Sony quietly preps PlayStation 3 for 3D games

A software update for the Sony PlayStation 3 shows that the 3D revolution will hit the PS3 in full force – and a lot sooner than you might think.

On Thursday, Sony released a PlayStation 3 software update, comprised mostly of some new trophy settings on the PlayStation Network. Pretty standard stuff. So standard, in fact, that many PlayStation fans failed to notice that the download is also a big step forward in Sony's plans for total world domination 3D gaming.

"[T]his update preps the PS3 system for some upcoming new features," Sony exec Eric Lempel wrote in a blog post, "including 3D stereoscopic gaming, which is coming soon to PS3, in time for the launch of Sony’s 3D Bravia TVs." Sony expects the Bravia line to be available by June of 2010; 3D gaming on the PlayStation 3, apparently, won't be far behind.

Details on how Sony will roll out 3D content on the PS3 are scarce. We know that Sony will likely have to move pretty slowly – there aren't exactly tons of hardcore gamers who can afford to fork over thousands of dollars for a 3D TV set. We also know that Sony remains pretty bullish about the whole enterprise. In March, John Koller, the director of hardware marketing at Sony, told the gaming website IGN that he saw big things in the PS3's future.

"There's a tremendous amount of opportunity on PlayStation3 with 3D," Koller said. "The amount of interest in 3D from the retail side and game publishers is off the charts. We know we have a hit with 3D on PS3 and we're going to concentrate our efforts there."

While Sony preps the PlayStation 3 for the 3D revolution, its competitors in the video game industry are working to roll out their own 3D initiatives. Earlier this year, Nintendo announced it would soon begin selling a device called the Nintendo 3DS, which the company is billing as the world's first 3D handheld gaming platform.