If you were among the PlayStation 3 owners looking forward to a lazy holiday season spent playing with your fuzzy new EyePet friend, prepare to be terribly disappointed. GameStop and Amazon both shifted the listed release data for the EyePet from November 2009 to April 2010, and now Gamervision has received the official word from Sony.

“The North American territory has decided to take additional time to focus on the EyePet product and can confirm it will not be available this holiday. EyePet is an innovative and exciting new IP to the PS3 platform and SCEA marketing will spend additional time to continue educating consumers and retail channels, setting the table for a successful product launch. We will provide more details on an updated launch timeframe very soon”

As Gamervision points out, the delay comes at an odd time, as review copies of the game have already been handed out to major outlets, whose reviewers are even now, as we speak, experiencing the sort of fuzzy goodness that the rest of us will be left without during the cold winter months.

For now we can only hope that the April release date listed at GameStop is simply speculation, and that Sony won’t keep the warm fuzzies from us for too long.

EyePet Delay Official [Gamervision]

Sony and Microsoft both spent ample time during their respective E3 2009 press conferences to wow us with camera-based motion control, courtesy of the PlayStation Eye and Project Natal. But Sony’s “magic wand” tech isn’t exactly new.

Dr. Richard Marks, creator of the EyeToy, illustrated much of the same technology during the PlayStation 2 era, using a much more bulbous magic wand to showcase what the console’s camera accessory was capable of. Hardly as impressive an implementation of what was on display during Sony’s E3 showing, which teased first-person shooter and intricate drawing functions, but fascinating nonetheless.

I remember using similar tech when I first played Harmonix’s EyeToy: AntiGrav at my first E3, when the game was intended to ship with bright green gloves, letting the camera track player movements. This looks familiar, but certainly not as refined as what appears to be possible with the PlayStation 3 iteration.

Thanks to Miguel for the heads up!

UK site DarkZero wrote up the first-person sword swinging adventure game’s on-stage demo, which utilised the fluorescent-green foam toy sword to interpret a player’s motions. That NERF-life sword comes packed in with the EyeToy Play sequel.

SCEE London sounded pretty proud of themselves for developing the tech, but we’d actually seen it in an EyeToy game before. An early version of Harmonix’s EyeToy Antigrav, a futuristic hoverboard game, was initially going to ship with bright green gloves to achieve the same effect. Ultimately, it didn’t, depriving us of fingerless glove ownership (again).

Sony to have 1:1 motion-tracking sword game by Xmas [Dark Zero]

The overall message seems to highlight the PS3’s diversity as an entertainment device, with the aim of appealing to an all-ages audience.

Full release follows the jump:

06/05/2008 17:30
Get closer to friends and family with PlayStation

London, 6th May 2008- With PlayStation, games have never been more family-friendly. We’ve created up the genre of ’social gaming’: games where players of all ages socialise through gaming. For the kids and the young-at-heart, there are EyeToy® games that burn physical as well as mental energy. We’ve got puzzle games that everyone will want to try- whether at home or in the car – and we’re also allowing you to take TV on the move. You can even team up as a family to challenge your overseas relatives to a round of online quizzing over PLAYSTATION®Network (PSN) – and when it comes to keeping in touch further, we’ve just given PSP™ (PlayStation®Portable) video and voice chat capabilities.

PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3™): the next generation system that brings you High Definition gaming, Blu-ray movies, internet browsing, music, TV and entry into the online community of PLAYSTATION Network.

Buzz!™: Quiz TV (PS3)

Buzz!: Quiz TV for PS3™ is the next-gen game that takes the Buzz! experience into the future and across the world via the online PLAYSTATION Network. Arriving this June, it’ll give you instant access to quizzes on almost any subject you can think of, and will be supported by vast downloadable and user-generated content. The game’s Blu-ray disc comes with wireless buzzers and contains a whopping 5000 questions, divided into five selectable channels to suit every quiz fanatic – it’s a quiz where you choose the content. Not enough questions on your subject of choice? Write your own. New online quiz community MyBuzz!™ links directly from the internet to the game and allows players to write and upload personalised quizzes plus download quizzes created by other online players which suit their questioning needs. The disc is also your gateway to online gaming and content, connecting you to Sofa vs Sofa mode, in which you can team up with everyone at home to challenge up to three other teams of gamers online, as well as to extra downloadable quiz packs and quizzes written by other Buzz! users.

echochrome (PSP and PS3)

In echochrome, it’s not what you see, it’s the way that you see it – and the more pairs of eyes involved, the better your chances of solving the dozens of fiendish puzzles ahead. The world of echochrome consists of a series of crazy mazes inhabited by the endlessly wandering Walker, and your goal is to help him get where he wants to go – despite being faced with seemingly insurmountable obstacles and hazards. The trick is to open your mind and let your imagination run riot: by rotating each maze and changing your perspective on the action, you might just be able to change reality… A brand new and brain-busting puzzle experience, echochrome will have you asking everyone you know: “Can you see the answer?”

PlayTV™ (PS3)

Television how, when and where you want it; Play TV lets you pause, rewind and record free-to-air digital television using your PS3 and, best of all – after a one-off payment for the peripheral, the service is completely free. End family squabbles as you watch one channel while recording another through a dual TV tuner, stream television anywhere using a wi-fi connected PSP or pause television should household events demand your attention – Play TV offers access to great TV without the pocket-punching bills this later this year.

Folding@home (PS3)

Developed by Stanford University, Folding@home uses the combined power of interlinked computers around the world to perform mathematical calculations that help with research into protein folding – research that could lead to breakthroughs in the fight against diseases such as Alzheimer’s, CJD, Parkinson’s and various forms of cancer. In 2006, it was realised that a network of interlinked PS3 processors could boost the project’s output to unprecedented levels thanks to the power of the PS3’s Cell processor. All you need to do to play a part in Folding@home is to select the project’s icon in the Network column of the Cross-Media Bar (XMB), then leave your machine running.

PLAYSTATION®Network (PSN)

The online home of PS3, PLAYSTATION®Network is where you’ll find some of PlayStation’s most innovative and fun games for you to download at wallet-friendly prices. You’ll also find downloadable extras, free online gaming, voice chat, video chat, web surfing and more.

Elefunk™ (PSN for PS3)

A herd of elephants needing safe guidance through a series of perilous levels requires a guide, so help steer the jungle giants to safety this May. Across 20 levels, create safe passage across ravines, rivers, fires, pits and swamps with the materials available to you. Plus, swap construction for Deconstruction in a specially designed multiplayer game where players must disassemble a structure as carefully as possible without letting the structure, or imperilled elephants, fall…

Buzz! Junior™ (PSN for PS3)

This summer, we’re bringing the fun of the children’s Buzz! Junior range to PSN with bundles of mini-games for PS3 owners to download at pocket money prices. Buzz! Junior titles offer all the fun, easy play of Buzz! controllers, but with wacky mini-games of skill and speed rather than trivia-based play – they’re perfect for youngsters to play with friends and family. Buzz! Junior: Jungle Party will be the first to arrive on PSN in a download featuring five great mini-games from the original PS2 version – now in 720p High Definition; it’ll be followed by similar downloads from Buzz! Junior: RoboJam and Buzz! Junior: Monster Rumble.

PixelJunk™ Eden (PSN for PS3)

After sowing seeds with its Racers and Monsters, PixelJunk puts down roots on PLAYSTATION®Network with PixelJunk Eden. Leap and swing between lush alien vegetation in a truly innovative platform game which constantly evolves over time as you move through the perfectly realised undergrowth, hunting treasures and smashing enemies from his path. Destroyed enemies scatter pollen across the landscape, which the player must collect and use to pollinate seed pods before using the new growth to progress further.

PlayStation®2 (PS2™): the world’s best-selling entertainment system that offers you great gameplay and the biggest social gaming brands

EyeToy® Play: PomPom Party (PS2)

Limber-up for the first cheerleading game for PS2, which comes bundled with real pompoms to help every wannabe-cheerleader pull off some groovy moves. As you follow the directions on-screen and shake your pompoms to the music, the EyeToy Camera will detect your movements and score your routines. So keep that rhythm going, and soon the whole block will be bouncing to your cheers in EyeToy Play: PomPom Party – it’s arriving in time for Christmas in late 2008.

EyeToy® Play: Hero (PS2)

The ultimate quest for all budding adventurers – embark on a fantastic journey through a colourful, exciting fantasy world. EyeToy Play: Hero includes its own toy sword for you to wield; the EyeToy Camera will detect your sword’s movements as you perform feats of bravery throughout the land. Watch your adventure unfold on-screen, hone your swordplay, and maybe one day you’ll be considered a true hero of the kingdom! It’s arriving in time for Christmas in late 2008. p>

PSP™ (PlayStation®Portable): the handheld entertainment system that offers games, music, film, TV, communications, GPS mapping and more

Buzz!™: Master Quiz (PSP)

Turning PSP into the ultimate social gaming experience, Buzz! makes his handheld debut in Buzz!: Master Quiz. Keep friends and family amused and entertained on the move, on holiday or on the bus as Buzz! hits the road, free from its front-room beginnings. Play solo or get involved with new multiplayer rounds such as Pass Around (which enables six players to play Buzz! with just one PSP!). The ultimate PlayStation quiz experience has hit the road – are you along for the ride this July?

Go!Messenger™ (PSP)

Keep in touch using your PSP with a revolutionary new addition, which turns your handheld system into a wireless communication tool featuring video chat, voice chat and instant messaging. It allows PSP owners to instant message each other- then, just add a headset and voice messaging and voice calls become possible. Add Go!Cam, the USB camera for PSP, and video calls and video messaging become a possibility. Go!Messenger is out now – it’s another reason why PSP is becoming a travel essential.

SKYPE™ (PSP)

Skype, the online communication software that allows Internet users to call each other free of charge*, has now arrived on the new Slim and Light PSP. Talk to any one of the hundred million Skype users worldwide with free voice calls, managing your contacts list and checking which of your friends are online via your PSP. You can opt into the SkypeOut and SkypeIn features, which connect Skype callers with landline and mobile users – and you can do all of this from any wireless hotspot – anywhere in the world.

As long as you position the various elements of the tank in proper relative positions (tank body middle, treads off to the side and a turret up top), the software smoothly integrates the design to a badass killing machine.

After shooting the video, I drew a tank of my own and was incredibly impressed by the easily digitized product. Because while we’ve seen this tank game before on plenty of platforms, playing with your own customisable character on screen is unbelievably fulfilling. Sure, the first thing many of us think is perverted drawings cropping up in multiplayer matches, but watch the vid and you’ll realise that the unforeseen potential in the technology could bring interesting gameplay possibilities—even in a small tech demo like this one.

The Wall Street Journal has an interesting, though sort dated, article on their site today about the increasing popularity of unusual, and simplistic controller for gaming.

The short article gives a nod to the Wii, the Power Glove, Guitar Hero, Rock Band and even brain-sensing helmets, but it doesn’t really get interesting until it starts talking about what Richard Marks, one of Sony’s games division researchers and father of the EyeToy, is up to.

There’s a lot of pie-in-the-sky talk from Marks, but the one thing he mentions that sounds both conceivable and quite fun is the idea of using a camera, likely the HD EyeToy, to let you take a picture of a drawing you made with a pen on a piece of paper, and then turning that picture into an animated character for the game you’re playing.

We’ve already seen something like this in Drawn to Life, and while that game uses the concept to great effect, it’s sort of hard for someone like me to draw a decent picture with a stylus on a touch screen.

Videogames Expand A Popular New Phase Of Full-Body Playing [WSJ]

While only one of the tech demos looks someone playable—a simple Lunar Lander-style mini-game controlled with the SIXAXIS—the others are still impressive. Take a gander and day dream of the possibilities.

Video of New Research Conducted with PlayStation Eye [PlayStation.blog]

I’m PlayStation Eye-less at this point, but fully plan on cobbling together sexy performances of “Hungry Like The Wolf”, saturated with comely air-clawing motions, when SingStar finally ships.