While companies like Sony and Nintendo are pushing 3D, the technology is not new. In movies, 3D was used in attempts to attract theatergoers that had dwindled during the 1950s as the diffusion of televisions increased.
For gaming, Nintendo tried (unsuccessfully) to release its own 3D headset, the Virtual Boy, in 1995. It was a flop.
But in the decade that preceded that, Sega released the SegaScope 3D glasses. As website @Everything2, the 3D was caused by the peripheral's LCD lenses. "The system sent impulses up the cord to alternately darken and lighten each lens. The screen image was similarly designed so that alternate refreshes of the screen would display different perspectives for each eye to see."
Only six games were ever released for the SegaScope 3D glasses: Blade Eagle 3-D, Line of Fire, Maze Hunter 3-D, Missile Defense 3-D, Out Run 3-D, Poseidon Wars 3-D, Space Harrier 3-D and Zaxxon 3-D.
Commercial for the SegaScope 3-D glasses. I... [Tiny Cartridge]