EA: 3D Isn't Making Us Much Money

[Logan Westbrook]

EA: 3D Isn't Making Us Much Money

EA's boss thinks that a lot of people actually prefer playing games in 2D anyway.

EA CEO John Riccitiello says that 3D gaming isn't making the publisher much money, and that it would much rather invest its resources elsewhere. He says that EA hasn't seen people embracing 3D gaming or 3D TVs, leaving the publisher with little incentive to push the technology.

Speaking at an investors' meeting, Riccitiello said that a lot of people found playing games in 3D to be unsatisfying compared to playing them in 2D. He also said that EA had seen much better growth in other sectors - namely that of social and online gaming - and was a lot more interested in investing in those areas rather than 3D technology.

"We're not here trying to drive the market, we're here to react to what consumers are looking for," he said. "Right now we're seeing better growth focusing on a different technology innovation ... We've seen really high returns here, and very poor returns focusing on 3D. So our allocation of resources has been toward the new innovations that are growing more rapidly."

Riccitiello's comments seem rather timely, following the massive price drop [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/111935-Nintendo-Slashing-3DS-Price-by-a-Third] for the 3DS that Nintendo announced yesterday. Of course, it's still early days for 3D gaming, so EA may change its tune in the future.

Source: Gamasutra [http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/36086/EA_Sees_Poor_Returns_On_3D_Focuses_On_Social_Instead.php]


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[Shycte]

Maybe it has something to do with the fact that 3D is fucking expensive.

I know that I can't afford one at least.

 

[Omnific One]

3D adds so little at this point. Once it isn't prohibitively expensive to own a 3D TV (and glasses), we can talk. For the 3DS, 3D is supposed to make gaming more immersive, but doing it on a tiny screen doesn't help.

 

[Tay051173096]

Can't play 3D due to my eyes... Nothing stops gaming quicker than a killer headache...

 

[koroem]

And this is news why? 3d has been pushed over and over again since the 1950s. People like to see the new advances each time, but the novelty quickly wears off and the smart consumers don't buy into this junk. It is uncomfortable, requires expensive hardware, and causes headaches/pain for some people. It isn't ready for mainstream in any manner yet.

Companies tried to capitalize off it while the fad lasted, and now Nintendo is learning the hard way it was a bad idea. Nvidia will be there soon too. Movie studios and theaters will be out the phase soon as they continue to see declines in the ticket sales. It's already happening. I still laugh every time I see the commercials for the 3d cellphones.

I for one can't wait till this phase is over. Then its just about another 10 years before the next big push.

 

[EonEire]

Well it did work the first time they tried it and it wont work now, people don't want wear glasses to play games / watch television and its not worth the price that they are charging for something that adds not really that much to the experience.

 

[Xanthious]

Smart move by EA. Trying to cash in on 3D is already biting Nintendo in the ass and it's only a matter of time before it bites Sony in the ass as well, and on a much larger scale.

3D is a novelty at this point in time, nothing more, and not a novelty that is likely to be embraced to a degree that it makes any fiscal sense to try and cash in on it. I fully expect this whole 3D phase to die out rather quickly. I got to think Nintnedo is already reliving Virtual Boy nightmares all over again as for the most part they can't give the damn 3DS away. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to another handheld from Nintendo in a few years that has no trace of 3D what so ever. The 3DS will have nowhere near the lifespan of either the DS or Game Boy Advance.

 

[Mr.Pandah]

Can't play 3D due to my eyes... Nothing stops gaming quicker than a killer headache...

Pretty much this. I want to be able to play my games for hours on end and stop on my own terms. I've never seen the appeal of 3D gaming anyways.

 

[Marudas]

I'm really happy that some common sense is being exhibited here, but who in the world expected it to come from EA of all places?

 

[Philip Petrunak]

Well fucking duh. The appeal of 3D is in it's ability to lower the suspension of disbelief and increase immersion. However, the price of trying to do this with are outdated console tech is lower AA, image resolution, frame rates and overall decreases in graphical fidelity. It just doesn't work.

The big screen has always been 5 - 7 years ahead of the technology of the small screen, for the simple reason of budgets. We will have 3D television shows and video games, but not soon, and probably not till the later half of this decade.

 

[AbstractStream]

Can't play 3D due to my eyes... Nothing stops gaming quicker than a killer headache...

More than agree to this statement. Plus, pricing doesn't help.

 

[Da Orky Man]

The real 3D gaming revolution will be when 3D is essentially a holodeck.

 

[llew]

3D is no good, expensive, painful and not a huge difference when used in games (honestly i cant see much of a difference apart from it hurting to look at)

 

[Woodsey]

"EA's boss thinks that a lot of people actually prefer playing games in 2D anyway."

Weren't we saying this before and during the up-rise of this latest 3D fad?

Its too expensive, doesn't add anything of value, it muddies image quality. The filters some console games have put over them to (often ineffectively) remove jaggies is bad enough.

 

[Armored Prayer]

Good move EA and good for noticing this before its too late.

A little off topic, but I know I cant be the only one who barely sees a difference when watching 3D on anything.

 

[Blandy Buchanan]

I wear glasses already, and won't be wearing more glasses on top of those. So at the very least, I don't be buying a 3D TV until the tech to use it without eyewear is available at a consumer-friendly price. So a long damn time from now.

 

[Blandy Buchanan]

Good move EA and good for noticing this before its too late.

A little off topic, but I know I cant be the only one who barely sees a difference when watching 3D on anything.

It seems to depend on how well the 3D is done, from what I hear.

 

[Wolfram23]

Lucky for them, they don't really have to do anything to enable 3D. Drivers take care of it for them, for the most part. Unless we're talking about PS3 3D, in which case I have no idea and really I think it's a silly idea anyway because the tech is so old most games are only pushing 30FPS as it is.

My next big PC upgrade is probably a move to 3D, but that won't be for another year I'm thinking. Still, it's something exciting to me.

 

[dyre]

hmm, so EA realizes it, and Nintendo might be getting the message to with the lackluster enthusiasm for the 3DS. Maybe in the near future we won't have any more of this 3D crap?