Product Description

Put a face on your gamer tag and make yourself known to the people on your friends list with this Microsoft Xbox Live Vision cam. Bring gesture-based games to life using your body movements to control the action. The cam supports games designed with "face in game" technology for a personalized gaming experience - add your face to your character in game. Crystal-clear images are a snap with VGA 640H x 480V video at 30 frames per second and still photos at 1.3 mega-pixels.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #996 in Video Games
• Brand: Microsoft
• Model: Live Vision
• Released on: 2006-09-19
• Platform: Xbox 360
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: 3.43" h x 1.18" w x 2.76" l, .68 pounds

Features

• New and improved ergonomic design enables maximum comfort and endless gameplay
• New left and right shoulder buttons are designed for ease of use
• Two analog pressure-point triggers, two vibration feedback motors, and one eight-way directional pad are included
• The controller includes a nine-foot (nearly three-meter) break-away controller cable
• Experience easy Vibration Control with a simple On or Off setting to match your personal preference

Customer Reviews

A decent webcam.
This camera is available in two packages - this is the basic package and comes with the Xbox 360 Live Vision Camera, a headset that you probably already have, and a code redeemable on the Xbox Live Marketplace for the game UNO (which supports the camera in online play) and also 1 month of Xbox Live Gold service.

Note that the official press releases mentioned the game Totemball being included. It is NOT included, but you can now download it for free from the Xbox Live Marketplace.

The camera itself is very nice. It's very small and has a focus ring on the front. The quality of video and still pictures is great. It's easy to install, you just plug it into your Xbox in the front or back USB port and you're good to go. You can also use it as a regular webcam with your PC. It currently does not work with Macs but Mac support is promised soon from Microsoft as their press release claims Mac support.

Overall it's a nice little piece of equipment. It just depends on whether you want a webcam or not! Video chat is a nice feature if you have friends or family with an Xbox 360. Also, future games will support mapping your face onto your on-screen character which will be fun. Games like Totemball will be played by actually moving your arms and body around in front of the camera. So it does open up a lot of opportunities for new experiences with your Xbox.

Parents worried about kids: when playing camera-enabled games you will see other people's video whether you have the camera or not, so buying this camera doesn't make any difference to what they will see. You can disable looking at other people's video for all the games.

Great iSight alternative for Mac users
With the iSight no longer for sale, there are few alternatives for users of older Macs looking to use the video features of iChat AV. This camera works perfectly.

The quality is decent and it's very small. Not a ton of extra features, but it works right out of the box without any other software. That is far better than lots of bells and whistles that only work OK.

I don't own an xBox and can't speak to how this camera is for that, but it's a great camera to use with my computer and far cheaper (and better) than most aftermarket webcams.

Wait...
I bought this camera on an impulse. Here are my thoughts:

Right now, I'd say it's not worth a whole lot. As of October 9, 2006, it only has three functions. You can use it on Uno, Totemball, Billiard Games and for video chat with friends on Xbox Live. Additionally, you plug it up into your Windows PC and use it as a web cam.

However, if you're getting this for your Xbox360 (which you probably are), I say wait until there's a good reason to buy it. Totemball is an absolutely terrible game, and unless you want to people to see you while you're playing Uno, there's not much point in getting it yet.

I say hold off until it's functional with a few more games before rushing out and getting it. It's definitely nice to have, and anyone wanting to get the most out of their 360 should check it out, but it's just not too important just yet.

EDIT: As of June 2007, the camera is functional with a few titles. The most notable is Command and Conquer 3, in which you can view your opponent's face when you obliterate their army. It is a nice touch to the game. Still not entirely necessary for the Xbox 360, but nice to have nonetheless.