An extra purchase with a huge purpose

If you do run the setup program again from the settings menu it will add to the face data for your profile, not replace it, so that it can recognize you with even more accuracy.

The PLAYSTATION VR CAMERA won't automatically recognize everyone who walks by like the Xbox One Kinect does, but it does recognize you on start-up if the PS4 is not set to automatically log in one user.

When that's the case, the system asks you to choose a profile when you turn it on. But if facial recognition is on and the Camera detects anyone it knows, it will enlarge the image it sees and ask the person who wishes to log in to hold up a PS4 controller under his or her chin.

It's unfortunate that the PlayStation Camera can't simply log users in automatically when it recognizes them, and to be honest it's a lot easier to simply select your profile manually, even with multiple users in the room.

Anyway, after the log-in process the PlayStation Camera can recognize a few rudimentary voice commands.

From the home screen, you can say "PlayStation, start" to open the selected application, "PlayStation, log in" to change profiles, "PlayStation, take screenshot," "PlayStation, back to game" if you've already opened a game, or "PlayStation, power" to access controls that let you turn the console off or put it into standby mode. When in an app or game you can say "PlayStation, home screen" to go back to the dashboard.

These commands work pretty consistently. Unless the TV volume is up too loud or others in the room are speaking, the PlayStation Camera will almost always recognize your words.

That said, most of those actions can be carried out just as easily, if not more easily, using a controller. Taking a screenshot is just a matter of holding the Share button on the DualShock 4 controller.

At this point there are no gesture controls, so the minimal voice commands and face recognition are all the PlayStation Camera gives you at a system level. That's a shame, since the Camera seems to be quite good at detecting players' movements.

Games

The PlayStation Camera seems to be about on par with the original Xbox 360 Kinect in terms of recognizing players' movements. Granted, that's just based on a single game, and it's a game that was designed to use the PlayStation Camera in the first place: The Playroom.

The Playroom is included on every PS4 by default. This is where Sony's decision-making gets foggy; was The Playroom always meant to be a pack-in, from a time when the Camera would have been as well? Or did Sony decide to include the game on every system in order to entice more early PS4 buyers to purchase the PS Camera as well?