While most of you know that PlayStation Eye is being bundled with The Eye of Judgment game, I also wanted to let you know it’ll be out on store shelves as a stand-alone product, too. PlayStation Eye has a lot of cool features and capabilities.

One question I’ve seen asked a lot is: “What makes PlayStation Eye different from its predecessor, the EyeToy camera?” Lots. For a start, PlayStation Eye was engineered from the onset to perform well in low-light conditions. It also has a 2-setting zoom lens (normal and wide angle) with fixed focus. What does that mean? Well, a lot less fussing around than previous cameras. PlayStation Eye gets a sharp, clear picture at 640 x 480 resolution at 60 frames per second (at 320 x 240 it looks even better at 120 fps)! It picks up image and motion in varying light conditions and doesn’t need your help to focus.

It also has a built-in 4-microphone array that allows you to enjoy online AV chat and in-game voice chat, in what we’re calling a “natural environment,” meaning, not awkwardly leaning toward your camera or speaking abnormally loud just so the mic picks up your voice. IMHO, this microphone really does do away with the need for a headset.

The PlayStation Eye does an excellent job of filtering out background noise for a clearer voice connection, but it also has twice the frame rate than most standard cameras (this is part of what sets it apart from any other webcam or camera for this generation of consoles), allowing for faster and more natural tracking, responsiveness and smoothness. I think if you take all of this into consideration, PlayStation Eye is an ideal camera for AV Chat on your PS3.

All of this sounds like a bunch of technical and marketing speak, I know, but the difference is clear when you plug it in; AV Chats are smooth, crisp, and from my experiences, better than what I’ve seen on any PC. And of course, on the PS3, you can use AV Chat with anyone on your friends list, anywhere in the world.

AV Chat is just the start for the PlayStation Eye. Along with some very cool, free content and fun activities available to Eye users via the PSN, keep your “eye” out (sorry, I couldn’t resist) for some upcoming games that integrate the Eye in really innovative ways. While games like Eye of Judgment use the camera to play the game itself, other upcoming games like SingStar (PS3) take advantage of the PlayStation Eye’s video capabilities so you can do things like make your own personalized music videos to share with family and friends online. Soon you’ll see some of our favorite bits of PlayStation Eye fun on the PSN, designed to turn your TV into an eye-popping piece of interactive art that no one can ignore… more on those at launch!

Lastly, a great value-add you may not all know about is the EyeCreate Software. This will be available for FREE download on the PlayStation Store (yes! free! come get it!) and allows you to save, edit and share your PlayStation Eye videos, photos and audio clips – all through your PS3. We’ll have more on EyeCreate later this week, including some really fun examples of how cool EyeCreate movies can be from the depths of our QA grotto.

PlayStation Eye will be available as a stand-alone product starting October 23, for $39.99 at all major retailers. I’m sure there will be some questions, so I’ll try to monitor the comments here and provide info where I can.

1. What game do you have at E3 this year?
SingStar for the PS3, developed by our Sony London Studio.

2. Tell us more about your game. What’s the story?
SingStar is a competitive singing game that comes packed with two extremely high quality professional-feeling microphones. You and your friends sing along with the authentic songs and videos by chart-topping artists and are scored on your performance based on your pitch. SingStar is developed by the talented folks in our London Studio, lead by Exec Producer and Game Director Paulina Bozek, and has sold over 8 million units worldwide. It’s just an absolute blast to get your friends and family up and singing (and laughing) together with SingStar.

3. Do you have any “firsts” in this game that have never been done before?
The online catalog of the SingStore is definitely a first. There’s no other music-based game that offers you that variety of content and the ability to tailor your experience to your own tastes the way SingStar PS3 does.

4. What did you do on this game that you couldn’t do on another platform?
The huge leap that the PS3 allows for the SingStar Franchise is in customization and community. Because the PS3 is online all the time, for the first time, we can offer the player the ability to pick their own songs from a wide online catalog available through the power of the PlayStation network. Whatever mood you or your friends are in, there’s something for you up there in the hundreds of available songs. You like indie? Go grab some indie. You like 80s? Go get yourself some of that new wave action. The combinations are limitless and the catalog will grow continually over time with fresh new songs and favorite classics coming on line every month.

5. What do you think is the coolest aspect of this game?
Personally, my favorite piece is the community and performance aspects of My SingStar Online. By hooking up the PlayStation Eye or EyeToy, you can capture your singing performance and upload it from your PS3 to My SingStar Online – our global community – where your friends (or the general public if you’re brave enough!) can check it out and, of course, rate it! I’m blown away by the creativity in our Beta tests alone, and I can’t wait to see what players post when we go live. Of course I also plan to leverage this for personal gain and attain international pop stardom with my brilliant renditions of classic arena rock tunes. So rate away – but be aware that any taunts and derision will merely be read by me as thinly veiled statements of envy for my mad singing skills…

6. When is it being released?
SingStar PS3 releases in the fall in the US. In the meantime, hone your skills by picking up one of our great SingStar games for the PS2: SingStar: Rocks! SingStar: Pop, and very soon SingStar: Amped and SingStar:80s. You can get one of them bundled with the mics, then grab standalone versions of the others to expand your collection. One of the great features of the PS2 collection is that you can swap discs in and out on the fly, so you have a seamless experience for lovers of all genres at your own SingStar party.

7. How does this game use the PS Network?
The PS Network makes the SingStore and My SingStar Online possible. We’re able to offer a massive, ever-increasing catalog of content to choose from, and also to host a global community of SingStar players and their user-created content.

8. Describe one of the boss fights in the game?
Me and Associate Producer Ryan Hamlyn singing duets in different octaves. No really…you haven’t lived until you’ve heard this.

9. If you could sit one person in front of your game for an hour, who would it be?
Bono from U2. He is soooooo the SingStar. Actually, I would sit him in front of the plant on my desk for an hour if I thought that would get me time with Bono… Are you reading this Bono? I worship you!

10. What game do you most want an hour to sit in front of yourself (besides your own)?
Lair! Oh wait, that’s mine too… um…let’s see… Little Big Planet, for sure. Army of Two. Oh…and Bioshock (although it may be too scary for me).

11. How many E3’s does E3 2007 mark for you?
I refuse to comment on the grounds that I can’t count that high. Suffice to say that I never missed a one…not even that weird one in Atlanta.

12. Describe the pre-2007 E3 experience in five words or less.
Demos! Videos! Press packs! Oh my!

13. Most over used phrase or expression during E3 season.
“Next-Gen” “HD” and this year… “Downloadable content!”

14. You are asked to make suggestions for an E3 survival kit- what three items HAVE to be included?
Water. Asprin. Ticket to the Sony party (and no, I can’t get you one – please stop calling)

15. What advice would you have for someone who has never experienced E3?
Imagine if you will a sea of exhausted unwashed developers, giddy with gamelust, all bathed in the glow of a thousand million video screens each throbbing with 180 decibels of brain-jamming hard rock riffs and explosion SFX (and the occasional “In a world….” bass montone) and now … let go of that. You missed it. To you it will be like the fabled Summer of Love.

17. Describe what you anticipate from 2007’s newly formatted E3 in five words or less.
Less hearing loss. More bathrooms.

18. What’s your favorite part about developing games for a living?
The brilliant people I have the honor of working with on a daily basis – artists, musicians, designers, programmers, producers, marketing and PR, all of it. I’m stunned by the talent by which I’m surrounded on any given day. That, and the swag… sweeeeeeeeeeet…