Today Sony corralled a bunch of curious media observers (including myself) into a modestly posh central London venue to chat about 3D technology and, more importantly, let us have a look at the stuff they want us to pay thousands of pounds for the privilege of owning. Music videos, live concerts and feature films were all being shown around the relatively small demo area, and without going into detail these all worked relatively well and looked just like any who has been to see a 3D movie would expect.

We’re interested in games here at The Gamers Hub. So the piano black, brand new 40” Bravia telly hooked up to a fat old PS3 in the corner of the room was my first port of call. They’d stuck two controllers tantalisingly in front of the TV, but they weren’t to be used, so we had to watch a five minute loop of 3D gaming trailers (which you can see in the poor quality YouTube clip I captured below, complete with blurry imagery thanks to the stereoscopic nature of the 3D experience).

Three of the games on show were racers, which makes a lot of sense since powering forward at high speed really accentuates the 3D effects. WipEout HD was the first I glimpsed while wearing the bulky, slightly tight active shutter glasses required to unpick the twin images, and I was moderately impressed, as the sense of velocity was excellent. Although that has always been a trait of the series.

Next was MotorStorm Pacific Rift. This took the crown as the most impressive of the 3D demos, because it wasn’t just a cinematic concocted to wow, but real time gameplay, featuring someone driving and crashing into stuff. Again the sense of speed was improved by the 3D gameplay, and the physics engine feels even more realistic when it is sending things flying all over the place.

Finally a little montage of Gran Turismo was played, and in between some flashy but ultimately pointless establishing shots you got to see the race from the cockpit of a car. This was another great use of 3D, although it might mean that people used to hovering a few feet above the car will be missing out if they make the leap to 3D.

The racing titles made way for a space shooter called SuperStardust HD, and this is where things got a little less alluring. The game looked to be played on a 2D plain, with 3D effects for exploding asteroids and enemies confusing the viewer rather than making the experience more engaging. These kinds of games will doubtlessly be given the 3D treatment as the technology is more widely adopted, but it is hardly necessary given the style of the gameplay and the very, very busy nature of the graphical effects. In short it’s probably a bit like sticking popping candy underneath your eyelids; fizzy and painful.

The final title on show was a 3D version of KillZone 2. Or rather it was a cinematic that focused on a bullet flying from a rifle through a slow motion crowd of combatants before finally arriving for a headshot on an enemy commander. It was all very pretty, and the 3D effects were put to good use with crumbling rubble and the travelling bullet feeling disturbingly visceral. However, this isn’t how the effect will look in-game, and so it is of little relevance to the person who is going to be playing it. Some real time footage would have been nice, and so FPS lovers will have to reserve judgement until a full release arrives.

At one point a Sony representative said that playing in 3D will give the gamer an advantage in online matchups against those stuck in the second dimension. I was sceptical at first, but seeing obstacles in the distance in racing titles might make this so. I expect that being able to judge depth will also help in FPS games, although since we didn’t get to see any in action, I can’t say that with any certainty.

I’m giving the whole 3D gaming thing a tentative thumbs up, but there are several issues which make it a technology for wealthy early adopters only. The first is that the active shutter glasses, which you need to watch any of Sony’s new 3D TVs, suffer from the same light-obscuring problems as the simpler polarising glasses you get given in the cinema. It’s like looking at the screen whilst wearing sunglasses, and even in a fully dark room you’ll wish that the colours and bright, crisp HD visuals weren’t compromised so thoroughly. Sony’s new TVs are some of the most impressive for raw visual fidelity that I’ve ever seen, but slipping on the 3D glasses immediately makes all of their hard work pointless. I can only guess how much of an impact it will have once generic 3D TVs are on the market in more affordable price brackets.

The second issue with 3D games is that this brand new technology looks like it is going to be out of date in the next five years, with the first 3D TVs that don’t require glasses set to arrive in 2015 according to some predictions. It’ll probably be a decade before 3D TV is cheap and widespread enough for anyone to pick one up, although Sony and its analysts say that 40 per cent of UK households will have some kind of 3D viewing device by 2014. I’m still not convinced, and even if I stumble across a suitcase full of money in the next few days, I’ll probably save it for more important things like rent, rather than on technology that is more elitist and exclusionary than most of its predecessors.

Check out Henry’s article for all of the details that Sony spewed out in a presentation before the demoing began.

Thanks to TechRadar & Sony for the pictures.

• PLAY 3D games in the home for first time ever
• WATCH 3D films such as Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and FIFA World Cup highlights from your own home
• MARVEL at the next instalment of Spiderman in 3D coming soon to cinemas
• SEE the world’s greatest superstars come to life in the living room with 3D performances from SIA, Shakira, and Jimi Hendrix
• ENJOY via 3D TVs, Blu-ray players, home cinema systems, PS3 consoles, cameras and laptops

From Friday, June 11 2010, a full range of Sony 3D hardware and content will be available to buy in almost 600 retail outlets around the UK – this date also marks the first time consumers will have been able to experience 3D gaming in the comfort of their own home.

CONTENT

The arrival of 3D in the UK is one of the most exciting things to happen to the TV industry in years but would be nowhere near as interesting without great content. That is why Sony is introducing a raft of 3D movies, games and videos from launch.

Games – Sony brings 3D gaming to consumers for the first time

Friday, June 11, will be the first time UK consumers have been able to experience 3D gaming. Sony Computer Entertainment Europe is set to release four 3D stereoscopic titles through the PlayStation Network, available to download completely free when buying a Sony 3D TV:

• WipEout HD – pilot an anti-gravity craft in the ultimate racing game
• SuperStardust HD – destroy rocks and enemies in space in this fun title similar to Asteroids
• PAIN – attempt to damage the ragdoll character by flinging them from a rubber-band catapult
• MotorStorm Pacific Rift Demo – race a monster truck around a lush island environment and experience brutal off-road racing.

Following the initial launch, 3D will continue to be included with some great new titles to be announced later this year.

Films – Exclusive 3D Blu-ray disc bundled with selected Sony 3D products

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs will be bundled with selected Sony 3D products. The Sony Pictures Home Entertainment title will then be sold separately from the 14 June 2010.

Due for release in 3D soon are also:

THEATRICAL

• Spider-Man (final film title TBC) –The new film, which is still untitled, focuses on a Peter Parker as a teenager dealing with both contemporary human problems and amazing super-human crises.

• The Green Hornet –Seth Rogan is THE GREEN HORNET, a masked vigilante who fights crime with the help of martial arts expert and faithful sidekick, Kato

• Resident Evil: Afterlife– The latest instalment in the highly successful Resident Evil franchise, starring Milla Jovovich and Ali Larter.

HOME ENTERTAINMENT

• Monster House – Even for a 12-year old, D.J. Walters has a particularly overactive imagination. He is convinced that his haggard and crabby neighbour Horace Nebbercracker, who terrorizes all the neighbourhood kids, is responsible for Mrs. Nebbercracker’s mysterious disappearance. Any toy that touches Nebbercracker’s property, promptly disappears, swallowed up by the cavernous house in which Horace lives

• Open Season –The family adventure comedy Open Season, Boog, a domesticated grizzly bear with no survival skills, has his perfect world turned upside down when he meets Elliot, a scrawny, fast-talking mule deer from the forest.

Music – Watch music’s superstars, new and old, in exciting 3D

Sony Music is set to release a host of 3D content, to be shown at Sony Centres around the UK, including:

• Shakira ‘Waka Waka’ music video – official FIFA World Cup song in 3D
• SIA gig – her stunning Round House performance captured in 3D and shown in Sony Centres.
• Iconic music videos – vintage and classic music videos remastered into 3D
• Jimi Hendrix – vintage Hendrix tunes remastered into 3D

Sony 3D and the World Cup

Sony and FIFA recently confirmed that they would be filming 25 matches in the FIFA World Cup™ in 3D. Sony is creating 3D promotional trailers for each of the 25 games and screening in 1,300 Sony-affiliated retail stores and flagship stores throughout Europe.

HARDWARE

3D televisions, Blu-ray players, home cinema system, PS3 consoles and cameras

The range of Sony 3D products going on sale reinforces the company’s intention to make the technology accessible to all consumers. Combining outstanding consumer value, unique technology and unrivalled style, the range will continue to be added to over the coming months.

The latest 3D technology will be included in all new BRAVIA 3D TVs. Built upon the 200Hz high frame rate technology from Sony that allows viewers to see 3D in full High Definition 1080p¹ fidelity, the High Definition 3D image is further enhanced with the inclusion of ‘High Speed Precision²’, ‘LED Boost³’ and ‘3D up conversion⁴’, three technologies unique to Sony and designed to make the 3D image even clearer and brighter.

Spearheaded by the BDV-E370, the complete range of Sony Blu-ray Home Cinema Systems this year is also “3D capable”. Bringing full HD 3D Blu-ray disc playback, a 3D firmware update will be released in line with the overall 3D launch on June 12. The BDP-S570 Blu-ray player model, now on sale, is the first with 3D playback out of the box. Also already in-store is the highly affordable BDP-S470 “3D capable” Blu-ray Player.

Sony 3D glasses, using active shutter technology to deliver full High Definition 3D are designed for both comfort and stamina. Smaller pink and blue glasses are available forpeople with smaller face such as children, and with a battery life of approximately 100 hours^7, and an auto shut off function – the Sony glasses will allow you to enjoy the 3D action for longer.

As a world’s first, Sweep Panorama photographs on the NEX-5 and NEX-3 cameras can also be enjoyed in stunning 3D on compatible BRAVIA™ 3D televisions. A high-speed burst of frames is stitched together automatically to create detail-packed 23 megapixel panoramas with a 226 degree effective angle of view.

PS3 owners are able to upgrade their consoles to 3D with a firmware update. A further free update to make PS3s 3D Blu-ray disc compatible will be made available within 2010.

3D VAIO laptops are also due to launch in 2010.

“We’re delighted to be able to bring 3D products and content to the home and believe we are in a unique position to do so,” said Andy Benson, Sony UK commercial director.

“But this is just the start of the journey. Each Sony company is fully behind 3D; focused on creating great content and, in the very near future, enabling consumers to create their own. For Sony, 3D is a continuation of our efforts to raise the experience of entertainment.”

Fantastic, the iPhone 4 was announced last night and while fanboys have already probably set up camp outside the Apple store, others will want to know what to expect from the iPhone 4 as a gaming platform. So here’s a run down of what we can expect presented by none other than Steve Jobs.

Special thanks for gdgt for the images. Oh and I just love the image where the guy’s head is covering up the “perfect for gaming”. So what do you guys think? Can’t wait to upgrade? Stick with your current phone? Or will you be like me and potentially make your first iPhone purchase? Comment!