The rise of in-home 3D entertainment has been a big question mark among those who are in a position to make money off of it. The hardware is expensive, not just the TVs but also the specialized glasses required to take full advantage of them, and it’s coming while the prices of high-definition displays continue to waver around a sweet spot. Video game publisher Electronic Arts has noticed this, and is responding with a newly shifted focus.
“We have not seen a big uptake for 3D gaming,” EA CEO John Riccitiello said at yesterday’s annual shareholder meeting (via VentureBeat). “We have not seen a big uptake in 3D TVs in the home. We are not here trying to drive a market. We are here to react to what consumers want.”
Fair points, all of them. Instead of pouring money and time into expanding EA’s contributions to the 3D space, those efforts will instead be redirected toward some of the more surefire rising stars on the game development scene, namely mobile, social and online play experiences. As Riccitiello put it, “We see really high returns in these markets and very poor returns focusing on 3D, so we are allocating our resources toward new innovations.”
