Gran Turismo 5, Motorstorm 3D only tech demos

Various theories exist as to why Gran Turismo 5 isn't out yet. Though the top suspect is the consummate perfectionism of its developer, Polyphony Digital, another possibility was teased this morning at Sony CEO Sir Howard Stringer's Consumer Electronics Show keynote. There, the executive displayed an image of the long-in-production game rendered in stereoscopic RealD 3D graphics, with the cars pictured visually popping out of the screen.

Evidence of a RealD 3D version of Gran Turismo 5 Prologue popped up at Sony's booth on the show floor in the form of a short tech demo. Playing on a loop, the video showed footage of menu screens and cars racing around Germany's Nurburgring. Seen through a pair of 3D glasses--which RealD requires--the demo had an impressive depth of field that gave the impression that one could reach into the screen. (Note: The footage above was shot only in 2D, and is shown both through glasses and without a 3D lens.)

Is the demo hard evidence of a cinema-style, stereoscopic, three-dimensional version of Gran Turismo 5? In short, no. "This is strictly for demonstration purposes only," the Sony employee on hand at the demo station said. "This is not a game." The same employee also stressed that the screen displaying the game wasn't an official Sony item. "That's not a product either," he said, waving rubberneckers on their way.

[UPDATE] On a subsequent trip to the Sony booth, a 3D demo version of Motorstorm: Pacific Rift was also on display for viewing using the RealD glasses. (Video below shot with naked eye, and so appears blurry.)