Sony chief admits 3D isn’t ‘hugely important’ to its customers as company shifts focus to other areas

Paul Milligan, October 4, 2012

The UK head of Sony Computer Entertainment has admitted that customers haven’t found 3D technology ‘hugely important.’ Speaking at the Eurogamer expo, Fergal Gara said: “Consumers decide how relevant 3D is, it’s fair to say consumers have decided it’s not hugely important at this time.”

Gara was speaking about the use of 3D in the gaming sector, but he did add he thinks the same applies to other areas too and it’s largely down to the “hassle factor” of wearing glasses.

“Whether you look at movies or games, wearing the glasses and consuming 3D in that way in the home isn’t hugely popular. That’s just a fact,” he said.

“It may have a bigger life a little further down the line. It’s great we can do it. It doesn’t seem to be the most powerful USP at the moment, so you’ve seen us shift our effort onto fresh new exciting IP (intelluectual properties).

“Whether you look at movies or games, wearing the glasses and consuming 3D in that way in the home isn’t hugely popular. That’s just a fact. I haven’t read detailed research on it, but the glasses will certainly be a big part of the hassle factor. I also think there’s a bit of a difference between the highly focused viewing and the more casual viewing.

“In the home people tune in and tune out a bit, and doing that with glasses on and glancing at your tablet or pausing for a bit, compared to the cinema experience which is a solely focused experience, you know there is a difference emerging there.

“How good will glasses-free 3D be? We haven’t seen any killer technology land on the market yet that proves a must have, and I don’t have a firm view on whether that will happen.”

One reason for the slow takeup the company has seen in the technology is that Sony has always used active glasses in its 3D products, which are heavier and more expensive than passive glasses (favoured by the likes of LG for example).

Another technology that Sony is looking at is a recently announced 84in 4K display, which has a resolution of 3,840×2,160 pixels. AV Magazine is due to see that technology later today (Thursday) at an event in London, and will publish more details once we have seen it.