But the sprites are almost always (if not always) 2d correct? I have never heard of a 3d sprite before.
I don't think you're looking at this from the right perspective. It's not that games are strictly "3D only", 2D sprites can usually be added at any time. Read up on Wikipedia how it's done:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sprite_(com...#section_2
Quote:More often sprite now refers to a partially transparent two dimensional animation that is mapped onto a special plane in a 3D scene. Unlike a texture map, the sprite plane is always perpendicular to the axis emanating from the camera. The image can be scaled to simulate perspective, rotated two dimensionally, overlapped with other objects, and be occluded, but it can only be viewed from a single angle. This rendering method is also referred to as billboarding.
It depends what you mean, Axxer.