Last week at the [a]list summit, hosted by Ayzenberg, in Napa, California, a special panel was held to examine the state of 3D gaming and where it’s going to take the industry. Speaking on the panel moderated by John Gaudiosi were Oddworld founder Lorne Lanning, developer and film director Matty Rich, EA Chief Creative Director Rich Hilleman and Capcom Director of Brand Marketing Mike Webster.
Hilleman began by stressing that game makers need to recognize that things are very different in the games industry compared to what’s going on in Hollywood. He also noted that just incorporating 3D visuals taxes game performance somewhere between 30-50 percent. Lanning pointed out that 3D in Hollywood really took off with animation, and it works best when adding a real sense of depth, not by pulling off cheap tricks. With that in mind, games would seem to be ripe for 3D.
Even so, Webster pointed to the limited opportunity that all publishers will have with 3D for quite a while simply because the 3D TV market will take some time to reach a sizable installed base. Because of that, Nintendo’s 3DS is likely to have a much, much larger impact more quickly said Hilleman. He also added that movies have started to deliver a compelling reason to buy 3D, but games haven’t really done that yet. Hilleman does like the idea of using 3D though, because the extra dimension can solve field of depth problems. He said that people could finally rebound a basketball in a video game comfortably or field a fly ball in a baseball title. On the other hand, he pointed to racing games like EA’s own Need for Speed and questioned just how much 3D would actually help.
As for the 3D TV adoption problem, Webster said it’s not that consumers are so averse to wearing the glasses as they are to spending a lot of money. When you factor in multiple pairs of $200 glasses with the TV itself, it becomes a very expensive proposition. And the problem with a glasses-less screen, according to Hilleman, is that it requires the viewer to be in a very fixed position. And judging by our experience with the Nintendo 3DS back at E3, this does seem to be very true.
Webster said that from a marketing perspective, consumers have to be able to experience this 3D technology. He said marketers need to work on ways to get the 3D tech into people’s hands. And if the experience is solid, people will want it. Hilleman added that the experience will definitely be positive for hardcore gamers who feel they get an advantage from the extra depth. Hilleman talked about Crytek’s Crysis 2 and how players can actually get a tactical advantage from 3D. Lanning added that traditional games and movies are limited by the 2D space, and therefore the aspect ratio of the screen, but 3D extends outwards into space, offering all sorts of new possibilities. Hilleman then teased a “very interesting advertising approach coming from EA with regards to 3D.”
Lanning also said developers need to be very careful with 3D because it’s “like HD with porn; it’ll make the bad look worse.” The audience, naturally, couldn’t hold back its laughter upon hearing this humorous piece of advice.
Ultimately, Hilleman and the other panelists agreed that Avatar was important for 3D in general, but not for the home video market, and the game industry has yet to make its own ‘Avatar.’ Hilleman said that this sort of success would likely have to come from a brand-new IP because it needs to be something fresh and exciting, and sequels can’t do that.
