I HATE 3D TV’s!!! The idea of trying to watch a Movie or play a Game at home with silly little (and very expensive) glasses that need batteries is just stupid, plain and simple. What kind of loser would rush out to buy one of these TV’s for a feature that will be obsolete in a couple of years? Well as it turns out… Me!
I “accidentally” purchased a new 3D TV. This was due to the model that I was looking at only supporting 50Hz whilst the next model up supported 200Hz. I wanted the higher model simply because of the significantly smoother picture and refresh rate for all my Xbox 360 games. As it turns out this higher model featured Internet TV, Apps and more importantly 3D support.
Whilst I have never really given 3D TV’s the time of day for Games I thought that I may as well try something in 3D. The only thing that I owned that had 3D support at that time was the new Green Lantern game. After figuring out how to get the game into 3D mode, then the TV and finally sync up the new glasses I was in absolute awe at the quality and the way I actually felt. I was now looking into a window and could see actual depth as opposed to looking at a simple moving image. At that instant I knew that I wanted more 3D support for ALL my games.
You can already imagine just how amazing games like Forza 4, Mass Effect 3 or Far Cry 3 will be in 2D, but how much more immersive would they be in 3D? The great thing is that it’s simply a nice bonus that can be enabled if the user has the correct equipment. It will not affect the gameplay at all but in fact make it a much more personal experience. A perfect example is the fact than Warner Bros. supported 3D Gaming for Batman – Arkham City. We already knew that flying (or gliding) through Arkham City is going to be an exhilarating experience. Then add 3D support and it makes you feel nauseous and give you a bit of motion sickness as well… but in a good way.
One thing that I’ve realized is that this can open up a brand new market for publishers and developers with the possibility of adding 3D support to games of the past. With a simple download and activation in the Options menu gamers could have the chance to replay every single game already released on the Xbox 360 and Xbox Live Arcade. I’m positive that gamers that want this feature would pay 400 or even 800 Microsoft Points per game to enjoy their favourite games all over again in 3D.
Microsoft spent millions creating new technology to convince gamers that they are the controller thanks to KINECT. Surely the next step is to simply combine these two new technologies. When KINECT Fruit Ninja was released where you physically are the ninja and have to move your body and arms around to get results. Now imagine if this was in 3D just how amazing and exciting this would be for gamers. I think it is safe to say that KINECT and 3D is a good move forward especially with the upcoming Fable, Halo and Far Cry titles. Not only are these games amazing and very unique experiences already but by adding 3D support gamers will be sucked into the world even further.
It’s funny how for so long I thought that 3D Games and Film were such a gimmick and waste of time and money. Then in an instant I have completely changed my tune and now become an advocate for the technology. The developers have to spend time getting the core gameplay perfect and only then worry about secondary features like 3D support. The game has to be awesome in 2D first! Microsoft are clearly pushing this when they announced two of their biggest franchises to support 3D. Both Gears of War 3 and Halo: Anniversary allowed gamers to put on the glasses and view the games in a new way. This is a fairly good indication that more developers will follow this path.
If you are about to buy a new TV I would highly recommend paying the extra couple of hundred dollars for a 3D one. It is NOT a gimmick as it makes the overall experience that much more immersive and enjoyable. In the next two or so years we will have 3D TVs that do NOT need glasses at all and then a few years after that we will have Laser TVs, Hologram TVs, Wall TVs and Virtual TVs. As technology gets better and the graphics continually upgrade, the developers will want to try to add that extra level of realism or depth to put YOU into the game. This is something that all gamers must experience on their own!
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