14 DAY TRIAL // At one point 3D gaming seemed like the next big thing for the industry and companies like Sony and Electronic Arts were quick to back the technology and deliver titles that could be played using three-dimensional technology in consoles and television sets.
But it seems that the trend failed to become mainstream and that players were never ready to ditch their well-known 2D screens for the unknown for 3D.
During a meeting with the shareholders that followed the announcement of first quarter financial results, John Riccitiello, who is the chief executive officer of Electronic Arts, has said, “Frankly, we have not seen a big uptake for 3D gaming. We haven't seen a big uptake for 3D televisions in the home, at least not yet. And we're not here trying to drive the market, we're here to react to what consumers are looking for.”
The executive has also acknowledged that a lot of gamers are not interested in picking up 3D games and devices even if they offer a superior experience because of their attachment to 3D screens in gaming.
He added, “Right now we're seeing better growth focusing on a different technology innovation...online and social. We've seen really high returns here, and very poor returns focusing on 3D. So our allocation of resources have been toward the new innovations that are growing more rapidly.”
Electronic Arts has announced pretty good first quarter results, with an increase in both revenue and profit, and the company has big plans for its social and casual gaming arms, buying developer PopCap and announcing that it plans to expand the amount of revenue derived from social experiences.
It will be interesting to see how the low adoption of 3D will affect Sony and Nintendo, two companies that have invested heavily in the technology.
Nintendo has just announced that it is cutting the price of the 3DS handheld to 169 dollars, after its unique glasses-free 3D display failed to drive up sales.