CES: Microsoft Exec Says 3D Gaming Is Way Off

Greg Tito

PR for Dungeons & Dragons
Sep 29, 2005
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CES: Microsoft Exec Says 3D Gaming Is Way Off



An executive from Microsoft's Xbox division says that 3D gaming is a long way away from invading your console.

Aaron Greenberg, Microsoft Xbox Director of Product Management, said that despite 3D being the topic that everyone is discussing at the Consumer Electronics Show this year, he doesn't feel like the technology is going to be appearing in our living rooms any time soon. Part of the problem, he said, is that you have to sit a certain distance away from the TV for it to work, as well as the necessity to wear funny-looking glasses.

"I think there's a lot of questions, to be honest," Greenberg said. "3D is great in the theater, but for the living room? I think we're a long ways away from that. In the theater there's nothing between you and the experience, but as you have other people in the room and other people walking by, well, it's not the same experience."

"If the consumers want it? Fine," he said.

I have to say, I don't think that Greenberg is looking at the big 3D picture here. The problems he cites with 3D tech just don't appear to be big deals, at least to me. I think that if Microsoft could design a comfortable set of 3D glasses, and with their huge R&D budget I'm sure they could, the company would make 3D millions.

His last statement seems like a slap in the face as well. "Ho hum, if the plebs want something, I suppose we'll allow them to have it, no matter how much it pains us in our Redmond Tower to provide." He has heard of Avatar [http://www.amazon.com/Avatar-Two-Disc-Blu-ray-DVD-Combo/dp/B002VPE1B6/ref=sr_1_1?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1280952994&sr=1-1], hasn't he?

Source: Destructoid [http://www.destructoid.com/ces-2010-ms-s-greenberg-3d-gaming-not-any-time-soon-159868.phtml]

(Image [http://www.flickr.com/photos/jimf0390/3239522401/])



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Zepren

The Funnyman
Sep 2, 2009
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haha, plebs. noice. Hes got a point. 3D is great for movies at times but making that transition to games aint gonna be easy. Im on the fence here with 3D and games.
 

Swaki

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Apr 15, 2009
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AHHHH! the dogs soul is leaving its body and now its coming to haunt and doom us all.

seriously i had to block pictures from the escapist in order to read the article, but i agree with him, having to wear those glasses, and it cant be good for your eyes, when i pick up a good game its not rare for me to play it to the end only with the occasional bio break, it may not be that bad for you for 90 minutes but 10 hours?, and to figure out the correct distance and such, i have a very small apartment and i sit about 1 meter from the screen it would suck if had to redecorate the place or buy a smaller bed in order to get the full experience.

also gaming is nerdy enough without having to wear special glasses.
 

Jared

The British Paladin
Jul 14, 2009
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Well, not sure if I want 3D in my game just yet...although liked the end statement XD
 

Frizzle

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Nov 11, 2008
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You know why he's saying that? Natal. That's it. Microsoft wants their precious little baby to be the mainstay of gaming. They can't offer 3D through their consol like sony says they can, so they downplay the technology. I'm not saying Sony is doing it right, it's just the business that's going on at the moment.

Do I think we need 3D gaming now? No. I think we need to change something in games other than the visuals. We've been doing that for the last 15 years and we need to focus on content now. Is Natal going to be a good change? I doubt that also. Most of this stuff seems gimicky. I want actual depth and content that engages me.

That said, I think 3D is fine for watching DVD/BR at home. Why shouldn't we be allowed the theatre experience?
 

IamQ

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Mar 29, 2009
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Sony brings alot of 3D stuff at CES.

Microsoft says it won't pay off.


Hmmmm...I wonder if I'm missing something...
 

ResonanceSD

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Dec 14, 2009
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I think a 3D FPS would be epic. Can you imagine what the original Halo would have been like?
 

wildpeaks

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Dec 25, 2008
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Oh great, once again, the public sees a glimpse of 3d graphics and think either "oh it's the next big thing" or "it sucks", it's been cyclic for as long as I can remember.

It's not so much 3D gaming that needs changing, only its perception. We have the hardware (in many flavors: with glasses, without glasses, several types of glasses, different types of hardwares, screens, projectors, plenty of holograms, bla bla), we have [a huge ammount of] the softwares, we just need the public to pay less attention to the hype and more about the facts.

At least, augmented reality flash ads like Avatar's might help raise the public awareness even if it's the Popcap equivalent to gaming.



mattttherman3 said:
How about interactive 3D, when is that comming :p
....
 

House_Vet

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Dec 27, 2009
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Over the shoulder would look awesome too - like the guy was just in front of you in the room - but FPS could be absolutely intense: I already duck shots coming at me, I dread to think what I'll be like if it looks like they're whizzing past my head...

I wonder if it's possible to make contact lenses that'll show you 3d...
 

BrotherRool

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Oct 31, 2008
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Wow this was an unsubtle coverup for Microsoft not being able to compete with Sony wasn't it.
 

wildpeaks

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Dec 25, 2008
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House_Vet said:
I wonder if it's possible to make contact lenses that'll show you 3d...
There are screens to show 3D without contact lenses or glasses, rejoice :)

Hell, you can even have hardwares to show holograms truly in 3d (using smoke or fast rotating devices for example) if you're worried about screen focal points.
 

House_Vet

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Dec 27, 2009
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wildpeaks said:
There are screens to show 3D without contact lenses or glasses, rejoice :)

Hell, you can even have hardwares to show holograms truly in 3d (using smoke or fast rotating devices for example) if you're worried about screen focal points.
Ooh shiny! Bit pricey though I'd imagine...
 

rvdm88

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Jun 11, 2008
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i think he's plain wrong about that!
it works already for the pc, and it works great.

I currently have a, passive,3D screen (zalman 22 inch, same price as a regular screen).
and its absolutely stunning.

80% of most games will run in 3D since making 3D is done by the driver and not by the game.
Though some games work better than others ofc.

they even made a rating list of what games work the best in 3D,
at the top of this is the "3DVision Ready" brand, those games are actually screened and optimized to perform well in 3D, like everything stays within certain depth boundaries to keep the 3d illusion as realistic as possible.

Nvidia is working hard on getting more "3DVisionReady" games out, like: RE5 and Batman:AA

Even though the first 3DTV will start june 09, I think it will take atleast two to three years to have most networks to produce and offer 3D footage, since it actually requires a completely different production pipeline to make 3DTV.

For games however its just a little tweak in the graphics drivers,
for consoles i could even see (with maybe a patch) backwards compatibility for games.
imagine playing LBP, MW2, Halo3 or Uncharted in 3D that has a nice ring to it eh?

And about the "Silly glasses" issue, im sure microsoft or playstation can come up with some "cool" looking designer glasses, maybe even one with a headset build in or something like that.

i think the wonky 3D (shutter)glasses of today are like the first "mobile" telephones, they look ugly and weigh heavy. look where mobile phone designs are today ;)

if the console companies are smart, they could even use the glasses as a accurate 3D tracking beacon. That would go well with Nathal and the PS3Wand


games i played in 3D on my pc:

COD:MW2
Batman:AA
Borderlands
UnrealTournament3
Bioshock
Left4Dead
TeamFortress
Portal
TrackmaniaUnitedForever
HalfLife2(+ep1,2)
(probably some other game i forgot to mention)

i hope they will include 3d support for "consoles" quickly, i think it will be THE killer app for 3DTV, unlike 3DTV footage.
 

eljawa

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Nov 20, 2009
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supposedly the mediocre avatar game looks really cool in 3d. I want 3d games
 

Da_Schwartz

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Jul 15, 2008
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"Please don't start thinking about 3d gaming. We're still trying to keep you to believing in Natal for the last year. LOOK IT TALKS TO YOU!!, and you can jump around like THIS!!"