Engadget: Sony's EyePet beta hands-on

Engadget:

"We just got a brief glimpse at the new PlayStation Eye-based augmented reality EyePet game from Sony, which is on track for a holiday release on the PS3. It's no Project Natal, but what the game lacks in gesture-based interaction (though we were able to pet and play with the little guy pretty intuitively) it makes up for in extensive adorability. You can naturally play, feed, groom and customize your pet -- even teach the thing to draw shapes and bring them to life in a sense -- but it's surprisingly fun to just watch the little dude scamper around in seemingly real space. Check out a video of the game in an early beta state after the break."

[ULTIMATE_REVENGE]

hmm the guy was trying to pet the little thing but he kept jumping.

RETARD

[OtherWhiteMeat]

PS3 price cut and a LBP and EyePet bundle for the holidays would be huge.

[Greywulf]

Because I saw you operating the menu wheel with a gesture.. without a controller, with your hand.

Does it need a fake staged presentation?

[poopsack]

it seems u beat me to it my friend.

[GiantEnemyCrab]

"but what the game lacks in gesture-based interaction"

It lacks in gesture based interaction compared to Natal, using Engadgets words. I don't see any depth of field in that much at all and to be honest it doesn't look very responsive but it's still beta so that can be fixed. The thing was just jumping around most of the time and it seemed confused with multiple people in front of it.

It does not look like it recognizes there are multiple people in front of the camera either. It seemed to jump back and forth trying to figure out what to do. He said he was "a bit worked up so he couldn't pet him" but it's not a real animal so that just sounds like PR speak for it's having troubles recognizing what you want it to do.

I agree it touches on some of the same things Natal does but from the people who have had hands own with both Natal and Eyepet/EyeToy it is not Natal.

The little thing sure is cute though.

@Callahan: The video's on PSN sure don't give that impression. The interviewer asked multiple times to pet the thing but the rep kept moving around wildly and even when he tried to pet it the thing turned around and looked at the person but just sat there and then started jumping around again. The interactions with the cards seemed solid, but it seemed to struggle with hand based gestures. As I said though, it's a beta so it will probably get better before release.

[callahan09]

Why would it be PR BS, crab? The whole point of it is to simulate a virtual pet, I thought. I would be disappointed if it didn't get worked up as such. It makes perfect sense for it to be all worked up, jumping about, and not in the mood to just sit there and get rubbed. Maybe if you tire him out, or just leave him alone for a bit, then he'll be more relaxed and want you to give him a little pet.

[Greywulf]

No one has had hands on Natal, with multiple people interacting with the same objects more so than Eyepets earlier E3 gameplay shows. You're just going into left field with speculation. Much like all the natal supporters. Firstly, it shows 1:1 gesture response. Regardless if theres another person, which is now the rule? lol.. Natal hasn't show any zdepth, where as a paper on a table is showing the pet can walk in z just fine, and respond in Z just fine. how does the video of him spinning the function wheel not look responsive? Please explain that to me, because its a lie.

What Gesture Minority Report 1:1 footage of there is showing off Natal working with a multitude of gestures?

No GEC, there aren't TOUCHES that this already has the features Natal is proposed to have. It has all the features that Natals Motion Controller has, and also runs augmented reality. And oh yeah, its not shown behind "closed doors".

The latest tech demo from natal is hitting a ball, this isn't even debatable at this point. "natal" isn't anything other than eyepet or any capturing of input from a video subject. there is no technlogy behind Natal that isn't being performed by eyepet. And if Eyepet has 99% of the "functionality yet to be seen" by natal, then again, outside of just saying its better, it certainly can't show it.

[poopsack]

although i dont believe eyepet is trying to do/be natal, and i believe that if sony developed an interface/application that works like MS's CGI video theyd be able to get it to work, i agree with u on one thing, it did seem confused at once, but I believe its supposed to, because it cant split in two (technically it could cause its fake but its not programmed to) to interact with both people at once. I think its pretty responsive because the trailers show that it is (all done in game), and most of the media jumped into the milo trailer so why not give this a chance? Also, on youtube I saw a live demo at e3, with a guy speaking in spanish, and it reacted to petting gestures and baby talk.

[Greywulf]

Also, on youtube I saw a live demo at e3, with a guy speaking in spanish, and it reacted to petting gestures and baby talk.

yep.

[GiantEnemyCrab]

Greywulf: "nobody has hands on with Natal" and you want to talk about lying. Do I really have to paste the "Hands On" impressions IGN, Gamespot, Joystiq, Kotaku have had with it?

The video is right here in front of us and I can say it does not look that responsive.

I will say that after watching the video again I do seem some signs of Z Axis with the character knowing the depth of the table in front of them(roughly). But watch with the trampoline.. He goes left and right with it but once he pulls it back twords him and in Z axis the pet doesn't know where it's at and it hits the table.

It's a beta and I give it that but with Natal, what has been demonstrated, shows both individual tracking of multiple people at once and has shown very clearly it's using Z-Axis and depth of field. Differences in Natal I don't see here, not to mention the whole infrared portion but we will leave that alone. You want to use this as some "see Natal aint nothing" but I am giving you examples right here why it's not. I do agree with you that Natal still has a lot to prove. I am not going to condemn either tech and will enjoy each for what it is. I don't know why you felt you needed to bring Natal into this. It's always a 360 vs PS3 thing with you..

[Hoolock]

I like this idea it looks really cool but i do trust engadget in what they say and they are very honest and if it got good reviews from these guys its nice to see. BTW why is Natal been mentioned? yes the tech is similar but the premise and the possibilities are completely different.

[poopsack]

hey crab, wasnt greywulf that brought natal into it, it was engadget themselves, just wanted to point that out :)

[Patrick]

"He goes left and right with it but once he pulls it back twords him and in Z axis the pet doesn't know where it's at and it hits the table."

He pulled it out from under the pet.. its supposed to hit the ground.. its called physics. Cute responsive pet, day one buy for my wife and kids.

[GiantEnemyCrab]

@KnaveX: Fair enough they did mention it first. He just picked the ball up and ran with it. hehe

@Patrick: That could be but it didn't look like it to me. I wish he would done less left and right and more forward and back.

I hope everyone isn't thinking I'm bashing this. I just am trying to be realistic and doing a bit of Natal defending but I think this is an interesting and inventive product. Like I said below, put out the EyePet plush toy with the game and the kids will love it.

And I do give Sony props for a lot of what they've done for gaming and tech and I know MS has borrowed ideas from everyone including Sony but it's not unique to MS.

[hazeblaze]

And some of those 'hands on' impressions of Natal admitted that the experience was a lot more scripted than the E3 presentation led us to believe. If you listen to any of the podcasts for ign, 1up, etc... they will also admit that at this stage, it has some buggy issues and they could not see it being used with all games (quite a few ppl were put off by the Burnout Natal experience).

At any rate, the point is that Natal is not doing anything all that new. It is merely an update of Eyetoy tech, period.

[Microsoft Xbox 360]

GiantEnemyCrab is supporting something that was staged. Natal is simply a theory. Mark my words, Project Natl will fail.

[Str8laced]

My mine concern would be. Evertime i see it being played it is on a white table. I hope you dont need a bright table in order for it work properly.

[Mu5afir]

Look no further then Eye of Judgment. The PS Eye can recognize the angle of the cards and display characters on the card accordingly. To accomplish this the PS Eye has to recognize the depth of each angle of EVERY CARD. Try it out, it's pretty cool.

[Greywulf]

No one said "nyah nyah natal isn't anything!". No, its virtually eyepet. But Eyepet does more with augmented reality and what Natal is "hoping" to do. Seeing articles like "WILL NATAL SAVE GAMING?" is proof of how moronic everyone is with the gimmick of natal which is playing catchup to Nintendo and Sony with motion controls.

No video exists showing multiple objects being interacted with NATAL the same way Eyepet is, so just stop that nonsense. Please prove to me with the youtube video where the delay is while spinning the menu, because there is none."The video is right here in front of us and I can say it does not look that responsive. " So its responsive but just not up to unseen NATAL standards or what? Its gone from not responsive, to not that responsive. Tell me what time theres this Gigantic game stopping delay that causes the disc to explode and burn down the house. -- Or where its so significant it damages the interaction. Eyepet is fully capable of Gesture recognition, as the video proves. Regardless of what you think you're seeing that will make the title unplayable, or that it has less interaction than what no one has seen of natal.

Depth of Field is a visual effect to where you blur objects based on how near/far they are from the camera. It has nothing to do with anything. Which is making me question why even bother responding at this point. As someone else proved, Eye Of Judgement shows plenty of Z, as does eyepet. Sony has PUBLISHED products with Eye technology, Microsoft doesnt.

You tried to pretend it doesn't recognize Z, it does, and other videos as well prove it and retail release titles. You try to pretend its not responsive to gestures, yet can't figure out how to point out to anyone that the "gesture" controlled menu is just plain not working at all. Everything is 1:1.

Natal is nothing more than a few features of Eyepet. At All. Thats what im saying, and you can quote me on that. Augmented reality is pretty much where technology is going, both in portable worlds and media entertainment and advertising. Not FULL BODY controls to where you can see what the bottom of a Avatar's shoe looks like, and thats all.

Bam! There it is.

[Cwalat]

Wow, some stuff they showed were pretty damn advanced...

Like first... he waved the paper thingy .. and just when it was about to jump up.. he relocated the paper and the pet saw that and jumped on the new location.

If they release a cheap bundle with the game and a PSeye.. i will buy this and have fun with my sister. She would love something like this.

[FamilyGuy]

My daughters gonna love that thing.
He seems rowdy

[Rama26285]

Looks very cool. I wonder how long it'd take till I get a bit bored and the novelty wears off? I could see this being like those tamagotchi's which has a huge faze but then dies suddenly. I hope I'm wrong though :)

[DragonWarrior_4]

I would probably get bored of this and end up playing MW2 on my 360, but,,,, MY kids would love this man!

[xjoshbx]

I give it 24 hours after release till someone makes a video drawing a penis and chases the little guy with it. Bound to happen...

[aldesko]

Yeah, can't wait.

[Berserk1]

http://www.joystiq.com/2009...

BUT BU T BU T BUT Milo.

[callahan09]

So I guess Famitsu should give this game a 40/40 like they gave Nintendogs. This is much more imaginative and interactive and otherwise similar. If N-dogs was perfect, so is this pet, eh? But I wouldn't hold my breath for Famitsu to give it a perfect score though. Honestly, I never understood how they could justify it for Nintendogs, and they'll definitely judge this by different standards, that's my prediction right now.

[MajestieBeast]

You do know this got announced way before nathal and playstation had something like nathal it was called eyetoy shocking isnt it. Lets not talk about what M$ rips off cause the list would be endless. Now go hide in your troll lair please.

[poopsack]

"It's no Project Natal" im guessing he refers to Milo, which was totally legit right?..

I wouldnt disagree with this statement if I saw a live demonstration of Milo that couldnt be easily edited.

[PirateThom]

Impressive, but it's not like it's new, the PS2 had camera games as well.

[Captain Tuttle]

They weren't even in this league.

[Sir Ken_Kutaragi]

Well that is EyePet, what about Milo???...

"You can naturally play with and groom your Milo" ;-D

'Cliffy B' shouts out 'ME 1st!!!' ;-D

[Neo604]

got the pseye for video conference and mic already.

look like pseye can do everything Natal can do at E3 demo.

[Hoolock]

Much of the tech is the same but the major difference is the ability to sense depth. PSeye is capable of many of the same things but cannot tell the PS3 how close each of your body parts is to the camera. The large seller within this tech though is each companys dedication to the tech and the games they will sell with it and M$ are promising alot with natals launch although since E3 i do expect Sony to be taking a similar approach.

[DizzyDino]

i bought the PlaystationEye 4 this game cant wait

[Gambit07]

It would be awesome if the Eye of Judgment cards worked with this game :)

[Neo604]

grabing this sucking that to make Milo happy.

[TheTruth89]

Pedo What???

Pedo-Milo!

Only on "DVD CAPABLE 360°C MINI-FURNACE"

@EyePet
Impressive!
Minority Report Menu-Style is really awsome

[MajestieBeast]

lol eye pet vs judgement monsters. Now moco for demons souls pls that would be the end for me and the perfect game to use it on.

[gravv]

i wish sasha grey or another pornstar made into this kind of game
i dont want to play around with monkey or even worst the 'imaginary gay friend' milo

[MetalGearBear]

I will do training with pets for attack on TheMART.

[TheTruth89]

don't worry for that...
it's own "DVD CAPABLE 360°C MINI-FURNACE" will blow up with him.

[JonnyBigBoss]

My sister is going to love this. It's crazy how many different demographics the PlayStation is capable of entertaining.

[zok310]

"Now, that's playing beyond."

[dolomite]

Wonder if you can actually pick up the pet and throw it around...

[OtherWhiteMeat]

P.E.T.A. wouldn't be pleased with that.

[Gobot]

The only thing better than touching a little boy is touching a furry boy...

[wildcat]

It's adorable. It's nice that the menus and interactions aren't too complicated. Just a thought, but imagine if Natal imitated this. You'd be able to give it a name and issue it voice commands, that would be pretty cool.

[Narutone66]

comments are deleted even in the open zone. Does that mean he will be banned from N4G? I hope so, good riddance.
On topic:
Looking forward to buying this game when it comes out. Son and daughter keep asking me when will this game be released.

[felidae]

Like i said:

No Life, No Brain, No Money .. it's TheMART, and he's ugly looking, too!