3D Gaming, your opinion?

[Shojin]

With the industry seemingly moving towards 3D (I guess with the help of Avatar) Sony has already announced that 3D gaming will be available on the PS3 with the help of a firmware update and 3D ready HDTV's (Basically, just a true 120hz, you need 60hz for each eye from what I've been told). What is your take on all of this?

Having not seen Avatar yet, I've heard great things about the 3D tech it uses. I'm only familiar with the old red/blue glasses that gave a cheap 'pop-out' effect at movie theaters. From what I have been told, the new tech gives the viewer depth perception, so it looks like you are looking in to a box, as opposed to things jumping out at you (but i'm guessing that can still be done?). I think for certain games this could be very interesting to at least have an option. nVidia has already released a 3D gaming bundle which runs pretty expensive, but impressions from various media sites and neoGAF seem to be very positive.

3D has always been thought of as a gimmick, and it still is by a lot of people (myself included a little). But with the entire industry seeming to embrace it, 3D TV stations are already planned (ESPN, Discovery etc.), older DVD's are being converted to support 3D, do you think 3D tech has come far enough to pull this off successfully? Do you think it is too soon after the SDTV>HDTV upgrade?

I think I will reserve judgment until I have actually seen Avatar, myself. But adding depth to games seems like it would be an amazing idea for certain genres of gaming.

[Chun Liroy]

I think it would be interesting to see it used in a gaming application. It could offer incredible immersion for the gamer. I assume first person POV games would be most affected, and MMOs would make you forget what real life is.

[Kaisha]

Can already do 3D gaming on PC given you have the proper equipment.
(iz3D being one of the first monitors I believe to support it. I'm just cheap though and use their software to add anaglyph 3d to my games for mucking about with using my red/cyan glasses. nVidia also has their own 3D kit which would likely be the better solution)

As for consoles, it can't hurt if done right. Racing games will feel loads better having a proper sense of depth, especially in games with lots of vehicles/obstacles onscreen. It'll damn well be a gimmick for the first year or two though before developers realize you can't 'abuse' the effect like they did with good ol' bloom filter back in the days.


I have to tell ya, I was messing about with Painkiller last month using anaglyph, and man, if I could upgrade to proper 3D when a mainstream solution is out, I'll jump aboard. Being the cheap bastard I am I'll likely look for a new 24" monitor to replace mine that can do 3D, and also has an HDMI-in for use on my PS3 as well. (like my existing display)

[Shojin]

nVidia also has their own 3D kit which would likely be the better solution

I mentioned it in OP, it has been getting very positive reviews

[Kyo]

Really not interested at this point, I just bought two new HDTV's last year(4k), not going to buy more expensive 3D ready tv's again for a while.

[Xavier]

Done properly, in a style similar to Avatar, 3D has some pretty awesome potential for gaming. As long as developers use the technology to create depth perception, I'm all for it. My biggest concern, however, is that the experience will not really translate all that well from the theater to the home. I imagine its significantly harder to feel immersed on a 20-40 inch tv.

[Insanecyclone]

I would like to try out the Avatar game on pc with 3d settings but DRM...no thanks. 3 machine activation system is stupid.

Will we ever see support for 3D in the consoles or their future successors? I would like to see the ps3 get this support if they possibly could.

[Shojin]

I would like to try out the Avatar game on pc with 3d settings but DRM...no thanks. 3 machine activation system is stupid.

Will we ever see support for 3D in the consoles or their future successors? I would like to see the ps3 get this support if they possibly could.

It's already been announced for PS3 via firmware update apparently. I would hazard a guess at around late 2011.

EDIT: Also, apparently with that nVidia kit, Batman: AA looks amazing.

[Kyo]

I think the biggest effect 3D gaming would have is the price of games would increase, due to more development costs, and paying 60 bucks for a game already is quite a bit,and the amount of bitching from that increase in many gaming communities was quite large.

[Shojin]

I think the biggest effect 3D gaming would have is the price of games would increase, due to more development costs, and paying 60 bucks for a game already is quite a bit,and the amount of bitching from that increase in many gaming communities was quite large.

Apparently it is compatible with a lot of games already, the nVidia kit works with a lot of games already out. I know they had 3D already working in WipeOut HD back in 2008? at a gaming convention.

[Kaisha]

Really, the only thing developers have to worry about are HUD indicators showing properly, and the drivers do the rest of the work for them, that and perhaps having presets for what constitutes "depth" in the game.
(which I have to configure manually for each game using iz3D's anaglyph mode)

The game graphics are already 3D to begin with, it's just how the information is being displayed is what's changed. Rather than flattening the graphics into a 2d image to display on your monitor, it'll instead retain the information but deliver it on a left/right-eye basis, thus given the 3d illusion based on however the frig 3d monitors do their business, something about light polarization on a 90 degree angle or something-other.


Only oddity I've had so far is TF2's sniper dot showing two dots (one for each eye) when there should have been one, but it's due to the way Valve programmed the game and how that dot is rendered distance-wise that causes the 3d-software to mess it up.


Only thing that'll look nasty are zombie heads clipping into your face in Left4Dead.

[Zeb]

IMO I think 3D stuff is mostly gimmicky. I don't think the immersion is quite as good as it should be to warrant using it. Unless you're at Epcot Center watching one of those 360 degree movies, I don't think having 3D is really going to enhance the viewing. TV and movie screens are too tunnel-visionish for real immersion. That and when I watched Avatar in 3D, it seemed too layered and not natural looking. Maybe in 3-5 years they can fix that and develop some 3D specific TVs and movie screens that make it a lot better.

[Atreides]

remember that 3D technology (at least for home) is kinda in that stage in which you can get it at home, but it'll be really expensive compared to 3-5 years down the road. As much as I'd like to buy a 3D TV, I'm still having trouble feeling satisfied with the size/quality of the HDTVs I purchase, so I'll probably end up waiting until A) the tech gets cheaper and B) there's some sort of 3D standard so I'm not left holding my dick when half the movies/games I buy aren't compatible with my setup.

[Katlan]

I think it would be a nice touch on some games, but I just see it being more of a gimmicky addition

[Pirian]

Imagine Dead Space in 3D. I think I would have to ware a diaper while playing

[Shojin]

A lot of 3D info going on right now at Sony CES press conference. Confirmed that PS3 will be firmware upgraded to support both 3D blu-ray movies and games, also had Super StarDust HD playing in 3D.

[Celeras]

A lot of 3D info going on right now at Sony CES press conference. Confirmed that PS3 will be firmware upgraded to support both 3D blu-ray movies and games, also had Super StarDust HD playing in 3D.

Mention CES but leave out the best part from the 3D perspective?

NVIDIA 3D Vision Surround, the world’s first consumer, multi-display 3D solution which allows users to span 3D content across 3 high definition monitors or projectors for a truly breathtaking and immersive gaming experience! NVIDIA 3D Vision Surround does for 3D PC gaming just like what IMAX® 3D does for movies.

[Shojin]

I didn't catch all of the CES conference, I missed a lot of it, so I didn't see that

[MoogleAura]

I'm sure I read somewhere Sony said they will be releasing their first generation of 3D-HDTV's this year sometime.

As for 3D gaming I'm sure it will be good eventually, but judging from all the 3D movies I've seen so far, they don't really exploit it as much as they can. When I went to see Avatar here in Japan, they had a 3D trailer for FFXIII before the film started. It looked 100x more amazing than anything I saw in Avatar. However it was just a compliation of cutscenes there was no in-game footage shown in 3D. =(

[Uzor]

It could be awesome, but I'm not gonna pursue it for some time. Unless I can find some cheap 3D TV's, I'll wait.