Sony’s been concentrating on the 3D capabilities of its PS3 an awful lot lately, whereas the other two console manufacturers have been largely silent regarding the same. Nintendo has been giving glasses free stereoscopic 3D gaming the push with its upcoming 3DS handheld, whereas Microsoft’s been largely mum on the matter. This has led many to believe, and incorrectly so, that the PS3 is the first and only gaming console to support 3D gaming.
This assumption is actually incorrect, as it turns out. Not only is the PS3 accompanied by both the Wii and the Xbox 360 in its 3D gaming capabilities, it’s also only the latest in a long line of systems that have all supported 3D gaming, right out of the box.
The first game console that could display 3D was the NES, with several Square published games that could display 3D graphics. These included games such as Rad Racer and 3-D World Runner, both of which came packaged with 3D glasses, and both of which had 3D modes.
So the first 3D console wasn’t the PS3… it was the NES, way back in the 1980’s.
But that isn’t where it stops. You see, the 3D that the NES supported was not stereoscopic 3D, it was anaglyphic. The first system to support stereoscopic 3D was the the Gamecube, which was fully 3D compatible. However, it never had a 3D game release, so the 3D compatibility was never exploited or made much use of.
This generation, all three home consoles are 3D compatible. While the Wii retains the Gamecube’s 3D compatibility, the Xbox 360 is also stereoscopic 3D compatible. It’s already gotten the first stereoscopic 3D console game this generation, James Cameron’s Avatar, and it’s getting another one: Saint’s Row Drive By, which is also being ported over to the 3DS. Finally, the PS3 is, as everybody knows, 3D compatible.
The fact of the matter is, the PS3 isn’t the only console that can do 3D. The Xbox 360 and the Wii, both can do it too. Nor is it the first. The only reason that the PS3’s 3D is most talked about is because of Sony’s push towards 3D gaming, which is a part of a larger, concerted effort to push sales of their 3DTV Bravia models.
What this means, then, is that the PS3 is not the only system you can enjoy 3D gaming on this generation. This also debunks the fact that the PS3 is conclusively more powerful than the Xbox 360 because it can handle 3D gaming while the Xbox 360 cannot. As I’ve already demonstrated, the Xbox 360 is also 3D compatible. And also, surely, if the NES and the Gamecube could handle 3D, then stereoscopic 3D doesn’t require that much power, now, does it?