Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine: Eye See You

We’ve always supported the EyeToy simply because it has the potential to not only let designers be creative, but to also bring more converts to our culture. Initially, Sony was the only company that cared about EyeToy, but big-league publishers like Konami, Sega, and EA are now following suit.

When Sony first unveiled EyeToy, journalists assumed that some sort of Dance Dance Revolution tie-in would be inevitable. After all, DDR machines already ask for gamers to jump and jive with their feet, so they might as well complete the package and work their whole body into the game, right? That’s exactly what’s going on with DDR Extreme. Besides adding EyeToy support to the game, Konami also happened to make DDR more challenging.

Not only do you have to worry about where the heck your feet are smacking the mat, but you have to keep track of where your hands and face are, too. DDR Extreme will have a slate of minigames, but it’s the three EyeToy-specific ones that excite us. One game, Clean the Screen, is a brutal fusion of EyeToy: Play’s Wishi Washi and DDR. As you dance away, the screen gets filled with gunk, and you need to wipe it away in order to see your next set of moves. The Hands & Feet minigame adds yet more challenges to DDR, as you now have to worry about hitting onscreen icons with your hands as well as keeping up with the rhythm. For those of you who just want to check yourselves out, Watch Me Dance lets you see yourself dancing onscreen.

While DDR Extreme turns your PS2 into a video dance machine, Sega Superstars firmly plants you alongside classic Sega icons. SS is packed with 15 minigames that cover the highlights of Sega’s history. You can either race with Sonic, duke it out with someone from Virtua Fighter, or play music with Samba de Amigo. In fact, the games aren’t even limited by platform, as those GameCube-only monkeys from Super Monkey Ball make an appearance as well.

With these two confirmed titles, plus EA putting EyeToy support in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (check out the review on page 94), we’re excited about the possibilities that game developers are starting to explore with EyeToy. <<

DDR Extreme

Pub. Konami

Dev. Konami

Release September

Sega Superstars

Pub. Sega

Dev. Sonic Tram

Release Fall

"Could be good"

Chat Away!

We just heard that SCEE announced EyeToy: Chat, which lets you use your EyeToy as a big video phone (you’d also need a Network Adaptor)! You can also use EyeToy: Chat to play games like checkers or chess over the Internet.

More Monkeys (Or Apes, to Be Precise!)

Over in Japan, SCEI announced Saru EyeToy—”Saru” is short for Sarugetchu, which is what Ape Escape is called in Japan. Saru EyeToy is apparently a Mario Party–style board/party game starring those zany apes. You spin the onscreen roulette wheel with your hand via the EyeToy, move your pieces, and then insert yourself into a resultant minigame afterward. As we’re going to press, no publisher has confirmed picking it up, but we expect someone cool to bring it Stateside.