Lewis: 360 has "at least" five more years

By Robert Purchese Published 21 June, 2010

3D important in 12-18 months' time.

European Xbox 360 bigwig Chris Lewis reckons his console has "at least" five more competitive years in it.

Talking to GamesIndustry.biz, he said Europe was "very central" to Microsoft's "global success" during that time. He's convinced that Kinect - nee Natal - will appeal greatly on the continent.

"Kinect for 360 is big for France, Italy, Germany and Spain, where there is a market for the casual gaming appetite that we can now address without the physical barrier of the controller," said Lewis.

"2010 will be a very big year for us. It is in many ways for us mid-lifecycle. What you've seen is with this new sleek design and Kinect for Xbox 360 we've got at least another five years of this generation where we continue to offer great experiences for people.

"We continue to attach more games than competitive platforms," he added, "and we have the healthiest ecosystem with 25 million people connected through Xbox Live. So we are uniquely placed to continue to do really, really well in this business and enjoy ongoing momentum."

Lewis went on to reveal that he doesn't believe 3D will be important until a year, year-and-a-half from now.

"You can't have the revolution without the army in terms of the installed base," he quipped. "Certainly for this Christmas the timing isn't yet right. Over time there will be a lot more interest as the price points get more realistic, we'll see families feeling better about having that kind of infrastructure in the home.

"I think we'll see in 12-18 months from now that will become more important. From our point of view we're very well placed and we'll listen to what our consumers want and we can enhance the experience accordingly."

He added that it was "too early" to talk about 3D this side of Christmas.

Head over to GamesIndustry.biz for the full interview with Chris Lewis.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds. @Clert on Twitter.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (74) Latest comment 2 years ago

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  • Johnson #1 2 years ago

    Hurray! 10 year cycles all round!

  • Ryze #2 2 years ago

    Hear hear.

  • Skurmedel #3 2 years ago

    I will be bored sick of my 360 in 5 years, I'm not sure it even runs by then. Are they hoping their arm-flapping-sensor technology is going to rejuvenate the 360? At least the PS3 will still function as a BD-player... if I haven't sold both to a museum of technology by then :)
    Edited by Skurmedel at 21/06/10 @ 16:31

  • Dolly #4 2 years ago

    I hope so, but I fear that the rush for the next-gen of home consoles will be caused by one one of the big players 'pushing the others hand'. What I mean, is that as soon as Microsoft/Sony get whiff that the other company is finalising a PS4 or next-gen 360 design/product, they will rush theirs out before then, or shortly after, in order to not miss the boat. I doubt very much that it will have anything to do with the current platforms being too limited for game-designers to get decent results from anymore, or that customers are truly demanding a replacement. I am pretty positive that if the worlds economy hadn't hit the shit-bowl a few years ago, we would at least have been seeing the next microsoft console out this year, instead of 360.5 with Kinect. Lets not kid ourselves that these '10 year plans' were all part of the original vision.

  • YenooR #5 2 years ago

    This is good news

  • makeamazing #6 2 years ago

    Yet another stupid, controller is the barrier... strange that millions of people seem to use the wii controller easy enough, and the Sony controller isnt that difficult. I really wish they would stop going on about the controller being the problem, when its a game without a controller thats the problem...lol.

    Also its strange they see 3D being only around a year before it takes off, so Sony and Nintendo will already be far and away ahead by the time it appears and MS will be late to the party... dont get the concept.

  • Ryze #7 2 years ago

    @Skurmedel

    So what. I can still buy and enjoy the odd PS2 game from time to time, so it will be nice being able to gift your console to someone else in 3 years, or sell it without it being unsupported and obsolete.
    Edited by Ryze at 21/06/10 @ 17:42

  • GamesProgrammer Verified Games Team Programmer, Eutechnyx Ltd. #8 2 years ago

    Amazing that 3D is not important until 12 months from now when MS release there first 3D games, there timing is exceptional!

  • linksdad #9 2 years ago

    12-18 months sounds optimistic to me.

    Its almost been 5 years and HD penetration (missis!) must still be sub 50% for consoles, given that a lot are played on 2nd tellys.

  • WiseGuy #10 2 years ago

    I presume by 10 years he means there will be a 720 or whatever but the 360 will still be supported, instead of no new console from MS for 5 years....

    I agree with 12-18mths for 3D before it becomes anything like mainstream tho. Sets need to be sub £1K before this takes off, and you need time for people with HD sets to consider an upgrade worthwhile.

  • Nazo #11 2 years ago

    Another 5 years doesn't mean there won't be a newer model in the meantime.
    Hopefully it means MS have learned from Sony and won't just kill the existing model stone-dead when the new one comes out.

  • lordofthedunce #12 2 years ago

    "I think we'll see in 12-18 months from now that will become more important. When we've quickly cobbled something together in the workshop and devised a huge cross-media ad campaign."

    Fixed.

    I feel proper 3D in every home is years off.
    Edited by lordofthedunce at 21/06/10 @ 16:40

  • Darren #13 2 years ago

    I'm fine with the Xbox 360 continuing for another five years but I hope we see its successor much earlier than that, say, in two years time (2012-ish).

  • Quixz #14 2 years ago

    I think he just confirmed that the 360 will get 3D very soon.

  • metalangel #15 2 years ago

    I'm all in favour of longer cycles... I can't think of many things that you'd want to do that you couldn't do with the current generation of consoles anyway. To say that Kinect is somehow the catalyst is stupid, though: it's common frigging sense there's no need to push forward.

    I have a feeling the only people who disagree are those who've just paid £2000 for a bleeding edge gaming PC and want to whinge that consoles are again holding their niche hobby back because all the big budgets are going to console games and they want to show off to other PC gamers how well their ridiculous new graphics card can render grass or slime or nostril hairs or something.

  • Cpt_McOneball #16 2 years ago

    @GamesProgrammer

    Microsoft aren't saying 3D will be important in 12-18 months because that's when their games (even though I'm not sure what these are) are going to be released, but more they are releasing games in that time because that's when they feel 3D will be important. You've got it the wrong way round.

  • drumbaby #17 2 years ago

    "3D important in 12-18 months' time."

    By which time Sony will have a huge 3D library and a real facility with making top 3D games that take full advantage of the tech'....and Msoft will be stumbling fitfully from the blocks whilst trying to make out they're the 3D pioneers. Well done, Msoft!

  • Spydy #18 2 years ago

    I lol'd hard. Who are MS to talk about 3D....The 360 can't even do true 3D. Again, lol. Note he didn't specifically mention the 360 having 3D in 12-18 months.

    360's are HDMI 1.2 (negating all those users out there using ANYTHING BUT HDMI) while you need 1.4 plus the frame-buffer can't handle it. The only way you can get 3D on 360 is either hope your TV up-scales the 3D or the game is very sub-HD and you have HDMI (headache inducing)

    Another example of MS bull-shitting.
    Edited by Spydy at 21/06/10 @ 17:09

  • Steroyd #19 2 years ago

    What a difference a week makes, guy from MS downplays 3D then we have a guy from MS saying it'll be more important in the near future.

    Meanwhile Sony and Nintendo build up a library of 3D ready content till that time comes.

  • stevetuck #20 2 years ago

    Do many people actually own £2000 3DTV's? and if Avatar is anything to go by as the standard of 3D.... i would rather not play a horribly blurry game that losses its magic after 10mins of your eyes getting used to it
    Edited by stevetuck at 21/06/10 @ 17:15

  • mega7ech #21 2 years ago

    I'm quite happy with this news. In previous generations of console hardware I usually couldn't wait until the 'next gen' came along but this time around it feels, to me at least, that there's still a fair bit more developers can squeeze out of the 360 and indeed perhaps to a greater extent the PS3. As for 3D? In my opinion, definately not a mass market thing for at least another 2-3 years!

  • NotSoSlim #22 2 years ago

    Well you can buy a 3d tv for a grand...prices will come down, movies will support it more n more as will games. I swear everyone was complaining about hdtv prices only a few years who?

  • bigbadbeasty #23 2 years ago

    I won't be surprised if we see the next generation Xbox within 18 months (Xmas 2011). But with Kinect coming who knows, I expect it would fit with a newer Xbox easily enough.

    As for 3D, I still don't get it. I just can't see us all sitting around with fancy 3D TV's. The 3DS has a controlled environment, they have total control over the experience, I can see it working. With potential 3D consoles the whole experience will be designed around a game world with a 3D TV user in mind, but what if they don't have one?

    I dunno, I am very very cynical about the whole 3D thing... Maybe after the 3DS comes out I will change my mind...?

  • lordofthedunce #24 2 years ago

    Can anyone tell me if there's some kind of standard for 3D or are we going to have a situation in a couple of years' time when there's several competing formats and loads of people end up with useless tech?

  • jag10 #25 2 years ago

    shame they couldn't do the same with blu-ray.

  • cherryuk #26 2 years ago

    If they fix the noisy DVD drive and it's cheap enough I'll get one possibly.

  • andywilkie35 #27 2 years ago

    My hope that even though Microsoft and Sony are jumping on Nintendo's "Destroy Gaming" bus, I'm hoping that there are still a load of real games that come out on the systems for many more years yet. At least Nintendo seem to be turning the bus around by announcing proper games like Donkey Kong etc.

  • yegon #28 2 years ago

    Please announce a 720 by the end of '11, otherwise it's ninja pc time, and I really really don't want to go in that direction.

    Far more interested in "proper" 1080p resolutions and beyond @60fps on a future console rather than 3D. I can live with slightly ropey 720p for another 18 months, but much beyond that, meh.
    Edited by yegon at 21/06/10 @ 17:59

  • PlugMonkey #29 2 years ago

    @yegon. Why? The days of the £2000 bleeding edge PC that metalangel talks about are long gone. To spend that much on a PC you'd have to be going out of your way to waste money.

    I'd say it's looking increasingly likely that the next 'console' I plug into the TV in the lounge will be one I've made myself, because right now my PC is probably the most user friendly games machine I have in every aspect barring proximity to the sofa.

    By 2015 Sony and MS are going to need some pretty epic exclusives to get me back.

    Edit: Actually, MS own my Rock Band songs, so they're probably alright. lol
    Edited by PlugMonkey at 21/06/10 @ 18:02

  • Xensor #30 2 years ago

    What i find interesting is the feeling i get from what this guy said, that MS feels they may have missed the boat when it comes to 3D. Sony and Nintendo have positioned themselves as the pioneering 3D companies - Sony for home, Nintendo for mobile - and suddenly MS looks behind the times, even with their new form factor and Kinect. I also get the feeling that the Kinect + 3D solution price point will be a massively tough sell for MS, hell Sony are gonna have a hugely tough time shifting Move + 3D tech in the next 12 months. What will be even worse imho is if MS need to release a new form factor with 3D tech a year after releasing the slim. That won't go down well at all.

    All speculation of course :)

    Edit - And one final point, how long until Apple release a 3D enable iDevice to stop Nintendo stealing back the market share Apple have stolen? :p
    Edited by Xensor at 21/06/10 @ 18:06

  • TRUTH #31 2 years ago

    Good because I'm not upgrading ever 5yrs to play games!...a console should have at least 10yrs lifespan!

    I played Wipeout in 3D today - honestly wasn't over-ally impressed as I though I should be. It seems a little slower, and it's more depth looking in the screen rather then coming out the screen , also the tint of the glasses made the game more tinted.
    Edited by TRUTH at 21/06/10 @ 18:09

  • yegon #32 2 years ago

    @Plugmonkey

    I see your point, I used to be a big pc gamer, but Im just a simple soul now with regards to gaming. You'll never catch me arguing about pc vs consoles, I totally see the attraction of the former and recognize it's many, many plus points over the latter...but I'm just inclined towards consoles these days.

  • killyourtv #33 2 years ago

    over 9000 more years?

  • PlugMonkey #34 2 years ago

    @yegon. Fair enough. I'm no format evangelist. I just wondered what the hurdle was, as far as you were concerned.

    The thing that's got me thinking is that my PC is going on 3 years old. It still plays everything at the moment, but if we're talking 5 years before the next console cycle, it's certainly going to want replacing before then, and when I do I can't see any point it staying glued to the desk. It's going to hop into the living room.

    And now that PC gaming is probably even less hassle than console gaming (no discs, Steam updates all my games when I'm not playing them rather than when I DO want to play them, that sort of thing), I do start to wonder what I need the licensed hardware for.

    (Rock Band...)

  • TheRealBadabing #35 2 years ago

    Ignoring 3d for a moment, I find it much more interesting that he is implying that due to the lack of controller, French and Italian gamers can finally play war games the way they always wanted.

    Might be time to buy the distribution rights for the "Official Xbox 360 Wireless White Flag"...

  • lucky_jim #36 2 years ago

    Another 5 years of the same tech? For the first time in ages I'm suddenly interested in looking at what PC gaming has to offer...

  • Dizzy #37 2 years ago

    I think he means that in 12-18 months 3d will be gone and buried.

  • mossychops001 #38 2 years ago

    Post deleted at 11:49:27 04-05-2012

  • rommy667 #39 2 years ago

    3d gaming will not happen for another 4 or 5 yrs more,just because a "3d" film was such a hit at the box office not to long ago all the players saw the HUGE profits made and now they will tag "3d" on to anything to try and emulate the profits from the movie.

  • Miths #40 2 years ago

    @lordofthedunce

    Here's a good intro video to 3D TVs and content from AVForums.

    [link url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jz9ISXqZBz8&feature=player_embedded
    ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jz9ISXqZB...[/link]

    Look from 1.50 for an answer to the issue of potential format wars. They give a plain "no" right off the bat, followed by what sounds like very solid evidence to back that up.
    While there are currently two types of 3D TVs on the market - one using active shutter glasses, the other passive polarized glasses similar to those at the cinema - they can display the 3D content (broadcast - they use Sky HD as an example in this video, 3D Blu-ray, games) in the format or formats that work correctly with the given system.

  • beastmaster #41 2 years ago

    MS will watch what Sony do. Then copy it till they get it right.

  • Spritpenna #42 2 years ago

    ""Kinect for 360 is big for France, Italy, Germany and Spain, where there is a market for the casual gaming appetite that we can now address without the physical barrier of the controller," said Lewis. "

    I just love that all video game company's piss over people that live in other European country's then those mention above. Give some love to Sweden!

  • StooMonster #43 2 years ago

    lordofthedunce: Can anyone tell me if there's some kind of standard for 3D or are we going to have a situation in a couple of years' time when there's several competing formats and loads of people end up with useless tech?

    HDMI1.4 will be a standard that one can rely on for displays -- although HDMI is not required for source devices, otherwise PS3 with its 1.3 and Sky HD with its 1.1/1.2 set-top-boxes wouldn't work -- you need to be careful right now though.

    There are several 3D monitors and 3D projectors that work at 120Hz and require alternate frame presentation; these don't work with Sky HD and certainly won't work with PS3 or 3D Blu-ray players either, or anything other than this format.

    So if you want compatibility in your displays look for HDMI 1.4 -- which supports all the different ways 3D data can be presented -- and don't buy some cheap 3D SVGA projector or suchlike.

  • MARKIV #44 2 years ago

    Yeah yeah.. That doesn't mean they're NOT planning on a releasing an XBOX 720 anytime soon, i.e in 12-18 months time? :)

    Think PS2 running along side PS3 everyone...!

  • lordofthedunce #45 2 years ago

    @Miths and StooMonster

    Thanks both of you for that.

  • Kerome #46 2 years ago

    3D in 12-18 months? Not likely.

    First there's the question of is it compelling - the jury is still out on that. But the bigger question is the length of time people hold on to TV sets. These are not feature- or performance-driven items like computers, or items that get upgraded casually like MP3 players or phones, they're closer to consumer white goods that people hold on to until they break, ie 8+ years. Given that we've just had a wave of upgrades to HD flatscreens, the chances of that happening again anytime soon are pretty dam low. So 12-18 months? No thanks, try 5 years instead.

  • Absolvus #47 2 years ago

    My computer puts out games in 2560 x 1600 resolution, would be capable of 3D with different type of displays. Runs multi-monitor setup, has mouse and keyboard, offers dedicated servers for all serious fps games. Is hooked in living room TV in addition, though the monitor is superior for gaming.

    my xbox runs Halo 3 at 1152x640 ... With luck Halo: Reach is able to run in 1152x720 in fullHD tv. Not to mention you lack tons of stuff that makes games pretty on PC.

    Yeah, please keep on trucking 5 more years. At least I'll be buying Dance Central and new Rock Bands for my XBox. For serious games, think I'll pass on the uglies and enjoy the graphics on serious gaming platforms.

  • yonno #48 2 years ago

    is it only me who really doesnt care about 3d???

  • yegon #49 2 years ago

    Couldn't give a monkeys.

    When it's glasses free, has huge viewing angles, and you can get a top banana model for £1k (or equivalent at the time) sign me up baby!

  • makeamazing #50 2 years ago

    I'm not fussed about 3D either, i do think its the avatar effect. They have seen that make alot of money and are giving it a go... but to their credit, both Sony and Nintendo have been able to offer solutions pretty quick, so its not been totally difficult for them to do it, the problem they have is with the TV's. I also think its going to be 2-3 years before the tech is cheap enough and then you have to wait for everyone to start putting it in their homes. 5-10 years... this is not short term plan.

  • rayscoota #51 2 years ago

    Another 5 years of games being held back by inferior tech, we had enough of that type of thing with the ps2. as for the name for a new xbox it wont be 720 that wouldnt make sense... prolly Xbox3 or... xbox3d

  • Arwin #52 2 years ago

    3D is as important as you make it. Obviously Microsoft has no vested interest in making 3D important, hence they're not going to invest in it now (they're having their hands full with Kinect anyway ... ). Sony on the other hand wants people to buy into 3D, as this will sell new TVs, games, cameras and so forth, and make the PS3 even more attractive (as it can upgrade to 3D both for BluRay and for games).

    Personally, I think it is great that Sony pushes forward, as 3D, and even more so with Augmented Reality (those that tried it at E3 found EyePet with the Move controller and 3D an amazing experience, because suddenly you're interacting in 3D with a creature that lives in 3D in your living room/tv). That's not to say that I'll jump in now. But by next June, we'll have a good picture of where the land lays, whether glasses are here to stay and TVs can pump up the brightness or whether other systems will be here soon, and I'll definitely go for playing some Gran Turismo in 3D. I've driven on the Nurburgring in real life, and that's quite the rollercoaster ride, quite different from doing it in a game, precisely because you don't have that sense of depth. If Gran Turismo in 3D gives me that feeling I have on the real track, that experience will be worth a LOT of money for me, as having a car just to go to the track is currently much more expensive due to taxes, insurances and so on alone.

  • Dismiss #53 2 years ago

    Who cares how long each "generation" lasts, as long as there are great exclusive games for each platform. At the beginning of this gen, God of War II on PS2 pretty much wiped the floor with every "next-gen" game out there. Graphics are definitely important, as videogaming is mainly a visual hobby, but they mean f all with no decent games to back them up. I mean, sure, my two-year old PC runs multiformat games better than any console, but it can't play a fairly large percentage of my favourite games, because of the simple fact that they're not available on PC. Consequenty, my "superior" PC gets less playtime.

    Actually, I like the way that technology seems to have hit a plateau this gen. Sure, piling on more effects and antialiasing is nice and all, but essentially, most games look good enough on any platform.

  • Stop-gap #54 2 years ago

    "Far more interested in "proper" 1080p resolutions and beyond @60fps on a future console rather than 3D."

    This. That's a realistic target, and an extremely desirable one. In 4-5 years I hope HDTVs are prevalent enough to allow Sony/MS to enforce native 1080p as the standard games must run at.

    edit - i don't imagine there is anything stopping them building in a down-scaler for those sticking to their old tellys.
    Edited by Stop-gap at 21/06/10 @ 22:47

  • sfp_noodle #55 2 years ago

    Don't know about you guys, but I felt Microsoft's deal with Activision about exclusive dlc until 2012 was a bit of a cryptic hint. Could that be the year where, MS at least, intend to release a new console? It would make sense for Acti to not offer timed exclusive dlc for a console that isn't proven. Also, I do think MS are missing a trick here. Nintendo and Sony are pushing 3D hard. I couldn't care less about it at this point, but its obvious that their future consoles are going to be 3D ready out of the box. They'll also have a decent amount of experience behind them before the consoles launch. If MS aren't planning on jumping on the 3D train for another couple of years yet I see it as a mistake. The decision to not include Blu-Ray as the standard media for 360 is now starting to show as ambitious titles can't include true HD 7.1 surround sound, high quality video and of course, Blu-Ray slowly becoming the preferred choice for HD content.

    The next couple of years could be interesting. I honestly would not be surprised if 2011 turns into a pornfest of new console hardware reveals at E3. Sure the current consoles will continue to be pushed for another 5 years or so, but consoles have traditionally been announced at least a year before release. I believe 2011 will be that year.

  • Skurmedel #56 2 years ago

    @Ryze: So what what? It's my opinion, we have different preferences.

  • Bremenacht #57 2 years ago

    I'd much rather they stayed on the current platforms for at least a few years until the gimmick war is settled. I'd like to see a lot more innovation in the games and gameplay, and a little less fuss over doubtful new hardware.

    Kinept, Move and the 3DS are clever and interesting, but a 360 that's cool, quiet and reliable is probably what most (360-owning) people want.

  • SilentNinja92 #58 2 years ago

    I suppose thats good fr my wallet... But a big part of me really wants to see some new hardware and some better graphics in 3 years max...

    tbh though if I cant take it anymore, by then OnLive will be out in the UK for over a year so should be running pretty smoothly. Tiny box and graphics way above most PC's? Yeah thanks!! =D

  • Widge #59 2 years ago

    Seen a few comments about sets needing to be sub £1k.

    40" Samsung 3D ready £970 if you inc 1 pair of glasses:

    [link url=http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B003JEVQRK/ref=asc_df_B003JEVQRK690779?smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&tag=googlecouk06-21&linkCode=asn&creative=7974&creativeASIN=B003JEVQRK
    ]http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B003JEVQRK/re...[/link]

    They will only get cheaper. 32" model can be had for about £500.

  • WizenWolfBain #60 2 years ago

    I can't really think of any hardware improvements i would like in a new console. The 360 does the job with all the games i like, and it's still much cheaper than a PC while almost keeping the same quality in most titles.

    I'll start to want a new console when there's a true leap in technology, that can be squeezed in to a console at an affordable price. And would make a massive difference to graphics, loading times, storage and whatnot. Until then, i'm happy with the 360.

  • Murton #61 2 years ago

    MS certainly could keep the 360 running another 5 years or even 15 years, but it won't be competitive for much longer than another two years. We're already seeing developers struggle big time with data limits and the like leading to significant content cuts that could be avoided entirely on the PS3 if it was feasible to go single platform or develop multiple versions of the same game.

    Keeping the 360 as a lone platform would essentially hold the entire industry back and could have consequences for the Xbox brand if third party devs abandon it due to those data limits. For this reason alone I suspect we'll see a new Xbox console revealed at some point in the next 12 months and likely released sometime in 2012.

  • PlugMonkey #62 2 years ago

    @Murton: I'm afraid the awkward truth is that they're not really that far apart. If they were, PS3 exclusives would be miles ahead of X360 exclusives, and as anyone with eyes can see, they are patently not.

  • Kerome #63 2 years ago

    Well it is all about the games... as long as there are good games coming out for the 360, how up-to-date the tech is doesn't really matter. And it's shaping up to be a bumper year - Mass Effect 2, Red Dead Redemption, etc...

  • FooAtari #64 2 years ago

    It amazes me how blind some people seem to be with regards to adoption of tech.

    HD is not yet mass market. Sure, a lot of people now have HD capable TV's but a high majority of those people are feeding it SD content such as regular TV and DVD and seem pretty happy with it. People mostly buy HD TV's because of the size, not the quality of the picture. If people cared that much about quality they wouldn't be buying the supermarket budget range TVs...

    Sky has the most HD content. And yet there still isn't that much, especially if you don't pay for sports or movies. Hell there are several channels on Sky that don't even broadcast in 16:9!! EVen the big 4 channels don't yet broadcast all their content in HD.

    It's going to be another couple of years before the majority of TV channels broadcasting in HD

    Joe Public likes convenient. HD TV's are slim line and take up less space than CRT TV's, that's as much a driving force behind HD TV sales as anything else. It is then easier for them to just reconnect their existing equipment at no extra cost, so that's what they do.

    As HD digital boxes become standard people will slowly start to adopt it, but it isn't happening over night.

    Now with current 3D tech you need glasses you need to be in an optimal position directly in front of the TV, anyone who bought a HD TV more than a year probably needs a new TV, perhaps new BR players, digital decoders etc etc, that's an inconvenience for most and will hold back adoption a LOT. I mean I don't know that many people that have a chair right in front of their TV. The TV fit's into the existing layout of the lounge, not the other way around.

    And as for 7.1 HD, well in my groups of friends/family I'm the only person who has any kind of surround sound, and it's only 5.1. As with 3D, surround really only works if you have a couch right in front of the telly to get the best experience. I keep telling my mates how good surround is but no one seems that interested.

    It's all a bit to much effort for most people who simply don't give enough of a shit. Yeah I'm sure attitudes to this will change as technology becomes standard, but it will be very slow. It's going to be 3 to 5 years before 3D in the home is probably even near 50% penetration.

  • Kengro #65 2 years ago

    I don't care a damn shit about 3d, as long as it needs glasses or other shit i'm not going near it. But 5 more years with 360 i care about, it's already showing it's age. So is the Ps3 and the wii. I don't want 10 years with any console, the pace this tecnology is going forward with is way to fast for consoles to become 10 years

  • zedzee #66 2 years ago

    "It is in many ways for us mid-life [crisis]."

    Sorry, I couldn't help that.

    No seriously, with government budgets being squeezed and this affecting the general public and their expenditure, not forgetting that some people have just invested in HD television sets (that don't have any 3D support), I think the whole 3D thing may take a long time and be ripe (in all aspects - price, technology, standards, support) just about the time when the PS4 and XBox 720 will be launched and not any time sooner.

    However, there's no harm in enhancing the X360 API right now with 3D libraries and have the developers ready with a patch for all major games that have a 18 - 24 month dev cycle, starting at the end of this year. That will mean MS will keep up without having to invest in all aspects of 3D just yet. So the tech will be there but the marketing will come later, when the market (presumably) 'explodes'.
    Edited by zedzee at 22/06/10 @ 10:57

  • StooMonster #67 2 years ago

    Stop-gap: In 4-5 years I hope HDTVs are prevalent enough to allow Sony/MS to enforce native 1080p as the standard games must run at.

    In 4-5 years time there will be quad-HD and 4K displays, and people will be moaning that games consoles are "only" rendering at 1080p and not 4K. Plus ça change.

  • geeza2020 #68 2 years ago

    I'm perfectly happy with the set-up i have now, and i dont even have an HD telly yet!

  • romelpotter #69 2 years ago

    3d gaming is a fad that costs $$$ to develop!!

    Fair play, I give Nitendo qudos for maybe getting it right (time will tell) but for me, i just don't really care about 3D.

    Jaws 3D = Awsome..........20 yrs ago!

  • dingo75 #70 2 years ago


    ""Kinect for 360 is big for France, Italy, Germany and Spain, where there is a market for the casual gaming appetite that we can now address without the physical barrier of the controller," said Lewis. "

    Germany is PC country so fuck off MS!
    Waggle yourself to death...

  • WizenWolfBain #71 2 years ago

    3D doesn't cost $$$ to develop. Most games already have a form of 3D support. Just look at Nvidia's 3D Vision product, and the massive list of titles that already support it intermittently... And the titles below have full stereoscopic 3D support:

    Battlefield: Bad Company 2
    Biohazard 5
    Lost Planet 2
    Metro 2033: The Last Refuge
    Supersonic Sled Demo
    Batman: Arkham Asylum
    Just Cause 2
    Mafia II
    Resident Evil 5
    Stone Giant

    Still though, screw 3D for consoles. I'm all for letting PC users experiment first, with cheaper 120hz+ 3D displays that don't cost the earth.

  • Dave52 #72 2 years ago

    The XBox can't even do BluRay... Would be interesting to find out what version HDMI is in the new XBox Slim though... That might give an indication of how important they think 3D is.

    Playstation can do 3D now, and will have 3D BluRay playback enabled in a month or so. Nintendo have their 3DS, what do MS have...? I'm sure they'll be playing down the whole 3D thing for a little while yet...

  • Murton #73 2 years ago

    @PlugMonkey: my point has nothing to do with exclusives though. If you're a 360 exclusive you know that you have 6gb and change to play with per disc and that's your lot, with PS3 it's as much as 40gb. On multiplatform however you can either use the full BD at the cost of a 360 version, or trim down to get on a DVD and miss out on realising the potential for that game in terms of content levels.

    The "awkward fact" as you put it, is that we're already seeing a lot of multiplatform games from the third party suffer significant content cuts now due to this limitation of the 360 (FF13, Lost Planet 2 and RAGE have all had an entire game's worth of content cut according to their producers) and this will become more prevalent next year unless publishers drop the 360 platform in favour of launching with all of the planned content intact.

  • PlugMonkey #74 2 years ago

    @Murton: I understand your point. Multi-format games are having content cut to fit on X360. But if there is this gulf between what the 2 systems were capable of, what is holding PS3 exclusives back from knocking X360 exclusives out of the park? Because they're not, and they're not being held back by the Xbox. So, the difference must not be that great?

    Unless the only difference you're alluding to is that Mass Effect 2 had to come on two DVDs instead of one Bluray, and I had to get up and swap the discs twice in 35+ hours?

    Until we're seeing the PS3 exclusives demonstrating the gap, to all practical purposes it doesn't exist, or exists only in potential that 1st party and exclusive 3rd party developers are not realising for some other reason than the Xbox's limitations.