Sony: 3D costs as low as "half a per cent of overheads"

SCEE's senior development manager Simon Benson has told GamesIndustry.biz that the cost of implementing 3D into home console games is so low as to become negligible.

"In some cases we've had titles where 3D has been half a per cent of overhead," he said.

"It can literally be the render programmer spending a couple of weeks manipulating it. Particularly if a game already has split screen in it, just take that mode of the game and reauthor it to deliver really high quality 3D. So often it's the case of it doesn't even hit the radar of whether we should or shouldn't, it can just be done."

He believed people often mistakenly assume that the costs faced by film and television productions also apply to games.

"It's not of the same magnitude as it is with say, movies or live productions, and having to make that decision. It really comes down to do with if the game teams that are making these titles think that the experience they're putting together is compelling enough and the title lends itself enough to this technology to add that feature in."

Simon Benson has been working with 3D at SCEE for two years, supporting internal and external studios. The full interview can be read here.