PS3...3D?

Sony, Sony, Sony. What are we going to do with you? It's not like CES, Las Vegas' annual consumer electronics show, is really that big a deal (it's no E3 or Leipzig, or anything) but it seems like you'd want to bring a something a little more interesting than...3D PS3 games.

Yes, you read that right. At this year's show Sony had tech demos of Gran Turismo 5, Motorstorm and Wipeout HD running in RealD 3D, a new kind of 3D technology. So far, all the impressions I've read of Sony's demonstrations have been pretty positive. And while the idea of a 3D game is cool, this idea seems troublesome to me.

Aside from gamers having to wear 3D glasses in order to experience this technology, this feel like a gimmick to me. Anyone remember Nintendo's Virtual Boy? If that didn't work, (although Nintendo's console was situated so that it was almost impossible to play for more than 10 minutes before it became extremely uncomfortable--Sony's just asking you to wear a pair of dorky glasses like some Persona 4 reject) I'm not sure it would work this time around, either.

Now, Sony stressed that these tech demos were just that--demonstrations of new technology experimentation. That means there are no official plans to make 3D PS3 games. At least, not yet.

The bottom line is, until we can get 3D holograph displays like the ones in Blade Runner, should gaming really move in this direction? It seems like a bit of a misstep. Why don't more developers continue to try thinking outside the box in terms of game innovation? LittleBigPlanet, Mirror's Edge, Braid--last year these games (to name a few) made gamers think in new ways, while delivering on the sort of forward thinking the gaming industry needs--especially if we're really supposed to get "next-gen" games.

Look, the idea of games that "pop", even at the cost of wearing ridiculous 3D glasses, is admittedly kind of cool, but c'mon guys. Until the industry starts taking itself in a more creative direction, can't we focus on making games more progressive instead of just making them a tiny bit flashier?

Thanks to IGN's PS3 site for the story.