The Uncanny Valley

Originally used to describe robotics, the "Uncanny Valley" is a term used to describe the odd behavior of humans and human-like technology. For ages, humans have been creating replicas of themselves (such as dolls, statues, paintings, robots, and video game characters). The degree to which these replicas have actually replicated human form has obviously varied significantly. Logically, the more precise the representation, the more the audience can identify with the replica--to a point.

Fascinating stuff happens when the replica gets to the "not quite human" phase, and essentially, the audience is disgusted by the result.

This happened to me while watching an ad for the PS3's "most realistic baseball sim ever". A real batter faces off against a pitcher from the game, and we're supposed to believe that they don't realize they are in different levels of reality. However, the sight of the pitchers heavily detailed face was just appalling.

Not the same ad (mine had a close up of a pitcher's scowling face):

Am I the only one who finds the Wii Sports pitching motions much more appealing than the PS3 version? The uncanny valley--home of zombies and Frankenstein's monster--seems a perfect home for these characters.