Joystiq hands-on: Xbox Live Vision camera (or: IT BEGINS!)
by Christopher Grant 
{ Sep 4th 2006 at 11:15AM }
A small, plain box arrived unexpectedly from Redmond over the weekend containing nothing more than the diminutive Xbox Live Vision camera floating in a sea of amniotic packing paper. No retail box here, just the tiny little camera and its accompanying PR fact sheet ("Microsoft Corp.'s line of Xbox 360™ Authentic Products continues to grow while ..."). The sheet does detail the two bundles that will be released on September 19th, clipped after the break.
We hurriedly grabbed some snaps before hooking up the Vision to the ol' 360 and taking it for a spin around the UNO block ... where IT happened. We've grown (abnormally) accustomed to the sort of blue language one finds while playing outside of the confines of your Xbox Live friends list -- this is of course, entirely different than the blue language you enjoy while playing with your friends, but we digress -- but it wasn't ten minutes before we had our first PG-13 exposure. Read on for the entire, sordid tale (with NSFW pictures!).
The camera can be tilted forwards and backwards and spin a little to the left and right. Of course, this makes it look like a head, giving it an anthropomorphism that immediately endears it to me. This thing totally has to be in the Xbox 360's Transformers cameo.
The 360 Autobot with head attached. Tell me it doesn't look sentient.
It automagically drops in a ghostly video background as soon as you boot it up. No drivers, restarts, or IRQ settings (do they still have those?).
The "Auto (Default)" settings worked best in my office. Most importantly, you have to focus the camera (unless you're going for that Hollywood starlet soft focus look).
UNO, the only Vision-aware title on my box, knows all about the Vision camera. Just so you know that it knows, its got a little camera icon up there.
Note CheapyD's custom-made Robocop gamerpic. His advice to aspiring gamerpic creators: "Get ready to setup a fucking camera studio to get the lighting just right."
Hit up the settings ...
... line up your face ...
... and crop to fit. Of course, if you're feeling frumpy, feel free to leave it zoomed out and unfocused. For the purposes of this experiment, we'll force all of Xbox Live to look at my ugly mug in "Zoom Factor: 2X."
It's only my second round of UNO, and I randomly get paired up with another Vision camera user. Weird, considering it won't be out for another couple weeks. Turns out our camera-enabled friend picked it up on eBay where, no doubt, some unscrupulous Toys 'R' Us employees are making a killing on every pubescent gamer's desire to share the better parts of their reproductive and/or endocrine and/or digestive systems with their peers.
Custom gamerpics are only visible to your friends. Would video only show up if said gamer was on your friends list? Apparently not. Of course, things went smoothly for some time before IT happened. Of course, IT has been prophesied. I was even prepared for IT, just not within my first 10 minutes of playing with the camera ... two weeks before this thing is even supposed to be out. Now, using our anecdotal evidence, if we were to extrapolate the likeliness of this occurence happening once the entire Xbox Live userbase has equal access to the Vision camera, we'd pin the possibility at well over 100%. Like, 142% to be exact.
That was actually his mouth talking, not his, uh ...
I just so happened to have a camera. Smile!
Perhaps a glorified chatroom camera isn't the best fit for the Xbox Live audience. The novelty of video chats isn't lost on us, but we're more excited for some of the camera's advanced features like gesture control and facial rendering. We'll be picking up TotemBall on September 19th when the camera hits retail to tinker with the former and World Series of Poker: Tournament of Champions to tinker with the latter.
Xbox Live Vision (going for $40)
- Xbox Live Vision camera
- One-month trial Xbox Live Gold membership
- Xbox 360 headset
- Includes free downloads of two full-version Xbox Live Arcade games including the popular UNO card game ($5) and TotemBall, the new 3D platform game from Freeverse and Strange Flavour that is a mixture of platform skills and puzzles
- Xbox Live Vision camera
- Twelve-month trial Xbox Live Gold membership ($60)
- Xbox 360 headset
- Includes free downloads of three full-version Xbox Live Arcade games including the popular UNO card game ($5), Robotron: 2084, the classic coin-op shooter from Midway ($5), and TotemBall, the new 3D platform game from Freeverse and Strange Flavour that is a mixture of platform skills and puzzles
- 200 Microsoft Points ($2.50)
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Bender @ Sep 4th 2006 11:42AM
Maybe if they can get some cute Japanese girls to dance around on one of these cameras the xbox might start selling in Japan... just a thought!
Scott @ Sep 4th 2006 11:31AM
Is there a mute-like function for blacking out someone elses camera?
nick @ Sep 4th 2006 11:32AM
August 19th? Do you mean September 19th?
Shadowstorm @ Sep 4th 2006 11:33AM
That's a slick looking camera. $40 bucks seems definitely worth it.
nick @ Sep 4th 2006 11:35AM
You can use parental controls to block anyone's video
kilodelta @ Sep 4th 2006 11:44AM
40 bucks and it comes with a headset as well?
where do i sign up?!
C. Grant @ Sep 4th 2006 11:42AM
Yup. Thanks, nick.
Xavier @ Sep 4th 2006 11:48AM
This is exactly why I won't touch this peripheral at all, and will block all cameras. There will be more penis on XBox Live with this thing than in your average sports locker room. It's going to be disgusting as hell. If you don't believe me, go into any Yahoo chat-room. There will be at least one guy on camera naked in any of them trying to bomb you with invites. It's not going to be any different on Live.
I love my 360 but the camera is just a bad idea all the way around.
foehammer88 @ Sep 4th 2006 11:55AM
I think the camera will work best with gesture recognition, especially if Rainbow Six:Vegas will allow Hand commands instead of voice commands. But I don't know if that is correct. I think there is software that can recognize hand gestures. That is what I'm looking forward to most.
KineticOnline @ Sep 4th 2006 12:12PM
1 month trial on gold? so i already have gold, will that mean i get an extra month?
Uno? no-one on my friends list doesnt already have that, and a headset
How on earth do u get a gold trial? or is this just another way of telling us that if you have gold it wont be extended?
Will i be getting it? hell yea
Will i be using it much? possibly
Is it worth $40? probably, but i rather get it cheaper and not get the unnecessary extras
Anonymouse Rep @ Sep 4th 2006 12:34PM
There is obviously a lot of concern about video porn. However, as is mentioned above, you are NOT supposed to be able to trade video or pictures with someone who is not on your friends list. Also note that YOU are the one that controls your friends list - so if you game with these people regularly WITHOUT video and you know that they have a locker room mentality due to the language - then don't be shocked when you get flashed.
And don't forget that you can use parental controls AND also report people as well for abuse of the system. You know that there is no way Microsoft is going to let that much porn happen.
Jonn @ Sep 4th 2006 1:32PM
That is a nice rear. If it were on a girl, I would totally pine for her angstfully and hardly ever talk to her.
What?
goverland @ Sep 4th 2006 1:32PM
Family controls will block all communications; text, voice, and video. You can't block just on kind, which is a shame IMO. And you can't disable the receiving of video in a UNO either, perhaps developers will take a clue from what's happening and add that.
Pictures (you can't send video mail) received from someone other than on your friends list will prompt you that it isn't from a friend and do you really want to view it.
As for the mooning, well that gamertag is violating the Xbox Live Terms of Use and Xbox Code of Conduct, everyone that was exposed to it should have used the feedback.
dork @ Sep 4th 2006 5:19PM
good now i can laugh at all the white people calling me Nig-ga in saints row
Ludwig Kietzmann @ Sep 4th 2006 8:22PM
Ha, I didn't realize you were taking pictures, Chris. :) And just look at my horrid ping!
ForbidenMaster @ Sep 4th 2006 2:28PM
# 14- "And you can't disable the receiving of video in a UNO either, perhaps developers will take a clue from what's happening and add that."
As a matter of fact if you Mute someone it disables their cam as well as their voice. The only problem that I have with the cam is that if you are too lazy to unplug the cam and you just disable it, it disables everyones cam.
GL @ Sep 4th 2006 5:54PM
I just want to use it to put my face in the games. It would be sweet seeing people's real faces in shooting games, boxing games, sports games, etc. That would be a whole new level of realism if you play with your friends.
S.A. @ Sep 4th 2006 4:52PM
That $80 bundle is a damn good deal if you dont already have XBL.
Matt @ Sep 4th 2006 5:19PM
And you wonder why the rest of the non-gaming world things us gamers are weird/depraved/sick. It is the immature little douchbebags who pull crap like that that gives us normal, polite gamers a bad rap.
jayman16 @ Sep 4th 2006 5:30PM
Video chat with my "real life" friends is why I want the camera. It'll be a nice way to stay in touch.
epobirs @ Sep 4th 2006 5:52PM
Now if they added a panning motor, that autobot mode would get really scary.
Hmm, system controlled panning with movement tracking. Could be very cool for stealth games.
hey alex @ Sep 4th 2006 7:58PM
I don't have the camera yet, but I've played online with a number of friends or acquaintances that do. In UNO, it brings the game to a whole new level. Not only do you win/lose now, but you see the expressions, disappointments, gestures, or celebration dances that perhaps were happening all along, but never seen before. Others can now taunt you visually instead of just verbally.
It's both great and a little unnerving. And I'm sure there's going to be SOME abuse, but thankfully you can either turn of the receipt of video and/or you can report those who abuse it.
Anyway, I'm looking forward to getting the cam when it's finally available.
Eggman @ Sep 4th 2006 10:24PM
This thing could be pretty cool if developers really start putting the funcionality into their games. Games like ghost recon or rainbow six could really benefit where everytime a teammate speaks a little video of them shows up on the side of ur screen. Could bring another level of immersion into the games.
Anyway, i wonder how well it'd really work in normal situations. My tv is pretty far from my couch so i hope it has a good zoom on it. Also, I usually don't sit in one position through a whole gaming session so not sure how tedious it would be to keep it on ur face.
DA360 @ Sep 4th 2006 10:45PM
Well, this is bound to happen. People will always find ways to abuse any kind of technology, and this is no different. I am sure there is options for turning off a persons camera (probity will also turn it off when you mute them and I am sure having it permanently off is probably a child setting on the Xbox 360) for this kind of thing and of course, there's always reporting abuse.
joe smith @ Sep 5th 2006 12:40AM
If you see somethign objectionable, mute the idiot doing it and file a complaint. If you are worried about your kids, maybe its time to check out the parental controls that have been built into the system since day one.
himura @ Sep 5th 2006 2:20AM
why cross-over into pc territory??? waste of time.
Ace @ Sep 5th 2006 3:10AM
its only a matter of time till some guy gets a BJ on this thing or Someone makes an amatuer porno . This camera should be interesting on all accounts of stupidity , and peoples immaturity
GamerTag = MissinSkitzo @ Sep 5th 2006 10:35AM
This seems like a great idea...it's much cheaper then I thought originally as well :D...the bundles are great....
I seriously can't wait for when I'm playin Hold Em...and I can show everyone how I "Flop The Nuts" :D
Be on the look out ;) I will be the guy with googily eye on my johnson ;)
diggduggnugget @ Sep 5th 2006 7:57AM
yea this camera is definetally going to be breaking alot of the 360 live policy......but it will be funny.
James Lill @ Sep 5th 2006 7:54AM
This will be the greatest boon to pedophiles ever. Giving a camera to kids and hooking it up to their video games. BAD idea. It wouldn't be bad if the parents were there to watch their kids, but what are the chances of that?
JD @ Sep 5th 2006 10:23AM
There's a reason the Journey video game became the "Journey Video Game". http://www.klov.com/J/Journey.html
"Originally, this game was not to have the band Journey in it. It would have a digital camera [...] that would take a picture of the player's face and put it on the character. After some people used unmentionable parts of their body as character heads during tests, this was dropped."
How long do you think it will be before MS has to drop support of their camera?
Hexx @ Sep 5th 2006 12:13PM
If you already have gold, you can use the code for the 1 month or 12 month and add it on to the end of you account. I did this recently with an xbox live 12 month gold card. microsoft just tacks the 12 months (or 1) onto the end of your subscription, so if you had 3 months left before you would now have 15 months left.
CoLoR HiM @ Sep 18th 2006 8:54PM
It was released on August 19th in Toys R' Us. And officialy being released tomorrow!!!! YES!
Alex Atkin UK @ Oct 6th 2006 7:59PM
Personally, I think the people complaining about the "potential for abuse" are the immature ones.
Come on people, if you restrict technology because "it can be abused" we wouldnt even be able to live in caves. Its like banning newspapers because if you roll them up they can be a deadly weapon.
Seriously, as others have said you can mute and report people for being offensive so thats what you should do. You should never say "lets not do it because it can be abused" as its a disservice to thousands of people who WILL use it sensibly. Remember, theres are minorty of people who have played videos games so long in one session they have actually DIED. Should we therefore ban all video games because of that? Of course not, same principle.
Everything can be abused but there are rules and procedures in place to minimise it, use them!
andrew ellis @ Oct 18th 2006 4:48PM
the same happened to me except instead of pg-13 it was more NC-17 sexy sex