50% of Games Might Be 3D in 2012

After the huge success of James Cameron's Avatar, almost all Hollywood blockbusters are shown in 3D, with the filming process also using the technology or a conversion employed when the shot was done in 2D. And now French publisher Ubisoft is saying that in less than 3 years, by the end of 2012, to be precise, about 50 percent of videogames might also be created and delivered to players in the full three dimensions of real space.

Yves Guillemot, who is the Chief Executive Officer of Ubisoft, told investors, “The 3D games are going to come more and more with the TV screens that are available. We did Avatar last year and the experience was enhanced by the 3D experience. On 360, PS3 but also maybe on portable machines. So we can count on substantial growth on the 3D aspect just because it's more immersive.” The remarks came as Ubisoft presented worse than expected financial results, with the CEO talking about how the company planned to grow in the coming years.

At the moment, only Sony has announced clear plans to introduce 3D gaming to the PlayStation 3 home console, via a series of firmware updates, with the launch date for the new feature set for the end of the year.

Microsoft is currently testing a 3D concept in collaboration with LG on the South Korean market, while Nintendo has not talked about 3D gaming on the Nintendo Wii but has revealed that it will launch a new handheld, called the Nintendo 3DS, which will not require special glasses to deliver the three dimensional experience.

The videogame tie-in for Avatar was quite a big hit for Ubisoft, managing to sell copies alongside the DVD version of the movie. Guillemot believes the more complex and engaging experience the player has with 3D can enable developers to create better videogames and deliver more complex virtual worlds.