The blogosphere has been abuzz about Sony’s underwhelming press conference, and the reaction to their push for 3D technology has been negative. I have to agree, I’m finding myself puzzled as to what they’re thinking here. Nintendo’s Wii U and Microsoft’s evolution of Kinect technology are both attempting to change how people play videogames, but Sony seems to be saying “Look! Even better graphics!” So when they announced a small 3D TV with a built-in PS3 yesterday, I shrugged and turned my attention to the next thing. This had been done before.

Today, however, a hands-on of this thing is making me give it a second look. If I’m reading this right, two players each wearing 3D glasses are looking at the same TV but seeing different screens. While 3D visuals are slick, forget about them for a second – being able to multiplayer around a single TV without needing to split the screen would be huge. Now, as I’ve grown older and more curmudgeonly, I’ve started to lose patience with the industry’s recent penchant toward denying local co-op, especially 4-player shooters. My hunch is that developers not only want to force more people to buy the game if they want to play together, but also that they feel splitting the screen doesn’t do justice to the graphics they so lovingly crafted. But c’mon, now. Every gamer has some fond 4-player splitscreen memories. Online gaming is a blast, but so is being in the same room as your friends when you all start to panic and spaz during Left 4 Dead.

This new TV is positioned to strike a blow for local multiplayer. While a $500 combination 3D TV/PS3 accompanied by $70 glasses is prohibitively expensive for working-class schlubs like me, the technology shows some promise to reverse a really irritating trend. I’d like to see Sony run with this idea, I’ll always support anything that gathers more people around a single machine rather than force them to all retreat to their respective gamer caves in order to play together.