From EyeToy to NGP: PlayStation’s Augmented Reality Legacy

Augmented reality is a concept that’s
starting to get a lot of buzz so we wanted to take a minute to break
down our history with the technology and provide a sneak peak at what
could be next. There’s a popular misconception that augmented reality is
just “kid’s stuff,” but with more than eight years of experience under
our belt, we’ve found there’s a wide variety of compelling and cool AR
experiences that everyone can enjoy. We spoke to some of our resident
experts from Sony Computer Entertainment R&D and Product Development
to get their take on augmented reality through our platforms.

Back
in 2003, when smartphones, tablet PCs, and even decent webcams were far
from mainstream, we launched EyeToy on PlayStation 2, which included
our first foray into augmented reality. Back then it was the only way to
see yourself on-screen interacting with virtual objects in real-time.
We then brought that unique experience to a portable level on PSP. With
games such as Invizimals or EyePet , mobility was a key element as the PSP camera turned the entire world around you into a game.

PlayStation 3 gave us a significant leap
in image processing and, coupled with PlayStation Eye, enabled AR games
such as The Eye of Judgment. Last year’s launch of PlayStation Move on PS3 brought titles like EyePet and Start the Party,
which added ultra-precise movement recognition to the augmented reality
experience, enabling you to interact with virtual objects on-screen
using the PS Move motion controller.

We’re no stranger to innovation and
every so often we’re able to create an experience that changes the way
you think about games. At this year’s Game Developers Conference , we showed off demos of augmented reality on NGP—our Next Generation Portable
device . NGP builds on our experience with augmented reality over the
years with PlayStation 2/EyeToy, PSP, and PS3/PlayStation Move. With
front and rear cameras that combine real-time images of you and your
environment, a brilliant 5-inch multi-touch OLED screen and rear
multi-touch pad, internal motion sensors, and dual analog sticks, NGP
offers new ways to interact that will change the way you think about
augmented reality games… and possibly even change the way you think
about reality.

What do you think about augmented
reality? Do you have an idea for the next killer app for augmented
reality? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.