Sony has announced that its PlayRoom augmented reality game will come pre-installed on every PS4 console.
Demoed at E3 2013, Sony’s augmented reality game The PlayRoom will be part of the pre-installed content on the PS4, utilising the Sony PlayStation Camera technology.
Combining the PlayStation Camera and the light orb on the front of the DualShock 4 controller, the player is presented with what Sony calls a “fantastically fresh augmented reality entertainment experience.”
Players can spawn a tiny floating robot called Asobi that interacts with them, shooting fireballs and scanning their faces.
A flick on the DualShock 4 controller’s touchpad, after the PlayStation Camera has identified the player using the light bar on the front, will bring up the PlayRoom’s AR Bots function. It creates the illusion that the controller has hundreds of little bots inside it that can be released with a flick on the PS Vita-like trackpad.
“Have you ever wanted to witness the inner secrets of the PlayStation 4 system’s DualShock 4 wireless controller? Or introduce a party of playful little robots into your living room?” reads the official PlayStation website. “You can with The PlayRoom, a fantastically fresh augmented reality entertainment experience which combines the innovative PlayStation Camera with the incredible DualShock 4 wireless controller to turn the area around you into a technological playground.”
PS4 owners can also use their PS Vita or smartphone to draw and object and flick it into their living room for the AR Bots to play with.
It is interesting that Sony has decided to pre-install The PlayRoom on every PS4 console, seeing as it needs the PlayStation Camera to function.
Sony has decided to sell the camera separately rather than bundling it with the PS4, unlike Microsoft has done with the Xbox One and new Kinect.
However, the latest rumours suggest that it was originally included, but the PS4 Camera was taken out of the box to beat the Xbox One price tag.
Next, read our pick of the best PS4 games.
