Interactive virtual characters turned out to be the next big gimmick at E3 this year. Microsoft had the Milo tech demo for its upcoming Project Natal motion control camera, a virtual boy that can talk and interact with you, and even sense the emotions in your voice and react accordingly…supposedly.
On the flip side, Sony has the EyePet, a virtual Gizmo-esque creature PS3 users can interact with and care for via the PlayStation Eye. The EyePet will react to any object you wave in front of the camera, and you can even draw objects on a piece of paper, hold them up to the camera and watch as they come to life as toys for your furry little companion to play with. So basically it’s the next evolution of Tamagotchi and Nintendogs.
The tech behind Milo is obviously far more advanced with the voice recognition stuff, but for now it’s still more of a pie in the sky concept for future applications rather than a real functioning piece of interactive entertainment. On the other hand, the PlayStation Eye tech is in place for the EyePet, and the game is very much ready for the here and now.
Personally, all this push towards virtual reality is ridiculous and gimmicky — I don’t want to talk to virtual characters or control them by flailing body parts around like a goof in front of the TV! — but I do at least admire Sony and Microsoft’s technological efforts.
See what the EyePet is all about in the trailer and screens posted below. And just a quick word of warning: the music in the trailer is god awful, so you may want to lower your speaker volume. Trust me on this.
Matt Litten is the full-time editor and owner of VGBlogger.com. He is responsible for maintaining the day to day operation of the site, editing all staff content before it is published, and contributing regular news, reviews, previews and other articles.
Matt landed his first gig in the video game review business writing for the now-defunct website BonusStage.com. After the sad and untimely close of BonusStage, the former staff went on to found VGBlogger.com. After a short stint as US Site Manager for AceGamez, Matt assumed full ownership over VGBlogger, and to this day he is dedicated to making it one of the top video game blogs in all the blogosphere.
Matt is a fair-minded reviewer and lover of games of all platforms and types, big or small, hyped or niche, big-budget or indie. But that doesn't mean he will let poor games slide without a good thrashing when necessary! 
