1080p Not the Best Choice for Console Games?

Last week, during his podcast, Major Nelson got to talk to a Microsoft HDTV expert about what the best TV resolution for games is. Here was the ‘expert’ response:

“We will leave the breakdown of spatial and temporal resolution to Tyler, but there are several elements here to consider. Many people like to discuss HD formats not only in their resolution but also the amount of frames displayed per second (720p60, 1080p30, etc.), and while lower frames per second is just fine for movies, it might not be as good for things like sports and videogames. I’m not sure if I agree with all the points however, since they seem to assume most games run at 60fps, which while some early 360 games have (DOA4, NBA 2K6), some have not (PGR3). I think it’s fair to assume we’ll see higher target framerates in upcoming games, especially twitch shooters like Halo 3.”

Wow, not only did this ‘expert’ knock the PS3 indirectly, he also managed to work in a promo for Halo 3. Truly a remarkable marketing feat indeed. Of course, the Microsoft HDTV expert may be be exerting a bit a smidgin’ of personal bias (or MSoft would sack his behind), so I suggest readers take this information with more than just a grain of salt.

However, should his critiques on 1080p be true, HDTV PS3 gamers should have nothing to fear as they can turn their TV down to 720p to play games at higher fps should there be a problem. Last week, during his podcast, Major Nelson got to talk to a Microsoft HDTV expert about what the best TV resolution for games is. Here was the ‘expert’ response:

“We will leave the breakdown of spatial and temporal resolution to Tyler, but there are several elements here to consider. Many people like to discuss HD formats not only in their resolution but also the amount of frames displayed per second (720p60, 1080p30, etc.), and while lower frames per second is just fine for movies, it might not be as good for things like sports and videogames. I’m not sure if I agree with all the points however, since they seem to assume most games run at 60fps, which while some early 360 games have (DOA4, NBA 2K6), some have not (PGR3). I think it’s fair to assume we’ll see higher target framerates in upcoming games, especially twitch shooters like Halo 3.”

Wow, not only did this ‘expert’ knock the PS3 indirectly, he also managed to work in a promo for Halo 3. Truly a remarkable marketing feat indeed. Of course, the Microsoft HDTV expert may be be exerting a bit a smidgin’ of personal bias (or MSoft would sack his behind), so I suggest readers take this information with more than just a grain of salt.

However, should his critiques on 1080p be true, HDTV PS3 gamers should have nothing to fear as they can turn their TV down to 720p to play games at higher fps should there be a problem.