering out background noise for a clear voice connection.
* Twice the frame rate of standard cameras. Allowing for faster and more natural tracking, responsiveness and smoothness.
* According to some reports, it’s better than what you can get on PC!
* Chat with anyone on your friends list, anywhere in the world!
* The EyeCreate Software program will be available on the PS3 Network to download for free, and allows you to save, edit and share your Playstation Eye videos, photos and audio clips via your PS3!
In addition to all the above features, the camera can also, of course, be used in games that are in development. The bundled game Eye of Judgment allows for the camera to read special Collectible Card Game cards, scanning them, and bringing the monsters to life. While Singstar for PS3 allows players to make their own personal music videos to share with family and friends! And many more fun programs are in development for the game, including some that will be coming to the Playstation Network soon!
Check out this video to see the kind of wacky stuff you can do with the EyeCreate software.
And below for the trailer for the Playstation Eye itself.