14 DAY TRIAL // James Cameron is used to innovating. He pushed the envelope of technology in movies when the created Titanic and put together The Abyss. Now, it seems that the legendary movie director is also trying to push the boundaries of technology on gaming consoles with his upcoming videogame Avatar: The Video Game, the companion piece to his latest movie.
Avatar should be the first commercial title that will allow players to experience full 3D effects, enhancing the level of immersion for the players and allowing for more realistic landscapes and movement. But the problem is that not all gamers will be able to enjoy the new effects, mainly because of the way they are delivered from the gaming console itself to the movie set.
Luc Duchaine, who is the international brand manager for Avatar, has told MTV Multiplayer that only those who use the HDMI output on the Xbox 360 and a resolution of 1080p will be able to see the effects. Apart from that, players will also need to use the 3D glasses included in the game package and a television set that offers the options for 3D, retailing for about 1,000 dollars at the moment. HDMI output is absent from the first generation of Xbox 360 home consoles.
Duchaine has also made clear that there's no way to include the 3D effects into the Nintendo Wii version of Avatar, because the console lacks the graphical power to replicate them and because the only solution would have been to use anaglyph 3D, which means using those ugly, weird red and blue glasses.
Avatar: The Video Game is still set for a December release and the development team is saying that it will also look impressive in 2D, for those who do not have the options to go full 3D.