After playing Batman Arkham Knight on my PS5, my friend and I got chatting about the Arkham series. I remembered how each and every Arkham game got the Game of the Year award.
Mainly, because every Batman Arkham game was unique! Arkham Asylum included a 3D mode for people with a 3D TV and that was, for the time, a thrilling new experience.
My friend asked if the PS5 could play 3D games and movies. That raised my curiosity and I searched the internet, only to find:
Can A PS5 Play 3D Movies? No, unfortunately, the PS5 doesn’t support 3D movies. That includes disk-based 3D films on Blu-Ray or 3D digital download movies. The PS5 does not support 3D on 3D displays, so you can’t play 3D-enabled PS3 games such as Wipeout or Batman games.
The PS5 can’t support 3D displays, but is that even a bad thing? There must be a reason why Sony decided to not add a 3D stereotypic display in their latest consoles? Read on to find out!
Why Doesn’t The PS5 Support 3D films?
The reason why Sony chose not to enable 3D stereoscopic playback on the PS5 is that 3D movies and games failed to grab consumer’s attention. 3D sounded really attractive in theory, but it was swarmed with negative reviews on every platform.
There were just too many hurdles for 3D to overcome. With normal TV, you can just switch your box on and start watching. But viewing 3D content was more complicated and time-consuming to set up correctly.
Viewers had to wear bulky 3D glasses to view the 3D effect and sit in a tiny sweet spot in front of the TV where the 3D effect could be viewed.
And the effect was not attractive to begin with!
3D was plagued with low-resolution images. Images that broke up easily if you moved your head. And 3D images on a TV were not perspective correct, meaning if you moved your head the images seemed to turn with you.
3D was odd, unnatural, and for me, a little bit vomit-inducing. 3D was, and still is, dreadful. And it deserved to be slain by the whims of consumer demand, or lack of it.
This is why Sony, and the collective technological industry, decided to add 4K/120Hz support to the PS5 as compared to adding 3D display features.
3D is not a praised technology around the world and many users have claimed that they prefer watching 2D with better resolution rather than low-quality 3D. There are multiple reasons why 3D technology failed.
People have negatively reviewed 3D displays all around the world for the following main reasons:
- Watching in 3D requires 3D glasses, which, most of the time, is an inconvenience to people who need to wear prescription glasses to see.
- Some people complained of nausea while watching 3D visuals for more than 15 minutes.
- 3D glasses give off a dark shade, so it makes the screen darker.
- 3D TVs are far more expensive.
Even after these drawbacks, some people still enjoy 3D movies and games. To cater to such users, Sony released patch 1.7 for the PS4, including 3D visual support later on.
If you’re a 3D enthusiast, there might be a way for you to play 3D Discs on your PS5 console! Let’s find out.
Is There Anything You Can Do To Get The PS5 To Play 3D Discs?
The PS5 doesn’t support 3D movies or games and Sony was pretty blunt with that claim.
They don’t plan on providing 3D support anytime soon either.
If you are still one of those people who want to play 3D discs on your console. You can try a couple of things.
- Firstly, you can go for a 2D to 3D convertor device which plugs into your console and then you can plug it into your 3D display supporting TV. It will mimic a partial 3D image which won’t be as attractive as the real thing. Moreover, the overall quality will be degraded so don’t expect 4K/120Hz that your PS5 might provide without the fake 3D conversion.
- Second and the best option is to get yourself a PSVR which has been a huge success! You will get access to numerous VR games and immerse yourself completely in the gameplay. You will also have the freedom to purchase and play 3D videos and VR-specific games.
That was about it for the PS5 supporting 3D discs. If you just bought yourself a bundle of your favorite 3D movies and you wish to play them, read on to find out the best alternative to play them.
What’s The Alternative?
The 3D display was a hit for only a brief time before being completely rejected by the public. It was not as fascinating as it was advertised (and priced).
The PS4 also didn’t come with 3D support until firmware patch 1.7 enabled players to play 3D Blu-ray discs in the console.
So, if you are determined to play 3D discs, then you can play them via a fully updated PS4. Alternatively, you can buy yourself a 3D Blu-ray player and watch your 3D movies through it.
While people with 3D smart TVs can simply purchase or rent 3D movies from Amazon and directly view them on their 3D supporting TVs without connecting any external device!
Some gamers are hopeful that Sony might release a patch for the PS5 just as they released for the PS4 which might enable them to play 3D discs. Read on to find out if Sony has made an official statement regarding it.
Will The PS5 Support 3D Movies In The Future?
Sony has made no official announcement or shown interest in 3D display support on the PS5 console. They have worked extremely hard to create one of the most amazing consoles on the planet that can display 4K at 120hz.
Simply put, there is no way Sony is going to support 3D technology with the PS5 simply because there isn’t a big enough market for Sony to support 3D movies and games profitably.
If 3D had taken off and the consumers loved 3D movies and games, Sony would have supported it. But the market has spoken and it has rejected 3D movies. You can’t even buy a new 3D TV anymore. Never mind new 3D blu-ray movies.
I think until technology companies can make a 3D TV without the need for glasses, we won’t see 3D movies or games grab our attention again.