Via CrunchGear, we find that gaming company Ubisoft believes that every US household will have a 3D TV by 2013. Matt Burns rightfully calls for a little BS on this one.
Simply put, most households do not have an immediate need for a new HDTV as the one they bought a few years back under the guise of the digital transition probably still works fine. Of course some could justify the purchase if there was content available. But it’s a mess right now and it doesn’t look that much better in the future, either.
This couldn’t be more spot on. Let’s forget for a moment the large segment of consumers that aren’t even close to purchasing a 3D HDTV. Here’s a look at he product lifecycle.
The top of the curve represents the Early and Late Majority adopters. That’s where most consumers fit into the picture. At this point in the product life cycle, 3D TV is in the introduction phase. The all important Innovators live here (Early Adopters kick in as the curve heads uphill). The majority of consumers take their cue from this segment. In terms of technology and consumer products, I fit into the Early Adopter phase and sometimes the Innovator. As far as 3D is concerned, I’m not even remotely interested in buying another TV set. I’d wager that this sentiment is not unique amongst others like me. It’s not even about shelling out the cash. I’m simply not impressed with 3D viewing.
It took James Cameron over a decade to make Avatar. He had to wait for technology to catch up to his vision. They developed a proprietary filming process and the movie itself was meant for 3D. Cameron’s success is, unfortunately, a bad thing for the cinema loving public. Many studios are slapping 3D onto their films like a cheap aftermarket car spoiler. Maybe good in idea, but horribly ugly in execution. Predictably, the reaction to Hollywood’s latest attempt to stay relevant is not good. Negative reaction to this lipstick on a pig technology started with Clash of the Titans and doesn’t seem to be slowing down.
But why was Avatar such a success, you say? Two things. First, James Cameron is probably the only director in the world with the cash and street cred to create and implement his own filming process. The second is that Avatar was filmed from the ground up as a 3D endeavor. Adding it to the process in post production only creates (or reinforces) a crappy end result.
If I, or other early adopters, won’t be buying a 3D TV any time soon, how can Ubisoft make such grand claims? They have to sell products and are trying to help create the market. I get it. But if the majority of US consumers are waiting to see what the early adopters are saying, then only need to bookmark this site.
Sidenote: I saw a Sony commercial this weekend featuring Juston Timberlake and Peyton Manning. They were touring a hypothetical Sony lab. At the end of the commercial they took off their 3D glasses and the world became suddenly 2D. Everyone fell right over. Hillariously, this visual disorientation is exactly what people are complaining about in real life.
Image via 12 Manage.
{ 1 trackback }
You must log in to post a comment.