Microsoft may finally be ready to make good on extended threats of a motion sensing controller for the Xbox 360 at this year's E3, with a rumored camera accessory reportedly in the works.
Last week, Engadget wrote that Microsoft's long-rumored motion controller pursuits were real and that its solution was coming in the form of a camera, with no handheld controller required. The purported features were impressive, boasting of full body motion control like kicking and punching as well as more micro-sized controls, including pinching and grabbing.
That motion detection camera may have already been publicly showcased, as Ars Technica believes it's 3DV's ZCam that Microsoft will be using.
The specs are certainly similar, as 3DV's ZCam feature set—fine finger gestures, full body tracking, gesture-controlled gaming—sound a hell of a lot like what Engadget's tip-based report highlighted. (A full rundown was done by Gizmodo when the product was first announced.)
That combined with reports from February that Microsoft was buying out 3DV make a hell of a lot of sense.
3DV's ZCam looks decidedly different from the hardware shown in Engadget's leaked photo. While that's hardly substantial evidence to dispute the allegation—the Xbox 360 version could have been improved upon or altered for cheaper manufacturing—it's worth noting.
Also interesting is the ZCam's capabilities to determine capture facial depth and generate a 3D image using a human face as an object. Perhaps that's how Xbox 360 Avatars could be generated in an "automatic way."
Rumored Microsoft 3D Wii killer: we think we played with it [Ars Technica]