In the last little while, multiple hardware manufacturers have been putting more resources into developing 3D displays. Could this be the tip of the iceberg? A new iceberg? A three-dimensional iceberg? This stimulating prospect seems substantially possible.

Additionally, a super-secret source retold an interesting tale to me the other day. This person of uncertain, nebulous identity was down in NVIDIA headquarters, talking with members of the driver team. One particular member of the driver team did allegedly let it slip that NVIDIA was set to take a new direction with the development of their stereoscopic, 3D drivers that they have been working on. A supposed request for further information on this topic was denied on the grounds that revealing of sorts would be happening in August -- perhaps at some major event in California, or some such.

ATI has been rumored to be working on 3D drivers for a while -- for Linux-lovers, they offered open source 3D drivers starting with the HD 2000 series.

Going 3D has been on the tips of technologists' tongues for quite some time. The technology in these novel products below is not far removed from 3D films you might have seen, where you slide on those funky blue and red flimsy glasses, and watch a pre-freak era Michael Jackson get attacked by a Klingon battlecruiser, or big, misunderstood sharks biting stuff , as the case may be.

iZ3D, a company you might have not heard of, is focused on developed 3D products. They released a new driver recently for the general "3D community", as well as for their line of 3D monitors. This new driver supports CrossFire setups, has 64 bit OS support, and Open GL Quad Buffer Support. A 22" inch iZ3D monitor goes for $600.

As I mentioned a few days ago, Zalman -- a brand probably most associated with quality coolers and heatsinks -- was pushing new models of their Trimon 22" and 24" 3D monitors. Prices have not been announced, but I'd guess $450-$500 for the 22 inchers, and $500-$600 for the 24's. These monitors are capable of switching between 2D and 3D mode.

Unfortunately 3D support for games is hit or miss. Sometimes 3D works well; sometimes it doesn't work at all; and sometimes the 3D works in technical respects, but from a gameplay perspective, the 2D designed game doesn't deal well with the 3D elements.

In addition, the VR920 glasses from Vuzix support 3D. Expect a review of this product this week.

Not to be outdone by anyone at Computex, Asus also announced a new 3D display product: but not just a 3D monitor this time, but a 3D monitor in a gaming notebook. The G50V (Fudzilla has the dish on it here) has a 15.6" screen that does not require any eyewear to enjoy the 3D-ality of the display. 3D can also be turned off and on via a switch.

So, what does this all mean? I imagine that something is going on. 3D has been around for a while and never really took off... but you never know, it could someday. It is one of those catch-22's though: without much hardware out there, game developers won't design for it. But things could change. With all these resources being put into developing 3D solutions, at least some people must think that the prospect of extra-dimensional gaming might take off.