Gears of War 3 to have stereoscopic 3D, Microsoft upping 3D support

Despite Microsoft's early rumblings against stereoscopic 3D, Xbox 360 poster boy Gears of War 3 will feature full support for those with fancy pants TVs.

"We asked, could we do it? It felt like something we wanted to have," producer Rod Fergusson told Eurogamer.

"It was a feature we didn't want to be deficient in. When you look at Gears 1, it was what people used to demo HD at the time. It's still fledgling technology. It's still a niche feature. But it was something we could support, so we felt, why not?

"I love the qualities it provides, the window into a world. That's what the 3D gives you. Having that depth of character, and being able to see that separation from the reticule and the creatures in the background – it's a different experience but it's a really good one."

Fergusson confirmed rumours that Microsoft is upping support for 3D with its latest development kits, boosting the Xbox 360's 3D performance to a resolution of 720. Gears of War 3, unfortunately, won't benefit from the new tech, and doesn't quite reach that level.

"It's a little bit jaggier in certain areas. Instead of 720p you're at five something," the producer explained.

"It was something that came in really late in our process. It wasn't something where we said, OK, we're going to design the game from the ground up for 3D. It was more of a post-process 3D, where we're like, OK, certain things need to be adjusted, but for the most part it generally works.

Gears of War 3 launches in September. It joins Crysis 2 and Call of Duty: Black Ops in the Xbox 360's limited stereoscopic 3D range.