Sony: 3D is a bigger leap than standard to high-definition

Sony's 3D development boss Simon Benson has told GamesIndustry.biz that he believes the introduction of 3D is a more significant leap in home entertainment than the shift from standard to high-definition.

Benson said 3D enables the player to use their vision correctly in games, and is something they will recognise as a revolution - once experienced it can create an expectation that all games should be offering 3D as standard.

"I would say it's probably bigger, because it's completely different," said Benson when asked if he though 3D was a bigger jump than upgrading to HD. "It's the first time you've switched on your other eye. With HD we've gone for more resolution, which is great, more detail, better quality, but suddenly you've just switched on the other eye for the first time ever, you see the world with both eyes every day, yet in everything that's being pumped through your television you've gone back to seeing it as if you only had one. So really it's that level of significance.

"3D's just another one of these big revolutions in the technology. It's another of these step forwards that gives you something else, something that was better than the last generation, and on it rolls."

"It makes all the difference to the whole industry because people are going to be playing these games for the first time in 3D," he added. "The first time they play a 3D driving game they'll be thinking 'these benefits are so significant that I want all my driving games to be in 3D from now on please'. And that kind of demand is going to mean that everyone who's making games will think I need to feed that now. Because it clearly makes sense."

For users concerned the effects of 3D may be over powering for long periods of time, Benson said Sony is working on allowing players to adjust the levels of 3D in their games, lessening the effect it necessary.

"If people find that they want a more subtle 3D effect, they can do that. It's all being considered to that degree... it's not that everything in the world will always be 3D forever. I think 2D's still very very much mainstream, and obviously one of the points we're making is that we're not going to neglect 2D by any stretch.

"2D's still exceptionally important and 3D's just another option, another thing that you can choose to make use of if that's what you want."

Sony is expected to make a number of significant 3D announcements at E3 this week. The full interview with Simon Benson can be read here.