Rumor: Sony to Launch 3D PS3s in 2010

Now that high definition TVs are commonplace, Sony is planning the next big shift in how we watch television and play games.

Specifically, Sony is planning to roll out the first wave of 3D televisions next year, according to a report by the Financial Times.

Of crucial importance to gamers is this quote from the FT report:

Due to speak today at the IFA technology trade show in Berlin, Sir Howard Stringer, Sony chief executive, will announce plans not only to sell 3D Bravia television sets, but to make Sony’s Vaio laptop computers, PlayStation 3 games consoles and Blu-ray disc players compatible with the technology.

PlayStation 3 game consoles with 3D technology? Assuming the FT’s source is correct on this, one wonders exactly how Sony plans to set all of that up.

Will the firm launch an entirely new line of systems? That would fall in line with the recent price drop on the current PS3 console, but would be bold move given the PS3’s current third place status in the ongoing console wars.

Do PS3s already have enough technological prowess to seamlessly integrate 3D into its current library? That seems unlikely, unless the new technology requires almost no extra processing power, or it’s all handled by the television set — a caveat that would make the FT quote incorrect.

Did they actually mean the unannounced, yet imminent PlayStation 4? This one is the most plausible, but why would Sony want to start pimping its next console at a time when it is trying desperately to gain ground with the PS3?

It’s also quite interesting that the Financial Times is not treating this information as a “rumor” and instead has it listed as a “report,” meaning they are quite confident about this information. I see that as meaning either there is something I’m totally missing here, or the person who wrote this piece doesn’t quite grasp how the PlayStation 3 works.

I guess we’ll have to wait until the IFA trade show on September 4 to see what Sony has planned.