With all the talk about CES being the home of tablet PCs this year, one would think CES exhibitors had forgotten all about 3D. Not even close. Vizio use CES this year to talk about its new 3D TV technology, at least one current 3D TV manufacturer outlined plans to release a set that doesn’t require active-shutter 3D glasses, and Sony came out of the gates swinging with a whole host of 3D news of its own.
The highlighted platform for all of this was Sony’s CES press conference, of which we’ve embedded the entire video below. During its press conference, Sony outlined a new 3D Vaio laptop — which when you get down into the details is pretty beefy even without the Vaio’s 3D aspects — and the company shared its vision for a world in which 3D displays are the norm. In fact, 3D technology seems to be the driving force of much of what Sony chose to showcase during its CES press conference, although the company’s not putting all of its eggs in one basket. It just happens to be a huge basket, that’s all.
Even the PlayStation portion of the presentation featured some serious 3D love, with the PS3 not only being discussed during the presentation itself, but Killzone 3 being shown in stereoscopic 3D during the event’s opening video. Remember, the PS3 began not just as an elegant gaming system, but as the Trojan Horse for the Blu-ray Disc format to enter our homes — much like the PS2 helped make the DVD format trounce VHS. So, it’s not surprising to see the PS3 involved in Sony’s 3D-heavy CES press conference as well.
However, the PS3 isn’t just about 3D at CES. Sony’s CES booth, which opens today, has sections in which PlayStation reps will showcase the excellent-and-in-2D LittleBigPlanet 2
Attendees to Sony’s CES press conference saw a whole host of 3D content, including from the two games mentioned above, but it wasn’t just the display that was interesting. In fact, perhaps two of the most intriguing aspects of the press conference were the showcasing of 3D digital cameras and 3D camcorders, both of which feature two lenses by which they can re-create the stereoscopic effect for home, online or on-device watching.
And did I mention the entire opening intro video itself was presented in 3D? Every attendee there was given a pair of 3D glasses and put them on just prior to the CES press conference beginning.
Also seen during Sony’s press conference was a 3D cell phone, complete with two lenses similar to the 3D digital camera and 3D camcorder mentioned above. Presumably this is a new device from Ericsson, although at this point in the technology’s lifecycle, Sony’s likely to promote just about anything 3D. Our bet’s on the former, though.
For your viewing pleasure, we’ve embedded the entire Sony CES press conference video below. Whether or not you’re a 3D early adopter or a PS3 fan, it’s fascinating to see how an industry behemoth not only sees the future, but how it puts on a show. And CES is definitely a show.