As anyone who passed in front of Old Main might have noticed, Sony has been on campus all week showing off its latest technological innovations while offering students a unique opportunity to apply for internships.
In the beginning of the week, the tents at the west end of the UA Mall had six kiosks with Playstation 3D displays set up for anyone to try. People could go over and play games that used Sony’s brand of 3D technology.
When compared to 3D movies or Nintendo’s latest portable gaming device, the 3DS, Playstation 3D is of equal or better quality. The subtler effects make the picture quality painless to look at but still deeply complex, and continue to prove 3D is just better with glasses, making the glasses-free 3DS look unpolished.
Jack Tretton, CEO and president of Sony Computer Entertainment America, is certainly proud of the Playstation 3’s 3D capabilities.
“We’re constantly evolving our platforms and our technology,” Tretton said. “I think 3D is a big milestone, and I likened it to when the first Playstation was introduced and you really had 3D graphics and more immersive gameplay than prior to the Playstation.”
Bearing that in mind, it does make Sony the constant innovator of the graphics and immersion department of gaming. Its platform was the first to effectively step away from the traditional 2D graphics and introduce the polygon style that became prevalent in the mid-‘90s.
3D is all well and good, but Sony had something far more impressive to show that many students didn’t even realize existed: It’s something they call SimulView, and it will change the way multiplayer games work completely.
“It’s just the frustration of a lot of two player games, and really trying to do it right with someone staring at all your moves,” Tretton said of SimulView. “The great thing about SimulView is, while you’re not taking advantage of 3D, you’re getting two full screens out of one monitor.”
That’s right, no longer will gamers have to split a screen in half for multiplayer. With SimulView, the images of both players’ gameplay are layered over each other in a way that allows you to see just one or the other. To use it, one has to have the Playstation 3D glasses and a special 3D display, but it’s an astounding concept, and well executed — at least when the sun isn’t casting a glare on the entire screen.
The one drawback, and it’s a very minor one, is that SimulView only works in 2D (but it’s only a matter of time before that problem is solved, as well).
As far as getting all the necessities, Sony is making that easy for you too. Later in the fall, the company will release a bundle which includes a 24” LCD, 1080p, 3D capable television, a pair of 3D glasses, an HDMI cable and a copy of Sony’s big new game “Resistance 3” on Blu-ray disc, all for $499.99.
With all this to offer gamers, Sony is going to come out swinging in the holiday season. The only problem that remains, according to Tretton, is getting developers to utilize the technology in new games.
“It’s chicken and egg,” Tretton said. “We need to grow the install base of the monitor to excite the developing community to do SimulView games and we need SimulView games to drive the adoption of the monitor.”
