What's the deal with the PS4's Eye camera? I'll tell you

The new edition of the home PlayStation console will come with a new edition of the PlayStation Eye camera that has so far not been widely used by consumers, due at least in part to lack of effort spent integrating its functions into games beyond the Move controller.


Destructoid talked to SCE Worldwide president Shuhei Yoshida last night after the PS4 reveal and got the skinny on what the deal is with the new Eye, and it seems as if it'll be far more advanced than the current version, even going to far as to ape Kinect in some ways.

For one, the new Eye will have two cameras, allowing it to see players and their controllers in three-dimensional space. But the two cameras can specialize as well, such as how one of them could focus on recording 2D video.

The new Eye will also have a microphone on it with directional feedback. One would assume this will allow for EndWar-style voice commands*, and the directional aspect of it would probably help it filter out background noise by focusing its attention on a single location in the room, such as where the player is sitting/standing.

Beyond Yoshida's comments, I have here a press release from Sony that details the capabilities of the new Eye a bit more. Read this:

PlayStation®4 Eye, a newly developed camera for PS4 incorporates two high-sensitive cameras that have wide-angle lenses with 85-degree diagonal angle views which can recognize the depth of space precisely. This enables PlayStation®4 Eye to cut out the image of the player from the background, or to grasp players' position in front and behind, further broadening the ways to enjoy games. Incorporated four microphones are also capable of accurate sound detection and source origination. In addition, users will be able to login to their PS4 with face recognition and are capable of using their own body movements or voices to enjoy games more intuitively. Furthermore, PlayStation®4 Eye senses the color of DUALSHOCK®4's light bar to judge the positions of multiple players, and set characters in the same positions or let a character talk to a particular player, enabling players to enjoy games in new way. PlayStation®4 Eye also supports PlayStation®Move motion controller. It detects the motion of PS Move more precisely, and reflects players' in-game motion more accurately than ever.

This all sounds quite...useful? What do you think about the new Eye? Do you think you'll get much out of it?

*I couldn't resist saying "EndWar-style commands" instead of "Kinect-style commands." Sorry.