If you look at the graph below you will see that the percentage of revenue from 3D movies has drastically declined. Why are movie goers shunning 3D? Well there appears to be two factors. Firstly, 3D movies are noticeably dimmer, film critic Roger Ebert has declared 3D movies are ‘noticeably darker than standard 2D’ and Hollywood golden boy Christoper Nolan agrees,
“On a technical level, it’s fascinating,” Nolan said of 3D, “but on an experiential level, I find the dimness of the image extremely alienating.”
Now pay attention: Here comes the science bit. Movie screen luminance is measured in units called ‘foot-lamberts’ with your standard movie weighing at around 14 foot-lamberts. Lenny Lipton, a pioneer in the area of projection noted that ‘you lose half your light, because half the light goes to one eye and half goes to the other.’ In other words a 14 foot-lambert movie is half as bright as a standard movie. Lipton comments,
“Avatar generally screened at about four-and-a-half foot-lamberts; other films are as low as two or three.”
The other factor to consider is the price. 3D movie screenings are usually at least 25% more expensive than 2D movies. Whilst movie goers are happy to pay for the experience for an ‘event’ such as Avatar they are less willing to pay the premium for a standard Saturday night popcorn flick.
So what does that mean for 3D gaming? Only time will tell but if 3D movies go the way of the dinosaur then TV manufacturers are going to have a very hard job selling expensive TVs just for gaming. Michael Pachter recently commented that 3D is just a ‘fad’, what do you think?
Source: The Wrap