Sakurai Hard To Go Back To 2D From 3D

Japanese video game designer Masahiro Sakurai commented on the difficulty of going back to 2D after experiencing the wonder of 3D.

I understand the industry’s love affair with 3D. It will eventually dominate gaming and become commonplace. Nintendo’s 3DS astonished at this year’s E3 without the need for glasses. Sony had E3 attendees wearing 3D glasses during their conference and 3D HDTVs are coming on the market. The transition to 3D is the new hot issue in gaming. However, not everyone considers 3D is a necessary step in the developed of the gaming industry.

I count myself in that number.

I don’t think 3D is necessary all the time. I don’t want glasses to play my console games. I don’t really have a need for 3D in gaming. It’s a cool gimmick for certain games but I don’t see the need to make it mandatory on all games. However, certain areas of the industry, like the one Nintendo’s 3DS resides in, it works and is revolutionary. For consoles, it’s like it is in the movie industry, hit or miss depending on the project and unnecessary in general. It wouldn’t change the overall experience of playing my console.

For 3D to truly become something evolutionary and not another gimmick, game developers will have to start creating games that can only be experienced in 3D. In movie terms, it shouldn’t be converted after the fact but filmed and directed in it. Going from 3D back to regular 2D should always be difficult. The movie Avatar was a catalyst in the 3D movement but most movies fail to approach that level of innovation.

3D needs to innovate rather than merely convert or alter what already exists. It is hard to go backwards once you have truly seen something revolutionary, like the 3DS. Anything that uses the same technology must evoke the same or superior reaction.

Source: Nintendo Everything