3D is all the rage at movie these days and at last year's CES, I saw it applied to games. The last placed I expected 3D tech.,however, was the iPhone. Yet, at MacWorld 2009, I encountered two companies who were working on 3D-ing the iPhone -- except both only made me nauseous.
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Just because you can make an iPhone display a 3D-ish effect doesn't mean you should. That's the lesson learned from encountering two companies -- Wazabee and Zeiss (shown in both pictures in this story) -- who are attempting to bring 3D technology to Apple's device from two different approaches.
Zeiss' attempt is what we've traditionally seen from 3D technology. Instead of modifying the screen, you wear glasses. 3D glasses have certainly come a long way from Virtual Boy, but they're hardly less headache-inducing. The reps at Zeiss were unable to get the tech. working right on a simple video playing via an iPod Touch, but assured me games would work with it, too. They just didn't have a demo unit available.
Wazabee, on the other hand, has developed a screen that creates the illusion of 3D -- sort of -- with a piece of plastic that slips over the iPhone screen itself. If you squint your eyes, which strained mine after a few moments and created slight nausea, it creates a mild 3D effect. Unfortunately, you can't help but notice how much it distorts the incredible natural picture that looks just fine in 2D.
Wazabee told me they're actively developing a proof-of-concept iPhone game utilizing the technology, but they're unsure if it will make it to release. The company said existing games would not be cross-compatible and need to be designed from the ground-up. Why would anyone do that? Don't ask me.
3D movies work. I've seen them. "The Nightmare Before Christmas" and "Beowulf" were unbelievable. But the technology's not there yet for the iPhone, and furthermore, I can't think of a good reason why it should be.
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