We already know the next generation of portable gaming from Sony – the PS Vita – will come with video calling but we’ve just found out that it will also eventually feature facial recognition and motion capture.
The software was outed in a video released by Sony showing off custom avatars mimicking the motion of their PS Vita handheld users while conversing in a video chat. A series of head motions, mouth movements and even blinking are featured in the preview clip and all seem very well translated – if only in need of some fine tuning. It’s still early days, but if you are going to represent yourself as a lion in a green woollen tank top or creepy blinky-eyed doll – realism isn’t going to trouble you that much.
We have to wonder what the long-term appeal of this fantasy video chatting will be. We’ve seen such things done (badly) through webcam software before and it’s fun to mess about with while chatting to your mates for five minutes, then it quickly gets boring. Major selling factor? We don’t think so.
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