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Has the 3-D Hype Bubble Finally Popped?

Posted by Soulskill on from the let's-hope-so dept.

An anonymous reader writes "An article at Time speculates that the recent hype surrounding 3-D display technology has finally peaked and begun to subside. As evidence, they point to comments from Nintendo president Satoru Iwata, who does not seem particularly enthusiastic about it, and concedes it won't be a major selling point if the company continues to have 3-D enabled products in the future. He said, 'So, now we've created the 3DS and 3DS XL and also have some games out there that are really using that 3D effect that we can see, from my point of view, that it's an important element. But as human beings are this kind of surprise effect wears off quickly, and just [having] this 3D stereoscopic effect isn't going to keep people excited.' Revenue from 3-D films is also dropping, and while 3-D television sales are rising, only 14 percent of potential buyers think 3-D is a 'must have' feature."

4 of 261 comments (clear)

  1. Lame 3D tech is a once per generation fad. by the+eric+conspiracy · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Now that we've had it for this generation (i.e. 2010) thankfully we won't have to worry about it until 2030 or so.

    Or until we have REAL 3D breakthrough where your can walk around a solid appearing image to see it from different perspectives, without glasses.

    1. Re:Lame 3D tech is a once per generation fad. by kasperd · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Or until we have REAL 3D breakthrough where your can walk around a solid appearing image to see it from different perspectives, without glasses.

      No pragmatic person will ask for such technology today. There is nothing wrong with researching, but it will take many years before we see any feasible technology for that.

      A more reasonable request is more standardized 3D glasses and better quality. There are many people who wear glasses all the time in order to be able to see anything at all. Glasses made for that are more comfortable to wear. Let's have 3D glasses that are as comfortable to wear as ordinary glasses. And let's have 3D glasses suitable for people who need glasses, such that those people don't have to wear two pair of glasses on top of each other in order to watch a 3D move. Fix those two things, and 3D technology will become more popular.

      I find 3D equipment for home usage to be less convincing than 3D equipment for the cinema. I still haven't seen any equipment for home usage moving away from active glasses. Produce an LCD with circular polarization for 3D, and I will be much more interested in buying it. Even more so if I can buy a good pair of 3D glasses for it, and use the same good pair of 3D glasses in the cinema.

      --

      Do you care about the security of your wireless mouse?
  2. Hallelujah! by Koyaanisqatsi · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Personally, I'm sick and tired of small theaters only offering you the 3D version of a given movie. I rather see it in normal 2D, without having to put up with dirty and inconvenient passive glasses, and dizziness in scenes with fast motion ...

    At home, for gaming, with a good TV and glasses things might be different, but I'm not much of a gamer myself to justify the extra expense.

  3. Duh... by multimediavt · · Score: 5, Insightful

    and while 3-D television sales are rising

    Of course their sales are on the rise when there aren't many alternatives if you want a decent new TV. That's like saying TVs with digital tuners are on the rise, duh! 3D has some uses, but it's mostly another ploy by the manufacturers to keep their price points up by making it seem they are adding value to the device. Also, why they still put tuners in monitors (let's face it TVs are just big LCD monitors) by default these days is a little silly if you ask me.