The folks at
SplitFish GameWare are marketing their eyeFx 3D Adapter for Sony Playstation 2. This is the only true 3D console game adapter.
It doesn’t work with all games, they do have a list of compatible games on their webpages and you can play around with those not on the list to see what the level of compatibility is.
The adapter only works with CRT televisions . . . and they should be the regular ol’ plain vanilla kind, not the ones with digital enhancements that correct image quality (those tend to interfere with the quality of the stereoscopic 3D output). This meant that I was out of luck when we first got the doodad as our living room television is an LCD projector that projects to a screen several feet across and the television in our master bedroom is a plasma beastie. So, when the old television in my office conked out on me, I made sure that we got a standard CRT (after much discussion with Lorraine who thought it silly to get an outdated machine . . . but it’s pretty much the only way I can watch my old 3D movies or play PS2 in 3D and regular readers of this blog know how much I love my 3D content).
If you have the right equipment, then this may be an adapter for you.
Like most CRT stereoscopic solutions, there are problems. The flicker can be pretty annoying so you won’t be playing for long hours. I found that many of my favorite games just aren’t compatible with the 3D (which is okay as I can still play them without the stereo effect) and the ones that are vary in terms of quality. However killing monsters in true 3D or doing air combat moves and feeling the virtual becoming so much more real . . . the reality of virtual reality . . . makes the system worth the downsides.
The adapter plugs between the controller and the PS2 rather than in the video end, an interesting approach. It is not an intuitive system to use, but you’lll get tha hang of it soon.
While it is a very creative product and the best solution to the desire for true stereocsopic gaming on a console at this time, there is still a lot to learn and much more to do before it becomes a true mass market application. It’s still pretty much a niche device, as is all stereoscopic 3D at the moment. However, it is an excellent first go and those with an interest in such things – and the appropriate equipment – will find it to be of interest. I would not reccommend it for folks expecting perfect 3D or flicker-free experience yet. This is not an IMAX or Digital Dimensions experience . . . albeit, I would hope they tweak things in the next version to make it anaglyph compatible and/or definately compatible with the new cheap IBM polarized solutions as well as autostereoscopic displays.
