Sony: 3D 'not hugely important' to people

Sony: 3D 'not hugely important' to people
Those darn glasses

Hollywood, cinemas and TV makers have spent years aggressively pushing the message that 3D is worth paying more for, but Sony has noticed that people aren't all that fussed.

Speaking to Eurogamer, Sony Computer Entertainment's UK head Fergal Gara said that people have voted with their feet.

"Consumers decide how relevant [3D] is," he said. "It's fair to say consumers have decided it's not hugely important at this time."

Hassle

Although speaking from a gaming perspective, Gara noted that the same applies in other areas too and it's largely down to the "hassle factor" of wearing glasses.

"Whether you look at movies or games, wearing the glasses and consuming 3D in that way in the home isn't hugely popular. That's just a fact."

"I haven't read detailed research on it, but the glasses will certainly be a big part of the hassle factor.

"In the home people tune in and tune out a bit, and doing that with glasses on and glancing at your tablet or pausing for a bit, compared to the cinema experience which is a solely focused experience, you know there is a difference emerging there."

Future focus

But while Gara doesn't hold out much hope for glasses-free 3D ("We haven't seen any killer technology…that proves a must-have and I don't have a firm view on whether that will happen") Sony still has a finger in the 3D gaming pie:

"It may have a bigger life a little further down the line. It's great we can do it. It doesn't seem to be the most powerful USP at the moment, so you've seen us shift our effort onto fresh new exciting IP. I'm certainly really pleased to see the strength of that as we look into next year.

"We've seen a resurgence really with the strength of the output from the studio network."

From Eurogamer

News Editor (UK)

Former UK News Editor for TechRadar, it was a perpetual challenge among the TechRadar staff to send Kate (Twitter, Google+) a link to something interesting on the internet that she hasn't already seen. As TechRadar's News Editor (UK), she was constantly on the hunt for top news and intriguing stories to feed your gadget lust. Kate now enjoys life as a renowned music critic – her words can be found in the i Paper, Guardian, GQ, Metro, Evening Standard and Time Out, and she's also the author of 'Amy Winehouse', a biography of the soul star.