Just like TV and the movies, video games are currently busily engaged in embracing 3D. Technically, they are ideally suited to the 3D revolution – modern games are already modelled in 3D, then rendered down to 2D for display on conventional TVs. Making them work in 3D is a relatively trivial (at least when compared to the equipment challenges faced by TV and the movies) matter of adjusting the output from consoles or PCs after a bit of technical jiggery-pokery.
There have been isolated incidences of 3D games in the past, all of which have been tied to 3D movies (and any keen gamer will tell you that games-of-movies have a dire reputation). But this Christmas will see the arrival of the first truly credible games that can be played in 3D: most notably Gran Turismo 5, Killzone 3, Crysis 2 and Tron: Evolution.
Keen gamers are always amenable to early adoption of new technologies – and the appeal of 3D games is obvious. 3D allows you, in particular, to judge distances in games more easily: useful for shooting at waves of incoming enemies or gauging the perfect braking point in order to clip those apexes at the wheel of a virtual racing car. Just like in films and on TV, it makes in-game objects pop and generally adds to the prevailing sense of being immersed in a world.
Converting from 2D
There are potential downsides to 3D gaming for some – first-person shoot-em-ups, for example, have been known to induce motion-sickness in some gamers, and 3D could exacerbate that sensation – but in its favour, 3D doesn't add any consumer cost to games, and reverting to a conventional 2D display is a simple matter of checking a box in a menu.
So how important is 3D for gaming? Arguably, the gaming industry needs 3D rather less than 3D needs the gaming industry. Content in 3D, although ramping up massively, is still thin on the ground – making the arrival of compelling 3D games a neat justification for buying a 3D TV.
Analyst Nicholas Lovell, director of Gamesbrief, says: "Games are an important driver for 3D." But he is doubtful that the advent of 3D will actually grow the games market: "What 3D is doing is attracting hardcore gamers who, in my opinion, haven't increased in number as a demographic in the last five years."
Lovell does, however, see a strategic reason why game publishers and console manufacturers should embrace 3D: "Recently, the biggest threat to traditional console gaming, has come from the new casual platforms such as Facebook and the iPhone. But 3D games present a tangible advantage for the console manufacturers over what those platforms can offer."
Sony is very much leading the charge towards 3D in the games industry – committing to making its games in 3D more than any other publisher. Gran Turismo 5 and Killzone 3, both of which are exclusive to the PlayStation 3, are the two highest-profile 3D games in the pipeline, with the former going on sale this November. Existing PS3s will soon also play 3D Blu-rays, making 3D TV sales more attractive to those who own the consoles.
Microsoft's Xbox 360 is also sufficiently powerful to run games in 3D, although unlike Sony, Microsoft isn't evangelising 3D (currently, it is too busy readying its innovative body-sensing interface, Kinect). But independent publishers are beginning to come out with 3D games which will work on both the PS3 and Xbox 360, such as Electronic Arts with Crysis 2.
Nintendo Wii owners will be disappointed as unfortunately it doesn't have the number-crunching power of, for example, Sony's PS3, to run games in 3D. But Nintendo has been developing a 3D console. Due to go on sale in March 2011, Nintendo's handheld 3DS features a 3D screen for which you don't need to wear glasses, although you have to be directly in front of it (it is only economically possible because the screen is so small, creating a bigger version would make the manufacturing costs rocket). And 3D is also coming to the PC; graphics chip manufacturer Nvidia already sells a 3D PC.
So will 3D games catch on? The people who believe so are roughly equal to those who reckon they will flop. However, vested interests are at stake – Sony, the chief cheerleader for 3D games, makes 3D TVs, while Nintendo, whose hardware isn't powerful enough to run games in 3D, has cast doubt on its potential. Earlier this year, Nintendo president and chief executive, Satoru Iwata, said he doubted "whether people will be wearing glasses to play games at home. How is that going to look to other people?" Nintendo, of course, has a glasses-free stereoscopic 3D machine in development.
Contradicting forecasts
Even analysts disagree – Nick Parker, founder of Parker Consulting, says: "I think 3D gaming is totally viable but is a long way off for mass market adoption – certainly if new 3D TVs forecast growth rates are so slow, which they are over the next three years." But contradicting that somewhat, technology research institution Insight Media has predicted that by 2014 there will be more than 40m 3D-capable displays in homes worldwide.
Games companies can easily afford to hedge their bets, given the almost trivial costs of converting a game to 3D in relation to its overall budget (which can approach the size of blockbuster movie budget these days).
Which means that the likes of Microsoft can leave the decision whether to go 3D to independent publishers – and even those publishers can leave that decision to individual developers. And everyone will clearly watch Sony's commitment to 3D with great interest.
If, for example, the release of 3D Blu-rays in October and the arrival of Sony's 3D games around Christmas sees the PS3 start to significantly outsell the Xbox 360, Microsoft might possibly begin to think about making 3D versions of its exclusive games. Equally, if Nintendo's 3DS sells well, it could create an audience looking for bigger and more extravagant 3D-gaming experiences. And if Sony is the only company still offering such a thing, it will cash in.
Overall it remains early days for 3D games but for anyone willing to test out the experience and make the investment, the sheer "wow" factor will make you very popular indeed among your friends.
