Spielberg: 3D Gaming, Virtual Reality Will Replace Consoles

In this industry, it's all about progressing at an almost unheard-of clip, which means we may be leaving the "console wars" behind sooner than we all might think...

In a recent Guardian UK interview with legendary movie man Steven Spielberg, the Oscar-winning director said he believes that video game consoles "will go the way of the dodo." Basically, he says 3D gaming and virtual reality is the true wave of the future and the traditional method of virtual interaction will eventually give way to newer technology. He added that at some point, we'll be "playing directly on our TV sets, bypassing all of the platforms." Spielberg is kinda into games these days, as he has just finished his second Boom Blox game for the Nintendo Wii, but everything is going to change so we had best be ready. Said Spielberg:

"In the short term I would love to start seeing 3D games developed where with a good pair of glasses we get a real three-dimensional experience in front of an appropriate monitor that is designed just for 3D. And after that, will certainly be virtual reality, which just like 3D came and went in the 1950s, and now it's here to stay in movies.

I really think virtual reality, which experimentally came and went in the eighties, is going to be redeveloped, just like 3D is being redeveloped today, and that's going to be the new platform for our gaming future."

Well, it's certainly something we gamers have thought about for quite some time. We've always wondered: if and when this happens, will we be around for it? Will playing video games in the future include nothing more than one universal headset of sorts that alters our brains and puts us into a virtual battleground? Will there be no such thing as "AI?" It's all worth talking about but for the here and now, we think it'll be tough to wave goodbye to the console. That'll be a sad day.

5/20/2009 Ben Dutka

Put this on your webpage or blog:
Email this to a friend
Follow PSX Extreme on Twitter

Comments (52 posts)

Toggle Scrolling | Reload Comments

Powershifter
Wednesday, May 20, 2009 @ 10:54:03 AM
Reply

Unless they develop something similar to Star Trek's holodeck, I don't think I'd be interested in a pair of glasses for gaming. I might be swayed if the graphics are unbelievable, but that's doubtful. I'm hoping we'll be happy with our consoles for many years to come .. but we'll see.

4 up, 1 down

jdt1981
Wednesday, May 20, 2009 @ 8:23:02 PM

I agree if it's a VR gimmick that doesn't work very well I don't want any part of it. Let me know when they invent the Holodeck like you see in Star Trek or a vr headset that taps directly into your brain sending alternate reality into your mind like the Playstation 9 on that old PS2 commercial.

1 up, 0 down

The Stig
Wednesday, May 20, 2009 @ 8:49:27 PM

Holodecks was exactly what I was thinking, would be sweeeeet. Its a looooooooooong way off tho, not in our lifetime anyway.

0 up, 0 down

Phoelix
Wednesday, May 20, 2009 @ 10:54:57 AM
Reply

Except what does the computing for the new virtual reality? Unless we make TV's that have processors and memory, we will still need consoles, or at least our computers, to play video games. Of course, there is always the option of a server doing everything, but that would require everyone to have internet.

I think he's right about 3d and virtual reality, but wrong about no consoles.

1 up, 1 down

Highlander
Wednesday, May 20, 2009 @ 12:24:15 PM

Even if we do make TVs with integrated High Performance computing solutions, won't they be expensive? Won't you have to buy a special TV with a console in it already, since that kind of hardware will hardly be needed in a standard TV. In which case wouldn;t it make more sense to break that hardware out into a separate box to allow people who already have a TV to play the game as well. This separate hardware in a box, why it could be called a game...um... console? Yes, and it plays these games on a video screen, so perhaps we could call it a video game console? Yes, I like that idea, a video game console. That way we don't have to have all these video game conso.....oh, wait, I seem to have gone in a big Spielberg circle.

4 up, 1 down

Phoelix
Wednesday, May 20, 2009 @ 12:53:07 PM

Heh, my thoughts exactly.
If we go straight to TV's, might as well have consoles so TV's don't get really expensive.

If we use servers, nobody's gonna have a monopoly on that market, so even though we don't have console wars, we'll have server wars.

2 up, 0 down

NonProphet
Wednesday, May 20, 2009 @ 11:28:07 AM
Reply

Phoelix:

Yes, I think servers will do all the work (see onlive), it'll take awhile to out the kinks (see lag), but I think every serious gamer will need to have internet access in the not so distant future. Wait, who doesn't have internet? Never mind, Spielberg is a visionary and I think he knows what he's talking about.

I will miss consoles when our grand kids are laughing at us as we wax nostalgically about our non-3D, non-virtual reality consoles.

0 up, 2 down

Highlander
Wednesday, May 20, 2009 @ 12:20:42 PM

Billions of people around the world do not have Internet. Millions upon millions of people who do have internet have the types of connections that are horridly lag prone, and that's not counting the wireless hookups.

3 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Wednesday, May 20, 2009 @ 1:42:06 PM

And onlive fails.

2 up, 0 down

WolfCrimson
Wednesday, May 20, 2009 @ 2:13:34 PM

One of those horridly lag prone connections would be mine. Oh, what I would do to play MGO lag-free...

0 up, 0 down

Highlander
Wednesday, May 20, 2009 @ 2:16:02 PM

You know, age and experience are a wonderful thing, but sadly they slow the brain. I say sadly because I'm having to reply a second time because this thought only just crossed my mind.

Back in 1980 I got an Atari 2600 system. That was, near as makes no difference, 30 years ago. And I'm certain that at the time someone said something almost exactly like "I will miss consoles when our grand kids are laughing at us as we wax nostalgically about our non-3D, non-virtual reality consoles.'

And yet here we are three decades later and we've only just now upgraded from regular color TV to HD TV. 30 years seems like forever when you look forward, but somehow the advances we actually have exceed predictions in some ways and fall drastically short in others. Some things we take for granted today were literally science fiction 30 years ago - such as ubiquitous wireless communication with hand held units the size of a well used bar of soap. And yet some things haven't moved much at all, a car is pretty much the same as it was 30 years ago, a bit more efficient perhaps, but not much change really.

Technologies advance very quickly until they hit their sweet spot, and then the advances slow to a crawl. In gaming, the simple fact that HDTV is now beginning to enter mass adoption and the best defined HD standard is met by today's video game consoles tells me that this generation may be the sweet spot for video games.

6 up, 0 down

Ogibillm
Wednesday, May 20, 2009 @ 11:33:28 AM
Reply

i think if you think of a console as a dedicated game machine in the home he's right. integration directly into a tv with streaming over the internet will be the way of the future... although that future may be quite a ways off.

as for 3d games - we don't all have your money, spielberg. monitors designed specifically for 3d display? maybe someday, but not soon.

however, i have seen some neat head tracking demos using infrared and the ps eye. i'd love to see somebody utilize that tech in a game.

1 up, 0 down

Gregory Freeman
Wednesday, May 20, 2009 @ 10:13:17 PM

well actually, with the Nvidia Quadro FX5600, and Samsung Syncmaster 2233RZ 22" 3D Gaming LCD Monitor, 3d gaming is literally already here... sure not on consoles, but it is here...

0 up, 0 down

Mr Bitey
Wednesday, May 20, 2009 @ 11:39:29 AM
Reply

lol this coming from the man responsible for Boom Blox is kind of ironic.

2 up, 2 down

Lotusflow3r
Wednesday, May 20, 2009 @ 11:40:57 AM
Reply

Is he still not retired? apparently not! Probably still trying to re-re-re-release and re-edit some of his old films and ruin them because he has no originality left.

*South Park flashbacks*

3 up, 1 down

Oxvial
Wednesday, May 20, 2009 @ 12:10:16 PM
Reply

Go and eat a T-Rex Spielberg a frigging T-Rex!!

also no way in hell I'm going to use the VX-Box 4k I dont want Microsoft doing things with my brain .

Last edited by Oxvial on 5/20/2009 12:11:38 PM

4 up, 1 down

Gregory Freeman
Wednesday, May 20, 2009 @ 10:15:57 PM

Red Ring In The Brain?

could we sue bill gates for that???

he is made of money right?

1 up, 0 down

CH1N00K
Wednesday, May 20, 2009 @ 12:15:16 PM
Reply

I can see where this will go. You'll have to get antivirus software for your head because everytime you log on you'll get brain spam.

There's also already a clip on You tube where some engineer has already converted a Wii to project 3d imaging. It's only a matter of time I guess...

2 up, 0 down

Highlander
Wednesday, May 20, 2009 @ 12:18:43 PM
Reply

Just a quick question for mister super-genius-movie-producer-man, but these 3D environments and virtual landscapes that he speaks of. these things that we will play directly on our TVs. How exactly is it that this differs from what we have today? Since these will all require some hardware to run them, there has to be something, even if it's not the same console we use now. Is he suggesting that our TVs have the hardware built in? In which case every TV has to have the same console hardware integrated inside - sounds expensive.

Oh, wait, perhaps he's talking about one of these internet based game services like OnLive? Sounds like he wants to replace the console with a set top box, presumably owned and operated by his company?

Among the questions I have regarding these Internet based game services network lag, and real time control how do you square that circle exactly oh great movie-producing_man?

Suddenly I'm having flashbacks to Larry Elison's constant refrain through the late 80's and all through the 90's and 2000's about how thin clients and diskless workstations were absolutely the next big thing. As far as I know we still have PCs and Oracle still sells a bazillion client installations a year and Larry is still talking up the diskless workstation.

I have a feeling that until we have very low latency Intenet connections in every home with several 10s of megabits worth of bandwidth in either direction this kind of gaming without a gaming device is pie in the sky.

2 up, 3 down

Highlander
Wednesday, May 20, 2009 @ 1:51:45 PM

Boy, people must really like Larry Elison...or OnLive...or Spielberg.

2 up, 1 down

daizycutter
Wednesday, May 20, 2009 @ 12:45:39 PM
Reply

wow so much hostility for a great director ..also i hope he's right! i long for the day when HD virtual reality glasses come out.

0 up, 0 down

Highlander
Wednesday, May 20, 2009 @ 1:56:55 PM

3D can be done using current technology without glasses. It's horridly expensive, in the same way that Plasma TV used to be.

The thing is, if we think games are expensive now, how much more so will they e when the 3D character models have to stand up to real 3D representation?

The hostility, as such, seems more due to the fact that Spielberg doesn't actually seem all that in touch with where gaming is right now, or the technical challenges, and is offering what amounts to science fiction as his view of the near future. It just doesn't jive with reality.

Goodness, given the number of people who *claim* that HD isn't worth it even now, how will anyone be persuaded that 3D is worth the huge extra cost if HD isn't worth even a moderate increase in cost?

Last edited by Highlander on 5/20/2009 1:58:20 PM

3 up, 1 down

Lord carlos
Wednesday, May 20, 2009 @ 12:58:09 PM
Reply

3d gaming with glasses = brain cancer
poper virtual reality ie.the matrix,a hundred years away at the very least,plus we need to fully comprehend the mind & brain and how both will work connected to a machine... oh no its terminater & or the matrix all over again
The cell processor is skynet in disguise.

3 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Wednesday, May 20, 2009 @ 1:44:35 PM

Mine uses the wifi to talk to me while i sleep!

1 up, 0 down

Troy Powers
Wednesday, May 20, 2009 @ 1:09:58 PM
Reply

Thanks for the tip, Stevie. Now, back to the present.

4 up, 1 down

Byakko2009
Wednesday, May 20, 2009 @ 1:17:19 PM
Reply

I'll just go enter my cryogenic sleep now. Someone wake me up when this happens. I'm not even interested in 3D gaming glasses when I think of the warnings they'd have to put on those things. I think he was on LSD while he was playing Boom Blox or something and got way too ahead of himself.

4 up, 0 down

HeXeN
Wednesday, May 20, 2009 @ 1:22:24 PM
Reply

Wonder why people are bashing the greatest director of all time anyway I hope that never happens.I enjoy sitting back with a DS3 controller in my hand playing some PS3/PS1 freshness.

0 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Wednesday, May 20, 2009 @ 1:45:55 PM

Just because he doesn't know what he's talking about, he's pretty new to games as far as I can tell he's just jumping on the bandwagon now, I think the consensus is he should stick to talking about movies until he's a little better informed.

2 up, 0 down

Mr Bitey
Wednesday, May 20, 2009 @ 1:29:11 PM
Reply

VR could be a possibility, but we'll never get there if console makers keep releasing decade old tech (Wii), and game developers develop outdated games because it's quick, easy, and cheap. Boundaries will have to start being pushed Mr. Spielberg. I don't see the Wii or Boom Blox doing that exactly, if anything they are moving us backwards.

3 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Wednesday, May 20, 2009 @ 1:40:39 PM
Reply

Mr. Spielberg has forgotten that not all of us are super-rich. I have no doubt VR will be reinvented and explored again but it will be many decades before a useful technology coming from it is available in the home. Until then, our TV consoles will work just fine, they aren't going anywhere.

As for 3D, people don't like wearing those glasses to play games and definitely not ALL their games. It was a treat to play them in that Worldrunner game but you never played long. And saying that the new 3D is here to stay is giving it too much credit, I think it's just being toyed with again and will go away again.

Please no one hire this man as an analyst.

3 up, 0 down

Scarecrow
Wednesday, May 20, 2009 @ 1:47:17 PM

The thought of putting on those stupid glasses and playing for hours scares the hell out of me

Seriously, if we hated the term "nerd" or "oh my god you play games" this is gonna take it to a whole new level

Spielberg's retarded, he's been corrupted by years of Hollywood stupidity

1 up, 0 down

DaNgerSteVe
Wednesday, May 20, 2009 @ 2:36:49 PM
Reply

did anyone remember how the virtual boy failed

2 up, 0 down

tes37
Wednesday, May 20, 2009 @ 2:40:33 PM
Reply

Call me lazy, but I rather my character do all the work, instead of me jumping, ducking, and rolling around.

Last edited by tes37 on 5/20/2009 2:40:50 PM

2 up, 0 down

somethingrandom
Wednesday, May 20, 2009 @ 8:12:34 PM

That doesn't necessarily have to be the case. Have you seen the game controllers that are operated by brain signals? You would just have to think it.

2 up, 0 down

Deadman
Wednesday, May 20, 2009 @ 2:47:06 PM
Reply

Spielburg's quote should have read "Greetings, my friend. We are all interested in the future, for that is where you and I are going to spend the rest of our lives. And remember my friend, future events such as these will affect you in the future."

1 up, 0 down

SerichA
Wednesday, May 20, 2009 @ 3:50:21 PM
Reply

Coming from who made the barnyard wannabe FPS Boom Blox (Yes, I played it just long enough to tear my eyes out), and that the idea is extremely expensive and gimmicky anyway (yes, it is gimmicky, while also not adding much to the modern 3D game), the idea is more of a joke. And probably an unintentional one. This isn't Kojima, you know.

1 up, 0 down

Ultimadream
Wednesday, May 20, 2009 @ 5:21:06 PM

That was made for the intention of his kids.....

0 up, 0 down

dillonthebunny
Wednesday, May 20, 2009 @ 5:28:46 PM
Reply

get real Spielberg... VR is so 80's man. i was playing vr when I was a child, and look where it is now, a distant memory.

anyone over 35 will remember sticking on a hat, standing in a rubber ring and throwing your arms about.. like an eye toy, but we were far more stupid back then.
playing in vector graphics while using a virtual bow and arrow :-/

no, if anything were going to go back further. hungry horace MGS.. Hideo already has started it.

1 up, 1 down

THEVERDIN
Wednesday, May 20, 2009 @ 5:32:46 PM
Reply

Here we go again get ready to lay out more bucks for a special TV. They need to come up with tech that utilizes existing devices. I have always believed that they take advantage of gamers. We're like cattle heading to slaughter. MOO MOO!!!!

1 up, 0 down

fatelementality
Wednesday, May 20, 2009 @ 6:06:18 PM
Reply

I remember when MK Trilogy came out, I liked to envision a VR MK if you will. I'm just afraid of the whole sensory overload/heart attack deal. Kinda like old people with microwaves.

1 up, 0 down

Oyashiro
Wednesday, May 20, 2009 @ 7:40:53 PM
Reply

The only thing I don't like about Virtual Reality is... Well... I don't like to be punched in the face in reality. So why would I want to be punched in the face by a fist that is on fire?

How would they augment pain?

0 up, 0 down

somethingrandom
Wednesday, May 20, 2009 @ 8:09:32 PM

There would be no pain. That would be stupid.

0 up, 0 down

Oyashiro
Wednesday, May 20, 2009 @ 8:53:14 PM

Pain tells us that something is wrong (in real life). They would have to replace it with something. Unless they give us a HUD is VR which sounds equally stupid.

1 up, 0 down

somethingrandom
Wednesday, May 20, 2009 @ 8:08:45 PM
Reply

People don't realize that any such TV's would be high priced at first but drop as the tech becomes cheaper to make. Kind of like all technology. Example: Blu-Ray disc players!

Anyone understand yet? Pisses me off when people who are supposedly 'informed' insult their own intelligence.

0 up, 2 down

Highlander
Thursday, May 21, 2009 @ 12:25:54 AM

Yeah, that'll be why all those HDTVs, those $1000 TVs all come with $50 DVD players built into them right? I mean, it's a standard that everyone uses. by your logic, every TV on the market should include them since they are so very cheap.

Except of course they do not.

You can't include such additional functionality in an appliance like a TV because inevitably it will becom obsolete and need replacement, and suddenly your expensive TV with it's built in gaming tech needs to be junked in favor of a new one. Nah, don't think so.

Gee, it really ticks me off when someone comes over all smug and fails to think their concept through.

2 up, 0 down

somethingrandom
Thursday, May 21, 2009 @ 12:33:29 AM

No, I didn't say every TV has to have gaming capabilities. TV's will probably be much different from the way we know them now. I'd imagine they would be very customisable and upgradeable like PC's are today. See? I thought it through pretty well.

0 up, 0 down

Highlander
Thursday, May 21, 2009 @ 2:57:23 AM

TVs will be upgradeable? We'll lift the cover on our TVs now? At a time when things are moving towards more and more integration and sealing systems against users, you're advocating making the TV upgradable?

I'm sorry, but from a CE point of view this concept is sounding worse each time.

0 up, 0 down

somethingrandom
Friday, May 22, 2009 @ 12:03:08 AM

Are you just trying to find ways to be an asshole? But anyway, if consumers want their TV's upgradable at least a few companies will provide. It's the only way some of today's companies will survive.

0 up, 0 down

twenty8nine
Wednesday, May 20, 2009 @ 9:13:10 PM
Reply

So he thinks 3D movies are here to stay? Ever try watching a modern 3D movie in Blu-Ray and 3D? It always comes out looking really red or green because TV's can't polarize the image like they do in theaters and I doubt that they will anytime soon.

0 up, 0 down

Wage SLAVES
Wednesday, May 20, 2009 @ 10:55:23 PM
Reply

A Wii game creator is commenting on the "future" of gaming...ha!

Though I'd love to see 3D gaming, I cant see the demise of a dedicated console.

Last edited by Wage SLAVES on 5/20/2009 10:56:04 PM

1 up, 0 down

BikerSaint
Thursday, May 21, 2009 @ 9:40:42 PM
Reply

3D glasses, HA!
I had bought a pair of special eyeFx 3D Adaptor glasses from Splitfish a while back for my PS2....

And ya know what?????

They sucked too!

0 up, 0 down

opsdaddy
Saturday, May 23, 2009 @ 8:36:39 AM
Reply

While it's amusing for an absurdly rich director to chime in about the next wave of gaming technology, it also reveals how out of touch he is. Funny, there are TWO issues to consider here, but Spielberg thinks there's only ONE.

First, can this new VR tecbnology actually deliver a gaming experience that gamers WANT to embrace?

Second, can the gear required for this spiffy technology be mass-produced for a price that gamers won't consider CRIMINAL?

Until both questions can be answered with a resounding YES, the gaming industry is probably safe from the likes of Spielberg & Co., but I get a little nervous when these Hollywood-types start sniffing about. Mainly, because I know these cats smell money and I fear what their influence might one day bring to our beloved gaming world.

1 up, 0 down

Please login or register to leave a comment.

Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories cheats	PSP
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas cheats	PS2
Resident Evil 6 cheats	PS3
Sly 2: Band of Thieves cheats	PS2
Atelier Meruru: The Apprentice of Arland cheats	PS3
Gran Turismo 5 Prologue cheats	PS3
Army Men 3D cheats	PS1
Hogs of War cheats	PS1
Prince of Persia: Sands of Time cheats	PS2
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories cheats	PSP

Do you plan to buy a PlayStation Vita this year?
	Yes, I'll definitely get one in 2013.
	No, but I'll get one eventually.
	No, I have no intention of buying the Vita.
	No, I've already got one.

Playstation 3

Playstation 4

PSP

Playstation Vita

Playstation 2

Playstation

Other

PSX Extreme

Site Stats

Spielberg: 3D Gaming, Virtual Reality Will Replace Consoles

Comments (52 posts)

Leave a Comment

Latest Updates

Popular Cheats

Recent Reviews

Recent Previews

Popular Sections

Extras

Sponsor

Our Poll

Metro: Last Light review	PS3
Zombie Tycoon II: Brainhov's Revenge review	PS3
Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon review	PS3
Star Trek: The Video Game review	PS3
Injustice: Gods Among Us review	PS3
Dead Island: Riptide review	PS3
Defiance review	PS3
Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2 review	PS3
Army of Two: The Devil's Cartel review	PS3
Bioshock Infinite review	PS3

The Bureau: XCOM Declassified preview	PS3
Time and Eternity preview	PS3
Ride to Hell: Retribution preview	PS3
Call of Juarez: Gunslinger preview	PS3
Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon preview	PS3
Spartacus Legends preview	PS3
Payday 2 preview	PS3
DUST 514 preview	PS3
Dynasty Warriors 8 preview	PS3
Disgaea D2: A Brighter Darkness preview	PS3