Joystiq

No 3D Blu-ray movie support for PS3 this summer

Richard Mitchell — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 21:40:00 EST

While an upcoming June PS3 firmware update will bring support for 3D games, it looks like console owners will have to wait to watch 3D Blu-ray movies. According to Tech Radar site Home Cinema Choice, the upcoming PS3 firmware update will not enable support for 3D Blu-rays. In other words, you can enjoy those free games you'll get with that fancy new Bravia 3D TV, but don't bother picking up Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. At least, not right away. 3D movie support is expected to arrive with another firmware update later this year.

[Via 1UP]

No 3D Blu-ray movie support for PS3 this summer originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 16 Apr 2010 21:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Iwata unimpressed by iPad, 3D gaming

JC Fletcher — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 11:31:00 EST

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has registered his apparent disinterest in two recent technological innovations. First, Iwata dismissed Apple's iPad, a potential DSi XL competitor. "It's just a bigger iPod Touch," he said of the big iPod Touch unveiled this week.

As for 3D gaming, which was all the rage at CES, "I have doubts whether people will be wearing glasses to play games at home," Iwata told the Associated Press, "How is that going to look to other people?'' Can you imagine standing on a board and flapping your arms like a giant bird -- with glasses on? Humiliating.

Iwata offered few hints as to what new technology would be adopted by Nintendo, saying only that there was some form of new hardware in the works. Additionally, he seemingly denied previous "speculation" about the reported features of a new Nintendo handheld. "I question whether those features would be enough to get people to buy new machines," Iwata said, referring to the possible addition of a motion sensor to a new handheld.

Iwata unimpressed by iPad, 3D gaming originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 29 Jan 2010 11:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Xbox's Greenberg questions demand for at-home 3D

Ben Gilbert — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 14:27:00 EST

Over the course of this year's CES, it was easy to get swept up in the fervor around 3D technology. Not Microsoft's Xbox team lead Aaron Greenberg though -- in speaking with G4TV, Greenberg said he thinks "there's a lot of challenges about 3D in the living room." To Greenberg, it's not a question of technology (or lack thereof) that's holding back 3D, it's the home environment. "I don't know about you, but when I play games or watch TV, I've got my phone, I've got all kinds of things going on. I get up, I get down, I'm looking outside at the weather and it's ... I'm not in a dark theater, wearing glasses, staring at a screen. I think it's just a different environment."

This isn't to say Microsoft isn't flexible when it comes to consumer demand -- quite the contrary! "As consumer interest for 3D grows, we'll grow with it," Greenberg admitted. "I think right now we're unsure what level of interest there is from consumers to really want a 3D experience in the living room."

Currently, only a handful of games ( Avatar, Invicible Tiger, and upcoming XBLA racer Scrap Metal, to name a few) support 3D on Microsoft's console. "If it becomes really important and people want to do more with it, we're absolutely happy to support it," Greenberg assured. Of course, with plenty of resources currently invested in the development and launch of Project Natal and its motion-based technology, Microsoft certainly has incentive to keep interest in 3D at arm's length.

Xbox's Greenberg questions demand for at-home 3D originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 13 Jan 2010 14:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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3D gaming is now big enough for its own summit

Ben Gilbert — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 16:30:00 EST

Spinning off of the annual 3D Entertainment Summit, Unicomm announced intentions late last week to launch the "3D Gaming Summit" in April 2010. Headed up by former head of the Hollywood Reporter Bob Dowling and Connecticut-based event management company Unicomm, the two-day event is set for April 21 and 22 at the Hilton Universal City in Los Angeles. According to a press release issued by Unicomm, the summit's aim is to "attract the brightest minds in the gaming industry" and "define the market opportunity for 3D stereoscopic gaming and entertainment."

"Consumers are leading the way to pervasive 3D entertainment," commented Unicomm CEO John Golicz, lest we forget that 40 million of us will have the new technology within the next four years (there might even be something in your house capable of 3D film viewing right this minute!). Though the release didn't specify any major gaming publishers or developers signed on for the event, it noted that "key sponsors" will help to "highlight 3D gaming technology." We might still be skeptical, but after what we saw last year at CES from Sony, and our recent IMAX 3D experience with James Cameron's Avatar, we're (at very least) interested in what 3D tech in gaming has to offer.

3D gaming is now big enough for its own summit originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 26 Dec 2009 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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3D Blu-ray specs finalized, PlayStation 3 support confirmed

Ben Gilbert — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 13:00:00 EST

The Blu-ray Disc Association this morning confirmed the finalization of "the Blu-ray 3D specification." What we're trying to tell you is this: 3D films are heading to your PlayStation 3 next year and there's nothing you can do to stop it. Sure, you probably don't own a 3D-ready television just yet, but that's okay, because we've been assured that nearly everyone will have one by 2014.

If you're like us and aren't quite ready to make the 3D jump just yet, the BDA thankfully notes that our quaint old "2D" films will still be supported. But don't let that lull you into a false sense of safety -- embedded within today's announcement is the fact that 3D technology "allows every Blu-ray 3D player and movie to deliver Full HD 1080p resolution to each eye [our emphasis]." That's right, folks -- they're targeting each eye individually! Sounds like a great time to invest in the burgeoning eye patch market.

3D Blu-ray specs finalized, PlayStation 3 support confirmed originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 17 Dec 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony's Koller calls 'motion control, 3D gaming, PSN' focal points of 2010

Ben Gilbert — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 12:45:00 EST

After a strong 2009, Sony plans to focus its efforts in the coming year on some new initiatives -- notably the still unnamed and, with a "Spring 2010 release," curiously under-promoted PlayStation Motion Controller, 3D games, and the PlayStation Network. In a recent GamePro interview, Sony marketing head John Koller said the company will be focusing on these "three big pillars" going forward, and detailed its plans to expand on each. "I think the areas that are going to be really critical to our success will be family games, as well as shooters and sports games ... they're areas that quite honestly, I think Project Natal and the Wii are going to have trouble matching," he said of the company's motion controller plans.

Without getting too specific, the PlayStation Network will apparently be seeing the addition of "a number of very critically demanded features" in the coming year, while the company strives to reach day-and-date release parity between UMD-based PSP games and their digital counterparts from third-party devs on PSN. He even teased the concept of "placing you as a consumer into the game physically" -- an idea he called "the Holy Grail of gaming." We get the feeling 2010 is going to be kind of a weird year, folks.

Sony's Koller calls 'motion control, 3D gaming, PSN' focal points of 2010 originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 16 Dec 2009 12:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ubisoft envisions a future of 3-D movies, games

Richard Mitchell — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 02:00:00 EST

Older readers out there might think that the 3D gaming revolution began with the advent of consoles like the PlayStation, N64 and the Sega Saturn, but the real 3D gaming revolution is just beginning, according to Ubisoft. 3D gaming doesn't refer to three dimensional graphics anymore; nowadays it means that the game jumps out of the screen and into your eye holes. Beginning with the game adaptation of James Cameron's Avatar, Ubisoft Montreal's Yannis Mallat tells the Financial Post that he sees the company becoming a "360-degree entertainment content provider."

As the wording suggests, Ubisoft's future won't necessarily be restricted to games. Mallat hopes that future game consoles will be able to render photorealistic graphics, enabling Ubisoft to create games and films using the same assets -- similar to what the company did with the Assassin's Creed: Lineage short films.

Of course, enjoying this "360-degree entertainment" will require a special television set. Still, Mallat is firmly behind the technology, saying that it does for images what Dolby did for sound. "No one wants to go back to mono," says Mallat. That's all well and good, but a huge number of gamers have yet to even upgrade to an HDTV at all, let alone one that can take advantage of 3D technology.

[Via VideoGamer]

Ubisoft envisions a future of 3-D movies, games originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 01 Dec 2009 02:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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