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"Microsoft Games Studio creative director Habib Zargarpour has claimed that video games will be the media which really popularise stereoscopic 3D home entertainment.  Speaking to Gamasutra at GDC Canada this week, Zargarpour said that the success of 3D is &amp;quot;up to the game content... much more so than film and broadcast&amp;quot;. Iranian-born Zargarpour spent nine years at movie effects studio Industrial Light &amp;amp; Magic, including work on Twister and Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, before joining Electronic Arts. He recently moved to Microsoft to help develop the firm&amp;#039;s 3D gaming initiative, which has not yet launched. Zargarpour said that 3D effects are much better suited to gaming because it is already a digital medium displayed on a digital device which does not require specialist 3D production equipment. According to a report by Informa Telecoms and Media, 845,000 households worldwide are expected to have a 3D-ready TV-ready set by the end of 2010. However, just 101,000 of those homes will be able to watch 3D content due to the paucity of 3D TV channels and DVDs. Zargarpour claimed that &amp;quot;people aren&amp;#039;t going to buy those TVs unless there&amp;#039;s stuff to do&amp;quot; with them. Even though more 3D Blu-ray discs are due to become available later in the year, Zargarpour believes that 3D gaming will prove more compelling for consumers. He further said that there is a &amp;quot;huge opportunity&amp;quot; for 3D games to create a brand new entertainment experience, particularly with the arrival of new motion control devices. Microsoft will launch its Project Natal system later in the year, which uses sensors and a 3D camera to capture movement, while Sony is also readying its PlayStation Move controller. According to Zargapour, combining these motion control devices with 3D gaming systems could deliver the &amp;quot;next level for video game interactivity&amp;quot;. He added: &amp;quot;With upcoming natural user interface hardware... think about how 3D can enhance that. &amp;quot;You&amp;#039;re using your body to interact with the game - but what if you can now see depth and that&amp;#039;s part of the experience?&amp;quot; Sony recently confirmed that it will release a 3D firmware update for PS3 consoles ahead of the official UK launch of its new 3D TV sets next month. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/tech/news/a218743/microsoft-gaming-will-popularise-3d/>