Hasbro Brings 3D to iPhone/iPod Touch

Viewmaster 2010?

Yeah, you read that right. Hasbro. Not exactly a cutting edge technology company, but you have to give them credit for thinking big. They must have looked at the iPhone market, and the excitement over Nintendo's upcoming 3DS with the 3D display, and said "What if we could combine the two?"

This is their answer. My3D, a device that lets you slide in an iPod Touch or an iPhone, and it sells for $30. Of course, you'll need 3D content, which they're hoping will be games (some free), TV and movies, and perhaps even virtual excursions into aquariums and the like.

Gee, maybe they can redo some old Viewmaster collections and put them up as apps.

OK, perhaps you're sensing some skepticism on my part. Good catch... I think that putting something up to your face like that for more than a few moments will get real old, real fast. And how exactly would you control a game when the iPod is inside the case? Throwing your head around? What do you do when the phone rings? No amount of marketing will save a bad idea, and this is one of those cases. How bad it is depends on how much money Hasbro throws at it, which I hope for their sake isn't a lot.

I don't think this will take over the world. Remember, you heard that prediction here first.

3D 3Dead?

I've excited some interest over on Gamasutra with my post 5 Reasons 3D Display Is Doomed. Perhaps my headline was a trifle overstated for marketing purposes, but I do think the odds are stacked against 3D display becoming a major driver of game industry growth. (3D Display is the rage in theaters since Avatar, and makers of TV sets and Blu-ray players have jumped on it in an effort to sell more hardware; now console game manufacturers are promoting it, too).

I think this could use some very heavy marketing spending to improve its odds of success. But will companies pony up for such an effort? There are two separate issues at work: Whether 3D Display will succeed in movies and TV markets (and thus drive sales of 3D TVs), and whether 3D Display will succeed in the console market. The two are connected; without 3D movies and TV driving sales, it seems highly doubtful that consumers would spend thousands extra for a 3D TV and 3D glasses just to play games. Without a large installed base, will developers create 3D Display-specific titles? Without working on a title to make sure it looks good in 3D Display, how will it look or play? If game titles don't really take advantage of 3D Display, or at least look better, or (best of all) actually have game play that is exciting and requires 3D Display, will anyone adopt it?

The rumblings are starting to appear from many quarters; check out this story on Gizmodo, reporting on Roger Ebert. Or this story on Kotaku, about some less-than-stellar results of trying out 3D games. This does not seem like the early buzz that portends a huge wave of buying into new hardware that costs thousands of dollars. It can happen, but too many things have to go exactly right for me to think this is a high probability.

Where does that leave you as a game marketer? Ignore the hype and push reality; sell the customers on what they can buy now (which is your product). If this begins to happen, you'll know well in advance and can adjust accordingly. Until then I think it's hurting the industry as a whole to be pushing a technology whose benefits are unclear and that you can't even buy right now.

iPad As PR Vehicle

There is a window of opportunity now, before the iPad becomes old news, to garner a great deal of free publicity with a new iPad app. The version of Scrabble for the iPad has done this, with the clever feature of allowing an iPhone/iPod Touch to be used as a tile rack with the Scrabble board on the iPad. The iPad clearly has potential as a gameboard; you could lay it on a table and all the players could touch it. The multitouch capability, along with all the graphics and animation and sound abilities, allow for whole new types of designs for multiplayer in-person gaming. Those who are there first will be able to get lots of free ink in magazines and newspapers, as well as web sites and television coverage.

A similar opportunity exists for e-books. While a basic print edition of a book can be easily swept onto the iPad, the technology allows for a very different book experience to be created. Interesting ideas should have no problem getting good press coverage.

While the inital hoopla will die down, I expect the iPad and devices like it will continue to generate interest for the next few years. Interesting new apps will have an easy time getting media coverage. This is true for other technologies that are being pushed by electronics manufacturers; 3D being a case in point. Games taking advantage of 3D displays will have an easier time getting press coverage.

This is another type of hook you can use to get a whole lot of press coverage. All you need is to be on the cutting edge of the technology curve... and sometimes it doesn't even require a rocket scientist to get there.