The Future Of 3-D Videogames
While Avatar got everyone excited about 3-D again, a different digital medium could play a big part in getting 3-D TVs in front of consumers. If executed well, videogames rendered in stereoscopic 3-D are a compelling product for 3-D TVs, and could potentially drive early adoption of the TVs, some analysts and industry leaders say. Like Avatar, this current generation of stereoscopic 3-D feels less gimmicky and eschews the use of tacky red-green glasses in favor or polarized or shutter glasses that don't wash the color out when viewing the display.
"We think the future of 3-D in the near-term will be 'event-based,'" meaning that consumers will use 3-D TV for things that require longer periods of focused attention, like watching sports games and movies and playing videogames, says Insight Media analyst Dale Maunu. Maunu explains that in casual TV watching, people find wearing the special glasses cumbersome, but would be more likely to don them for such focused events.
Forrester Research analyst James McQuivey echoed Maunu's sentiments in a recent blog post: "Gaming is the ideal environment for 3-D [TV]--gameheads stare straight at the screen in immersive gameplay for hours."
But while many have predicted the potential for 3-D gaming to help boost 3-D TV sales, 3-D gaming itself is off to a slow start. Though gamers on the PC have been able to play hundreds of games in 3-D for years now, including big-name titles like World of Warcraft and Resident Evil 5, there are only a couple of 3-D titles currently available for the consoles, where much of mainstream gaming occurs. In addition, some among the console makers remain skeptical.
Most notably, Nintendo Chief Satoru Iwata recently said he wasn't impressed by 3-D in videogames. "I have doubts whether people will be wearing glasses to play games at home," he said.
Of the three big console-makers, only Sony has put a substantial amount of weight behind 3-D gaming, ostensibly to support its upcoming line of 3-D TVs this summer, with a slate of 3-D games to be released at the same time.
Since January, expectations that 3-D games would boost sales of 3-D TVs have dampened. "Prior to the Consumer Electronics Show, everybody was talking about videogames being the logical next step, but 3-D gaming at CES was downplayed quite a bit," Maunu says.
Still, the potential of 3-D gaming is ripe for exploration, and some hint at the compelling uses 3-D gaming could have in 3-D TV beyond what's currently available.
"Think of combining a 3-D TV and 3-D gaming with Project Natal," says Patrick Naud, executive producer of the 3-D Avatar game, referring to the motion-sensing system for Microsoft's Xbox 360 slated for release later this year. "With the ability to move in 3-D within your living room while seeing your game in 3-D, there are so many possibilities there."
By Oliver J. Chiang, Forbes
