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[-Pyromaniac-]

The COD to crytek comparison is disingenuous. Resolution only makes things better, not worse, but in and of itself it won't increase sales. The game still needs to be one a lot of people like.

It's such a silly "debate". If someone was asked whether or not they want 1 of 2 things, both identical in every way except one looks better and the other looks worse. They're taking the better looking one.

 

[Pop]

Agree with him. I've never let resolution stop me buying a game, I feel there are far more important things to focus on. But no we have to deal with the my p's are better then yours debates endlessly.

He was just telling OXM what they wanted to hear.

 

[Zombie James]

"With the 4K TVs and things - somebody was telling me that with a 4K TV, to even see it, your living room has to be big enough to sit like 12 feet from the screen. I don't know the exact numbers, but it starts to get a little crazy."

Was it IGN?

 

[Briarios]

I think there is some nuance here that is missing.

Do customers want games with a realistic style with the highest graphical fidelity possible? Yes.

If the choice is 720p or no game, would the customer still buy the game if they're interested in it? Yes.

If the customer has the choice between 720p & 1080p, would they choose the better resolution? Yes.

So, he's right when he says resolution doesn't sell games ... But, it is something that matters to customers, and it does have an impact on which version they would choose. So, for a publisher/developer it may not have an impact, but inequality in resolution is a big deal for console makers.

 

[Tobor]

My tv is 1080P. Games should always match the resolution of the native display. That's it. It's as simple as that.

If my TV was 900P, I'd be fine with it. It's not.

 

[Elginer]

This shit, again? Please just stop.

 

[Harmen]

People care about resolution. That is why they buy that nice bigass new TV, want that sexy new phone with that neat screen and stepped over to blu rays, to name a few.

Last generation a lot of gamers had an old SD screen at the beginning, then they had HD ready at 720p as an upgrade. But now? Almost everybody over here has a decently sized 1080p screen, even us poor students. And as more and more people have large 1080p (or more) screens, resolutions will show and matter more. The notion that resolution does not matter is old fashioned imo, as the technology to display it decently is way more mainstream nowadays.

 

[Kabuki Waq]

I dare them to release a 480p current gen game.

 

[Muchi Muchi Pink]

Is this a new policy at Ubisoft, to talk about this every time now, across all their departments?

 

[JordanN]

Agree with him. I've never let resolution stop me buying a game, I feel there are far more important things to focus on. But no we have to deal with the my p's are better then yours debates endlessly.

This is why games should push for a standard.

You wouldn't hear any chatter about fps or resolution, if everyone targeted 1080p/60fps. If a game couldn't meet that, then it's understandable if they have to drop the res or frame rate. Although, I would still prefer cutting back on a few effects if possible.

 

[Crimson_Fate]

1080p vs 900p doesn't matter to me as long as the dev did what they could to optimize the experience. But put me at 900p because of Parity and that's another story. Although it doesn't change the "Game" (which is the devs point) it does change my perception of the game and the dev. I won't purchase ACU specifically for this reason. The perception that it was held back is enough for me to not support this title.

 

[JimmyRustler]

But it does - for me.

1080p = buy
sub 1080p = no buy

 

[Phrozenflame500]

With the 4K TVs and things - somebody was telling me that with a 4K TV, to even see it, your living room has to be big enough to sit like 12 feet from the screen.

I don't know the exact numbers, but I do know he's got it backwards. The closer you sit to the screen, the more pronounced differences between resolutions get. This is part of the reason PC gamers tend to care more about resolution (that and actually being able to run games at higher resolutions).

On his comments, I think he's generally right about it's consumer effects though. Most people generally don't care about it as much as the games. Although I do think the general understanding of which console is more "powerful" does effect sales in some way.

 

[QaaQer]

I dare them to release a 480p current gen game.

Maybe they cut off his quote: "Resolution doesn't sell games, but it sure as shit will prevent sales."

 

[Shalashaska161]

I think he's right to a point. Most people don't know or care about the difference between 900p or 1080p, because its just meaningless numbers to them.

However I do believe that information does eventually get distilled down to a very general "PS4 games look better than XB1 games". It happened last gen between PS3 and 360 and were seeing it here again. The specifics don't matter to people but that general information will end up influencing a decent amount of purchases throughout the console generation.

 

[Trago]

Then why did they spend months before the launch of these consoles talking up the power of these machines in the first place?

Keep in mind, I get that there is an expectation, if a new PS4/Xbone game was announced to be 720p, I'd do a double take. But to now say that it doesn't really matter really goes against what the industry was selling us before launch.

 

[SerTapTap]

People care about resolution. That is why they buy that nice bigass new TV, want that sexy new phone with that neat screen and stepped over to blu rays, to name a few.

Last generation a lot of gamers had an old SD screen at the beginning, then they had HD ready at 720p as an upgrade. But now? Almost everybody over here has a decently sized 1080p screen, even us poor students. And as more and more people have large 1080p (or more) screens, resolutions will show and matter more. The notion that resolution does not matter is old fashioned imo, as the technology to display it decently is way more mainstream nowadays.

Not to mention the wide variety of things that make resolution a marketing point:

- "Full HD" logos
- 4K (which he acknowledges right in his damn statement--this would not exist if "people didn't care")
- Retina: iPhone, iPad, Macbook and iMac have all made resolution a significant selling point at certain generational transitions
- More mega pixels means better camera (well not quite but lots of people love to think so)

 

[CassidyIzABeast]

I'll always choose 1080p if the option is available but resolutiongate was and remains fucking stupid. Massive threads for Ghosts being 1080p/720p just to find out the game was basura anyway.

 

[recursive]

Not true. See the Wii.

The PS4 is not selling because of resolution. The PS4 is selling because of PS Plus and the perception that XBOX was going to screw gamers by not allowing rentals. Higher tech specs was just icing on the cake.

Pretty sure if call of duty was wii level resolution on ps3/xbox it would have caused debate.

 

[IdreamofHIME]

Ubisoft kicking Crytek while they're already bleeding in the gutter.

 

[M.W.]

He's a far cry from being correct.

 

[mangochutney]

Was it IGN?

So embarrassing. And yeah. Aren't we all mugs. We should go back to those crappy 14" portable sets and sit right on top of them.

 

[OldRoutes]

Funny he thinks the public don't care about resolution in games but the public goes out of their way to that big ass 1808p TV. They never get 720p.

Dude, most of the stuff they'll watch with their 1808p (?) TV are not even in 1808p (?) (or 1080p).

 

[Pop]

I dare them to release a 480p current gen game.

haha, yeah right

Is this a new policy at Ubisoft, to talk about this every time now, across all their departments?

Well they know it doesn't matter. The uninformed and the ones who simply don't care will still buy it. They are going to sell millions of copies regardless of what they say about resolution. They have no respect for us.

 

[Handy Fake]

The new consoles do a lot more than a resolution. I think that's what he was trying to get at? Isn't it?

Oh certainly. I think as a group we all know that there are compromises made between graphical effects, the mechanics and size of the game and, yes, resolution/framerate.

I just find the way these issues have been addressed to the consumer is totally disingenuous. We're not stupid. We're the people who keep you in a job. Treat us with some respect.

We're aware of power differences. We're aware that this generation there are, how shall we say, issues for certain platforms. We can see that the way these issues are presented to us is generally dictated by who/what magazine they are talking to and marketing deals.

We're not idiots, don't treat us as such.


A little analogy - it may be poor but I'll press on. If I went to a restaurant and had some valid and informed reservations about my meal, the way my meal was presented, or the service, then I would expect my concerns to be listened to.

If I was treated so dismissively I probably wouldn't eat there again.

 

[killatopak]

lol ubi.

 

[pixlexic]

He is right to a point. I mean you can't go back to 480. But some 720 games like killer in stint has better image quality than some 900p games.

 

[Alcoholikaust]

So resolution isnt great for selling games, just creating debates i assume?

and stuff

 

[airjoca]

If both consoles did "proper" 1080p like they were supposed to, these discussions wouldn't even exist, and maybe, just maybe, we'd be discussing more important aspects of the games in general.

 

[Averon]

Then why did they spend months before the launch of these consoles talking up the power of these machines in the first place?

Keep in mind, I get that there is an expectation, if a new PS4/Xbone game was announced to be 720p, I'd do a double take. But to now say that it doesn't really matter really goes against what the industry was selling us before launch.

The industry is being two faced about this.

"Hey! Hey! Look at how beautiful our game is! Look at the detail on these textures! Look how great the lighting is! Amaze at the silky smooth animation!"

"Resolution? Frame rate? Nah. Don't concern yourself with that."

They want visuals to both count and not count at the same time.

I really wish an interviewer would call a developer out on this.

 

[Shin-Ra]

"It feels weird to me that people are cool about playing a sort of retro pixel game, and yet the resolution somehow matters.

The fuck?

You mean a game where clean, chunky pixels is deliberate and worked into the art style? (in good pixel art games at least)

"With the 4K TVs and things - somebody was telling me that with a 4K TV, to even see it, your living room has to be big enough to sit like 12 feet from the screen. I don't know the exact numbers, but it starts to get a little crazy. I'm just in it for the experience, I'll play a SNES game if it's cool."

 

[Joseph Merrick]

Was it IGN?

jesus christ

 

[kruis]

I like how he told this to the Official Xbox Magazine.

I think we're done.

 

[UpDownLeftRight]

I might be one of few but resolution does impact my purchasing. I like 1:1 pixel mapping that matches my screen so if a game can't hit that threshold then I buy it on PC instead provided there's the option to. Usually at a later date on a sale.

 

[Kriken]

Ubisoft employee talking about how specs don't matter? Why am I not surprised?

 

[gelf]

This is why games should push for a standard.

You wouldn't hear any chatter about fps or resolution, if everyone targeted 1080p/60fps. If a game couldn't meet that, then it's understandable if they have to drop the res or frame rate. Although, I would still prefer cutting back on a few effects if possible.

Thats the thing though, if some game was so ridiculously ambitious that it could only run at a decent framerate at 480p I rather see that game rather then the same thing we had previously at a higher res. I prefer seeing more power used for new gameplay possibilities not just to adhere to an arbitrary standard. I know I'm not the majority on that opinion though.

Not that a Ubisoft game is ever going to push the envelope in the way I describe though.

 

[NinjaMouse]

Uh, ground zeroes was 720 on Xbox One. All of Konami's Fox engine games are right now (see pro evo soccer).

So, I may have to go with the half blind and crappy TV bit

Haha...completely fair =). At any rate, I guess my point is that I'm not swayed by resolution when it comes to games (if I was concerned about that, I'd build a gaming PC, honestly), and I'd wager that the average game buyer doesn't care either. Nowadays, one is probably picking a console based on their ability to play online with friends more anything, I'd guess.

Obviously, there's a line, though. If Xbone was running things at 480i and PS4 was 1080p, of course the difference would be night and day, and it'd be a no brainer.

 

[maxcriden]

feels weird to me that people are cool about playing a sort of retro pixel game, and yet the resolution somehow matters. It's like: is it fun, is it interesting, is it new, is it fresh, are there interesting questions?

Resolution and framerate come together to provide a home gameplay experience. I'd personally prefer 720/60 (depending on the game) to 1080/30, but it does depend on the game. Retro games can look plenty different depending on art style, resolution and framerate.

"It's a rare question for you to ask now about resolution or something," Hutchinson went on. "It's [only brought up] because of the disparity, the idea that one version is being held back. I don't think that has sold consoles for a while now.

He's right. It doesn't sell consoles, for most people, I think. But it was brought up long before the current XB1/PS4 disparity issues and has been an important part of the graphic aspect of gaming since screens existed.

 

[Glass Shark]

These companies should probably just shut up about resolution in interviews. Better to not say anything at all than say something stupid that can be debunked and picked apart instantly.

 

[GreatestHits]

My man. I am so glad he said this.

Totally called us out on how we are OK with retro pixel games but not new ones having enough pixels. It kind of exposes what's going on with people who are so adamant about pixels

It also exposes that he is not part of the home entertainment industry, he's part of the gaming industry

 

[UnrealEck]

His comment about CoD versus Crytek games - I'm going to guess that Crytek don't have anywhere near the resources that the developers/publishers of the CoD games have. Plus CoD became a huge franchise ages ago and when it moved more onto console, expanding its audience and building on multiplayer more, it became huge.

I don't think the comparison is all that good if he's trying to say graphics don't make a game using that example.

 

[ironcreed]

Agreed. I simply buy games that I think I'll enjoy, regardless of the resolution. If it happens to hit 1080p, then great. If not, oh well. That will not deter me one bit.

 

[FF Seraphim]

How can a company expect to wow us with graphics if they do not give us a good resolution and frame rate?

I rather have a sharper image than a slight blurred one.

 

[Sojgat]

So...

- not interested
- doesn't care
- fresh experiences are what's important
- people who do care are weird
- 4K strawman
- superior performance doesn't sell consoles
- what sells are new experiences, social experiences
- Call of Du... oops shouldn't have brought that up
- Crytek sucks

That about cover it?

 

[killatopak]

My man. I am so glad he said this.

Totally called us out on how we are OK with retro pixel games but not new ones having enough pixels. It kind of exposes what's going on with people who are so adamant about pixels

It also exposes that he is not part of the home entertainment industry, he's part of the gaming industry

not sure if serious.

 

[neilka]

From his bizarre comment about 4K TVs it's clear that he has no understanding of what resolution actually is, so his opinion on the matter is pretty irrelevant.

 

[KKRT00]

Nothing he said was bad in any shape or form, i actually agree with most of the stuff he said, even though his comment about 4k was much accurate [point was though] and Crytek vs COD analogy was not really well thought, still the point was accurate.

But it does - for me.

1080p = buy
sub 1080p = no buy

What about 1080p with very blurry AA?

 

[Joey Ravn]

I don't care about resolution.

Spoiler

... I play on PC.

 

[MR ARCADE FOREVER]

I am all for better FPS than resolution. Of course it's nice to have higher resolutions but I've seen 4k for example and to me 720p /900/is not a deal breaker

 

[alr1ght]

"With the 4K TVs and things - somebody was telling me that with a 4K TV, to even see it, your living room has to be big enough to sit like 12 feet from the screen. I don't know the exact numbers, but it starts to get a little crazy. I'm just in it for the experience, I'll play a SNES game if it's cool."

Let's go back to 480p then. You can have resolution and fun. Imagine that!