3D Gaming*

[patsu]

Kotaku seems to like MotorStorm Apocalypse 3D:
http://kotaku.com/5618338/motorstorm-apocalypse-makes-a-3d-believer-of-me?skyline=true&s=i

When I read that Sony's Mick Hocking claimed Motorstorm Apocalypse would prove 3D gaming's worth, I laughed. After seeing countless other games in 3D and not seeing the appeal, how could this racing game sequel possibly change my mind?

Well it did, though I am still trying to puzzle out how. It's subtle. Perhaps that's the key.

It's not that the added depth of field gives you any advantage in the game.

It's not the random humans flying across your hood as you perpetrate extreme failure to yield.

...

 

[patsu]

MotorStorm Pacific Rift 3D available tomorrow:
http://blog.us.playstation.com/2010/08/23/motorstorm-3d-rift-comes-to-psn-tomorrow-with-10-tracks/

we will be releasing MotorStorm 3D Rift to PSN this Tuesday, August 24th for $9.99. Now you can enjoy an immersive 3D racing experience with 10 of our favorite MotorStorm Pacific Rift tracks like Kanaloa Bay or Caldera Ridge, using a selection of festival-favorite off-road vehicles including Bikes, Buggies, Racing Trucks, and Monster Trucks. [blah...]

 

[patsu]

http://gizmodo.com/5620310/three-glasses+less-3dtvs-expected-by-toshiba-before-years-end

Before the end of the year, three 3DTVs from Toshiba not requiring cumbersome glasses to get the full effects are expected.

...

The Japanese publication Yomiuri Shimbun is claiming Toshiba will launch three models before Christmas, using a technology they developed which emits light rays at different angles, meaning glasses aren't required.

Toshiba previously spoke of this technology as being 21-inches in size, with the panel not quite full HD, at 1280 x 800 (WXGA) resolution. Back in April they described the technology as the following
...

 

[MfA]

21" is less a TV and more a monitor ... a monitor with a really crappy resolution.

Seems unlikely to be a success out of some small niches.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Plus glasses-less 3D will always be viewing position dependent until some super-dooper future tech solves that.

 

[MfA]

Actually it would be pretty easy for a screen like this to be made view independent for a single viewer with eye tracking (as long as you are close "enough").

 

[patsu]

What about 27" to 30" ? Can they use this technology ?

 

[Crossbar]

Actually it would be pretty easy for a screen like this to be made view independent for a single viewer with eye tracking (as long as you are close "enough").

True, maybe that´s the reason of the small screen size, it would also allow it to work with the current stereoscopic material.

The low resolution is also expected for such a screen, as the underlying screen must have at least 4 x the horisontal resolution.

 

[patsu]

http://gamasutra.com/view/news/3008...s_Cant_Drive_Substantial_Change_In_Gaming.php

Add id Software to the 'hesitant' column, as Todd Hollenshead, boss of the storied developer most recently behind Doom 4 and Rage, tells UK consumer site Eurogamer that the tech needs more time.

One of Hollenshead's reservations is purely cultural. The push for 3D ever since the 1980s has a sort of breathless sci-fi bent he thinks may have drummed up the perception that wearing goggles and gawking at pop-out graphics seems "so nerdy that nobody wants to do it," and he's unsure whether the companies pioneering new stereoscopic tech have found a way to circumvent that rap and make 3D comfortable, stylish and appealing.

Hollenshead was frustrated when his nose hurt from the uncomfortable glasses he wore for two hours during a showing of James Cameron's Avatar in 3D.

...

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articl...oubts-move-or-kinect-can-extend-console-cycle

Ubisoft, Europe's number two publishing company, has said that it doesn't expect either Move or Kinect will be able to extend the life-cycle of the current generation of home consoles.

European MD Alain Corre told GamesIndustry.biz that he expects the peripherals from Sony and Microsoft will help lift the market in the short-term, but next year's big hardware success story is likely to be Nintendo's 3DS.

It's Nintendo's release of a 3D handheld system that has really captured the publisher's imagination, with Corre suggesting the 3DS can be a "monster success" next year.


Ubisoft has Ghost Recon, Driver, Splinter Cell and Assassin's Creed games ready for the 3DS launch.
"We're very confident that the machine will lift the handheld market, which is what we need," said Corre.

 

[patsu]

http://www.broadbandtvnews.com/2010/08/25/bbc-unready-to-commit-to-3dtv-format/

The BBC says it is unclear as to which 3D format is most likely to emerge as the popular choice among public and commercial broadcasters. In an interview with Broadband TV News’ sister publication New Television Insider, Graham Plumb, the BBC’s head of distribution technology, said it might be possible for satellite platforms, including Freesat, to take a different route to their terrestrial counterparts.

The major challenge would be fitting in any 3D signals on the existing terrestrial system. As things stand there would clearly be no room for a 3D signal to join BBC HD, ITV HD, Channel 4 HD and this autumn’s launch of BBC One HD within the PSB’s HD multiplex. Fitting in another HD channel might not be quite so difficult. “At the moment there’s four slots on the terrestrial multiplex, but I think we’ve said that when encoding improvements come, probably around 2012 there will be room for a fifth slot at that stage,” says Plumb, who suggests that by the time the BBC wants to launch HD versions of BBC Three and BBC Four technological advances will find them a berth too.

 

[ERP]

Hollenshead was frustrated when his nose hurt from the uncomfortable glasses he wore for two hours during a showing of James Cameron's Avatar in 3D.

It's dangerous to project you're own views and experiences accross a broader demographic. It's the reason for a lot of games fail.

I'm not much of a fan of 3D for movies but Avatar put a lot of butts in seats, which to me says with the right material you can sell it. The more interesting harder to quantify question is how many of those people went to see Avatar because it was 3D who wouldn't had it been 2D.

I think games will end up driving the technology, but what I'm not clear on is the timeline. If there is another round of console hardware, I could see that pushing 3D as a major element.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

This poll has only 2% of UK buyers interested. If it weren't for Sony wanting ot sell 3D TVs, it wouldn't make sense at all to have their first party target 3D titles.

 

[botjeter]

Sony (SNE) today said it is working on 3D televisions that don’t require special glasses, the AP reports. The report follows news of a similar effort already underway at Toshiba.
The question is whether the companies can produce TVs with compelling 3D images at reasonable prices.

“Seeing 3D without glasses is more convenient,” Sony senior VP Yoshihisa Ishida said, according to the AP. “We must take account of pricing before we can think about when to start offering them.”


Update: The Wall Street Journal notes that Ishida, speaking at a launch event for the company’s new TV models, said the company began to see a rapid deterioration in the U.S. economy in late June and early July. Sony now expects to fall short of its full-year TV sales forecast in the U.S. for the March 2011 fiscal year, but it is keeping its overall target of 25 million units for the year. The company kept its target for 3D sets to account for 10% of global sales; Sony said demand was better-than-expected in some markets, but below expectations in others, including the U.S.

http://blogs.barrons.com/techtrader...t-dont-need-special-glasses/?mod=yahoobarrons

 

[botjeter]

This poll has only 2% of UK buyers interested. If it weren't for Sony wanting ot sell 3D TVs, it wouldn't make sense at all to have their first party target 3D titles.

I think that goes without saying at this point really. You'l likely start getting Sony pictures Entertainment 3D Blu-Ray releases after the firmware update aswell i'd imagine.

 

[ShadowRunner]

This poll has only 2% of UK buyers interested. If it weren't for Sony wanting ot sell 3D TVs, it wouldn't make sense at all to have their first party target 3D titles.

Its hard to know exactly what these numbers mean. Were people asked if they were planning on buying a new TV for the sole purpose of having 3D functionality? I suspect most 3DTV purchases would be from people actively looking at buying a new TV already in which case 3D functionality may be more appealing. All this poll may be telling us is that 2% want to pay £2000 for the sole purpose of 3D, it doesnt tell us how many will be interested if the price is not so much more than they were going to pay for a new TV anyway.

 

[upnorthsox]

Its hard to know exactly what these numbers mean. Were people asked if they were planning on buying a new TV for the sole purpose of having 3D functionality? I suspect most 3DTV purchases would be from people actively looking at buying a new TV already in which case 3D functionality may be more appealing. All this poll may be telling us is that 2% want to pay £2000 for the sole purpose of 3D, it doesnt tell us how many will be interested if the price is not so much more than they were going to pay for a new TV anyway.

It's always the little things that matter more, people won't blink an eye at paying 10% more on a $1500 TV ($150) that has 3D, but charge them $150 for a pair of 3D glasses and they'll run not walk away.

 

[ShadowRunner]

Some may, but many wont. I am not going to spend £1500 on a new tv anytime soon for 3D, yet if my TV was 3D ready id shell out fot a £100 pair of glasses in a second.

 

[Nesh]

 

[botjeter]

It's always the little things that matter more, people won't blink an eye at paying 10% more on a $1500 TV ($150) that has 3D, but charge them $150 for a pair of 3D glasses and they'll run not walk away.

The electronics giants like Sony, Panasonic, Samsung etc want it to happen. Mainstream 3D WILL happen. In regards gamers beyond the powerful but only one company Sony. Nintendo jumping onto the bandwagon yet again shows there market research indicates people want 3D.

 

[Crossbar]

http://blogs.barrons.com/techtrader...t-dont-need-special-glasses/?mod=yahoobarrons

That was interesting, they have hardly released 3D TV sets on the market and are already starting to talk about the next generation and the cost of it. It sounds like it is fairly close to production. This is the original article.

TOKYO (AP) -- Sony Corp. is working on 3-D televisions that don't need special glasses, joining a race with rival Toshiba Corp., but sees cost and technological hurdles to overcome before they can go on sale.

Toshiba said earlier this week it is working on glasses-free 3-D TVs, although no decision had been made on when they will go on sale.

Mainstream 3-D TVs now on sale, such as those from Panasonic Corp. and Sony Corp., require glasses. But there are already screens that don't require glasses, mainly intended for store displays. They require the viewer to stand in specific spots for the 3-D effect to emerge, and the image quality is much lower than that of screens using glasses.

"Seeing 3-D without glasses is more convenient," Sony Senior Vice President Yoshihisa Ishida said Thursday at Tokyo headquarters. "We must take account of pricing before we can think about when to start offering them."

Sony showed its latest 3-D products for the Japanese market, including flat-panel TVs and Blu-ray recorders.

Sony said it plans to be No. 1 in market share in Japan in 3-D TVs and 3-D players and recorders, taking advantage of its position as an electronics maker with a movie studio.

Sony said it will start selling in Japan next month two films and two music videos in 3-D, and planned home software of 3-D theater releases, including a 3-D "Spider-Man" opening in 2012.

Sony probably uses the same technique as Toshiba. I am really curious about what it may be. I hope we will see it at CES in Las Vegas if not earlier.