Stereoscopic 3D has re-entered the mainstream market thanks to 3D cinemas and successful 3D movies, however, home stereo 3D ecosystem still does not contain a lot of content, software and hardware to become widespread. This year the industry is projected to ship around 1.2 million stereo 3D HDTVs, but they will require content to become practical buy. According to analysts, there will be about 15 – 20 console stereo 3D games launched in 2010 to support the emerging ecosystem.

Insight Media predicted 15 – 25 console games will be released in 2010 supporting stereoscopic 3D, growing to 35-50 in 2011, according to Kotaku web-site. The number is much lower compared to the amount of PC games that are certified to work with Nvidia 3D Vision technology. Still, the Insight Media analyst Dale Maunu also predicted that console gamers will enjoy a fairly consistent 3D experience no matter what 3D compatible TV they use, unlike what computer gamers have found with their monitors since the console makers certify all the titles released for their platforms.

Since there are hundreds of video games released for game consoles each year (at present there are 1238 titles available for Xbox 360, which means that approximately 275 games were launched for the platform each year since the inception of the X360), 15 – 25 stereo 3D titles for both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 seem to be a very low number and a proof that the industry is not yet ready for stereo 3D.

Since only 1.2 million stereo 3D HDTVs are expected to be shipped this year, it does not make a lot of sense for video game developers to spend huge amounts of money on development of stereoscopic 3D-supporting games. While there will be demand for such titles in the future, presently they will hardly become popular due to stereo 3D feature, hence, designers should concentrate on other selling points, market observers believe.

“No one [in the game community] is talking about [stereoscopic 3D now] in the same way that they're talking about game concept and what consumers are looking at within the wide scope of interactive entertainment options today,” Joseph Olin, head of the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences, is reported to have said.

Tags: Stereo 3D, Xbox, Playstation