Playstation 3 plans to expand to the third dimension in 2009

Considering the Playstation 3’s ability to generate near-photo-realistic graphics via its many processors, one would think that there is no higher ceiling that Sony can reach in terms of graphics.

For those naysayers, Sony has an additional surprise up its sleeve. According to a story on Shack News, Blitz Games Studios, known for developing the SpongeBob Squarepants and American Idol games, made it clear that Sony’s Playstation 3 will soon have the ability to support “both stereoscopic and Blu-ray-based three-dimensional gaming.”

Whether this new development will help Sony’s PS3 on its quest to gain a foothold in the console wars remains to be seen; at the moment, it was revealed that the only game expected to take advantage of this new technology is Avatar (not the last airbender), a 3D-based film by James Cameron.

While this may appear to be a new phenomenon, the concept of 3D-based gaming is actually pretty old, as this advertisement for Sega’s Master System that utilized 3D technology can be seen below.

The advertisement itself features gaming-related images leaping out of the screen, with the player in question shooting them with an item that looks strikingly similar to Nintendo’s Zapper. I have yet to see images popping out of the screen in my own reality-based gaming experiences, leading me to dismiss this ad as ridiculous and seriously question whether or not Sony can actually deliver on its promises.

Sony has the entirety of 2009 to make believers out of the gaming public. Here is hoping that it can happen.

Read [Gamepro] via [Shack News]