3D gives online gamers an advantage

Still not sure about forking out in excess of 1,500 for a new stereoscopic 3D TV? Well, Sony reckons that playing in 3D will not only enhance your gaming experience but also enhance your chances of winning online.

Speaking to Edge, SCEE’s senior development manager for the Worldwide Studios stereoscopic team Simon Benson says early concerns that 3D could provide a significant advantage has proved unfounded, but he does insist that 3D players will have the upper hand.

It depends on the nature of the game and what you’re actually getting,” he explained. We think it’s pretty much in a similar domain to when someone has got an HD TV and someone else has got an SD TV. The person with the HD TV may have an advantage if the game requires them to perceive a lot of fine detail in the distance or something.

If you’re playing a racing game and you’re getting some additional [3D] information you can actually measure distances with your eyes, making it easier to judge breaking. Many of our hardcore gamers are already pretty good at that anyway, so how much of an edge is it going to give them compared to someone who’s only just tried a game for the first time?

I think what’s basically going to happen is that anyone who has stereoscopic 3D televisions and, for example, is playing a driving game, I would imagine you’re likely to find that the accessibility level is higher, that people would generally perform better on their first go. But I think at the high end with the hardcore gamers you’ll still see a [3D] advantage there, potentially, but the margins will be far smaller.”