“The Res Count”

A new generation of gaming is upon us with the upcoming releases of the PlayStation 4 & Xbox One, and with it, a slew of games, detailed reports of live game build specs and, of course, flame wars.

Just recently it was revealed that the new Call of Duty, which has been year after year an apex of gaming when it comes to sales and game industry standards, has been reported to run at a full “1080p” resolution on the PlayStation 4 and upscaled to 1080p from 720p on the Xbox One. The fanboys will have a field day with this one, claiming that their consoles will be superior, resorting to both factual and dirty arguments. For example, the Xbox One actually in a technical and also a very literal sense runs three operations systems simultaneously, resulting in a distribution of processing resources, which accounts for why some game would have lower resolution counts. On the other hand, it is also true that the PS4 is actually more powerful in terms of raw hardware…

But does it matter? Does it REALLY matter? Who really cares? It pains me to see established journalists go after this topic at every console launch like it’s really a defining factor of anything. And I know why they do it! They do it because they cater to their audience, and their audience wants to know who’s right at the moment, or which one’s the best, and ultimately which is the best to get.

Article: IGN – Call of Duty: Native 1080p on PS4, 720p on Xbox One?

My problem with a flame war predicated on something like console launch game resolution is that it really doesn’t freaking matter. Certainly not in the long run, after developers have learned how to take advantage and pull the most of the next generation of consoles, but even now the illusion of real disparity between platforms and ways to play is just ridiculous. Resolution count is not a feature, nor will it stay fixed forever. It depends on the developer to make the best experience available to the consumer on their platform of choice, whether or not that means resolution. I remember playing the original Super Mario Bros. and that shit blew my mind as a kid!

Today we talk about how many millions of pixels we could fit in an inch on our huge high-definition televisions, and I was playing on a 64-bit(4000 pixels per inch) console and was as happy as can be. Now is that to say we as a people, or rather as gaming consumers spoiled? Or is it just the nature of capitalism catching up with our mentalities? When is good never going to be good enough? That time seems to be fast approaching. I think that just like with other elements of gaming, the average gamer is seeking positive feedback loops in everything they buy. This is actually an established principle in game design. The name escapes me, but there is a prolific figure in gaming development who once said in the 90s that “Gamers like patterns. They like doing things that gives them an expected reward. That’s why they keep doing it.” What’s happening right now with gamers is that they expect a better iteration of a game or console the next time around, but because they originally had very few ways to play we as gamers had to be satisfied with what we had.

Image Reference: Evolution of Graphics in Games

But now it’s no longer the case. Now we either own a PlayStation or Xbox, and must defend our pride and territory. Or we have a PC and don’t care about the war and just enjoy our games. The saddest part about this is that in less than six months no one will remember any of this, and the games we play will be indiscernibly the same, at least regardless of platform. I just want gaming to be about escaping and having fun again. I suppose this is the new age though. Maybe I’ll just have to game harder and avoid internet trolls as much as possible.