ScanSoft speech recognition being used for the PS2

ScanSoft has today announced that its speech recognition developer kit for the PlayStation 2 is being used by Sony Computer Entertainment Japan in the development of a game called Operator's Side. As in Argonaut's SWAT: Global Strike Team , players will be able to interact with characters in the game via a headset, although it's not yet clear what form these interactions will take, or whether the game will ever be released outside of Japan.

"We created a new level of realism in the gameplay by adopting speech recognition as the natural interface between the player and the gaming characters, bringing an unprecedented game experience to PlayStation 2 gamers," said Yasuhide Kobayashi, executive producer at SCEJ. "ScanSoft's Game Speech ASDK has proven to be a very flexible software development tool to incorporate speech recognition in PlayStation 2 titles."

"Speech technologies continue to revolutionize player interaction for gaming applications," said Peter Hauser, senior vice president, international, at ScanSoft. "Operator's Side is an excellent example of how ScanSoft's speech technology, the power of the Sony PlayStation 2, and the creative skills of Sony Computer Entertainment Japan combine to enable an enhanced consumer experience. We look forward to working with Sony Entertainment as it develops new titles that incorporate this exciting new interface."

ScanSoft's speech recognition technology currently supports American English, British English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Japanese, and Korean, and, according to ScanSoft, it is able to recognize the voices of men, women, and children. We'll bring you more information on its implementation in Operator's Side and other games as it becomes available.