It’s Official: Sony PS3 will be limited to 720p in 3D

There’s no question: 3D causes a performance dip in gaming. The system has to render twice as many frames per second just to get the 3D effect; that takes a lot of power that could go to something else, like better textures or higher resolution. Ever since E3, gamers have been debating as to whether the trade off is worth it.

Sony is doing their best to maintain quality in their 3D lineup but that in no way excludes them from the performance loss. While the console is capable of 1080p 3D, Sony has decided to prohibit it in their guidelines to developers. Sony’s Simon Benson explained during a 3D demo at the Develop Conference this week that the decision was made because 3D wouldn’t allow for a smooth 60-frames-per-second at the higher resolution.

Sony covered this decision by saying that only trained graphics engineers would even be able to notice the difference in 3D. The average consumer, according to Sony, won’t see a difference. It’s dangerous to underestimate your audience, and I’m worried that’s what Sony is doing here. We will have to see what the response is when 3D actually launches on the console.

[Source: 1Up]