For a good few years, Sony tried to ignite a 3D revolution – 3D TVs, 3D movies, 3D PS3 games, 3D cameras. But they, and the rest of the entertainment and electronics industry had little success outside of cinemas, with 3D TVs having limited traction (and then, even once bought, the 3D aspect is rarely used). Sony have admitted defeat, and now is more intent on pushing what they think is the next big thing in TVs – 4K.
Shuhei Yoshida has confirmed to IGN that the PS4 will support 4K video and photos, so you will be able to watch 4K videos on your $20,000 4K TV as well as browse photos. However “PS4 games do not work on 4K”, he said, something that really is not at all surprising considering the horizontal resolution of the formats are all on the order of 4,000 pixels. Currently, most PS3 games don’t play at 60 frames per second at 1080P, but the PS4 should be far more capable of doing it.
As for 3D? “It’s not a focus. But it does do it better. The basic capability is higher so more games will run at 1080p at 60 frames so it’s an easier and better experience when you watch on 3D TV.” Yoshida continued, saying frankly:
3D was a big thing a couple of years ago — we made it a big thing because it was lead by the consumer electronics side of Sony and we liked what we could do on PS3 using 3D stereoscopic. But now the consumer electronics side of Sony, or all of the companies have shifted focus from 3D TV to something else, so if they’re not talking about it, why would we?
Of course, with consoles lasting 6+ years, the landscape could change. Glasses-less 3D TVs could prove a big hit, so it’s certainly good that the PS4 can technically support it.
