Wii-like motion controlled gaming phone to launch in Japan

Keith Stuart, The Guardian
Thursday May 3, 2007

Sony revealed its new PlayStation Eye camera last week and although I joked at the online Gamesblog that it looks remarkably like the headgear of a federation soldier from Blake's 7, it's a pretty powerful piece of kit, boasting four times the resolution of the EyeToy, as well as better low light performance and a microphone for video chatting. The device will contribute heavily toward the next generation of camera gaming - and make no mistake, the camera is going to be the accessory of the decade. The combination of talent-show TV with the Web 2.0 revolution has instigated a burgeoning era of fame gaming. It's not the winning that counts, it's the being seen taking part.

There are some interesting PlayStation Eye titles on the way. The new online version of Sony's SingStar karaoke game will allow users to record videos of themselves performing then post them online for other players to rate. In the online multiplayer mode of forthcoming racer Burnout 5, the Eye automatically takes shots of your horrified face whenever your car crashes - these are sent to your opponent, allowing players to build large galleries of their victims. Users will also be able to film and edit home videos, and then upload them to YouTube. Grafting photos of ourselves on to avatars, which may then carry our identities into Home, the PS3 massively multiplayer virtual world, is another possibility.

But cameras have a more serious role to play in gaming. The EyeToy camera introduced the concept of motion tracking to a wide audience, a technology that allows players to control games through simple physical gestures. This was just the beginning. GestureTek, the company that provided the motionreading software for EyeToy and the Xbox camera, has produced a version for phones that uses the built-in camera to track the motion of the user's hand. As with the Wii controller, mobile gamers can now play golf and tennis sims by merely wafting their mobile around. The new D904i phone from Japan's NTT Docomo has the EyeMobile® Engine built in. More will follow.

There are technologies already providing head tracking for PC gamers using USB cameras (NaturalPoint's TrackIR, for example). But PlayStation Eye could bring this concept to the masses. Beyond that, the holy grail is full real-time 3D tracking. Imagine a game that can translate your every movement into onscreen action. Experts reckon the technology will be widely available in the next couple of years. The Wii controller has been fundamental in introducing movement controlled games to a huge audience, but it's still only tracking one hand. The Eye could change all that. · If you'd like to comment on any aspect of Technology Guardian, send your emails to tech@guardian.co.uk

About GestureTek Mobile
GestureTek Mobile is a world leader in gesture-based user interface for mobile devices and the inventor of the patented, award-winning EyeMobile Engine.  EyeMobile Engine is the world’s first software-only solution that uses the existing camera on a cell phone or mobile Internet device to provide people with the ability to interact with their device using gestures. By shaking, rocking or rolling the phone (or making hand motions in front of the phone) users can answer a call, play mobile games, scroll menus, navigate maps, view images and documents, browse the web, enter text messages and do anything else they would normally do on their mobile device, without pressing buttons.  Licensees of GestureTek’s patents or technologies include Sony for the EyeToy, Microsoft for the XBOX 360 and Hasbro for the ION Educational Gaming System.  GestureTek Mobile’s award wins include the 2008 Mobile Innovation Global Award, the LAPTOP Magazine ‘Best of CTIA’ Award and the NATPE++ Award for the Hottest Mobile Application.  Games powered by the EyeMobile Engine have been recognized by the BREW Game Developer Awards, the International Mobile Gaming Awards and the IGN Editors Choice Awards.  GestureTek Mobile developed the first gesture-recognition software to be embedded in NTT DoCoMo phones in Japan and provided the software for the first gesture-controlled mapping application on a cellphone.  EyeMobile supports many handsets on the JAVA, BREW, SYMBIAN, WINDOWS MOBILE and DOJA platforms. Applications are available for over the air download on the Verizon network.  Full developer tools are available on the Qualcomm website.   A catalogue of turnkey games and applications for multiple platforms are available from the GestureTek mobile site. GestureTek Mobile is a business unit of GestureTek Inc., pioneer, patent-holder and world-leader in computer vision control for presentation and entertainment systems.