Pricey 3D "not a concern" for Sony

Sony Worldwide Studios bigwig Scott Rhode isn't worried about the high cost of upgrading to a 3D-enabled living room. He reckons we're seeing a re-run of what happened with Blu-ray and he'll soon be saying, "I told you so."

"Not a concern," he told Industry Gamers. "It's a strategy.

"The best thing I can relate this to is the Blu-ray launch. I think this is like a rewind for me, a lot of the same questions, where people were saying, 'I've got a huge DVD collection; why would I upgrade to a new type of media?' And someone has to push it out there to show it's a superior technology and to show that it can achieve widespread adoption over time.

"You know, Sony's been very good at sitting on that bleeding edge," he added, "and pushing out products that show that, 'Hey, there's a 3D Bravia you can buy, but it's not just for watching Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs in 3D.' You can play interactive entertainment in 3D so it's a full experience."

Rhode said this makes good on Jack Tretton's promise of a "future-proof box".

"So," he recapped, "it's a distinct strategy that we've chosen to take to be on the bleeding edge and drive the market into these new experiences. So we're not worried about quick adoption rate. We're driving people to adopt period. "

Rhode's comments about 3D come after Sony unveiled a big push for the new viewing format at E3. Demonstrating the PS3's capabilities were a handful of titles, including an impressive display of Killzone 3.

Sony's full 3D line-up includes Gran Turismo 5, LittleBigPlanet 2 and MotorStorm: Apocalypse.