12th December 2010, 1:23 AM
Nobody cares about getting 3D TVs. They're doing pretty badly. To most people, they're finally getting an HDTV and now they're being told it's obsolete?
There's also the matter of 3D still feeling too "gimicky". There's those goggles, which are incompatible between manufacturers, are uncomfortable and expensive, and "make you look like a dork". There's also the number of "3D" movies with terrible 3D, the "cardboard cutout" style where it feels more like a diarama than actual 3D (the people may appear "in front" of the background, but the background still looks flat and the people still look flat, like a cardboard cutout in front of a painted set). There's a few with good 3D, but too many where it's just a gimic. Further, the quality of the image often suffers with different models. Sony can't include 3D glasses with their system for the simple reason that they will only work on Sony's TVs, and as much as Sony may WANT to do that, it'd be a dumb move considering the sheer number of complaints from customers upset that their TVs aren't 3D (and many will come from people who thought that the goggles were supposed to make their old 1980's TV into a 3D set).
The Move included with the PS3? That's a good start. That's not enough to turn things around though. At this point, I've seen enough generations go by that it seems that whatever lead a company gets in the first year or so is pretty much exactly what'll be kept the whole generation.
That said, the PS3 isn't dead. It's just doing poorly compared to the others. I've got one, and to keep things in perspective, it may be getting largely ports, but people ARE buying those ports, just not in the same numbers as the 360 ports. This is hardly 3D0 or Saturn territory. The system is still sitting on shelves and still has big sections dedicated to their games in stores.
Is it doing very well? Nah, not by a long shot. It's partly Sony's own fault too. I've complained about a number of their boneheaded customer relations decisions.
There's also the matter of 3D still feeling too "gimicky". There's those goggles, which are incompatible between manufacturers, are uncomfortable and expensive, and "make you look like a dork". There's also the number of "3D" movies with terrible 3D, the "cardboard cutout" style where it feels more like a diarama than actual 3D (the people may appear "in front" of the background, but the background still looks flat and the people still look flat, like a cardboard cutout in front of a painted set). There's a few with good 3D, but too many where it's just a gimic. Further, the quality of the image often suffers with different models. Sony can't include 3D glasses with their system for the simple reason that they will only work on Sony's TVs, and as much as Sony may WANT to do that, it'd be a dumb move considering the sheer number of complaints from customers upset that their TVs aren't 3D (and many will come from people who thought that the goggles were supposed to make their old 1980's TV into a 3D set).
The Move included with the PS3? That's a good start. That's not enough to turn things around though. At this point, I've seen enough generations go by that it seems that whatever lead a company gets in the first year or so is pretty much exactly what'll be kept the whole generation.
That said, the PS3 isn't dead. It's just doing poorly compared to the others. I've got one, and to keep things in perspective, it may be getting largely ports, but people ARE buying those ports, just not in the same numbers as the 360 ports. This is hardly 3D0 or Saturn territory. The system is still sitting on shelves and still has big sections dedicated to their games in stores.
Is it doing very well? Nah, not by a long shot. It's partly Sony's own fault too. I've complained about a number of their boneheaded customer relations decisions.
"On two occasions, I have been asked [by members of Parliament], 'Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?' I am not able to rightly apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question." ~ Charles Babbage (1791-1871)