[PS3] Resistance is now 720p only

[Destructor]

Insert your own 'Sony is d00m3d!' joke here. Via 1UP:

The number of PlayStation 3 releases supporting 1080p HDTV resolutions will undoubtably increase as the hardware matures, but for launch games, limited development time is an issue. Insomniac Games publicly stated they were aiming to include the option for 1080p in Resistance: Fall of Man, but as Sony's Gamer's Day kicks off in San Francisco, company president Ted Price confirms isn't not happening in his IGN blog.

- "Native 1080p (versus 720p scaled to 1080p) uses much more VRAM than 720p. When we finished up a few of our bigger levels at the very end of the development process we realized that we would have had to steal VRAM from some of our characters and environments to run in native 1080p. Anyway, we felt it was best to stay at 720p and that, at least while 1080p televisions are still relatively scarce, we should focus on implementing 1080p for our future games."

And here I thought Sony said that Hi-Def doesn't start until 1080p. I guess this game isn't Hi-Def then.

So the question now is: How many launch titles will support 1080p?

[Doopri]

Native 1080p (versus 720p scaled to 1080p) uses much more VRAM than 720p. When we finished up a few of our bigger levels at the very end of the development process we realized that we would have had to steal VRAM from some of our characters and environments to run in native 1080p

i dont know much about coding - but this seems to me to indicate that 1080p will be difficult regardless of hardware - as in it doesnt matter how powerful the machine is if the code cant be written to take advantage of it.  is this a correct interpretation? and if so, will the coding "catch up," is it close to catching up already, or will it be a flat out permanent trade off -  "well we can slack on object b to get everything native 1080, or we can keep everything crisp at 720" etc etc etc

[Misguided]

I've been kinda skeptical about the whole 1080p thing from the start. I'm no expert on hardware, it just seems like it would take a REALLY powerful rig to push that many pixels at any kind of decent frame rate.

[The Grue]

The thing with 1080p is that there are tradeoffs you have to make to get that resolution.  Devs basically balance assets, framerate, and resolution when making games.  So, if you code the game in 1080p, the framerate is going to suffer.  Now, if you code your graphics engine in such a way that the framerate is acceptable at that resolution, then all is well.  For Resistance, they decided to go with assets and framerate over resolution.  The 1Up Yours podcast has one of the resistance Devs (the producer?  I can't remember) on this week and they dedicate a whole segment to interviewing him.  He basically mentioned everything I've said so far and I think if you are interested in graphics and next-gen, it might be worth a listen.

The only PS3 launch title I am remotely interested in is Resistance and I love the Ratchet and Clank games, so I am giving these devs the benefit of the doubt on this game.  He certainly made the game sound fun.  Still, I probably won't be getting a PS3 until sometime next year due to there only being one game I am interested in and it not being worth $600+.

[Misguided]

Personally, I think 720p is good enough, but I'd like to see better FSAA than 360 demonstrates. Then again, at 1080p it might not matter so much.

[Turtle]

Once again people blowing a small thing out of proportion.

Even MS was touting 1080p until they realized that their hardware simply couldn't run games at that resolution with decent framerate.

Good grief, the PS3 bashers are really scratching the bottom of the barrel.

[CeeKay]

Still, I probably won't be getting a PS3 until sometime next year due to there only being one game I am interested in and it not being worth $600+.

+1.  Resistance is the only game I have a slight interest in for the PS3 launch.  Unless I get the console for free it'll wait until more releases come out.


Oh, and D, careful, or more of the PS3 fanboys may show up and TP your house 

[Fellow]

Yeah, I really don't give a crap either way. 

[Destructor]

Good grief, the PS3 bashers are really scratching the bottom of the barrel.

Hey now, I'm not bashing the PS3 here (not this time around, anyway  ). I'm just stating what Sony said in the past.

But yeah, the difference in power to draw 720p verses 1080p is pretty drastic. That's a lot more pixels per frame you have to push out. One reason why I had to replace my 'old' video card when I upgraded to my 1680x1080 PC monitor.

[Crawley]

Not many people own HDTV units as is let alone TV's that can display 1080p. It's always been a silly point to tout as a primary feature since a minute segment of people would even be able make use of it. Does anyone in this thread HDTV unit capable of displaying 1080p?

[Destructor]

Nope. I don't have a 'true' HD TV as mine 'only' does up to 1080i.

[pingwrx]

I have a sxrd 60 sony native rez is 1080p

[Ralph-Wiggum]

Not many people own HDTV units...

Are you sure about that? According to a report that came out early in 2005, HDTVs were outselling analog TVs. And almost a year ago, a study showed that 47% of all US households planned to buy an HDTV in the next 12 months (i.e. the last twelve months). Considering that this generation of console will probably last for 5 years or so, I would wager that the vast majority of American households will have HDTVs by this console's end.

[Hetz]

I have a sxrd 60 sony native rez is 1080p

Same here.

Anyway there are still games in 1080p at launch:

Ridge Racer 7
NBA 07
Marvel Ultimate Alliance
Full Auto 2

[Nth Power]

Nope. I don't have a 'true' HD TV as mine 'only' does up to 1080i.

Mine too.  I'm happy as it is with games in 720p.

[Destructor]

Are you sure about that? According to a report that came out early in 2005, HDTVs were outselling analog TVs. And almost a year ago, a study showed that 47% of all US households planned to buy an HDTV in the next 12 months (i.e. the last twelve months). Considering that this generation of console will probably last for 5 years or so, I would wager that the vast majority of American households will have HDTVs by this console's end.

Now the question is this - HDTV as in 1080p, or HDTV as in only 720p? If it's 720p/1080i, then Sony is wasting their time and money trying to tell the world that they're the only ones to do 'true' Hi-Def, as nobody has a TV capable of supporting it. If it's 1080p on the other hand, then Sony was truly looking ahead when they designed the PS3 to run at 1080p.

[Misguided]

No way that's referring to 1080p. Not a snowball's chance. For one thing, I'd wager that many of the respondents would have no idea what "1080p" meant. Furthermore, there just aren't that many tvs available that can do 1080p, and from what I've been reading (I've been looking at tvs), a good portion of those can't accept a full 1080p signal over hdmi. It's all rather confusing.

[Kevin Grey]

No way that's referring to 1080p. Not a snowball's chance. For one thing, I'd wager that many of the respondents would have no idea what "1080p" meant. Furthermore, there just aren't that many tvs available that can do 1080p, and from what I've been reading (I've been looking at tvs), a good portion of those can't accept a full 1080p signal over hdmi. It's all rather confusing.

It's turning around pretty quickly.  As with most new technology, 1080p was a bit of a cock-up when it first hit but the issues have been worked out for the most part now and pretty much all new sets coming out new don't have these issues.  I'd bet by this time next year, 1080p will be in at least half of the new sets hitting the market. 

[Hetz]

No way that's referring to 1080p. Not a snowball's chance. For one thing, I'd wager that many of the respondents would have no idea what "1080p" meant. Furthermore, there just aren't that many tvs available that can do 1080p, and from what I've been reading (I've been looking at tvs), a good portion of those can't accept a full 1080p signal over hdmi. It's all rather confusing.

Many HDTV's starting this holiday season willl be 1080p native. By next year, nearly all will be. It is the new standard. In the past, most 1080p sets could only accept 1080i and then convert it to 1080p, they wouldn't accept 1080p natively...which is why I waited to buy a 1080p set. The 1080p set I bought (Sony 60A2000) accepts 1080p native over HDMI and it looks incredible.

[Ralph-Wiggum]

No way that's referring to 1080p. Not a snowball's chance. For one thing, I'd wager that many of the respondents would have no idea what "1080p" meant. Furthermore, there just aren't that many tvs available that can do 1080p, and from what I've been reading (I've been looking at tvs), a good portion of those can't accept a full 1080p signal over hdmi. It's all rather confusing.

Those articles weren't referring to 1080p sets. But I wasn't trying to respond about 1080p sets. Crawley started off by saying "Not many people own HDTV units" - that is the idea I was rejecting.

[Jancelot]

Here's a good read on CNN about the shift in sales to HDTV:

http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/ptech/10/23/tube.tv.decline.ap/index.html

[Crawley]

Are you sure about that? According to a report that came out early in 2005, HDTVs were outselling analog TVs. And almost a year ago, a study showed that 47% of all US households planned to buy an HDTV in the next 12 months (i.e. the last twelve months). Considering that this generation of console will probably last for 5 years or so, I would wager that the vast majority of American households will have HDTVs by this console's end.

I'm talking about households that own sets now and you are talking about potential % of sales for the future.

I have no doubt in the future HDTVs will be the majority down the road - it's getting difficult to purchase anything but those in B&M stores. But SD televisions will continue to stick around in homes for a number of years. This is basically the same change from tube monitors to LCD monitors. LCD prices come down, tubes phases out, gotta purchase an LCD when the tube breaks or the price point gets to a "reasonable" level.

HDTVs are still a small segment and 1080p is even smaller. I am surprised there were a few responses from those that had 1080p sets but I would hazard a guess that the price on that set, and other 1080p units, are outside of most gamers budgets.

[Harpua3]

 The options of 720p and 1080i and of course the lesser options are enough options for me. 

[Purge]

The SD TV gets moved to the bedroom / den / garage with the old VCR and older DVD player. It's not the focal point in homes; the new set is.
I don't even own an SD tv anymore.