3D makes gaming easier, says Sony

Playing games in 3D can help you get better scores, according to a Sony 3D bigwig.

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Mick Hocking, senior group director of Sony Computer Entertainment's Worldwide Studios 3D team, revealed that stereoscopic gaming helps your reactions.

'If you can see something more clearly and understand something more naturally, whether it's speed, distance or scale, you can respond better to that. So we've found that people do get better scores in 3D.'

Hocking also hit back at critics of 2D-3D games conversions and the 3D format itself.

3D conversion

Converting games to 3D from a 2D render can produce s result of equally high quality than if it was built in 3D to begin with, he said.

"The issue is that it has to be done technically correctly. We have 10 technical checks that all 3D games should adhere to."

Meanwhile, Hockey said that those who complain of headaches after watching 3D should blame poorly-implemented hardware and software, not 3D as whole.

Of course, this argument is what you'd expect from a man closely involved in pushing 3D games – and it's not one that everyone agrees with.

Earlier this year, optical boffins at the University of California, Berkeley conducted a study that showed that the basic nature of 3D, which requires viewers to focus on two separate distances at the same time (the actual screen and the stereo content) causes "discomfort" and "may limit the use of the technology".

So this argument could run and run.