A pioneer for 3D to come

It's getting flak already, that's for sure. We're all hearing reports of headaches, and that some just prefer playing it with 3D off in general. That's fine; that's what the switch is for. But if there's one thing its predecessor taught us it's that certain games make such great use of the device's features that I'm certain most people will turn that switch right back on when an increase of fun is in sight. Point in case: If you know how skillfully the inventor of Mario continually employs the hardware Nintendo provides him with year after year, you know Mr. Miyamoto won't lose a sweat in pushing the 3DS to its limits and leaving us all with our jaws on the floor. invariably reach into his bottomless hat of imaginative ideas and make the absolute best of the 3DS.


But Nintendo's handheld is not the center point here; its technology is. While Sony are still trying to sell you a pair of Duracell-powered 3D glasses, Toshiba are busy announcing their superior glasses-free 3D TV. And now you know why Sony are pushing their embarrassing excuse for a 3D home experience. It's all about grabbing a slice of this new-born market with an imperfect technology while the competition is busy improving theirs. That exact same strategy helped Sony win the Bluray vs. HD DVD-war, if you remember, in which Philips had to witness their superior DVD standard lose the battle against an opponent that was willing to set technology back 5 years. Ever hear of the VHS-Betamax war from the 70's? Same story.

From a technological viewpoint, the glasses-free 3D effect can be achieved either with a panel that overlays a traditional screen, by using cameras to target a specific viewer, or by using cylindrical lenslets. But what's important is where this glasses-free revolution will take us in the next few years. I'm sure your local cinema will get rid of its glasses-powered silver screen within a year or two, but by then a small portion of you will already enjoy that very technology at home, and in that sense, the 3DS is nothing less than a pioneer to be acknowledged.

An early prototype. As you can see, they've added a camera since then.

 You may not think you'll getting a Nintendo 3DS or a glasses-free TV set any time soon. But when you walk into an electronics store in a year or so and you see one of these babies, you're gonna buy one just like you bought that HD TV last year. But that's okay. You know why? Because this fuels the industry to develop much more exciting technologies, such as the one we'll talk about in my next post.

Next time: Tactile touch screens.