Who's ready to invest in a HD 3DTV?
The answer is not many people.
At least for the next 2-3 years... A bit like HDTVs were about 2-3 years from today.
Ubisoft said late last year that "3D Gaming Will Be The New Stereo Sound".
I say "After experiencing and shooting things in 3D (Avatar) briefly at Eurogamer a few weeks a go, I have to agree with Ubisoft.
For those that haven't experienced it yet; Imagine actually "feeling" the distance between yourself and your enemies. Rather than just shooting the enemy on the upper left of the screen, you will be shooting an enemy on the left side about 10-12 metres away... That's my best way of describing it. And it's fookin' amazing."
(Copy/paste of my comment over at Kotaku last November.)
And I still think that. But will game devs go for a 3D format that's so prone headaches and asks for a special TV that will cost a bomb for a good while. Also, with current games being converted into 3D through the HD3DTVs (gasp) themselves - Is the 3D experience enough to make our current "flat" gaming seem a bit rubbish? And even still, what of the headache effect? Will our brains evolve around that? Will 3D glasses be as common on coffee tables as our mug stains and remote controls? Will LSD be a thing of the past? I suppose, the ultimate question is: Do we need to become any more immersed?
Everyone seems to be raving about 3D at the CES10 event at the moment, but I don't think 3D TVs will be anywhere near affordable anytime soon. Of course, technology goes down in price as it gets more and more popular and the upgrades arrive. But I'm impatient!
What's another nice idea?
Incorporate 3D experiences into the arcades instead. The arcades have been less crowded since consoles at home now offer equally good-looking gaming experience, and online of course. Maybe 3D arcade games could give it the reboot it needs?
Financially, I think it's wiser to have 3D gaming as an option at the arcades, rather than have it installed at home and expect yourself to use it every time you want to play a game. This whole 3D thing could be a gimmick of short life, reserved primarily for 3D cinemas, and yes I perhaps gaming arcades (HEAR ME DEVS!).
Or maybe not. I'll admit I am excited with being able to play GoW2 in 3D one day (which is console only). But I'm not ready to leave flat-gaming behind either. Saying that, I also wish for 3D exclusive games to not exist, ever - Always have a with/without option.
Looking back before the comeback...
On a separate note, to think we touched on 3D back when I was too young to understand (well sort of, I had The Simpson's 3D Colouring Book). Now that gaming is at the forefront, it's making a huge comeback... And I'm happy that I'm now grown enough to understand what the hell is going on :)
Also, Happy New Year everyone. ^^ With all that 3D stuff first happening in the 90s and coming back now, perhaps it's a sign... The 90s were better than the noughties, right? All that "new millennium" hype had a lot people disappointed (and broke).
Let's forget the noughties ever happened. Bring on 2010! ;)
At least for the next 2-3 years... A bit like HDTVs were about 2-3 years from today.
Ubisoft said late last year that "3D Gaming Will Be The New Stereo Sound".
I say "After experiencing and shooting things in 3D (Avatar) briefly at Eurogamer a few weeks a go, I have to agree with Ubisoft.
For those that haven't experienced it yet; Imagine actually "feeling" the distance between yourself and your enemies. Rather than just shooting the enemy on the upper left of the screen, you will be shooting an enemy on the left side about 10-12 metres away... That's my best way of describing it. And it's fookin' amazing."
(Copy/paste of my comment over at Kotaku last November.)
And I still think that. But will game devs go for a 3D format that's so prone headaches and asks for a special TV that will cost a bomb for a good while. Also, with current games being converted into 3D through the HD3DTVs (gasp) themselves - Is the 3D experience enough to make our current "flat" gaming seem a bit rubbish? And even still, what of the headache effect? Will our brains evolve around that? Will 3D glasses be as common on coffee tables as our mug stains and remote controls? Will LSD be a thing of the past? I suppose, the ultimate question is: Do we need to become any more immersed?
Everyone seems to be raving about 3D at the CES10 event at the moment, but I don't think 3D TVs will be anywhere near affordable anytime soon. Of course, technology goes down in price as it gets more and more popular and the upgrades arrive. But I'm impatient!
What's another nice idea?
Incorporate 3D experiences into the arcades instead. The arcades have been less crowded since consoles at home now offer equally good-looking gaming experience, and online of course. Maybe 3D arcade games could give it the reboot it needs?
Financially, I think it's wiser to have 3D gaming as an option at the arcades, rather than have it installed at home and expect yourself to use it every time you want to play a game. This whole 3D thing could be a gimmick of short life, reserved primarily for 3D cinemas, and yes I perhaps gaming arcades (HEAR ME DEVS!).
Or maybe not. I'll admit I am excited with being able to play GoW2 in 3D one day (which is console only). But I'm not ready to leave flat-gaming behind either. Saying that, I also wish for 3D exclusive games to not exist, ever - Always have a with/without option.
Looking back before the comeback...
On a separate note, to think we touched on 3D back when I was too young to understand (well sort of, I had The Simpson's 3D Colouring Book). Now that gaming is at the forefront, it's making a huge comeback... And I'm happy that I'm now grown enough to understand what the hell is going on :)
Also, Happy New Year everyone. ^^ With all that 3D stuff first happening in the 90s and coming back now, perhaps it's a sign... The 90s were better than the noughties, right? All that "new millennium" hype had a lot people disappointed (and broke).
Let's forget the noughties ever happened. Bring on 2010! ;)
Comments
As a geek, I'm looking forward to 3D movies and gaming becoming common place, I think that would be very exciting. From a practical standpoint I doubt it will happen in the next 5 years.
I don't think the headaches 3D viewing is associated with has anything to do with it. That's likely just imperfections of the used technology. After all, humans view things in 3D all the time, largely without getting headaches from seeing the world with depth.
But it always takes time for technological advances to catch on, or to be weeded out if not wanted.
In the Netherlands, there's still a portion of the TV broadcasts that's not widescreen. And I think customers are still busy moving to HDTV and aren't keen on investing in yet another new development.
However, from a personal standpoint I'd rather things stay the way they are now. With one almost non-functional eye my depth perception's rather poor, and I would hate to have the majority of games to require the player to see depth to play them well. I would have to find another way to waste my time! ;)
Love, Tom