With the advent of 3D gaming looming over the horizon, many technology firms are already beginning to market new devices to get ahead of the curve. But given the spotty history of 3D in general, many believe they may be jumping the gun.
Though there were similar doubts at the beginning of the HD wave, I can't really see this in the same light. Actual HD resolution was just a nexus in an overall enhancement of gaming tech, which also includes numerous other measurable changes (frame rate, sound, model and texture detail, evolution of environment and lighting, massive advancements in multiplayer and AI, and on and on). In other words, evolutionary and incremental, in both function and increase in cost.
Whereas with 3D, most of the quantifiable changes are pretty anemic by comparison. Playing a game like Mass Effect 2 or Madden NFL won't seem qualitatively different in 3D than in 2D, the novelty of it quickly fading as people focus on gameplay, which won't have changed much. It also has a high cost of entry (for developers and consumers), unlike other radical shifts in gaming, such as motion sensing or MMORPG. This begs the question of what can the industry bring to the table that effectively gives 3D the ability to add value to a title? What can 3D do to make games we've been playing all this decade so much better, beyond the 3D itself? What innovations to gaming in the new decade will 3D be an integral part of?
What do you think the future holds for 3D gaming? Are you going to take the plunge or wait it out? If you're going to wait it out, what prerequisites would need to be met before you buy into it?
Though there were similar doubts at the beginning of the HD wave, I can't really see this in the same light. Actual HD resolution was just a nexus in an overall enhancement of gaming tech, which also includes numerous other measurable changes (frame rate, sound, model and texture detail, evolution of environment and lighting, massive advancements in multiplayer and AI, and on and on). In other words, evolutionary and incremental, in both function and increase in cost.
Whereas with 3D, most of the quantifiable changes are pretty anemic by comparison. Playing a game like Mass Effect 2 or Madden NFL won't seem qualitatively different in 3D than in 2D, the novelty of it quickly fading as people focus on gameplay, which won't have changed much. It also has a high cost of entry (for developers and consumers), unlike other radical shifts in gaming, such as motion sensing or MMORPG. This begs the question of what can the industry bring to the table that effectively gives 3D the ability to add value to a title? What can 3D do to make games we've been playing all this decade so much better, beyond the 3D itself? What innovations to gaming in the new decade will 3D be an integral part of?
What do you think the future holds for 3D gaming? Are you going to take the plunge or wait it out? If you're going to wait it out, what prerequisites would need to be met before you buy into it?
