Gran Turismo 5 in 3D

Leading up to the release of Gran Turismo 5, I've been lucky enough to play a lot of the game--whether it was checking out the Subaru WRX on the Tokyo R246 track at last year's Tokyo Game Show, or playing the recently released Time Challenge demo featuring the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. This week, however, I had a chance to play GT5 in an entirely new way: in 3D at the Sony booth at CES 2010.

The 3D GT5 setup is actually the same demo that's running at several stations in the gaming section of Sony's huge CES booth: the demo features four tracks (Nurburgring, Tokyo R246, Fuji Speedway, and the IMS) as well as 12 cars to choose from. While it was great to check out the Nurburgring for the first time in 2D while seated in a cockpit and armed with a Logitech wheel, it was an entirely different thing to see the dense German forest whizzing by at speed in full 3D. Of course, the GT5 demo in 3D had a laundry list of specialized requirements: a PlayStation 3 armed with the correct 3D-enabling firmware, a specialized TV capable of broadcasting the stereoscopic picture, and, of course, the 3D glasses that you wear to bring the whole thing together. And while I'm still doubtful that I'll ever play Gran Turismo 5 (or GT6 and beyond, for that matter) in 3D in my own home, it was still a thrill to give it a go at CES.

As you might expect, the biggest change between playing GT5 normally and playing in 3D is the sense of depth the effect brings. It's most noticeable when driving in cockpit view--there seems to be a virtual gulf of space between your steering wheel and the top of your dashboard. Additionally, HUD elements are front and center when you're playing in 3D so that your rev meter in the lower right-hand corner, as well as the minimap of the track and your lap timer, seem suspended in midair.

I found it all to be a bit confusing at first, especially when driving, when your brain is doing its best to process a bunch of visual information. Still, the 3D effect was not just limited to the inside of the car and the HUD--the outside environment also gained a new layer of depth that certainly added to the experience. The effect isn't perfect though: for some reason the 3D layering made me notice the jagged shadows cast by the steering wheel on the dashboard even more than I might otherwise, and the effect seemed slightly blurry overall. Still, as a new way to experience the latest version of the "real driving simulator," it was memorable.

Gran Turismo 5 is due for release later this year. If you're dying to see more, check out the new gameplay movies we shot off the screen from the 2D demo of GT5 here and at the Gran Turismo 5 gamespace.