More 'voice action' for PS2
Shouting in the dark
Since you all seemed quite excited by Sony's 37/40 Famitsu-rated 'voice action' title Operator's Side, we thought we'd bring you up to date on a couple of other speech recognition based titles due out on the PS2 in Japan.
First of all, there's Deka Voice, which is a 1930s American film noir style outing, with the player in the role of policeman Steven Haywood, with Japanese-American ally Meffin and a dog called Lion also on your side. The voice action element occurs when you're given the chance to talk to your colleagues or, perhaps more fun, question and presumably interrogate witnesses and crims! This, by the way, is the one which interacts with Aibo, who will put in a performance as mutt companion Lion.
Moving on, the latest PS2 title to incorporate speech recognition is Shibaimichi, which puts you in the role of a voice actor, of all things. You have to express the given dialogue in proper tone, volume and with emotion in order to impress the judges. What's more, there are several scenarios you can end up performing, ranging from a confession (to a lass), Romeo & Juliet, dealing with a jealous younger sister and, our favourite, playing "a young doctor who saves life hard".
There's more on Shibaimichi at The Magic Box, here, and you can even stream footage of the game from SCEJ here. Beware though - it's supremely wacky and you won't understand a word.
It's also worth pointing out at this point in time that PS2 owners needn't be the only shouty gamers. Microsoft also has designs on speech recognition software utilising its excellent voice communicator peripheral. You can read more on NUDE: Natural Ultimate Digital Experiment, which sounds quite similar, here.