At the E3 industry convention in 2010, Sony signaled its unwavering commitment to 3D for the PS3 system. A year later at the expo, the company declared that the console had over 100 games featuring 3D. It was therefore conspicuous at E3 2012 when Sony made no mention of 3D at all.

"3D was the new thing two years ago, it's not the new thing anymore – it's just part of the bedrock of content development and publishing." Sony Computer Entertainment Europe CEO, Jim Ryan, told CVG after E3 in June. While Ryan may be correct that 3D is now considered just another checkbox on the back of the box, the fact that it's so quietly moved into the background can be construed as a quiet death for a feature that even Sony would have to agree has yet to transform the gaming landscape as it likely hoped.

While 3D TVs are selling more than ever (NPD estimates that 3D TVs accounted for 11 percent of flat-panel TVs sold in the U.S., twice that of last year), NPD also found that among the consumers it surveyed, 3D is not a feature that drives purchases. Moreover, there are still the impediments of wearing the 3D glasses and having enough compelling 3D content.

Games certainly fall in the category of compelling content, but judging by Sony's own PlayStation.com game listings, the number of third-party titles supporting 3D is dwindling. The site's list of future third-party games supporting 3D only contains Assassin's Creed III, BioShock: Infinite, Crysis 3, and Epic Mickey: The Power of Two. This is a much smaller roster of 3D titles than in previous years. I also find it telling that series that have included 3D in the past, such as Madden and NBA 2K, will not be doing so in upcoming installments.

For its part, Sony is forging ahead with 3D support in first-party titles like God of War: Ascension, The Last Guardian, and PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale. It won't be in The Last of Us or Beyond: Two Souls, so at least Sony is not mandating its usage. However, this just underscores how unnecessary 3D is for developers. We've seen time and time again when it comes to secondary functionality – whether it be 3D, SixAxis movement, Move support, dual-screen gaming, or Kinect functionality – developers don't spent a lot of time and resources on periphery features.

Gaming has yet to deliver an Avatar experience where 3D is one of the main driving factors behind its success. Even though blockbuster titles like Uncharted 3: Drake's Fortune and Batman: Arkham City featured 3D, the functionality had nothing to do with those games being hits.

It's probably not skin off a lot of gamers' teeth that 3D hasn't been fruitful for Sony and the PlayStation 3, but in a time when there often isn't a lot that separates one console from another (and with the next-generation of systems looming), the company can ill-afford to waste time with roads to nowhere.

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So, what's your opinion on 3D/The "lack" of 3D presence? Personally I'm quite glad it wasn't talked about and/or demoed at their E3 show considering I really think 3D is a gimmick in both games & film, and a annoying useless one at that, the time they could have talked about it has now been better spent on other subjects.

3D gives me a headache most of the time. Honestly, I feel like I should love it because Sony were pushing it and I feel loyal to them but I just have no interest in it at all. I don't have a 3D TV, don't want one, and playing Motorstorm Apocalypse in 3D vs. normal just makes very little difference to me.

With that said (I'm sure someone will have fun with this one, but I'll say it anyway :P), I played the first 4 years or so of this generation (up to about 2010) with the cables from my PS2 plugged into my PS3. 480p resolution. Yeah. Switching to HD literally improved my experience with PS3 games about twice as much, so 3D has the potential to do something similar. I just have no interest in it for the time being.

movies/ps3/3ds/whatever. 3d is dead or dying.

3D gives me a headache. It was a fad in the 50's, it was a fad in the 80's and it's a fad today. Even if everything was shot in 3D, all games had 3D modes, and everyone had 3DTVs it would still fall out of use. People don't want to have to put on uncomfortable glasses to relax. Casual viewers and gamers just don't want the hassle. Even as a big movie and video game fan I still don't bother with 3D because it's not worth the headache.

If Sony put too many of their eggs in the 3D basket I feel like those eggs are going to start stinking the place up.

I wouldn't say its a dead-end. It didn't seem like an investment Sony believed would change the industry or move a lot of consoles. I always thought 3D was intended to be a optional experience for consumers fortunate enough to afford it. So I don't think its a "dead-end". I hate words like "dead-end" anyway. They can be pretty vague.

I'd simply say that 3D was a sort of gimmick to add to the repertoire of the PS3. I'm certain Sony figured that it would be the next best thing, as it was a fairly big deal on the movie scene two years ago, but now it is settling back into its relaxed state where nobody really cares. They can do it if they like it, but most won't really bother. Simple enough, but true.

If I had to theorize as to why Sony made such a big deal about it, then stopped really trying to push it so much? The television division and the losses they were having probably contributed, considering they were trying hard to get their sales back up, especially of 3D TVs. Now that they're trying to restructure and it's become more obvious that that sort of television is not going to take off like HD in recent years, they are much better served trying to push other aspects of their business that will offer more lucrative returns.

It's also a personal opinion that Sony was trying to test the waters for the next generation. I've had the discussion with many people, over and over, that while the PS4 and 720 will be impressive graphically, what else can they really do? There really isn't much mainstream that's better than 1080p, if anything, so what will differentiate the next generation beyond better hardware? All of the big three are trying to aim for the next big thing to catch on. Always have and always will. 3D might have been one of Sony's horses they were trying to bet on to see where it went. Mixed results, obviously, but seems to me they're likely putting their money elsewhere now because they've seen the response.

I almost considered getting Sony's 3D TV when it was on sale for $200, but I read a bunch of less-than-praised reviews on Best Buy.

200 is still damn good for that "tv", by the way, its a monitor. Don't expect to be able to watch cable with out a cable box. A friend of mine got one not to long ago, and it's been good to him, there's some sort of issue going on at the plant that had dust under the screen, just open the box at the store and check it before you leave with it, I don't know if they got it fixed, im sure they have by now, and what really killed this set was the size, they should have had a 32 inc model in the same price range, Systems this gen really can't handle 3d as well as they should, Maybe next gen it will be a bit better. I have a 3d tv, the best looking games have been uncharted 3 and Resistance 3. Both looked fantastic. GT5 it makes a world a difference, when judging speed and corning, on the flip side the graphics take a noticeable hit. But the sports games in the OP would be point less to play in 3d, maybe that's why they are taken out, and games like the last of us look to push the PS3 to the breaking point. So maybe 3d cant be included with out making the game look like a turd.

Actually, I believed it was just a gimmick. Then I've played Killzone 3 in 3D and that game blowed my mind, it was simply amazing. I'm getting a 3D TV as soon as possible.

You guys should really play this game in 3D