EA CEO: 3D Will Be Big In Games, Just Not This Year [John Riccitiello Gives His Take On 3D Console Gaming, Admits He's Seen The Nintendo 3DS]

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3D video was one of the big stories at this year’s CES show in Las Vegas (along with the tablet craze) but will 3D gaming be the big buzz at E3 next week, the video game industry’s big trade show? Some think so while others aren’t so convinced. Another website chatted with EA CEO John Riccitiello and got his take on 3D gaming.

Riccitiello was asked if he thought 3D gaming was going to be the next revolution in gaming – and he first admitted that a good truly 3D game was a fun experience (he cited an unnamed EA 3D game being developed in Vancouver that he recently saw on a trip, not out until 2012, though), but did add that in his opinion, you need a bigger install base before you can start getting excited about 3D gaming.

Riccitiello said:

I think that before you see a revolution you have to have an army, and right now there’s like twelve people in America with 3D television sets, and they’re not exactly an army. (Laughter). So, the masses need to rise. The first thing you need for a large installed base is 3D televisions and 3D PCs. I think they’ll come over the course of the next two to three years in large numbers. Samsung and Sony are certainly putting a lot of weight behind that and you’ll see that play itself out.

What the CEO of EA is afraid of – is poorly made 3D games that will scare away the gaming masses. In his opinion, Riccitiello says that most games with their polygonial engines are practically ready for 3D already – but Riccitiello is afraid that many companies won’t invest the time or effort into really making the 3D look appealing.

So in short, he says:

I don’t think it’s going to be a big story this year for games. … I think that over time, probably in the course of 2011, 2012, the strongest publishers will author some great content, the installed base will be there, and there will be a good positive growth spurt. I just don’t think it will be this year.

But what about the Nintendo 3DS? Nintendo surprised a lot of us in the Western media with the announcement of their 3D handheld, but has the CEO of one of the biggest game publishers seen the device?

They’ve [Nintendo] got a lot to say at E3, and I want to be careful to not accidentally transgress an NDA. I will tell you, I’ve seen it; it’s cool.

There you have it – the Nintendo 3DS is cool. And it does sound like Nintendo will be showing us the illusive 3DS at E3 next week.