EEDAR analyst Jesse Divnich has told TG Daily that the multiplayer community will likely ignore the hype and adopt a wait-and-see attitude towards 3D gaming.
“I don’t see 3D being well received amongst the gaming community for [titles] with a heavy emphasis on multiplayer. The most hardcore of gamers don’t play Call of Duty for its visual appeal, they play to satisfy their competitive urge or their satisfaction of unlocking new skins, weapons, and accessories,” said Divnich.
“Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 could have PS2 style graphics and it would have still sold the 10+ million copies that it did. World of Warcraft being a prime example of multi-million unit seller with dated visuals.”
According to Divnich, 3D may enhance a game’s visual appeal, but does little to improve actual functionality.
“And that’s what gamers want! They want to see an evolution in functionality. Motion based games, online multiplayer, and even the R3 and L3 buttons (when you click in the analogue sticks) are true advancements in functionality. 3D gaming just makes games look better and that’s it.”
However, Divnich noted that 3D gaming could evolve to add serious visual functionality in the long-term.
“[Perhaps] more than four years from now, 3D gaming could add some visual functionality, but only if it is accompanied by some new 3D peripheral that gives gamers a true 3 dimensional space to work with — such as advanced motion based controls,” explained Divnich.
“The same is applied to movies and television. 3D certainly adds a visual appeal to action based movies, but what about comedies, romance, and even drama movies? Does The Hangover in 3D really make the experience more appealing? No.”
Nevertheless, Divnich conceded that 3D was an experience worth trying.
“It’s pretty neat technology that immerses the user into the story, but again, it only applies to certain genres. I won’t be opting for some 3D glasses when I play Sudoku on my Nintendo DS.”
