3D gaming without the dorky glasses

It’s funny how fast a technology can evolve once people become used to it. Computers went from clunky desktops and brick-like laptops to flat-screen desktops and netbooks and now tablets. All in about 10 years. Phones went from giant cell phones to small flip phones and then they added e-mail and the next thing you knew you could do just about everything: Internet, movies, songs, apps, books, etc.

For a long time, 3D technology was relegated to theme parks. Disney’s Muppet*Vision 3D and Honey I Shrunk the Audience have been around since the early ’90s. Universal has a Shrek ride and a Spider-man ride. In movie theaters, 3D films were hard to find at first until more and more theaters began including at least one 3D screen. This past year or two has seen multiple 3D movies and many large blockbusters are planned to be in 3D – this week’s How to Train Your Dragon, Clash of the Titans, Shrek Forever After, Toy Story 3 and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (there are at least 12 other, smaller movies that will be released in 3D).

Just two months ago 3D TVs were announced by big companies (LG, Sony, Panasonic, etc). And now 3D has shrunk: get ready for the Nintendo 3DS.

I was so skeptical. I always think of 3D as having to put on glasses and screens that look blurry without the glasses on. And this new handheld gaming device is supposed to be without glasses. And then I saw the video. Seriously. Watch it. Part of me insists that it cannot be real. The other part of me has been squealing “That’s so cool!” in my mind for the last 30 minutes.

You have to hand it to the minds at Nintendo. Whenever the company is getting into some serious trouble, they haul out some crazy idea that changes everything. Take the regular game console. Before the Wii, Nintendo struggled with the GameCube. The Playstation 2 was the market leader and the Xbox offered great online access. The Gamecube mostly had family games and a low price. And then they unveiled the Wii.

Now, Xbox and Playstation are playing catch up to the Wii. Xbox is releasing Project Natal — which, like the Wii, is based on motion sensor technology but there’s no controller — and the Playstation has Move, which also uses motion sensor technology and a controller.

And now, when Apple’s iPhone and iPod Touch are stealing away gamers from the DS, Nintendo comes out with this really cool looking 3D model. Sure, people are going to say it’s a gimmick to get back customers. But isn’t that the point of a business? To create something so cool people want to buy it?

I’m pumped for the Nintendo 3DS, especially since it does 3D in a way I’ve never seen before.

Where’s Xbox’s handheld device?

For video gamers there are three names: Nintendo, Playstation and Xbox. Often gamers will sport fierce loyalty to a specific console. In addition to spending $200+ on a system many people also find themselves spending the money for a handheld device: a mobile version for people to play games on. The only problem is that Xbox devotees have no official handheld device.

Microsoft, the company that makes Xbox, does have Zune HD, but that doesn’t compare to a handheld gaming device like the Nintendo DSi or the Playstation Portable. Recently the company sunk money into Project Natal, a full body motion sensing technology for Xbox and that’s why Microsoft hasn’t focused on a small portable gaming device.

This is a market that Microsoft needs to get in on. People are willing to spend the money. Project Natal is good, but unless it’s perfect no one is going to want to wrestle with it. The company should come out with a handheld device and then give people the chance to buy games online and directly download them onto memory cards. This can cut the cost of production and when the price of games drop more customers will be willing to buy them.

So the fact that the company is talking about it is good. The fact that it hasn’t already been created is not good. Nintendo has been making handheld devices since 1989 with the Game Boy.

Xbox should have jumped on that wagon back in 2005 when Playstation, its big rival, came out with the PSP, especially since the Xbox has been out for almost a decade now and they haven’t created a small device.