Majority of Consumers Don't Understand Realities of 3D

Tom Goldman

Crying on the inside.
Aug 17, 2009
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Majority of Consumers Don't Understand Realities of 3D



3D might be the next big thing in gaming, but Sony, Nintendo, and other companies still have a ways to go in educating consumers.

A recent online survey has determined that consumers generally don't understand how 3D display technologies work. Interpret conducted the survey with 1,500 people from the ages of 12-65, with the research firm's Michael Cai presenting his results at the ongoing Game Developer's Conference Online in Austin, Texas.

Cai said the idea was to penetrate a largely varied group of consumers to make the results as accurate as possible. The most interesting result was that more than half of those surveyed, said to be tech-savvy people, indicated that they didn't grasp the current-day concepts of how 3D television works.

The survey found that 63% of videogame console owners believe that a firmware/software update is the only thing needed to bring 3D into their homes. The reality is that a brand new 3DTV specifically made to display 3D is a required purchase.

In addition, even more respondents didn't have any knowledge of the existence of glasses-free 3D displays soon to be available in the televisions from Toshiba [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/103851-Nintendo-3DS-Coming-in-2011-With-300-Price-Tag]. 83% of those surveyed said they believed that all 3D required glasses, while nearly half said that these glasses were the main reason why they wouldn't bother with 3D.

In the defense of those that took the survey, 3D is a very new technology as far as consumers are concerned. 3D televisions have barely been on the market, and 3D gaming is still in its infancy. Cai believes that the 3DS will be an "important driver" in the "acceptance and desire of 3D technologies," while I can see stereoscopic 3D [http://www.amazon.com/Call-Duty-Black-Ops-Xbox-360/dp/B003JVKHEQ] also having an effect. Through whichever method, consumers will definitely need to understand how 3D works before they can begin to experience it, otherwise they'll just be sitting in their living rooms wearing funny glasses for no reason.

Source: Gamasutra [http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/30795/GDC_Online_Research_Finds_Glasses_Misinformation_Biggest_Challenges_For_3D.php]

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Flying-Emu

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Oct 30, 2008
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I'm pretty sure that this was common knowledge... wasn't it?

I mean, the new 3D technologies are completely foreign to the average person. I consider myself to be a pretty tech-savvy guy, and I have absolutely no clue how the glasses-free 3D works, despite reading several articles explaining the science behind it.

The big thing is going to be convincing gamers that the 3D effects are going to be worth buying a whole new monitor/television. Personally, I couldn't be assed to shell out thousands of dollars just to see things in WOAH A HOLE NU DIMENSHUN.

Nothing against 3D, it's just not my thing, and I think that a lot of gamers feel the same way.
 

JaredXE

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Apr 1, 2009
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Are they also informing the consumer that they will be paying thousands for what is an optical illusion since it's NOT REAL 3D?

Waste of money, and hopefully the fad will die.
 

Booze Zombie

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Dec 8, 2007
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Good, I don't think we need 3D, anyway.
Just settle on a good engine for your game and move on, come on.
 

imnot

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Apr 23, 2010
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how about we just burn 3D and make a game with every halo game in it in chronological order, with HD graphics!

Seriously stupid consumers not knowimg things.
 

tjoris9

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Nov 25, 2008
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Considering I just bought an HDTV less than a year ago so I can read the obscenely small text in newer games at a comfortable distance (in a comfortable chair), I have no intention of buying a new TV until at least 2012-2013 just for 3D, and I doubt I'm alone. I might bite when the 3DS comes out, but nobody but the most retardedly techno-obsessed are going to bother buying a brand new TV for $3000 just to play Stardust or Killzone in 3D.
 

Callate

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Dec 5, 2008
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Well, thank goodness there aren't any other barriers to 3D market penetration! (finger to lip) Yibbledeeyibbledeeyibble.
 

Monshroud

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Jul 29, 2009
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Seeing on HDTV is just recently starting to saturate the market, I just don't see everyone trading in their new HDTV's for 3D version.

Personally I have no interest in it, I have a problem with my eyes that effect my ability to see 3D images. So 3D movies and games don't do anything for me.
 

-|-

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Aug 28, 2010
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tjoris9 said:
Considering I just bought an HDTV less than a year ago so I can read the obscenely small text in newer games at a comfortable distance (in a comfortable chair), I have no intention of buying a new TV until at least 2012-2013 just for 3D, and I doubt I'm alone. I might bite when the 3DS comes out, but nobody but the most retardedly techno-obsessed are going to bother buying a brand new TV for $3000 just to play Stardust or Killzone in 3D.
3D TV in this format (i.e. needing glasses) is a technological dead end. Once you have to put glasses on, why not just display the image on them and do away with the TV completely?

The real reason behind the push for 3D is that everyone that wants one already has a HD flat panel and probably won't upgrade for years. Therefore the only way that TV manufacturers can get any kind of growth right now is to push this new technology, even if it ultimately has nowhere to go.
 

Erana

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Feb 28, 2008
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How do people not get how 3D works? I mean, its just a manipulation of our brains working stereoscopically. Just say, "Look at one thing. Now just close your eye. Now open that eye and close the other. See how the object moves? The movement is what tells your brain the distance between you and stuff. 3D technologies show you two images with slight distances between the camera to simulate you looking at stuff. K?"
 

Azhrarn-101

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Jul 15, 2008
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The only reason this tech is being pushed so hard now is because the hardware industry wants to pad its sales figures with new super-expensive TVs. Money is their only motive, as normal.

The tech is a dead-end while it still requires glasses, and the 3D tech from the 3DS doesn't really work well on a large scale (very small focal area where the effect actually works).
It's the industry that's deluded in this case, people don't really want or need this tech, and as such it will fail.
 

RatRace123

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Dec 1, 2009
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That was very informative, thank you for teaching me that I'd have to spend a large amount of money on a TV that can support an eye straining fad.
 

Mr. Omega

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Jul 1, 2010
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This leads to me having an issue with buying a 3DS. I want it for the games and will shut off the 3D. But when the 3DS is successful, idiot marketers will think it's because of "OH MAI GAWD EETS TREE DEE SO EETS AWWSUM!", thus leading to them making more 3D stuff, making the 3D fad last WAAAAAY longer than it should. It's like the Wii: I bought it for the games, not the motion controls.