Is 3D Gaming Fad or Future?
A couple of years ago at the 2010 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles, gaming hardware companies such as Sony and Nintendo were joining in the hype from development companies including Electronic Arts (EA), touting 3D gaming as the inevitable pending standard. Journalists and industry insiders from all over the glove donned various pairs of three-dimensional-image-inducing glasses to enjoy gaming visuals with 3D-movie-like-depth.
Roll forward 2 1/2 years and 3D gaming is far from being the norm. Debates rage on in game publications article posts, forums and social media threads of various descriptions about whether or not 3D gaming is a waste of time. With the exciting releases of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox 720 creeping ever closer, let’s take a look at the current state of play in 3D gaming and finish off by looking towards at the potentially exciting future. Minus the hype.
First off, if you read this, we’re interested to know what you think so feel free to head over to our Facebook page and post comments or opinion on 3D gaming. Did you like Gears of War in 3D or perhaps you feel like 3D is better for sports titles?
At present, many sporting titles such as Madden NFL are playable in 3D, but was the effort really worth it? This game scored a measly 49/100 on Metacritic and you can’t help but wonder what lengths were gone through to create a game with this feature.
Fans of the long-lived Gran Turismo series may hold a particular contempt towards 3D gaming after the title experienced even more delays to jump on this particular bandwagon a few years ago.
Sony and Nintendo Feel it was a Passing Novelty
In interviews with journalists, top dogs in both Sony and Nintendo have admitted they see 3D gaming as more of a novelty than anything else. Because Sony has a vested interest in selling 3D-ready televisions, it’s not surprising that the creators of the PlayStation were heavy proponents of the concept of 3D gaming, thus fulfilling their “vertical integration” marketing strategy with the consumer electronics division.
Sony’s PlayStation Executive, Shuhei Yoshida, stated at CES 2013 that if the “consumer electronics side of Sony, or all of the companies have shifted focus from 3D TV to something else, so if they’re not talking about it, why would we?”. That something else is of course the new 4K high-definition format which, of course, WiHD technology is fully compatible.
Nintendo’s President, Satoru Iwata said in the middle of last year, “I think when we launched the 3DS there was a kind of 3D boom, which is perhaps slightly on the wane again,” which he then went on to say he feels is now “on the wane”.
Exciting Differences in PlayStation 4 and Xbox 720 3D Strategy
It’s fun to debate with our fellow gamers about the future, relevancy and value of 3D, even if the people quoted above are the ones who can call the shots. Sony is focusing more on the new 4K high-resolution format, though the PlayStation 4 will support 3D and also have a stronger focus on 1080p60 (obviously, also already supported by WiHD) which will create smoother and more immersive 3D experiences. However, it seems Microsoft is taking a different route.
In September last year it surfaced that Microsoft had filed a patent for an augmented reality projector which sends images all around the walls of the room, immersing the gamer wearing Kinect 3D glasses in the center. If implemented well and taken up by game developers, this has the potential to launch the Xbox 720 console into the league of its own.
Technology in its Infancy
As a final point, it’s worth mentioning that tech advances surrounding 3-D gaming are still relatively young and new approaches are being created all the time. The Nintendo 3DS may have been launched amidst the initial hype of 3D and consequently enjoyed success, the major consoles might seem a bit lackluster, new methods of 3D delivery are being invented all the time. In the long term, it’s probably inevitable that this will be how everybody enjoys games, but the reality is that we still have some way to go.
