Microsoft Shows X360 Camera Gesture, FaceMap Tech

simoniker writes "At Microsoft's GameFest earlier this week, Gamasutra got up close and personal with the Xbox 360 Live Vision camera, including more information about packed-in game TotemBall, as well as the Xbox 360 facemapping tech from Digimask, and most interestingly, the gesture-based Xbox 360 software from GestureTek. This includes face and motion-tracking, as well as "a solution for tracking individual, non-facial objects on-screen, such as handheld peripherals". Could Wii-like control schemes work on Xbox 360 using this tech?"

MS had Wiimote-prototype a while ago...

[HeaththeGreat]

I remember reading an article a while back that MS had a prototype Wiimote in 2000 or 2001 for PC. I don't think it was ever made for public use.

That being said, I'm a Nintendo fanboy, and they're totally copying...

Re:MS had Wiimote-prototype a while ago...

[andrewman327]

If Microsoft is ripping off anyone, it is Sony. The Wiimote requires the user to hold an object that is aware of its own position. The Xbox360 (a originally reported way back in May [slashdot.org]) has a camera that watches the user's actions using image mapping and similar software. Very different. This setup is just like the PS2's EyeCandy, which has been available for a long time.

I predict that XBox360's camera will not be heavily used by most users but will be viewed as a novelty. Will users be able to use their own photographs as avatars? It seems silly that something being billed in part as a media device would refuse to import photographs into games.

Re:Autodetecting hair color?

[badboy_tw2002]

It doesn't do hair. Only faces. You add the hair from a preset list of models, or create it like you do with other games like Tiger Woods.