Does anyone in gaming really care about the whole 3D fad? It’s never done much for me; not in movies, nor in video games.
Even during the Avatar monomania of ’09, 3D was never going to surmount to anything but a passing novelty and an excuse to ramp up already overpriced ticket prices. Sure it looked cool, but it wasn’t the revolutionary progress some fanboys were making it out to be.
But I understand its appeal in movies. Video games, however, I’m not so sure.
I’ve never played a game in 3D that’s made me stand up and take notice. I nearly always play 3DS games in 2D nowadays, to conceive battery life, and because 3D really doesn’t make all that much of a difference.
Nintendo is on the same page. ”I don't think we'll present [3D graphics] as one of the key features of our consoles but will probably stick with 3D as one of the minor elements,” said Nintendo president Satoru Iwata.
And he’s right. I’m relieved to hear a man with such power inside the upper echelon of Nintendo utter those words. 3D hasn’t been the revelation it was marketed as. There’s no need to diminish the impact of the 3DS by pretending it’s the key point of difference for the next four years.
It isn’t. 3D will continue to be an interesting novelty, but it isn’t a reason to buy or even play a 3DS. There isn’t one game worth the $70 price of admission to experience a new generation of visual pleasure.
It’s all just a resounding sense of meh.
Likewise, Sony seems to be off the idea. The execs assure us they aren’t, but E3 this year was all about connecting the Vita and PS3. Not 3D. Their own TV was a failure, at least in Australia where it was doomed with a laughably limited release, and only a minority of the population has bothered to upgrade to a 3D TV.
There’s the main problem; 3D televisions haven’t flourished as they might have, and games aren’t a viable reason to upgrade. 3D video games on home consoles are reliant on movies being the drawcard. A majority of tech-savvy users are unlikely to upgrade for games alone, and movies clearly haven’t done enough to entice the masses.
The whole situation isn‘t helped by the gameplay itself. No game markets itself as a ‘3D only‘ adventure, because it’s a novelty, nothing less, nothing more. At least the 3DS can keep its audience in awe for a few hours with its glasses-free party trick.
The poor PS3 is hassled by the need to wear bulky glasses, and then there’s a negligible difference -- if any to the gameplay.
We haven’t seen any benefits to 3D gaming. That’s the problem. There’s no reason to upgrade to a 3D television, or even waste an extra 25 percent of 3DS battery. We’re better off just playing games in 2D. That’s why 3D gaming is nothing but a minor novelty, and why it’s arguably a horrendous failure compared to what the big-wigs had in mind.
By Ben Salter - Bio