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Archive for the ‘Sony 3D’ Category

With the recent Playstation 3 firmware update to play 3D games, Sony took 3D games into people’s living rooms for the first time . Previously only high-end computers using Nvidia’s 3D Vision system could play games in 3D, but now 3D games are available to people with an upgraded PS3 and a 3DTV.

The first set of games, Wipeout, SuperStardust, PAIN and a demo of MotorStorm Pacific Rift is available for £23.99 from the PlayStation Store or as a bonus with purchase of a Sony Bravia 3D TV package. If you already have the games, you get the 3D upgrade for free.

3D Blu Ray Discs

In the coming months, Sony will release another firmware update for the PS3 to enable it to play 3D Blu-Rays such as “Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs” which is the first standalone 3D Blu Ray disc, available from June 14th (to be followed by “Open Season” and “Monster House”).

Bravia 3DTV’s

The first Bravia 3DTV, the 40-inch KDL-HX803 arrives on June 12th with other models following later.

3D Blu-Ray Players

There are also non-PS3 Blu-Ray players such as the BDP-S470 which gets a firmware update on June 12th and the BDP-S570 which goes on sale at the same time and will be 3D-ready when releases.

New PS3 Pricing?

Sony also caused a stir when the PS3 was recently priced in it’s USA online store “from $199.99″, which seems to have been a mistake, but could also have possibly been an insight into an upcoming pricing change… perhaps when bundled with a 3DTV. What that means for the UK, where a PS3 currently sells for about three hundred quid (unless on special offer) is anyone’s guess.

Sony have a new 3DTV commerical ad for TV. Check it out. What do you think? It certainly makes me want a 3DTV!

I’m not too keen on the out-of-focus images, but I can appreciate that they add impact value to the ad. It just goes to show that there’s no easy way to convey how 3DTV will look to people watching 2D screens. It’s a tricky marketing puzzle for sure!

Comet announced on 19th March that Sony Bravia 3DTV’s were ready for pre-order, but when you visit the webpage it now says,

“Oops! We’re really sorry but we’ve got a bit excited about the prospect of 3D TV technology and we’re now not quite ready to take your pre-order. But rest assured as soon as pre-orders are ready we’ll let you know.”

So we’ll have to hang on a bit longer to pre-order Bravia 3DTV’s at Comet. Meanwhile, I’ll be checking other shops and manufacturer’s for their 3DTV ordering info.

As the 3D revolution gathers pace and the 3DTV’s are nearer to hitting the shops, Sony has pinned a date on its masterplan. The 3DTV maker said in a press release that the 3D “software” update to its PS3 was slated for “around June”, in time for the worldwide launch of Sony’s 3DTV’s.

It was already known that Sony would be hitting the 3D market from various angles. It had announced its Bravia 3DTV (KDL-60LX903 and others), a firmware update to the PS3 so that it could handle 3D games and Blu Ray 3D, standalone 3D Blu Ray players (BDP-S470, BDP-S470, BDP-S370, BDP-S770) and home cinema bundles which would play movies, including those from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs 3D).

With that train rolling, Sony hopes to break away from the deadlock with LG as the second-largest flat TV manufacturer to challenge Samsung for dominance. I’ve always thought that games would be a huge selling point for 3DTV’s, so Sony may well see significant benefit from the PS3 being able to play 3D games and Blu Ray 3D discs.

The Sony BDP-S470 Blu Ray 3D player has been spotted on the shelves of Best Buy, in the USA. It’s also available for purchase at Amazon.com.

Unfortunately, there’s no news of it being spotted at Tesco, and it’s not available at Amazon.co.uk yet.

If you happen to spot a Blu-Ray 3D player in the wild in the UK, send us a piccy and your name for instant fame and glory!

More info on Sony Blu Ray 3D players can be found here.

(pic from formatwarcentral.com)