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Let's talk about Sony's Playroom

CREMSteve

Member
This is tech that's been around for years, EyeToy Play on the PS2, EyePet on the PS3, my kids have been using it since the beginning.

But now that it's on the PS4, pre-installed on every unit, along with the ability to stream your antics to the rest of the world.... it's pretty obvious that it was about to take off in a major way, as was evident by Neogaf's participation in it.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=720512

Unfortunately, with this early popularity came the idiots. The ones who were only interested in breaking ToS and broadcasting nudity to the masses. Never stopping to think who might be watching, not giving a care in the world that children are on here.

Then came the trolls. Jumping from stream to stream, hurling insults, obscenities, racial slurs and anything that might potentially do someone harm.

Twitch responded in kind, removing The Playroom from its directory of games. Despite hundreds, if not thousands of streams being live at any given moment, a search on Twitch results in 0 streams found. This certainly keep the trolls away, but limits the potential viewership of these broadcasts, which sucks for the folks anxious to try out the new feature, but is likely a blessing in disguise as children are being kept from having to be cyber-bullied when they jump on their shiny new toys.

A few sneak through now and then, only to disappear from the search results a few moments later, despite the fact that they continue to broadcast.

http://www.twitch.tv/search?query=the+playroom#stq=the playroom&stp=1

Over on uStream, The Playroom is still live, but not many people are actually using it.

http://www.ustream.tv/search?q=THE+PLAYROOM&type=live

This is due to the fact that while the visual quality is fine, there is a 1-minute delay for comments being made to actually appear on the broadcasters screen, which makes communicating in real-time, difficult to say the least.

The Viewer counter is also broken on uStream, consistently failing to show the actual viewer count, often showing 0 viewers when anyone viewing from the site can see that this is incorrect.

So here we are today, and The Playroom has effectively been neutered completely through an internet browser. The only hope now lies in the fact that eventually, Sony may unlock the interact feature on the PS4 itself, which will allow you to comment and respond through the PS4, where all of the broadcasts can still be found.

Sony has already released free DLC in The Toymaker. This allows you to create your own objects for the characters on-screen to interact with. All in all, everyone that uses it seems to adore The Playroom. It's certainly succeeded in bringing the casual and hardcore gamers together in a way many of us didn't expect.

What are your thoughts on the software? On Twitch's decision process? On uStream's tech futility? Do you believe Sony is pleased with the result of this experiment? How do you think this will affect Microsoft's plans?

More importantly, why do people have to be such arseholes and ruin the fun for everyone else?
 
This is tech that's been around for years, EyeToy Play on the PS2, EyePet on the PS3, my kids have been using it since the beginning.

But now that it's on the PS4, pre-installed on every unit, along with the ability to stream your antics to the rest of the world.... it's pretty obvious that it was about to take off in a major way, as was evident by Neogaf's participation in it.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=720512

I think it would have a lot more potential if they had included the camera with the PS4.

That being said, I loved watching the Playroom streams. I think it did have an effect--I don't have a PS4 but I haven't been able to find a camera in stock anywhere.
 

Alx

Member
I don't think it's a great idea to stream Playroom sessions anyway, especially if it's appreciated by kids.
For all the fuss that has been made about privacy recently, I'm surprised so many people are eager to let the whole world look into their living room.
 
I was hoping this would be a thread about the tech itself, but you seem to be more focussed on the streaming aspect unfortunately.

Personally, I think Playroom tech seems like a leap forward over EyePet etc, because the 3D camera means the depth sensing is far more accurate. What impresses me the most is how the AR bot can fly behind your head.

It just got me thinking about how massive Nintendogs would be again if it used this tech.. EyePet was a complete and utter commercial failure on many levels, not least because PS3 was still expensive and 'core'-heavy at that time, but also because it wasn't a real animal. Sony needs to do something more like AR "Nintendogs & Cats" - using the PS4 3D camera and voice recognition. It could be pretty huge if marketed correctly, because the tech would suit it perfectly. You could have any dog breed of your choice instantly sitting in your living room :)
 
I think it would have a lot more potential if they had included the camera with the PS4.

That being said, I loved watching the Playroom streams. I think it did have an effect--I don't have a PS4 but I haven't been able to find a camera in stock anywhere.

I think they did right in not including it because there isnt a big use to it besides the streaming and Playroom. Down the line when they get better voice funtionality and more games using it then its understandable.
 

CREMSteve

Member
I think it would have a lot more potential if they had included the camera with the PS4.

That being said, I loved watching the Playroom streams. I think it did have an effect--I don't have a PS4 but I haven't been able to find a camera in stock anywhere.

This is a great point. If it's this popular without bundling the camera...
 

CREMSteve

Member
I was hoping this would be a thread about the tech itself, but you seem to be more focussed on the streaming aspect unfortunately.

Personally, I think Playroom tech seems like a leap forward over EyePet etc, because the 3D camera means the depth sensing is far more accurate. What impresses me the most is how the AR bot can fly behind your head.

It just got me thinking about how massive Nintendogs would be again if it used this tech.. EyePet was a complete and utter commercial failure on many levels, not least because PS3 was still expensive and 'core'-heavy at that time, but also because it wasn't a real animal. Sony needs to do something more like AR "Nintendogs & Cats" - using the PS4 3D camera and voice recognition. It could be pretty huge if marketed correctly, because the tech would suit it perfectly.

I can't speak to the tech as of yet, because while I may have bought the PS4 and the Camera as well, I have yet to use them (building my media room). My kids played the heck out of EyePet last gen, though, and the tech was always sufficient to allow them to have a blast. I'm sure they'll have a blast with these robots. They've watched quite a few streams with me, and they can't wait to play it.
 
I don't think it's a great idea to stream Playroom sessions anyway, especially if it's appreciated by kids.
For all the fuss that has been made about privacy recently, I'm surprised so many people are eager to let the whole world look into their living room.
It's especially weird when it's literally 2 or 3 people sitting on a couch, their tongues hanging out, staring blankly into the abyss, while people on the internet type rude things with their dual shock 4's. It's completely pointless and I have no idea what these people are getting out of it. What. The. Fuck.
 

CREMSteve

Member
It's especially weird when it's literally 2 or 3 people sitting on a couch, their tongues hanging out, staring blankly into the abyss, while people on the internet type rude things with their dual shock 4's. It's completely pointless and I have no idea what these people are getting out of it. What. The. Fuck.

Are you able to type with your DS4 from the PS4? I assumed all comments were coming from Twitch/uStream's websites.
 

GodofWine

Member
to expand on my first post comment...while we adore the playroom as a family, id never let a child near twitch or youtube or whatever, annonymity allows people to be disgusting freaks.
 

Vally

Member
What are your thoughts on the software? On Twitch's decision process?

Twitch took the easy way out by removing the game from its directory instead of moderating streams as they're supposed to do. If they think that takes too much effort and aren't willing to do their job, then I don't know why they made a deal with Sony in the first place.

This also sets a bad precedent imo, since it means they'll be able to do the same for future PS4 augmented reality games, or any game that they don't deem 'gamey' enough to be in their directory. Can't imagine Sony being happy about this.
 
The tech is cool but the game itself is tad boring. But it's more of a demo so that's fine plus it's free. The potential is there at least.

The streaming stuff was more of a bonus marketing ad for Sony. Twitch trolls took it too far, asking underage kids sexual questions. Seriously? They had no choice but to shut it down.
 

fvng

Member
Playroom was removed from the directory of games? Damn how will people get to watch the spartan show now?
 
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