Sony: 3D is not a fad

By Wesley Yin-Poole Published 25 August, 2010

Bigs up tech at Edinburgh Festival.

Sony has promised gamers 3D is for real despite admitting it "won't be an overnight success".

"Surely it's got to be a fad," Sony Computer Entertainment Europe senior vice president Ray Maguire told an audience at the Edinburgh Interactive Festival this morning during a presentation entitled "From the Lens to the Living Room".

"Well, maybe not this time. Maybe things are slightly different this time."

Maguire pointed to a May 2010 Future Source survey that predicted 40 per cent of all UK TVs will be 3D enabled by 2014 as evidence of the inevitable mass market appeal of the technology.

"2014 is not that far away," Maguire said. "When you are talking about, well, will they go out and buy a £3000, £2000 TV, the answer is Future Source think yes."

3D improves the experience gamers get out of core genres such as first-person shooters and racing, the Sony executive added.

"In simulation racing games improved depth perception allows you to judge relative speed and distance more accurately. It gives you more precision in judging racing lines and the breaking points crucial for improving your lap times.

"We've also noticed it opens up driving games to people who normally find driving using a TV screen difficult compared with real driving. The experience is closer to what they're used to in the real world."

Sony is pushing 3D hard. It manufactures 3D-enabled televisions, creates 3D videogames and has already updated the PS3 to output in 3D.

However, a number of game developers and gamers remain sceptical, with the high cost of 3D-ready tellys and having to wear glasses big bugbears.

Maguire admitted Sony faces a number of challenges as it attempts to make 3D mainstream.

On shutter glasses he said: "This is by far the best way of doing it but you do need some decent kit.

"It is quite inefficient. It requires a high speed display. We've got things like 200hz TVs, which are absolutely fantastic because they're refreshing so fast it's not an issue.

"And of course cost – these glasses are around about €100 at least, so it's not cheap stuff. In terms of the barrier to entry, there is clearly a cost issue here."

Despite insisting there are no health issues associated with playing games in 3D, Maguire predicted "there will be various people questioning whether you bring it down into the younger kids area or not". Five per cent of people cannot see 3D, apparently.

But he concluded that early adopters will help get 3D off of the ground.

"The infrastructure has got really good now. It's building very quickly in TV, film and games, and also photography as well with the next cameras doing stuff in 3D.

"Is it going to be an overnight success? No it's not. It will be for the early adopters. It's expensive to get into, but I think people who have the money will make that choice to get into it. That is pretty much the key.

"We're on the start of the journey as opposed to being a fad and everybody gets out of it. It's all about content. Everyone's piling into 3D."

A number of 3D videogames are in the works, including Gran Turismo 5, Killzone 3, MotorStorm: Apocalypse and Crysis 2.

And Sony will soon release a firmware update that enables the PS3 to play 3D Blu-ray discs.

Picture of Wesley.

About Wesley Yin-Poole

Wesley is Eurogamer's news editor. He likes news, interviews, and more news. He also likes Street Fighter more than anyone can get him to shut up about it.

Read more articles from Wesley by visiting the Wesley Yin-Poole archive page.

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Comments (57) Latest comment 2 years ago

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  • Perfecto #1 2 years ago

    Sony: 3D is not a fad

    Me: You wish

  • bdc #2 2 years ago

    They're only pushing it so hard because they're the ones making and selling all the 3D stuff. They have a lot riding on it.

    You would think they would have learned something from the PS3 launch; overpriced hardware that sells little and really put a massive dent in company shares.

  • super_monty #3 2 years ago

    I hope 3d goes away.

  • NorUraeus #4 2 years ago

    @bdc: You can not compare the PS3 launch to 3D, for one thing Sony is trying to use 3D to increase their mindshare, meaning that people start associating Sony with high-end 3D tv's and even if they can't afford such a TV they might choose a low end Bravia just because they associate Sony with cool technology. It is how Apple has gone from loser to winner in the hardware market.

    And at the same time the early adopter market now sees the PS3 as the natural console to get, which puts another money rich demographic in their camp.

    Sony has everything to win on their 3D strategy and very little to loose. Their alternative would have been to not have technology that puts them in the news, which 3D clearly does.

  • suhawk75 #5 2 years ago

    There might be a more positive way to look at this even if you've got no interest in 3D.

    Aren't most 3D games are achieving the 3D effect by halving their framerate from 60fps to 30fps x 2 ( i.e. 30fps for each eye)?

    Conversely doesn't this mean that games which aspire to have a full 3D mode will need to be 60fps in 2D mode?

    Or am I too optimistic?

  • bad09 #6 2 years ago

    It wasn't a fad in the 50's or 80's either.....

  • callum9999 #7 2 years ago

    Yes, because the 3D in the 80s is so similar to the 3D today isn't it...

    What a ridiculous statement, the 3D today is nothing like it was then so there's no reason why it would be received the same.

  • Dave52 #8 2 years ago

    3D will be an option. KZ3 (and Crysis) will offer you the opportunity to play in 3D, if you want to play it in the normal 2D format, that's fine. It will also give you the option to use the Move peripherals, if you want to use the Joypad - that will also be fine.

    Don't knock it until you've seen it....

  • coolbritannia #9 2 years ago

    yeah 3D in the 50's and 80's was shit as you had to wear those stupid glasses, whereas now......oh wait.

  • bad09 #10 2 years ago

    @callum9999

    I've not tried it on the PS3 version but 3D is just the same this time around but instead of red green tinted glasses they are are just tinted. You're still watching a dodgy picture for a crap effect just like then only this time it's like wearing sunglasses, it's a fad and people will get bored of it again and it will sod off for another 30 years. Thankfully.

  • CaptainKid #11 2 years ago

    If they continue developing and come up with good quality 3D TV's where you don't need glasses I think 3D will become standard.

  • coolbritannia #12 2 years ago

    I agree bad, it's being pushed by the movie industry to gain extra revenue by upping the price of a 3D ticket, and Sony as they're selling ridiculously priced TV's.

    It's a fad, plain and simple. And one most people are getting tired of (3D ticket sales are declining as a percentage of the films overall sales, and 2D screens are actually now more profitable than 3D screens).

    Analysts are starting to think the 3D market has hit saturation point (at least in cinemas), not that Sony will admit that.

  • JahB #13 2 years ago

    "When you are talking about, well, will they go out and buy a £3000, £2000 TV, the answer is Future Source think yes."

    Plan for tomorrow:

    1.) Found company with fortune cookie name.
    2.) Make totally unrealistic predictions.
    3.) Get big paycheck.

  • alcides #14 2 years ago

    3DTVs go for little more than 1000€

    Now which PS3 owner looking for a middle-range HD set are going to willingly DODGE the opportunity?

    edit : in case you wondered, costs no more no less than some 1080p TVs nowadays.
    Edited by alcides at 25/08/10 @ 23:57

  • bad09 #15 2 years ago

    @coolbritannia

    Really? Wow that's faster than I suspected, but then I did read somewhere Hollywood have been really milking the 3D card betting on it heavily to get bums back in seats in a declining cinema market.

  • SilentNinja92 #16 2 years ago

    I can see this going the way of the ps3 and blu ray to be honest.

    And by that I mean well. Right now its expensive yes but look at how HDTV's have come along. I spent £400 on a 26" sony bravia 2 or so years back and that was just about the best i could find in that price area.

    But I was a bravia in a supermarket on sale for the same price, bravia, but 32" and no doubt obliterating my tv's specs.

    It all gets cheaper in the end, and more people want it when theres stuff to watch on it. Sky made HDTV's make good sense, with discovery HD and stuff like that.

    same thing will happen here. yes 2D will be what you use mostly, at least for a few years yet. But sky and games mean that for watching a certain movie, or playing a game, you might want to use 3D.

    And when it comes as a standard option in all tv's like HD is now, why not?

    Same with the ps3 and blu ray, lowring prices, combined with incresing content means its viable for more customers.

  • Timbercottage #17 2 years ago

    Fuck you James Cameron!

  • Darren #18 2 years ago

    As long as 3D viewing requires glasses then, IMHO, it will remain a fad.

    Update the technology, ditch the glasses and then I think it would take off. I might even embrace it with open arms then. As it is now I'm not interested one iota as the current tech gives me headaches as I strain to even see the 3D. Not for me I'm afraid; I even try and avoid watching movies in 3D if I can.

  • kupocake #19 2 years ago

    I'm not really against 3D, or convinced it is a fad. But people sure seem to be making a lot of noise about how totally not a fad it is. The lady doth protest too much.

  • Optyk #20 2 years ago

    3D is a fad.

  • Loghorn #21 2 years ago

    Newsflash to Sony & many others: Stereoscopic 3D is NOT real 3D.

    Plus those of you that think that this is going to take off, are just very delusional. People are just now starting to get into HDTV's (but many others still don't own a HDTV as of yet) as it's just starting to become standard, & you honestly think that they're going to spend a lot of money off of 3DTV's & 3D glasses? Especially just to play the so-called "Real 3D" PS3 games? You got to be kidding me.

    When the day comes that 3D TV's become more cheaper, has more updated technology & is lens-free (or in other words, DOESN'T require 3D glasses; which won't be possible until about another 5-6 years from now), then we'll talk. Until then, I'm sticking with my good ol' 1080p Plasma.

  • coolbritannia #22 2 years ago

    3DS = no glasses required = great success. everything else = fail.

  • thesonglessbird #23 2 years ago

    If they make every movie as awesome as Piranha 3D then it will not be a fad.

  • coolbritannia #24 2 years ago

    i fucking hope that's irony....

  • lucky_jim #25 2 years ago

    The only successful 3D device will be Nintendo's, especially if the promised 3D movie download service works. A lot of people, me included, are used to viewing movies on handhelds thanks to iPhones, PSPs and the like. But sitting around with a pair of special specs on? It just won't catch on, at least outside the circle of serious tech fetishists.

    I did find the sentence that "five per cent of people can't see 3D" quite funny. I know EG meant 3D images, but it made me imagine five per cent of the population wandering around looking at the world like it's Paper Mario.
    Edited by lucky_jim at 26/08/10 @ 01:25

  • JJrabbit #26 2 years ago

    3D is not a fad - it's just too early for the mass market.

  • knightmt #27 2 years ago

    When will we know if it is a passing trend or not? 2014.

  • Sweefyt #28 2 years ago

    Company that stands to gain millions from a technology defends said technology.

    SHOCKER!

  • Antaios #29 2 years ago

    3D is a fad. It was in the fifties, it was in the eighties, it is now and unless they do something about the mandatory glasses which give too many people headaches and makes a movie night with mates at your place a strangely individual experience it always will be.

  • Caimbeul #30 2 years ago

    Until the following criteria are met, 3D will remain a fad:
    All angle viewing
    No glasses
    Much reduced cost
    not have to buy yet more hardware (another new BD player) and 1.4 cables etc.
    significant content of very good quality
    There are no health issues

  • andy25801 #31 2 years ago

    I think Sony has another Betamax on its hands.

  • drumbaby #32 2 years ago

    I think they have a slightly more expensive Blu-Ray on their hands.

  • Fab4 #33 2 years ago

    I love 3D. I would'nt live my life any other way :p

  • Weezer #34 2 years ago

    It's very possible the games will be okay (though I have my doubts) but I've seen quite a lot of 3D TV on Sony sets and, almost without exception, it's simply not very good. Even the stuff shot specifically to show the system off, shown on Sony's best kit, was flickery and unpleasant to watch for any length of time.

    S3D might not be a fad, but S3D on this current generation of hardware certainly is. Just read the forums - the percentage of people not interested is way higher than those prepared to give it a go. And even then they always have some sort of criteria, such as it's good for games or films.

    When you can make a glasses-free TV that looks like a window on to a 3D world, then I might start giving a toss.

  • Weezer #35 2 years ago

    Forgot to say: personally, I don't think it can be done on the current technology - ie, a flat screen display. Viewing angle will always be an issue, so anyone watching from anywhere but near dead centre wil get a less-than-perfect effect. And I don't think acceptable S3D will be here in the oft-quoted 'five or six years' either. Certainly not for mass market money.

  • DonnieDarko333 #36 2 years ago

    I love it...don't really care what others think...

    I think the people who are constantly bashing it, without probably even trying it...should just go away.

  • Widge #37 2 years ago

    Glasses free TVs released -> plug in PS3 -> enjoy existing catalogue of 3D content -> everyone shuts the fuck up

  • Dizzy #38 2 years ago

    Not a fad, just a big waste of money/time.

  • Widge #39 2 years ago

    I agree. Ditch the 3DS too.

  • Toothball #40 2 years ago

    I can't say I'd mind having a 3D TV, but I just bought a new 2D one that I'm rather happy with. Also it cost £300 instead of £3000. I'll be sitting this one out for a few years I guess.

  • oupe #41 2 years ago

    3DTVs go for little more than 1000€

    Yes, and they're already worthless. Toshiba announced a glasses-less 3d tv<a href="http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/1602947/toshiba-announces-glasses-3d-tv"> </a href>

    Second, the image quality on these cheap things sucks.

    You'd be crazy to buy a 3d tv right now since the industry apparently can't decide which technology it will use. Let them sort out a standard themselves for the next 3 years.

    Early adopters: fine but you'll be stuck with a worthless POS.

    Edited by oupe at 26/08/10 @ 09:14

  • Widge #42 2 years ago

    Yeah, once they stop putting the feature in just the top line TVs (and this is at all the manu’s), then it can filter down.

    The good thing is that, for consoles, you are not FORCED to adopt glasses tech as the medium for 3D, I have no idea why they can’t just as well be plugged into a glasses free TV as a glasses set. The work on 3D now means that when you do decide to adopt, you’ve got a catalogue waiting for you, rather than absolutely nothing for your new piece of tech toy.

    Also rumour has it that the PS3 will continue to work with 2D sets. It is not intrinsically tied purely to Sony and their top line range of TVs. Unless that makes the comment thread borefest a bit futile for you then feel free to carry on with, omg “just Sony” and their big 3D push, I hate 3D, no-one else is doing it, no other TV manu’s or console makers.

  • funkateer #43 2 years ago

    "...3D ticket sales are declining as a percentage of the films overall sales....
    "...Analysts are starting to think the 3D market has hit saturation point (at least in cinemas), not that Sony will admit that... "

    Admit it, you're pulling that out of your arse. Sources please or stfu :-)

    I am quite interested in 3D and plan to buy a 3DTV later this year. I've seen a demo of it on a PS3 and I thought it looked awesome, even better than the polarized glasses in the cinema.

    If you're looking for a mid-range priced TV, you might as well get 3D because it's hardly more expensive. It's just that there are no 3D TVs in the really cheap bottom-end market.

    The current 3D solution with expensive glasses is not really an option for watching movies with your family; that WILL be too expensive and there's not enough content to justify the price. but gaming you usually do alone anyway, and imho gaming is even better suited to 3D than movies. GT5 will be a great argument for 3D (it is for me anyway).

  • bad09 #44 2 years ago

    "GT5 will be a great argument for 3D (it is for me anyway). "

    Having already tried 3D on a driving game (NFS: Shift on Nvidia's 3D) I would say it will be a mild amusement for 5 minutes before you put the glasses down and then continue to play the game properly without the shades on.

  • Dolly #45 2 years ago

    What is wrong with you people? Do you NOT want 3D porn to happen or something?!?

  • M_of_the_sys #46 2 years ago

    I watched my first 3D movie a couple of months ago. I didn't get a headache. I didn't find the glasses uncomfortable. Strangely enough,I wasn't dead centre of the screen and still got the 3D effect.

    Having said that, I didn't find 3D that great but I don't wish it would go away. "I don't like 3D so they shouldn't make it! ME ME ME ME ME!" We all have a choice. No one is forcing you to buy it.

  • darkmorgado #47 2 years ago

    "3D is not a fad"....

    ....says manufacturer of very expensive 3D TVs.

  • IronCladChicken #48 2 years ago

    3D isnt a fad - but motion control is.... oh, wait!

  • Spekingur #49 2 years ago

    If they were really trying to push 3D then anything 3D would cost less than it does now to get people more "inspired" to accept it. Keeping it expensive means that people will associate it with some kind of extra luxury statement or something and larger amount of people will be less inclined to buy into it.

  • JonFE #50 2 years ago

    I think that 3D as an option to watch a well-thought-out-and-planned movie at the cinema for a couple hours can be great (as my personal Avatar 3D experience can attest) - unless it gives you a headache of course.

    However, 3D as an option to play some games for a couple of hours, which by definition would be a more occupying and engaging experience, could well prove to be troublesome even to those who didn't have any problem watching a 3D movie.

  • Gormless #51 2 years ago

    Sony are right, it isn't a fad, it is in fact a load of old bollocks.

  • TheMitch #52 2 years ago

    Away from the home, in the cinema, acceptance and preference for 3D (in regards to actual opinion) is at around 70-80% of 3D. The internet; as big as it is, certainly does not represent the masses, also, negative opinions are more often posted if not asked or prompted specifically. 60% said they would like to buy 3D equipment with 3D specifically in mind when it is at the right price and many others are considering it

    By 2015 if you go to buy a decent HD TV it will be 3D, you will have no choice in the matter.

    The simple fact is that it costs manufacturers f**k all to implement the tech into TVs; high prices now are just a quick bout of profit and riding of the tidal wave before prices drop and they fly off the shelves...and to be quite honest, 3D TVs are commanding nowhere near the premium people are saying when compared to the spiritual 2D-only predecessor of many 3D sets, the best 3D set is nowhere near this "£3000" mythical number that people are coming up with, £1800 while not low, but still bloody good will get you best 3D TV on the market; it's also said to be among the best 2D TVs...is NeoPDP, 1080p, 600Hz Sub-field Drive and 50".

    Let's go through the tech that makes 3D possible on a TV set:

    120Hz+: This would have happened as a natural succession of 2D regardless of 3D.

    HDMI 1.4: It's simply a newer connection standard that also would have happened eventually.

    Transmitter: Well this isn't exactly space age tech is it?

    Some minor revisions to general hardware and software.

    So, not exactly pushing the boat out eh?

    Like I said, by 2015 you'll be going to get a decent TV and it will do 3D; glasses may not come with it but you have no choice in the matter, 3D-capable hardware will be in your home eventually. The only premium will be glasses an they will also fall dramatically in price by then.

    3D will be complimentary; an option to pop on for films, docs and games, but most of your general viewing will probably still be 2D.

    Also the law known as the Naysayer Bullshit Statistic means that at least 50% of people with a highly negative view of something are poorly informed about it, haven't tried it to its full potential or are just plain making stuff up.

  • jefranklin18 #53 2 years ago

    Forget 3D TV, what we need is cheap shoes!

  • callum9999 #54 2 years ago

    "People are only just getting into HDTVs" - 1. Hardly, 2. That backs up my point more than anything. It shows a slow start due to a high price point doesn't mean it won't be successful in a few years time. People made the exact same claims that HD is just a fad when it launched, now its pretty much a standard feature in TVs. There is no reason why it won't be the same for 3D.

    And bad09, have you actually seen anything in the new 3D? The picture quality is similar to 2D so I don't see how it can be described as a "dodgy picture". And how is it tinted? Doesn't look at all tinted to me.

  • knightmt #55 2 years ago

    Personally I am quite interested to see if anyone can prove the claims that 3D will give an advantage in racing or shooters.
    I might by a 3D monitor just to try Crysis 2 on my PC.

  • joedix88 #56 2 years ago

    As soon as I clicked on this article, guess what came on my iPod Playlist....... Crazy by Gnarls Barkley.

    Funny that, isn't it. :)

  • Retroid #57 2 years ago

    I love how people are going on about red & green glasses to watch old 3D films. I sat in the cinema with polarised (slight grey tint, no colour) lenses and watched Jaws 3(D). I understand they weren't used for many films but they did exist and rubbish red & green glasses weren't the only option.