Last year, many of our beloved titles were graced with the third dimension. Resistance 3, Batman: Arkham City and even the beloved PlayStation-stapled Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception popped out of our screens in glorious gameplay. Last year was indeed a huge push towards 3D gaming, but it seems like Sony is going toward something else. With 3D being strangely absent at E3 2012, we can only ask, “What happened to Sony’s 3D support?”
Before the big push last year, 3D felt like a gimmick to make money. However, after the first wave of 3D-supported games released, gamers started seeing why the optical illusion was worth the time. This year, we have games like Beyond: Two Souls, The Last of Us, and Dust 514 coming to our beloved PlayStation 3’s, but none of them will extend past the screen—or at least it was never highlighted in discussions of these titles.
To accentuate the push, Sony released the PlayStation 3D Display, and advertised it as the best-priced 3D display on the market. It was bundled with Motorstorm: Apocalypse to give gamers the first taste of gaming 3D, Batman: Arkham Asylum released a Game of the Year Edition which supported 3D, Resistance 3 launched months before to prepare gamers for the eye-popping experience, and Killzone 3 even patched for the SimulView support so gamers could play with friends functionally on one 24-inch screen. Indeed, Sony had its eggs in one basket, and gamers were following suit on the 3D bandwagon. I bought a 3D Display in November when it launched, because Sony was really proving the 3D movement to be a real thing.
Back to it, 3D was vacant from E3 this year. Perhaps it’s something that developers have trouble programming. Or perhaps it’s due to the issues with the PlayStation 3D Display itself. Google searches are filled with red light issues for the display, and I have had these problems as well. In fact, I’m waiting for my second replacement as this is posted. Customer service for the product has been disorganized to say the least, especially since I didn’t receive my first replacement for nearly three months. Maybe Sony really doesn’t believe in 3D gaming anymore.
When I first experienced 3D, I was playing Batman: Arkham City. I fell in love with 3D. Games look great in 3D, and the 3D in games looks more realistic than it does in movies. It was working so well. Are the plaguing issues with the PlayStation Display bringing down the company’s motivation to keep 3D going? Or is it still perceived as a gimmick by consumers? Let us know what you think of 3D, and give us your experiences with either 3D or, if you have it, the PlayStation 3D Display.