Sony unveils 3-D TV $499 gaming bundle

Sony just announced at E3 that it will begin selling a 24-inch 3-D LCD TV bundled with an HDMI cable, 3-D glasses and the upcoming Resistance 3 game – all for $499.

The set will come with one pair of active shutter glasses. Additional sets will cost $69 each. Active 3-D offers a image quality, especially for fast-action cinematic.

It’s a pretty sweet deal, considering most low end 3-D TVs nowadays sell for about $600 with no included extras.

As another bonus, the new TVs will also have a unique characteristic: it allows two players to see two individual full-screen videos of gameplay on a single display using 3-D glasses.

Sony’s goal in all of this is to bring 3-D gaming to the masses, but ultimately Sony’s 3-D pricing isn’t anything revolutionary. You can get a 50-inch plasma for the same price on Amazon.com or even brick-and-mortar stores like Best Buy.

So the question comes down to: Do you want to play 3-D badly enough even if it means using a relatively small 24-inch display, or would you rather game on a bigger TV without the 3-D?

I’ve been to past Sony PlayStation events with active shutter 3-D TVs (though not sure if they were the same model as the one mentioned above). I’ve seen the presenters (game developers and producers) trying to sell the 3-D experience to the media, but then opt for the 2-D option instead when they thought no one was around.

Yep.

Before you make a decision, check out the 3-D gaming experience at a one of your local electronics or video game shops.

The Sony 3-D TV is scheduled for launch sometime this fall.