• Sony going TV 3D?

    You’d just have to know that once I finally acquired a terrific 1080p HDTV, that some jerky company somewhere would ruin my good feelings about life in general. This time, it’s Sony.

    Jumping head-first into the 3D bandwagon, Sony has announced it will introduce the first 3D TV sets to the world market in 2010… less than a year from now! Furthermore, they plan to make the PlayStation 3 compatible with the new technology.

    Of course, this is a highly risky move by Sony; it took forever for the market to settle on 1080p as the ideal HDTV standard, and it was even messier as Blu-Ray fought and ultimately won out over HD-DVD as the high-def DVD format.

    And now, just as the world is slowly catching up to HDTV, Sony wants to make everyone’s set obsolete by introducing high-def 3D televisions? Really? A few Myrtle beach vacation rentals wouldn’t suffice?

    Truth is, there are three or four 3D technologies that are at the forefront of technology right now, and all but one of them require special glasses. No word yet on which format Sony will choose for their sets, but it’s certainly anything but a stable 3D format at this point, so if they choose wrong… watch out.

    While the PS3 will likely contain support for 3D TVs as promised, I expect that the real full support for HD3DTV won’t come into its own until the introduction of the PS4… which probably won’t emerge until 2014 or so. But count on Sony to make 3D the centerpiece of the PS4, much in the same way HDTV gaming was the centerpiece of the PS3 experience.

     
  • Wait times between Final Fantasys to get shorter?

    SquareEnix will have made fans wait four years since Final Fantasy XII before FFXIII arrives on US shores next year, but the company is promising that they have a goal to deliver installments more quickly going forward. According to an article on 1UP.com:

    “For FFXIII there are a lot of firsts, and because it’s a new console that the teams are working on, it took a little time for the team to get used to everything,” said Yoshi Kitase and Motomu Toriyama through a translator. “Now that they have the engine built for it the basics are covered, so the development time for future projects should be shortened.”

    Sounds promising, but even at its best, the series has often taken a couple years between installments. Still, that would be a huge improvement. Let’s hope it’s not all a bunch of hot air and horse supplements.

     
  • Wolverine Studios announces next Music Wars

    Wolverine Studios has announced the next installment in the Music Wars series, Music Wars 2010! While the transition from freeware to commercial software was a bit difficult for some fans, Music Wars Rebirth did well enough for the developer and publisher to green-light a new installment of the music industry sim. And you heard that here, folks, not on Bell TV.

    Among the improvements announced for this new installment include digital distribution as an in game factor, the ability to create videos, live albums and DVDs, improved trend models, new strategic marketing options, Latin America as a new territory, multiplayer option and hundreds of all new bands and artists.

    The title, expected before the end of the year, is a joint development between developer Antuan Johnson and Wolverine Studios.