Sony To Sell 3-D TVs Starting in June

3-D TV sets are coming home.

Sony announced yesterday that it will begin selling 3-D television sets in June.

The Japanese electronics giant, known for its PlayStation 3 game consoles and Bravia flat-screen TVs, will offer its fully capable 3-D TV model in four sizes this summer.

The 40-inch and 46-inch versions will go on sale on June 10 in Japan, while the 52- and 60-inch TVs will be available starting July 16.

Although the company did not release a global launch date, Sony Senior Vice President Yoshihisa Ishida said the new TVs will hit stores in the U.S. and other countries around the same time.

The 40-inch 3-D will cost about 290,000 yen ($3,200), and the biggest 60-inch will retail at 580,000 yen ($6,400).

Included are two pairs of Sony’s 3-D glasses, as well as a camera sensor on each unit that will adjust sound and picture quality based on viewers’ positions. A remote control button enables the switch from a regular 2-D image to 3-D.

Sony hopes that 10% of the 25 million TVs it aims to sell next fiscal year will be 3-D units.

CEO Howard Stringer has said the Tokyo-based company aims to be profitable in flat-panel TVs and gaming next fiscal year, and is pushing 3-D technology as a key strategy. Interest in 3-D has accelerated recently with the help of three-dimensional blockbusters such as “Avatar” and “Alice in Wonderland”, which earned a record $116.3 million in its opening weekend.

Ishida described the current fiscal year that began last April as a difficult period that forced Sony to focus on restructuring and reversing losses.

“We will go on the offensive in 2010,” he said at a press conference in Tokyo.