Three-dimensional imaging has come a long way since the days of cardboard glasses. Now we can get incredible depth out of images that could previously only come out of the screen, not recede into it. When it releases on December 18th, James Cameron’s Avatar is set to become the pinnacle of 3D achievement to date, a milestone Ubisoft hopes can make some money.
Ubisoft created the video game version of Cameron’s vision. Avatar: The Game, which releases today, puts the player in the same 3D world, with one major restriction. You need a 3D TV. Otherwise you’ll just get two-dimensional version like every other game. I’m going to go ahead and guess the game is terrible in terms of play, but probably pretty cool if you’ve got the 3D rig to support it. Ubisoft, like many others, is banking on that cool factor to make 3D games the next big thing.
“3D is to pictures what Dolby Stereo was to sound. No one wants to go back to mono.” That’s from the head of Ubisoft Montreal, Yannis Mallat. In a sense, I think he’s right, but there is a glaring difference between the progression from mono to stereo and 2D to 3D: the glasses. I’m not trying to be a luddite here, but I think 3D has a ways to go before I’ll be enticed to put on the glasses to watch or play something in my home. It just isn’t practical yet. Where Dolby Stereo could almost immediately be appreciated, I would guess 3D still has a decade before serious adoption, from both consumers and film-makers/developers. There just isn’t enough hardware to support the medium.
According to the Financial Post, Ubisoft wouldn’t have made Avatar if it didn’t think people would someday purchase 3D TV sets. So let me get that straight – you developed a 3D game that next to no one will see because someday people will own 3D TVs? And they’ll still want to be playing Avatar when that day comes? Huh. The movie must be a whole lot better than I expect.
Source: Financial Post
