14 DAY TRIAL // With almost the whole industry embracing 3D as the next big thing, Electronic Arts isn't all that interested in the new technology, with its Chief Operating Officer, John Schappert, saying that the company is focusing its attention elsewhere.
3D gaming is currently one of the big new trends for the gaming industry, with Sony backing it through the PlayStation 3 and its impressive library of stereoscopic 3D games (not to mention the required Sony Bravia 3DTV sets) as well as Nintendo, who's bringing the technology to handhelds, through the upcoming 3DS portable console.
Meanwhile, developers are becoming extremely interested in the technology, especially since it can seriously augment the experience, like in Call of Duty: Black Ops.
Still, EA isn't all that certain of 3D becoming the next big thing, and has revealed that it's focusing its efforts elsewhere.
"While there's no doubt that our industry will have its 'Avatar', where 3D is a defining aspect of the game ... I'm mostly interested, with all the mobile devices that are coming out, in how they're being connected to one another and how the same IP is shared over the top. I think that's actually a bigger driver for EA and the industry in the near term,” said EA’s COO John Schappert to Edge magazine.
IPTV and other types of technologies may be better suited for gaming in the near future.
"I'm more in the camp that IPTV is a bigger idea for gaming, at least in the near term, than 3D is. It just provides a better social experience and you know that consumers playing with one another is a very positive and powerful motivator,” he continued.
IPTV products like Google TV have already been launched, but response is mixed, to say the least.
However, EA is making serious strides in terms of iOS games, for the iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad, releasing portable versions of popular franchises like Mirror's Edge or Dead Space, which have been selling extremely well.
Despite its lack of faith, EA is set to publish Crytek's Crysis 2 title, which, according to the developer, impressed through its 3D mode the director of the movie Avatar, James Cameron.