I can recall back to one professor I had in when I was a Film Studies student at my local college. He always said that he had seen 3D come and go so many times in his lifetime that he never took it seriously when it came back around. It’s funny how someone can say something once in your entire life and you hang on to it.
When I was a young kid I thought 3D was pretty cool. It was fun to put on the glasses with the different colored lenses and see things differently. Even then I didn’t see how it would be practical for extended use, and I was a child.
As an adult hearing my professor say that 3D was never going to be a real thing, I agreed. Another smaller part of me thought of Charlie Chaplin saying “talkies” were never going to be a thing. I’m sure he’s still rolling in his grave over that one. But for the most part, I agreed, 3D was just never going to take hold.
When the 3D TVs started releasing, I actually laughed, “That is such a silly money grab! Kudos for trying, but that’s gonna fail miserably.” I felt even worse for people I knew who had actually purchased said 3D TVs. I knew there wouldn’t be support or products for them for long. And look what happened. Children’s movies and some big blockbuster action movies are released in 3D multipacks with a DVD and Blu-Ray combo. There are no 3D exclusive movie releases though; that’s never going to happen. Sure 3D is still somehow holding on to movie theaters. The RealD 3D fad is going to pass. People can’t afford to spend that ludicrous amount of money to see movies in RealD as often as needed to keep the technology going. I could be wrong, but most likely not.
A great sign of this is the recent move by Nintendo to release the New Nintendo 2DS XL. The 3DS has sold arguably well, but name one person you know who uses the 3D feature. I have used a few 3DSs from friends and I always turned the 3D feature off. It annoyed the crap out of me to be frank. And I wasn’t alone. A lot of my friends who spent the money to own a 3DS didn’t even use the 3D feature either. When the original 2DS came out, I leaped at the chance to own one. It was a chance to have a newer handheld without having to spend an obnoxious amount of money, mostly for a feature I wouldn’t use! The 2DS offered an option for those of us who wouldn’t buy into 3D.
With Nintendo releasing the New 2DS XL it seems the company as a whole is realizing that pushing 3D down your consumers throats will not spark a glorious new age. 3D has come and gone through the ages over and over again. My college professor saw it in his lifetime and I’m already seeing it in my lifetime. With virtual reality finally getting its time in the spotlight, 3D might finally head to greener pastures. It was a fun gimmick while it lasted, but it’s time to die.