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Play Katamari on Your Phone (if you live in Japan)

Posted 05/17/07 at 05:07:15PM | by Tom Edwards

The runaway success of the Wii has shown that it’s not necessarily the fastest processor or prettiest graphics that will entice people to make a hardware purchase; rather, people have been attracted to the Wii because it allows for a new way to interact with a gaming platform (and you don’t have to sell a kidney in order to get the cash to buy one). GestureTek hopes it can do for cell phones what the Wii did for gaming platforms by introducing motion-sensing technology to mobile handsets. While the Wii uses a gyro, GestureTek’s software-based approach, called the EyeMobile® Engine, doesn’t require any additional hardware.

The company’s chief technology officer, Francis MacDougall, explained that while a gyro excels at capturing large motions (swinging a bat, for example) the EyeMobile® Engine is better able to pick up finer motions. Additionally, since the EyeMobile® Engine doesn’t rely on any hardware, it can be utilized in smaller handsets and added to phones already on the market. If you’re in North America, you can see the tech in a couple of games available on Verizon V-Cast phones: 3D Tilt-a-Whirl and Camera Phone Darts, and though they look like entertaining diversions, they’re not likely to cause anyone to go out and buy a new handset.

Consumers in Japan, however, have some more intriguing options. GestureTek has signed a deal to make its tech exclusively available in Japan on two DoCoMo handsets, and about 68 games are planned for launch, the biggest titles being mobile versions of Crash Bandicoot and Katamari Damacy. It’s a few apps that are still on the horiozon— web and map browsing—though that will really sell this tech. MacDougall and John Vincent, president of GestureTek said they have seen a map demo of the Tokyo subway system that uses the EyeMobile® Engine and expect map-browsing apps to be available later this year. In North America, the EyeMobile® Engine should be available for Windows Mobile smartphones this summer, with more apps released throughout the year.

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.