Why are we so obsessed with HD?

[Tasachan]

The one thing I do like about playing on HD, is I find the menus a lot clearer. Metal Gear Solid 4, for example, I didn't realise how hard to read the on screen menus were until I played it on an HD tv. Admittedly, I do need glasses a little bit, but I shouldn't have to guess a word by the shape of the letters/blobs.

Going more with what the OT meant, I find I get more immersed into a game that has better graphics. Silent Hill 3? Scared the crap out of me. (admittedly, it was my first Silent Hill, and I played a weekend that I was home alone... that might have helped) Because at the time it all looked so real. Looking back now, you can pick out some graphic flaws... and I find myself concentrating on those more than the actual game.
When I went out and bought some PS1 games to play (since I never had a PS) even though I could acknowledge that the games were good... I just couldn't play them. Parasite Eve? Couldn't do it.

 

[Lamppenkeyboard]

Didn't everyone hate Farcry 2 anyway?

More or less, I have an HD tv. Am I going to hell for wanting something nice to look at?

The Wii could be better if it were HD. Although that isn't the reason that I only look at it with contempt these days.

Note that i can enjoy a game without the best graphics, but the only way I enjoy a game if it doesn't try to tickle my corneas is if it is an older game, if it has an exceptional art style (No More Heroes looked great without HD) or if it offers an experience that makes up for the lack of beauty (Saints Row 2 to be honest was just ugly, but it was so ridiculously fun that you never had to notice).

The overall summary of that last paragraph is, other things are held to a higher standard if the graphics aren't that spectacular.

 

[lapan]

I don't care that much about HD, i still own Windows XP for example, simply because i don't find the features of the new DirectX versions that significant to justify upgrading. I also got my HD-TV only a year ago, after buying Dead Risisng and not being able to read the text. Guess what, it's still way too fucking tiny.

 

[brainfreeze215]

I recently made the switch from a tube TV to a nice 1080p HDTV (mind you I'd been playing ps3 on my old tube TV for a while by this point) and I loved the difference. I'm a sucker for it. I think it looks amazing.

 

[blankedboy]

We're obsessed with HD?

I think you misunderstand, I'd still play all my games if they had minimal graphics and 320x240 resolution.

 

[DJude]

Hm? Whats that? Oh i'm sorry, i couldn't hear you over the awesomeness of Kratos' PORES...

OT: I think HD is pretty nice, it adds more to the game, it makes it just as fun to watch as it is to play...

 

[Kouen]

I Dont give a hoot ether way to be fairly honestly, although I would be a liar if I said I did being that I play some indie games and retro game too LOL

Gameplay > Graphics

'Nuff Said

 

[Horticulture]

Coming from a 1920x1200 monitor, standard-def images look chunky, blurry and...bad. HD consoles and PCs also allow more sophistication in AI, level design, and general game complexity.

I often see graphics and gameplay presented as diametric opposites, where an improvement in one area requires scaling back the other. In reality, there's no need to choose: they reinforce one another. The wealth of games that are both gorgeous and fun to play stands as testament to that.

 

[Eleima]

I'm not all that into HD, myself. I've been gaming for decades, back when graphics had pixels the size of your head (well, maybe not that big, but you get my point). I have a tendency to prefer a solid sotryline, well-defined characters. Of course, that doesn't mean I won't be wow'ed when running, say, Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion with the audio and visual overhaul, or that I won't appreciate a big screen HD TV, but... meh.

 

[Kyrian007]

I could care less about HD. I've been happy with the Wii for 4 years. The Xbox 360...not so much.

I lawled at this, also personally I don`t know why but HD movies make me more motion sickness then Cloverfield did (and I didnt get motion sickness from Cloverfield)

If you have a plasma tv the odds are it's not the movies, but the tv that's giving you motion sickness. As far as everything going HD and widescreen, televisions now are widescreen native. The Wii is not, so everything gets stretched and side to side movements can get exaggerated, other than that I can't think of any reason to hate the Wii other than there really not being a ton of games on it I want to play.

And here again, the problem is not the TV but that the games and system aren't rendering picture in widescreen. I'm also guessing you went from something around 30 inches to somewhere around 50. The larger the screen the worse polygonal objects are going to look because they have to be made larger to cover the larger screen area, it's not like the PS2 can change resolutions.

It`s not really the Wii I hate (its a hunk of plastic) it`s Nintendo...for allowing such shit games to be put on their consoles, it`s just like back in the NES days

A couple of things here. First I agree with the OP, but most are missing the point about the hardware. A Wii has worked for years for both the OP and myself. A 360 I purchased RR'ed after 2 weeks of play, and it's the longest I've ever managed to get one to work. Current PS3 lazer stopped working a week after the warranty gave out. Cheap, untested, shoddy junk. I've only had to purchase 1 console of each Nintendo generation. They all STILL work too. Can't say the same for any other console, well except my Dreamcast. It still works.

 

[Timbydude]

In a question of immersion, it's always easier to become absorbed in a game if the graphics are more photorealistic. Modern Warfare 1 and 2 have both proven that for me.

 

[David_G]

I like nice graphics, and I like graphics that can immerse me into the game even more like Mass Effect 2. However, it just annoys me when people say (older people than me) that they can't play older games because the graphics are outdated. I can play Half Life and Loz:OoT without a problem, why can't people who grew up with these games play them?

 

[Kingjackl]

When I was a child, I got a shiny brand new Playstation 2 for my 7th birthday. I loved that Playstation 2. I used to play Ratchet & Clank and Spyro every day. Then Halo came out and all my Xbox-owning friends took it upon themselves to give me absolute shit because I didn't own the brand new shiny console with all the pretty lights and blood renderers. To this day, I've always had it in for people who prefer graphics over substance.

That's what I love about the Wii. It's proven that for all the bitching of hardcore gamers whining that games don't come with 1080p support and smove, crystal clear gun models, they are ultimately a minority.

 

[Deadlock Radium]

I like playing in HD in for example NFS: Shift because of the realism it provides and playing in HD in shooters because it's way more awesome when explosions go off. Shallow, I know, but that's me.

 

[DoomyMcDoom]

I don't care about HD, hell i still play games on my NES periodically... long as the gameplay is good and the content is entertaining... as far as graphics are concerned the only thing i care about is whether you can tell what's happening... and in some HD titles it gets jumbled and confusing... you rarely get that in 8-bit