Peter Moore: Sports Key to 3D Gaming's Success

Peter Moore has predicted that sports will be the biggest driver of 3D gaming's growth - just as it will be for 3DTV. Speaking exclusively to CVG today, the amiable EA Sports boss said that 3D gaming would only truly take off once bespoke content was being created for the technology - and forecast that sports games would lead the way.

Moore said EA Sports was "absolutely" looking into creating 3D content for PS3 - and that the innovation offered the video games industry "great opportunity". He told: "As James Cameron did with Avatar at the movies, you've got to build [games] from the ground up with 3D in mind. None of the games I've seen [so far] have been built that way - they've been regular games running in 3D. The real secret sauce will be when somebody says: 'I'm going to build this game specifically for a 3D platform.'"

When asked if EA Sports could be that 'somebody', Moore replied: "Absolutely. I'm not making any announcements, but it's no coincidence that of the 3D [TV] broadcasts I've seen in the last two years, I can count the NBA All-Star event in Las Vegas, while ESPN has announced 3D programming - perhaps even a full channel. There have also been a number of announcements around the [football] World Cup, with some games broadcast in 3D.

"This is reminiscent of where we were with HD five or six years ago. It seems like a lifetime ago now, but you'd go to CES and be in awe of HD - and it was sports games that showed up the technology. I think there's great opportunity for EA to bring sports to life in unbelievably imaginative ways, once we can grasp what 3D means to us."

By Tim Ingham, Computer and Videogames