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NOW DISNEY EYES UP 3D GAMING

June 18, 2009 at 12:22 pm

Upcoming Wii, PS3 and 360 titles include special glasses and could change perception of games, says firm

Disney will beat Ubisoft to the punch with its release of the first major game supporting 3D this summer.

But games boss Graham Hopper says the jury's still out on how quickly consumers will embrace such releases.

At E3, Ubisoft unveiled its 3D game Avatar, made with Hollywood legend James Cameron – but Disney was also demonstrating its Toy Story and G-Force movie spin-off 3D games on the stand next door.

G-Force, based on a Jerry Bruckheimer movie, is released in July. Toy Story Mania hits in the autumn.

Disney Interactive Studios' sister companies Disney Animation and Pixar have been part of a major drive behind 3D in cinemas as a way to excite audiences about the silver screen. Hopper says it could help consumers see games in a new light, too.

He told MCV: "G-Force is in 3D on next-gen consoles – PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions come with the glasses included. Most important is that you can turn it off, so players have the option either way or if they lose the glasses.

"I'm very interested to see what the consumer reaction will be. So far the reaction from everyone who has played it has been very, very positive," he said of the response from the E3 showfloor.

"3D's not easy to do – but there's a huge amount of expertise at Disney when it comes to 3D given the way it has been used in our movies. 

"We were able to call on that for the development of G-Force. I see 3D becoming part of what people do in gaming as it evolves. But we'll listen to gamers very carefully – and if they say they want more, we'll deliver more."

The industry's move towards 3D gaming is a part of the overall trend towards new interfaces, as demonstrated by the Wii, plus Microsoft's Natal and Sony's Motion Senor controllers, said Hopper.

"There is no doubt in my mind that long-term 3D and natural interfaces will be a big part of the industry's future, but these changes don't happen over night."

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