Sony announced at the Tokyo Game Show this week that a PS3 firmware update will be available next Tuesday to enable 3D Blu-ray disc playback support.
The update has been anticipated since Sony’s announcement at CES in January. It was expected to come next month per the corporation’s CEO Howard Stringer just a couple of weeks ago.
While 38 million PS3 consoles will have access to the firmware upgrade, unfortunately only those who own a 3D television will find the functionality to be of any benefit. Considering that the sales of 3D televisions has been much more sluggish than industry leaders had expected, chances are that only a small fraction of PS3 owners will have the necessary hardware to actually watch 3D movies on their consoles.
That situation likely won’t improve anytime soon either. While many consumers do have an interest in 3DTV, most are not yet ready to commit to making the purchase citing high prices, the need for expensive glasses, and lack of available content as their reasons.
The question now is whether studios will be motivated to produce and release more content due to the PS3 update. While Sony is likely hoping that will be the case, I have my doubt that it will be quite enough to give the industry the boost it badly needs.
The new firmware will certainly give the PS3 a new selling point over Microsoft’s 360, but 3DTVs will need some serious price reductions before it will truly matter. Until then, it will remain hype and novelty.
