Sony 3DTV Unveiled

Sony has released information regarding their upcoming line of 3DTVs. In addition to enabling 3D TV watching through the use of an IR emitter and RealID active shutter glasses, the TVs will have some interesting features, such as the ability to detect if a viewer is sitting too close or too far away as well as that of determining if the viewer has stopped watching and turning off the screen as a result.

What will the eventual widespread home use of 3DTVs (should the trend take hold) mean for future video game development? 3D features have been attempted many times over the years (mostly unsuccessfully; see Virtual Boy) but gamers have yet to experience true 3D gaming. These new 3DTVs could enable game developers to work with the TV technology to create high-quality realistic game atmospheres. However, studies have shown that the current mechanism for creating the illusion of depth causes discomfort for viewers, from eye soreness to extreme nausea. Filmmakers have made recent improvements in 3D technology that ameliorate some of the problem, but the basic technique is still the same and as such will always be an issue. This would only be exacerbated by potentially hours-long gaming sessions (in contrast to watching a 2 hour movie). As such, I think that gamers will sadly have to wait for a major breakthrough using brand-new 3D technology before we will find success in 3D gaming despite the buzz surrounding 3DTVs.