Oh, ho, ho! I thought I’d get away without having to report any further MMO news tonight, but I was wrong, baby. At this year’s Tokyo Game Show, Sony is pushing two main technologies: their brand new Move controller and 3D television entertainment. The company loves their montage trailers and sandwiched smack dab in the middle of the one for the latter — between Minna No Golf (Hot Shots Golf)5 and Metal Gear Solid: Rising — was a new trailer for Final Fantasy XIV.
Now, it should be noted that some of these games (this one included) were cited as “tech demos,” which means that this footage is only an indication of what it might look like if the full game supports it. If this is something Square-Enix is actually planning to implement, then this may be part of the reason why Final Fantasy XIV was delayed on the console in the first place. While some games, like World of Warcraft, are compatible with NVIDIA’s 3D Vision system, this would be the first time a MMO is being released with the technology in mind. That said, there seem to be no current plans to adapt it for the PC version that’s just about to hit retail, though you could probably use NVIDIA’s setup in lieu of an official patch.
Of course, taking advantage of it depends as much on Square-Enix’s plans as whether or not you’ve bled your wallet dry on a 3D television yet, which few people have. Still, MMOs tend to stick around for a long time, and that means that by the time they come down in price, FFXIV might still be relevant.
Either way, Sony seems to be giving it a nice, hard shove, with most of their platform’s leading games on board (Gran Turismo 5 and Disaster Report 4 will, for sure) and the Playstation 3 itself supporting the technology from the get-go (if you have an older system, it’s already been patched in through the firmware updated). No fuss, no muss, and that means if you’re prepared to wear a pair of polarized glasses for hours on end, you too might one day experience the joy of Moogles in the third dimension.
Oh My! Playstation going back into the 3D vision? Unbelievable!
It’s just like how last time that Nintendo decided to go with Motion Control, and all of the sudden by absolute coincidence, Sony Scrapped there old controller and went with a New One with a downgraded motion controller.
But Nintendo hasn’t gone back into the 3d bizz for awhile. Probably never will. Sony’s Stepping up in the ranks.
(if your brain exploded by now, it was probably all the sarcasm)
It may just be my 4:44 AM-addled brain talking, but I’m honestly not sure what’s sarcasm and what’s not!
When we’re talking about 3D and the Playstation, we’re talking about games that are made to take advantage of 3D televisions, which due to the rest of the entertainment industry (film, sports, television, etc.) are going to be around no matter what Sony wants to do. Why not take advantage of it? In fact, there are a few PS3 games that already do, they’re just reaffirming their support for the technology. And, well, Sony makes some 3D TVs themselves, so it benefits them to have such a circuitous business model.
As far as Nintendo goes, you mention “hasn’t gone back to 3D for awhile,” which I can only assume is referring to the Virtual Boy, which failed not because it was 3D, but because it was cumbersome, monochrome, and killed people’s eyes. But they “probably never will?” The 3DS is coming out at the end of this year, so I think that Nintendo is very much invested in it!
And, well, the dream of an in-home 3D experience has been part of popular culture since at least the 50s, so everybody is really copying everybody else once you think about it.
Now the motion control. Once again, not a new concept, just one that Nintendo managed to popularize. Sony and Microsoft have been researching their versions for years, but the release of the Wii prompted them to finally put their ideas into action to capture a new market. Sony did NOT scrap their old controller, and the new one (Move) actually has both MORE technology inside of it and a superior tracking system.
That is, unless you’re talking about the surprise announcement of the Sixaxis after the Wii was first revealed, at which point I would hardly say they *scrapped* the old one since it otherwise had the same exact, classic Playstation controller design.
Sorry for ranting, though, it’s real early (read: late) and I hate seeing misinformation spread.
it was your 4 AM brain.