Early, Sony wants to capitalize on the rise in popularity of VTuber (of YouTube - and sometimes Twitch - virtual fame) and the slow but steady transition to a life entirely dedicated to virtual reality. The company will introduce a new and relatively inexpensive motion capture system that relies on six sensors attached to the body and a mobile phone that collects all the tracking data.

Computer-generated characters in movies, television, and video games were once animated by hand; this is an expensive and time-consuming process, and can cause a human character's movements to look unrealistic (which, to be fair, isn't always the goal). Motion capture helped solve this problem by capturing the nuanced movements of human performers and translating their movements into virtual characters, including facial expressions and eye movements. Now, it looks like we're taking steps to go live.

His approach to motion capture for visual effects like She-Hulk required a lot of expensive equipment, cameras attached to actors' heads, and huge, often sensor-filled studios to accurately capture full-body performance. In other words, a budget that most VTubers don't have access to.

There are cheaper solutions, such as software-based motion trackers, but they often suffer from accuracy issues. Virtual reality systems, such as the HTC Vive, offer robust full-body tracking solutions through wearable trackers and nearby base stations, but the price of such hardware is quickly rising again. And while solutions like SlimeVR offer multi-body tracking for hundreds of dollars, it's a crowdfunded product, which often presents challenges when something goes wrong.

Sony's mocopy doesn't come from a company as well known in electronics; it also offers six lightweight wireless tracking sensors (reminiscent of Apple's AirTags) on the ankles, wrists, back and head. The entire package costs 49,500 yen, or about $360. Expensive, but much cheaper than a studio or a Vive. Although the sensors are attached with Velcro straps (and a lower back sensor clip to attach to your pants), the mocopi system doesn't seem inconspicuous, as all performance capture is handled by a mobile app running on a smartphone.

Setup looks easy, and the app provides a live preview of the user's captured movements applied to a virtual character. The Mocopi system can be used as a real-time solution to bring a VTuber character to life in apps like VRChat, but through an SDK to be released on December 15, the captured performance data can also be imported into 3D animation programs to create more realistic characters.

While Mocopi won't deliver the same level of precision as the hardware Hollywood relies on, it could be a more affordable motion capture solution for filmmakers or game developers with limited budgets. Pre-orders are expected to be available sometime in mid-December, with the system shipping a month later in January 2023; however, Sony is initially only making the Mocopi available in the Japanese market, and there is no word on whether it will be available in other markets later.