That's what I don't understand. 3D was available in the 1980's, as several movies attempte to cash in on the effect, but the technology wasn't quite up to par yet. Now, as James Cameron's recent hit Avatar proves, 3D is seen as a highly valuable asset to the movie industry in ways that wasn't possible before. Some would argue that the process should only be applied to animated children's movies (Disney Pixar's UP had great visuals), but the executives in Hollywood see things quite differently. I hope that as more 3D movies come out, the effect doesn't come off as "tacked on" just for the sake of ticket sales or available technology. I can't help but envision the recently announced Spider-man reboot to feature web balls being shot at the screen in a "gimmicky" way. I don't want to see the stories of these movies being changed just to accomodate the use of 3D. These are indeed fast-changing times we are living in, and I could see full-blown holograms replacing 3D in the near future (I'm thinking 5-10 years). Video games will no doubt follow suite. The hottest pokemon chick is Nurse Joy.