Sony confirms facial recognition for PS4

It’s been confirmed that Sony’s widely-anticipated PlayStation 4 console will include facial recognition, validating some long-standing rumors and leaks.

Specifically, the new system will recognize faces with a Kinect-style camera sold separately. There has been a huge push to make the gaming more immersive, and biometrics is an obvious step in creating that user experience. How the camera and facial recognition will be used in the PS4 has yet to be seen, but identification seems to be a focus of this new system, as the company has also said that it hopes users will use their real names.

Gesture and voice recognition will also be used to allow players to navigate through menus, Sony confirmed during a keynote address at the Tokyo Game Show.

Reported previously, Microsoft has confirmed that the Xbox One will not only include facial recognition, but will use it to target ads to its users. It’s also been rumored that the new Xbox console can measure heart rate based on a user’s skin color and transparency, though how this will be used by the system has yet to be seen.

There were also previously rumors that Sony would say goodbye to its long-used DualShock in favour of a new controller which would feature fingerprint biometrics, though it appears that the controller will now be released without a sensor.

In 2012, BiometricUpdate.com reported a new Sony patent filed in 2012 that outlined a system of user identification and tracking technology to store biometric data, including the use of fingerprint and hand sensors.

Sony and Microsoft are not the only platform developers introducing biometrics in a gaming system. Valve has announced it will being to make a Linux-powered console with plans to introduce biometrics into controllers.

Article Topics

facial recognition  |  gaming  |  PlayStation 4  |  Sony  |  Xbox