A Look at the PS4 Camera: What it Can Do and is it Worth the Buy?

When the PS4 was released, the PS4 Camera was left out mainly because it wasn't part of the standard bundle. It is technically also one of the reasons why the PS4 remained afloat compared to the Xbox One in terms of its position with regard to the price of the next-gen consoles.

Officially, Sony views and markets the PS4 Camera as an add-on accessory that can enhance gaming, but also claims that it is a device that gamers won't really miss if they don't have it.

But with some of the newly announced features and cool applications that come with the PS4 Camera (PlayRoom, anyone?), it seems that there may be something to the PS4 Camera just as Xbox One has an investment for the Kinect 2.0 on the Xbox One.

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Voice Commands

Given that the PS4 Camera is not marketed nor created to be like a Kinect for the Xbox One, it does have the ability to perform simple voice commands, though limited during the launch period according to GameSpot.

Unlike rumours from before, waking up the PS4 cannot be done via voice commands and users can't command their videos to pause just by telling it so. In addition, the third-party apps for the PS4 Camera will be limited, but Sony has already confirmed that more apps will be generated eventually.

New games that may debut on the PS4: Read the full story here.

Facial Recognition

Again, another feature that has been flaunted for the Xbox One Kinect and with more detail, facial recognition will also be available for the PS4 Camera. This means that users can log in to their PS4 just with the use of their facial features after setting up the face recognition program, reports Business Insider.

A tip from the step-by-step run-through provided by PS4 is that the accuracy for the PS4 recognising a user's face would be to add more face data by differing the brightness when registering. Obviously, this is a far cry from the way that the Xbox One has integrated the Kinect into the system of gaming, but perhaps Sony is still trying out the ropes with the PS4 Camera.

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Virtual Reality Fun and Motion Tracking

Perhaps the biggest difference between the PS4 Camera and the Xbox One Kinect is the advanced full-body tracking motion, which is one of the selling points of its rival.

This maybe bound for change with the new SoftKinectic iisu package technology that has just been reaching headlines. CVG reports that this new software enhances the tracking capabilities of the PS4 Camera to track up to four players moving at the same time.

"The 3D gesture recognition capabilities provided by iisu give PS4 game developers the ability to create a wide variety of virtual and augmented reality games, and allows PS4 to compete directly with Kinect yet at a better price point," said an iisu rep to CVG.

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Downside: An Always-Aware, Always-Listening PS4 Camera?

One of the main flaws that gamers have found with the Xbox One's Kinect is that it's like a spy device that always listens in to anything that they may be doing or saying when they're near the device.

That being said, the same issue seems to also be plaguing Sony's PS4. NowGamer reports that there is no way to turn off the in-game chat when using the PS4 camera, meaning that it will always be listening in on a gamer.

A couple of PS4 owners have talked about their experience with the device, and apparently, even without plugging in the headphones, the PS4 Camera is a device that will automatically broadcast any in-game chat, with no ability to mute or even turn it off unless users resort to unplugging the camera.

iGameResponsibly has gotten in contact with Sony Computer and Entertainment America and have received confirmation that the PS4 Camera will broadcast chat regardless if a gamer actively turned it on. To get rid of the feature, gamers need to disable the voice command feature or just disconnect the PS4 Camera.

Surprisingly, unlike the Xbox One's Kinect, there have been no violent reactions about this peculiar feature.