3D glasses haven't been a big part of gaming since the days of the Sega Master System, but Texas Instruments looks set to change that with the DualView DLP TVs being shown at this year's CES. Much like recent 3D movies like Beowulf, these TVs display two slightly different images at once, using special glasses to isolate the correct perspective for each eye.

The effect is reportedly pretty incredible, according to Gamespy: "The images were bright and crisp, without so much as a flicker" and "Madden NFL Football was a whole new experience: you were right down on the field, with every receiver receding into the distance as he ran." Games currently have to be specially designed for the effect, but 1UP reports that TI "intends to eventually institute plug-and-play support" so all games have that added depth.

But the best gaming application for this DualView technology might be full screen multiplayer. As shown in this Gizmodo video, the DualView technology can be used to give two different players simultaneous, full-screen views of different characters or locations in a game. The end of split screen as we know it? Maybe ... if you have a special TV and two pairs of 3D glasses, that is ...

Read - 1UP report
Read - GameSpy report
Watch - Gizmodo video

Literally dozens of loyal Sony Connect users were sent into mourning yesterday by a PaidContent.org story announcing the proprietary music and video download service will be shut down in the coming months. The staff of 80 behind the online store will be transferred over to the PlayStation side of the company, a rather convenient move considering Sony is preparing to launch a new PSP Store later this year.

We know what you're thinking, but don't worry, the eBook division of the service will stay up for those of you who prefer reading books on an LCD screen.

[Via PSPFanboy]

Almost everyone who has gone online with the computer or a game console has probably downloaded something at one time or another, whether it's been a song, a photo, a game, or a set of horse armor for their equine friend. But are digital downloads the wave of the future for full-on distribution? Developers are hoping so, because it will cut down tremendously on competing for shelf space at the local Mega-Lo-Mart, not to mention all those costs for printing games, manuals, boxes, shipping, and the like.

The panel consisted of Craig Allen, CEO of Spark Unlimted one of the big "shelf" retailers, especially with their newly announced mega-game Turning Point: Fall of Liberty due this coming November. From the other end of things was Dan Conners, CEO of Telltale productions who is in the middle of releasing Sam & Max as an episodic game, before packaging everything up into a retail edition. In the middle (and sadly, without much to offer) was David Burks, the marketing manager for Seagate Technology. You gotta store the downloads somewhere, right? In all fairness, Seagate was one of the SXSW sponsors, and he probably felt a bit shoehorned into this panel.

We Make Money Not Art has an interesting interview with David Pfluger, one of the artists behind the "Game Arcade" art exhibit currently touring around Germany. The exhibit transforms digital video game concepts using analog components like slide projectors, super-8 film and mechanical buttons and switches. The examples sound more like Dadaist installations than games: Racer features a cardboard car that runs over a variable speed film of a road, and High Noon (pictured) uses a rotary dial phone to control film projections of old west duelists.

More than just interesting gameplay experiments, Pfluger says the exhibit is a statement on the game industry's myopic focus on the latest and "best" technology. "Each technology has its own characteristics which makes it artistically unique.... Painters still use oil painting even though there is Photoshop." It raises an interesting question: Is the game industry sop focused on new technology and graphical "realism" that it's forgetting the unique aesthetic influences of the past?

The UK government has published a white paper on the future of the BBC, an organisation described as "unique" by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. The BBC is mainly associated with the television and radio channels it produces in return for a licence fee which must be paid by almost everyone watching television in the UK. However, the organisation is not restricted to these platforms, nor is it resistant to changes in technology, as the BBC News video report "Entertainment 'key' to BBC future" outlines.

The report focuses on a fairly typical family; the parents watch television regularly, but the children tend to gravitate towards games and digital media, only occasionally turning to TV for specific programmes. As technology attracts television views away from their sets, more ways of delivering the BBC's content are being investigated, from TV on phones to downloadable media.

The BBC appears to be moving into games as part of their "Digital Britain" initiative--under the banner of "interactive and web-based services", games (or interactive stories) like Jamie Kane give the BBC the opportunity to try new directions in storytelling and gaming. It's clear from the news report that the BBC acknowledges gaming as a key activity for its licence fee payers; this commitment to interactivity should see more game-based content being delivered to the BBC's customers and help the BBC's games research along a step or two.