I remember reading about this concept last year, and from the very beginning I was hopeful that it would see the light of day. Now it seems Sony has filed a patent that takes advantage of 3D tech in a way that breaks new ground for Co-Optimers where 3D itself really can't: couch co-op.
The nature of a stereoscopic 3D television is such in that it produces two images at separate frequencies - one for each eye. A pair of stereoscopic glasses are fashioned to filter those frequencies accordingly. Now, imagine what would happen if one person was wearing a pair of A-frequency glasses, and the other was wearing a pair of B-frequency glasses: each would get a separate 2D image. If game developers can get on board with this, splitscreen could be a non-issue in the future...so long as you're willing to wear some funky shades.
The patent actually goes a bit further providing screen sharing from multiple video sources as well. The patent showcases two gamers playing a game together while a third person watches input from a television set top box. It even goes as far as to provide audio in the glasses for separate experiences for each player and watcher.
All in all it's a very cool concept, but it's just a concept. The processing power and capabilities of something like this hitting mainstream are a few years off. But, that doesn't make it any less exciting!
Source: Vg247.com