You’ve used your Xbox to guide Riddick out of Butcher Bay, and now you’re waiting to kick some Covenant ass all over again with Master Chief. In the meantime, Microsoft suggests video-chatting with your friends on an Xbox webcam.

Sure, it sounds improbable, but then, everybody thought webcamming was a dead fad three years ago. Once Sony released the EyeToy, which lets people control games by using cameras instead of joypads, the stagnant technology became newly fun and popular, if not exactly cool.

Microsoft’s Xbox Video Camera is a less revolutionary concept than Sony’s EyeToy, but for several reasons, it’s an interesting expansion of the Xbox’s capabilities. XVC’s primary purpose is to enable video chats rather than interactive webcam games, but with the right programming, live video windows could pop up during traditional multiplayer online games. Just imagine the potential for the next Steel Battalion Online…assuming there will be one.

Because all Xboxes use broadband connections, it’s easier to broadcast and download good-looking video (and other data) in real time. As a result, Microsoft boasts that up to five people can be video-chatting together at once—conference calls can also involve emoticons, sound effects, and even vibrations sent to someone else’s controller. There’s already speculation that the vibration feature will prove popular in one-on-one video chats. Where’s Rez’s Tetsuya Mizuguchi when we need him most?

Tale of the Tape

Admittedly, the Xbox Video Camera’s debut at Microsoft’s pre-E3 press event this year wasn’t too impressive—not because of the hardware, but because of its application. The audience seemed underwhelmed when J Allard introduced the device in a nonsensical live chat with Jenny McCarthy, who herself reached fad’s end three years ago. Furthermore, Allard failed to show off any of the XVC’s game-specific functionality.

At press time, Microsoft had announced the camera’s release date only for Japan, where it will sell by year’s end for less than $60 in an Xbox Video Chat Kit, which includes video chat software, a Communicator headset, and a 12-month Xbox Live subscription. Plans for the XVC’s release in the United States and Europe are still up in the air.

Sony EyeToy

Package Price: $49.99 U.S.

Standalone Price: $29.99 U.S.

Pack-ins: EyeToy: Play or EyeToy: Groove

Compatible Games: 7+

Xbox Video Camera

Package Price: Less than $60 (Japan)

Standalone Price: Unknown

Pack-ins: Video chat software

Compatible Games: 0

Copyright © 2005 Ziff Davis Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. Originally appearing in Xbox Nation.