Mick Hocking
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Sony London Studio chief talks 3D lessons, promises VR headsets
Haven't settled in to 3D PS3 gaming just yet? Too bad because Sony's ready to leapfrog that industry buzzword with another once-vaunted, immersive tech of yore -- virtual reality. Announced ahead of Sony London Studio chief Mick Hocking's Develop conference "3D post-mortem speech," comes word the Japanese electronics giant is underway with R&D testing for a head mounted display. Shown off at CES earlier this year, the unit incorporates twin-OLED screens that put you closer to the game, fried eyeballs and all. If any of this sounds familiar, that's because it's all very 1995. Still, Hocking seems pretty optimistic about the company's lessons learned dipping its toes into three-dimensional waters, and has even created a so-called "3D 10 Commandments" to ensure quality product output. Hit the source below for the UK division head's full 3D musings.
Sony experimenting with virtual reality games
We're not sure if the return of technology that never came to fruition can truly be called retro, but we're seriously pondering the question thanks to Sony London Studios chief Mick Hocking. In an interview with Develop, Hocking brought up the head-mounted 3D display (seen above) his company showed off at CES, saying, "We're working with a couple of games at Sony that are experimenting with virtual reality-type experiences." That's right, according to Hocking, virtual reality could be making a comeback. We're looking forward to the games that would spearhead a VR renaissance, but only if we'll get to drench ourselves in revamps of VR Troopers, VR.5 and Lawnmower Man.
3D 'a new creative medium,' according to Sony's Mick Hocking
Delivering a keynote speech -- entitled "Seeing is Believing: 3D a New Creative Medium for Games" -- at the Develop conference in Liverpool, Sony Computer Entertainment's Mick Hocking argued that 3D can give games more than just increased visual depth. The studio director of Sony's Liverpool studio, responsible for Wipeout HD, stated that the technology can make games seem more natural and thus more inviting to newcomers. "Doing things like the way we've used Move combined with 3D in Tumble makes a game more natural and more accessible, which will be great for welcoming more people to your games," Hocking said. The ability to interact within a game's space makes the technology a new creative medium, he added, allowing creators to build on the player's enhanced sense of depth and spatial awareness. Sony has claimed that over 50 3D games (20 internal) are currently in the works for PlayStation 3 -- and Hocking is willing to give developers a push if they're still on the fence. "I really would urge you to start converting your game into 3D now," he said. "We're here to help you and can help with training." Of course, Sony's marketing department will have to train customers to make a significant investment first. Among console games, mainstream-friendly accessibility usually comes with a significant hardware cost (as with the Wii and Kinect), but even Hocking's Tumble example -- which requires a 3D television, appropriate glasses, a PlayStation Move set and a PlayStation 3 -- sticks out more than other offerings.
3D Blu-ray PS3 update dated for September, YouTube 3D support planned
You can expect another firmware update for your PS3 this September. No, it won't add PlayStation Move support to the system (you already have that, folks!); instead, it will add support for 3D Blu-ray movies -- of which there's currently only one. As with Blu-ray movies, Sony is using the PS3 as a Trojan horse for pushing new technology. 3D is a major corporate focus for Sony, as evidenced by plans to support not only 3D movies and games, but 3D photos as well "later in the year." SCEE senior director Mick Hocking has also promised support for 3D broadcasts through the Europe-exclusive PlayTV service, as well. Additionally, "YouTube will be supporting 3D content over the next 12 months as well – and you'll be able to watch that on the PlayStation 3." Hocking also believes that many of us will adopt 3D cameras of our own in the future. "And as you start taking 3D pictures of your family or 3D camcorder movies, you can play those back on PS3, too," Hocking explains. Hopefully, that means we'll be able to use our PS3s to share 3D photos taken by our Nintendo 3DSs.
