Another year, another spate of tech hardware companies trying to entice gamers over to the dark side – by which I mean, trying to convince them that 3D display technology is the Next Big Thing in gaming. I’ve never been a fan; I shelled out for a Nintendo 3DS expecting a wild new dimension of gaming, only to spend my entire time with the handheld in 2D mode.
Acer’s still trying to crack this particular nut, having launched its SpatialLabs glasses-free 3D tech a few years back. At the IEM Katowice esports tournament in Poland last week, I got to enjoy some hands-on time with its latest Predator SpatialLabs View 27 monitor – and, although the tech has certainly improved since its earlier iterations, I’m still not convinced.
When most people hear the phrase ‘3D’, they think of a pair of chunky glasses (or perhaps the even older red-blue paper spectacles). SpatialLabs doesn’t work the same way as ‘conventional’ 3D displays; instead, it works by utilizing eye-tracking cameras to perfectly mesh two rendered images together on a stereoscopic display, creating a three-dimensional effect that shifts to remain effective even if you move your head – unlike Nintendo’s clunky handheld.
Gaming in three dimensions
Does it work? Yes, actually – while I’m not going to give you the spiel about graphics that ‘leap out of your screen’ or whatever, the Predator SpatialLabs View 27 does provide a good sense of physical depth, both for individual objects and wide scenes. I got to play some of Street Fighter VI’s World Tour mode on it, and it looked great; exploring Metro City (no, not the one from Megamind) demonstrated a tangible depth of field to the streets and the legions of random pedestrians I could challenge to a fistfight. I think some games might benefit from this tech more than others, and Acer has a list of supported titles if you’re curious.
Regardless of the game you play, though, there are a few glaring issues with using SpatialLabs for gaming. For starters, it’s liable to cause eye strain for some users – I certainly found this to be the case after just five minutes of getting my ass handed to me by Chun-Li, and I’ve heard similar reports from colleagues who have tested previous SpatialLabs devices. Considering that many gamers (totally not me) are known to spend multi-hour binges at their desktops, it feels like a migraine waiting to happen.
The other major problem with SpatialLabs – and basically any glasses-free 3D gaming solution – is that it tanks performance. There’s no good way to put this: stereoscopic 3D requires the real-time rendering of two full-resolution frames, which means that you’re going to struggle to achieve high frame rates in games unless you’re packing some of the absolute best gaming hardware,
My esteemed colleague over at TechRadar Gaming, Dash Wood, struggled with exactly this problem when he reviewed the Acer Predator Helios 300 SpatialLabs Edition back in 2023. Despite being a relatively powerful gaming laptop, it struggled significantly once the 3D mode was turned on, and even the newer 2024 model (which uses an RTX 4080 GPU) is locked to a 2K resolution at 60Hz in 3D mode while running in 4K in 2D.
3D vs VR
I’m willing to give Acer a pass on the eye-strain point. Although it feels like 3D has been around forever, this sort of glasses-free tech is still a relatively fledgling technology. Some people struggle to use VR for extended periods of time, and while I used to feel this way, the technology has advanced enough that I’ve become more comfortable with strapping on my headset and picking up my motion controllers for some Beat Saber or Pistol Whip in lieu of going to the gym.
However, as I thought about this, a thought occurred to me: why does anyone still think 3D is the future of gaming when virtual reality exists as it does today? VR is still improving too, but faster than 3D displays are. I can attest to the extreme difference between a first-gen Oculus Rift and Apple’s Vision Pro headset; it’s night and day, a far greater leap than I feel Acer’s Predator SpatialLabs View 27 makes over a 3D TV from the 2000s like Sony’s first 3D Bravia, even if it’s managed to ditch the bulky glasses. Why would I want to use a screen that gives a kinda-sorta-three-dimensional effect when I could put on a Meta Quest 3 and be fully immersed in a rendered world that appears to surround me completely?
Sorry, Acer, and sorry to everyone else who is hard at work on 3D displays right now – I just don’t think the gaming sphere will ever truly embrace 3D when VR exists. Mind you, there are other valid uses for this technology – Acer highlights the value of its SpatialLabs displays to professionals like architects and 3D asset designers (and prison dentists, according to a conversation I had with Acer PR), so it’s probably not about to die out anytime soon. Still, I think it might be time for SpatialLabs to shift focus away from gamers, and take serious aim at the enterprise space.
