Sony: Some 3D games are poor quality

Integrating 3D visuals into a game without ensuring that the functionality adds something to the gameplay experience is potentially damaging, Sony’s 3D chief Mick Hocking has stated.

And sadly, some games which have released with 3D compatibility have not hit the mark, he believes.

If people see great quality 3D it does enhance the experience,” he told Eurogamer. It’s a great feature for a game. But if they see poor quality 3D it can put them off.

”Unfortunately some people are producing poor quality 3D, in all mediums. Over the last 12 months we’ve seen TV, film, some games, where the quality hasn’t been there. It’s just a case of people need to understand how to work with 3D, how to make it technically correct and then how to use it creatively.

"Only add 3D where it makes a difference to the gameplay experience. It must add something. Don’t just add depth for the sake of it."

Nonetheless, Hocking thinks that PS3’s early forays into the 3D space have been a success.

"It’s been a good first year," Hocking added. "We’ve got 50m PS3s that support 3D playback. 3DTVs are selling well. We’ve had great response from our fans out there at game shows and forums about the 3D games we’ve produced. But the most important thing is 3D quality.

"We need to, and we’re trying to encourage everyone to learn about 3D properly and come and talk to us so we’ll support them when they convert the games.

"As we’ve seen in some other industries, if you make great quality 3D, in film you could say Avatar – it’s the most successful film of all time, it’s the highest grossing film of all time – but since then that hasn’t been followed up with the same degree of success.

"We’ve spent a lot of time getting great quality across all the PS3 games, and we’ve had a very good response for that, but it’s really important we maintain that level of quality.”