PlayStation Eye to come solo for $40

by Justin McElroy { Oct 11th 2007 at 8:15AM }

Until recently, some of you probably thought you'd be avoiding the PlayStation Eye, packed in, as it was with Eye of Judgment. Listen, if your spirit (read: your dignity) won't let you play a game that practically necessitates shouting "It's not Pokemon!" to passersby, we totally get it. If we weren't required to (and if it wasn't so much fun) we wouldn't be doing it either. Also: What else are we going to do with all these robes?

Thankfully for the proud among you, the PlayStation blog has revealed that the cam will also be sold separately for $40 and will arrive alongside the Eye of Judgment pack on Oct. 23. But for just $30, can we recommend you go ahead and spring for the game? Two facts: 1. If EyeToy is any indication, there's probably going to be five games for the Eye, so you'll want to enjoy all of them. 2. Maybe you'll have a really dorky kid someday. Oh, and there's a third: Sometimes the house is empty and then its you time. If that involves cards and mythical adventure, who'll be the wiser?

Tags: eyeofjudgment, eyetoy, pseye, sony

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Craig Ravitch @ Oct 11th 2007 8:37AM

This comment comes from someone who supports all 3 systems so there is no Fanboy opinions going on here!! This is a real ugly design, hands down one of the worst looking video camera's I have ever seen. Not to mention, why would they add a mic? Oh, now I remeber the PS3 has a piss poor talking system in place for the next generation of gaming. I have to actually call my friends on THE PHONE to set up a game!! I still can't talk to anyone in Warhawk, the so called wireless mic that came with it blows!!!!! I can only imagine how bad this is going to be!!!

FOXHOUND @ Oct 11th 2007 9:00AM

While I can't speak on behalf of WarHawk(nice game, but it doesn't appeal to me)and its headset... I've been using the Motorola bluetooth headset that came with my phone on the PS3 and it's worked fine. Hell, it picked it up faster than my phone. If you have one, I'd suggest using it instead or consider selling/trading off the one that came with WarHawk for a new one.

...then again, why would anyone be that eager to hear the "tasteless commentary and slurs" of FPS gaming when there's more than enough here to read without the prepubescent/teenager squeaky voices?

Konny @ Oct 11th 2007 9:17AM

Do you need a hug Craig?

Phranctoast @ Oct 11th 2007 9:18AM

As far as I know, I've never had a problem with the included warhark bt headset.

It sucks that a game from the creators of magic the gathering has to be compared to pokemon, which came out later.

FidliousWong @ Oct 11th 2007 9:21AM

No voice? Hard to find friends? Dude, it works for me all the time. I can start a Warhawk game and my friends can find me no fail. They do voice, I don't.

Unless, of course, the following holds true.

A. The server you joined has voice chat disabled. Considering the squeaky teens calling "cheater" when you use airstrike, I can see why.

B. You are not knowledgable how to filter and sort server lists. I can see how it's confusing considering the commands are right on that list.

C. You are retarded. Rather than learn how to do something, you'll complain how it's broken.

MastaChef @ Oct 12th 2007 6:50PM

I have no problem communicating in Warhawk, Resistance, Motorstorm, and Rainbow Six Vegas. Dunno what you're talking about Craig, I've done 6 people Chat rooms with people on my friend List no problem. (used Socom Headset and now the Jabra BT).

On topic: PS Eye is a sweet deal, dunno if I wanna get it though, some of the games look interesting, but not my style. Maybe Burnout Paradise will make me buy it.

Marasai @ Oct 11th 2007 9:17AM

"If EyeToy is any indication, there's probably going to be five games for the Eye, so you'll want to enjoy all of them."

If the eye toy is any indication, there's going to be 5 really bad games for the eye, that NOONE will want. Camera controls seem like a good idea at first...until you use them and realize how stupid they are.

Phranctoast @ Oct 11th 2007 9:26AM

no more stupid than wii controls.

Sony should have had it included with the ps3 from the start. Then all developers would know (like the wii) that each game could utilize it.

Marasai @ Oct 11th 2007 9:35AM

No, it is ORDERS OF MAGNITUDE STUPIDER.

How are you gonna play an fps with a camera? Or a fighting game? Or a racer? Or anygame but a gimmicky game designed around control by a camera that wouldn't cut it as a regular game?

Hell, eye of judgement doesn't even use it to control the game. It uses it to place the cards.

Phranctoast @ Oct 11th 2007 10:00AM

For Fps, using you're hand as a gun. punching and kicking,hand on a steering wheel. IDK... be more creative. Do you know how the other games utilized it?

Marasai @ Oct 11th 2007 10:04AM

And do do any of those games, assuming the camera was sensitive enough to pick up those actions with any reliability but not to pick up other body movements, you would get about 10 times more tired than playing any wii game would make you.

most of the eyetoy games I see piled up at EB are exercize games.

FidliousWong @ Oct 11th 2007 10:07AM

How? Well gee, you ASSUME the game needs to show you on the screen to work. We can't Time Crisis 4 detect as you lean your body to dodge incoming bullets like Konami's Police 911? Why can't Tourist Trophy 2 detect body lean to accomidate how tightly you turn or if you leaned too far and now you bailed? Why can't I swat a weapon out of someone's hands on an first person shooter? And that's just based upon the Eye part of this. What about the four mics which can sense your position in a room? Not to mention pick up recordings. Now imagine how this could be applied to party games like You Don't Know Jack?

I mean, just because the developers went for the easy answers (like Wii), doesn't mean you should limit YOUR possibilities of the hardware based upon the easy answers. After all, did you buy your Wii to waggle a controller in Prince of Persia 3? Yeah, I didn't either.

Phranctoast @ Oct 11th 2007 10:16AM

the way I heard it described, was similar to minority report stype control. There was also a cool singstar looking browser utilizing it.
motion sensing isnt good for all games, which nintendo will come to realize. Sometimes people just dont want to be swinging around like crazy to play a game. The game doesnt need to fully use the device also. somegames could use it like a mouse. Maybe facial recognition for pw protected stuff. There are tons of things a camera could do that can detect movement with infared.

megaStryke @ Oct 11th 2007 11:42AM

There are tons of things that can be done with the Wii Remote, too, but most of them will never come to fruition. Just don't expect wild things from the new PlayStation Eye, otherwise you could end up disappointed like a lot of people seem to be with the Wiimote.

JJ @ Oct 11th 2007 9:30AM

Well all i hope is Sony supports this more than MS supported the Vision camera... but considering the offerings i've seen so far, seems like they got more coming out for their camera in the first month than MS did since it launched it last year.

I just hope sony supports it with more out of the box games like eye of judgement

AlexP @ Oct 11th 2007 9:34AM

40 bucks for a shitty webcam? No, thanks.

Matt B @ Oct 11th 2007 9:38AM

Here are some shots comparing the video quality compared to the eyetoy:
Eyetoy on the left and Ey on the right
http://i22.tinypic.com/2d91d8z.jpg

Low light
http://i22.tinypic.com/4l0g2f.jpg

Matt B @ Oct 11th 2007 9:40AM

Yay me, the links only show the EYE pictures.

The comparison shots can be found here.
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=197882

Can you spot the bong for bonus points?

CaptainAmericaX @ Oct 11th 2007 9:50AM

Its fugly...

And I thought sony didnt do "gimmicks"

You fail yet again sony

Guybrush Threepwood (Sega Defense Force - Infallibility Ring) @ Oct 11th 2007 9:59AM

And I thought gamers didn't want online.

You fail yet again Nintendo lololol.

But seriously, since when could you believe anything Sony says? If everything Sony said were true, the PS3 would still cost $600 and we'd be playing games in stunning 4D right now.

Ska Oreo @ Oct 11th 2007 10:44AM

ummm let me change that.

Nintendo didn't want online.
The fans did.

Matt B @ Oct 11th 2007 11:07AM

You troll again CA.

OrganicShadow @ Oct 11th 2007 9:59AM

If this is going to be a bashfest on the Eye then you're late. Specs and all announced long ago. Could always try relating the bashing to the article, but then again that would just lead us down the "why the fuck did M$ even make the vision camera anyway?" path.

vinny @ Oct 11th 2007 10:05AM

well from what i read unless you play that card game with spotlights on the board it doesnt work, cameras on consoles were never a good idea to begin with,(except the gameboy camera with the printer, that thing was awesome) waste of money imo

Marasai @ Oct 11th 2007 10:15AM

I don't assume that at all. But what you are proposing is little more than a gimmick. Why would I want to lean my entire body to move my character when a simple control stick can do it?

Meeko @ Oct 11th 2007 10:16AM

And I thought sony didnt do "gimmicks"

You're kidding me right? have you been living under a rock?

Anyhow, the purpose of the eye is to get more Japanese customers to buy the PS3. Card games like Eye of Judgment are stupidly popular in arcades. (here's a video to show you what I mean. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0fkdtymNlo)
Makes just as much sense as having a football game available for the system for Americans.

NATO_Duke @ Oct 11th 2007 10:19AM

I have yet to touch a camera game that was worth the entry price. All those cameras end up doing is sitting in a box, untouched and unloved.

Besides, they creep me out when I think of someone playing Uno naked and then turning their camera on.

So unlike my ps2 and 360 camera purchases - this time I may resist the urge to buy another useless toy.

borland502 (SDF - Macross Ring) @ Oct 11th 2007 10:48AM

"So unlike my ps2 and 360 camera purchases - this time I may resist the urge to buy another useless toy"

I would have agreed with you in the past. Eye of Judgment is what makes me think they have more defined plans than any other offering. They aren't merely using it as a web cam, they are also using it as a control scheme.

Sixaxis was rather meh, and I did think the ability was just tacked on. This however, interests me in the way the Wiimote does. And the EOJ at least provides hope that it isn't a throwaway peripheral. Still, let the early birds take the bait and see.

Marasai @ Oct 11th 2007 10:26AM

Like any of that stuff has actual merit. Everything you just described can be done better using some other feature of the system.

borland502 (SDF - Macross Ring) @ Oct 11th 2007 10:42AM

Damned if you do, damned if you don't. While the eye toy may crash and burn, it does represent a genuine Sony-specific creative peripheral. Looks aside, it is better than most web cams and the mic array has some genuine possibilities. So while you may cry "gimmick" as I did when the Wii first came out, it still represents a creative effort that should be applauded. Don't buy it by God, but at least acknowledge it is something more than a throwaway feature.

It doesn't take much to do basic camera-based motion sensing. A simple Volley ball program at a sports center did its thing with a camera and windows 98 on a crap PC. So if the response is good, there is no reason why this thing cannot be more than a gimmick.

There are valid objections to the PS3. But as I learned with the Wiimote: It is a good thing to push the frontiers of interaction, even if you don't adopt that scheme yourself.