EA Sports Won’t Be Embracing 3D in 2010
Choosing motion controllers instead...Published 29/01/2010 at 16:30 by Gastos84
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Sky’s 3D Service To Target Gamers [32]
Stamford Bridge – home to Chelsea Football Club and 42,055 seats - was used yesterday by EA Sports as the venue for a PC-related FIFA event, but EA Sports president Peter Moore had some things to say about Sony’s 3D plans, Project Natal and the PlayStation Arc…I mean the PlayStation Motion Controller.
Speaking to Gi.biz Mr. Moore stated that despite Sony’s big plans for 3D gaming in 2010 and beyond, EA Sports have no intention of catering for it this year. He admitted that he was keeping a close eye on the opportunities that 3D will provide for sports but categorically ruled it out for the near furture.
No, no, no. I have a point of view and that’s about as much as we have…Sony has made it a strategic imperative for the company. And when Sony does something of that nature then we as a company need to sit up and take notice…But believe me there’s nothing going on right now that would say I’m ready to demo a 3D sports game. Nothing at all.
EA Sports may be shunning 3D gaming for the time being but they are very focused on both Microsoft’s and Sony’s motion control devices, but this doesn’t mean EA Sports will have titles ready for the launch of the new peripherals. Moore admitted that they are apparently just as in the dark about the launch timeframe as the rest of us.
I do not know when they’re launching. Certainly Sony has made no public pronouncement at all, and Microsoft has said ‘holiday’, which obviously gives fudge room, so stay tuned.
When reminded that Sony had committed to 2010 for its more-than-likely-to-be-called-Arc, he responded with a rather nonchalant answer of “If they hit this year then you’ll hear something from us about what our plans are.” But, in true EA style, they seem poised with several well-established titles.
…we’re going to have our core intellectual property represented in some shape of fashion on those platforms.
My question to you is: “Have EA Sports backed the wrong technology?” If you take a look at their range of games it appears that only Boxing and Golf would lend themselves to motion control. Would you, as sports fans and gaming fans, preferred to have seen Madden, FIFA, NBA and NHL in 3D or are you more excited about the prospect of flailing your appendages to kick, punch and swing your way to victory?
Comments
Please note that all comments are the opinion of the individual author and not TheSixthAxis.
cc_star | 29/01/2010 16:28
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From a business point of view, there will be very few 3DTVs in peoples home this year, so spending development time and money on something that only a minority of people will benefit from is not within EAs current remit of trying to make some money
On the downside, this does show the continued worrying trend of Sony failing to gather 3rd party support for a new product like, YouTube support, Cross Game Invites, custom background music etc… etc…
Sony will probably be going it alone as far as trailblazing a 3D future, but with quality products like AAA movies, new games, and the best of the PS3 back-cat being 3Dified as well as Sky+HD giving FREE 3D away to HD subscribers, then the corner will be turned and 3D will be adopted by more and more people all the time – therefore creating the customer-base for companies like EA to create products for.
posem | 29/01/2010 16:34
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this is a very good point. 3DTV’s are still extremly expensive and the majority of people dont earn enough to feasibly work out the budget to buy one.
I however will still gaze at them in fascination and carry on saving up for a new SLR
Gastos84 | 29/01/2010 16:35
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But you wouldn’t necessarily need a 3D TV, would you? Just those rather fetching 3D Goggles.
Apnomis | 29/01/2010 18:02
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Most major brands are yet to launch their ranges of 3D TV’s, including Sony who aren’t launching 3D Bravias until the Autumn, so how do you know they will be ‘extremely expensive’?
When you look at how far TV tech has come in the last few years and the prices now being charged for big-screen TV’s it’s crazy. Even the new generation of LED TV’s aren’t prohibitively expensive, and as far as I can see aside from some processing and faster frequencies the new generation of 3D TV’s aren’t all that different. I don’t expect to be seeing 3D TV’s for £2-3K, more like the price point of a HD Plasma a year or so ago – £1200-£1500 vs £750ish for a non-3D version, that’s hardly extremely expensive and a lot of people looking to buy a HDTV would pay the extra to ‘future proof’ themselves…
cc_star | 29/01/2010 18:47
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3DTVs are said to be about £250 dearer than a relative sized LCD/Plasma, so not much of a price difference, and that gap will obviously narrow as production increases.
Summer is said to be the launch window for quite a few things 3D related, and the World Cup will probably help with that. Disney and Dreamworks have stated that 100% of their output will be in 3D, so this isn’t some kind of fad which is going to go away
I would suspect 3D sales to increase steadily through 2011, with 2012 probably being its breakthrough year… I know the BBC are planning a 3D London Olympics that year, my concern with being an early adopter is that 4K (4 x the resolution of HD) will be gaining a foothold around that time (2012), and that may put me off buying a 3DHDTV if 3D4KTVs are just around the corner.
Apnomis | 29/01/2010 20:01
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Yeah but there’s always something else around the corner! The thing with 3D is it’s the here and now – Blu-rays have it and PS3’s have it and Sky have it (first public 3D football broadcast is Sunday). The BBC will be shooting the Olympics in 3D and Sony will be shooting this years World Cup in 3D – and big sporting events like this always drive new TV sales… We’re way past the threshold of 3D being a gimmick now, too many big companies are too invested in the tech – it’s almost a case of there being no going back…
4K is likely to be a much slower uptake given the fact most people are happy to watch Freeview quality images and many say they can’t notice much difference in HD at 1080p resolutions. I think 4K will be a niche (and expensive) format for several years, most probably until the PS4/Xbox720’s launch around 2014/15 (and even then only a handful of games will use it – like 1080p today). 4K must also take up a load of bandwidth for providers like Virgin and Sky too, as well as possibly requiring a bigger physical disc format, I just can’t see it coming that quickly – I think most people could safely get a 3D TV and have it a good few years before 4K starts tempting them (when the price is lower and more content is available).
Of course the next big revolution will come with Holographic TV’s – i.e. 3D without needing glasses. Let’s face it as soon as 3D gets into homes it will only be a matter of time before they figure out how to do away with the glasses…
Within a year practically all mid-range and top-range large TV’s sold will have 3D capability, whether you will use it or not the next TV you buy for your lounge will probably be 3D Ready…
jacklum | 29/01/2010 16:38
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Maybe 3D TV sales will pick up when Avatar gets a Blu-Ray release.
cam the man | 29/01/2010 22:09
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it’ll be like HD TVs. Slow to start with, then the sales will slowly pick up as the prices comes down.
It took HD TVs approx 2 years to reach a price that most people could afford.
Just in time for the PS4 then!
cam the man | 29/01/2010 22:21
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I didn’t put that correctly. What I meant is the 3D TVs will be a lot cheaper in two years time when there will be lots of rumours, if not announcements about the PS4, which may persuade people to invest in one.
a inferior race | 29/01/2010 16:38
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I haven’t played FIFA on the Wii but I have played PES and it was just to hard. I am much happier playing games that rely on footwork with analogue sticks and buttons.
Apnomis | 29/01/2010 17:22
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I can see 3D being a success but I think EA is right to wait and see what the up take is – if it was a simple case of a firmware update then EA Sports 2010/11 games would have 3D, but it’s not – it’s a case of going out and buying a new TV.
We’re not talking about a long lifespan game here, EA Sports games by nature are 12 month titles with constant incremental updates, so there is no point in trumpeting 3D as a main addition to the franchise in the year where few people have 3DTVs – FIFA12 will be another story though…
In related news Man Utd vs Arsenal will be the first ever football game to be broadcast live in 3D by Sky Sports – you have to go to a ’selected venue’ in either Manchester or London to watch it though…
SIR-DARK-HAZE | 29/01/2010 17:27
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i cant comment on how fun it will be to play fifa using the “Arc”. Gasto you will need the 3D glasses any way.
TSBonyman | 29/01/2010 20:24
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I’m not into sports games so 3D wouldn’t matter to me but i might get ‘Arc Sports Resort’ when that comes out
stingraz | 29/01/2010 21:52
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Don’t mention that disgusting place “Stam-ford B-Ridge” . uggh!