Why are we so obsessed with HD?

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DividedUnity

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Skywolf09 said:
DividedUnity said:
If im going to play a bad game for 12 hours I at least want something nice to look at. Theres your answer OP
Why would you play a bad game for 12 hours, anyway? A bad game is a bad game, no matter how beautiful it looks.

Well sometimes I rent/buy a game they turn out to be bad games and im gonna get my moneys worth of time wasting from them even if theyre horrible because im certainly not going to get a refund.
 

9NineBreaker9

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mrpmpfan said:
9NineBreaker9 said:
I'm one of the people that doesn't really care for HD. I don't see it as being any more visually "better" than any other resolution, so I find it pointless. It doesn't help that only one television in my house has HD capacity, and I cannot use it very often.

Me, I was pissed when Mass Effect 2's subtitles were almost entirely illegible and I had to constantly balance the sound to attempt to understand what everyone was saying. The entire last scene left me confused, as I just selected whatever answer defaulted to the Paragon choice...

I don't quite understand what the hype for HD is. At the most, it's just more cables to plug in for me xD
You said it near the beginning of your reply. You don't actual game on HD because there is only one HD capable TV in your house. Who is to say how nice your HD set even really is. However if you want a clear showing to HDs power plug your HD system like a PS3 or Xbox 360 into that HD set with component cables or HDMI. Once on you can go to video settings and change it 420i/p and see the graphics (non-HD), then change it to 720p or 1080p and I promise you there is a noticeable difference.
I do play games in HD, just not constantly, and have set my settings up to 1080p and really can't tell much of a difference. If anything, everything is much brighter and the text is far more legible, but not particularly "better". In trying to play Tales of Vesperia in HD, I couldn't stand it more than half an hour because it was too damn bright - a bright desert sun turned into a stupidly bright blinding light. Playing Mass Effect 2 in HD just makes it more shiney as far as I can tell - as with Bioshock, Brutal Legend, Saints Row 2, Resident Evil 5, Geometry Wars 2, and most every other game I own. Any visual improvement is really quite lost on me.

Granted, MY television isn't the greatest, but even in watching a friend play his PS3 on a fairly new television, I couldn't find much, if any, difference. inFamous and LittleBigPlanet looked just as normal as I'd seen it otherwise, and equally as good as when played on a much smaller, standard television.

[sub]Maybe I'm crazy :O[/sub]
 

mrpmpfan

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9NineBreaker9 said:
I do play games in HD, just not constantly, and have set my settings up to 1080p and really can't tell much of a difference. If anything, everything is much brighter and the text is far more legible, but not particularly "better". In trying to play Tales of Vesperia in HD, I couldn't stand it more than half an hour because it was too damn bright - a bright desert sun turned into a stupidly bright blinding light. Playing Mass Effect 2 in HD just makes it more shiney as far as I can tell - as with Bioshock, Brutal Legend, Saints Row 2, Resident Evil 5, Geometry Wars 2, and most every other game I own. Any visual improvement is really quite lost on me.

Granted, MY television isn't the greatest, but even in watching a friend play his PS3 on a fairly new television, I couldn't find much, if any, difference. inFamous and LittleBigPlanet looked just as normal as I'd seen it otherwise, and equally as good as when played on a much smaller, standard television.

[sub]Maybe I'm crazy :O[/sub]
I wouldn't say crazy but your eyes might need to be checked out at your local eye doctor. In HD not only are colors more vibrant, text more clear, but there are other big differences. If plugged up correctly like through HDMI or Componet with Optical Audio cable you also have improved surround sound. The graphics have higher res textures where you can see skin texture and sweat. I don't know if you ever played Oblivion but the game was near impossible to play in the dark cave sections unless you were playing in HD.

I am saying when you get a chance to a test. Plug in your Xbox 360 into your HD set and set the settings to the highest possible. Play 10-15 mins.

Then go under settings>video and set it to 420p and replay the same 10-15 mins. If you truly don't see a major difference I have no idea what the issue is but most of us can see a huge difference.
 

Kyrian007

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Quiet Stranger said:
Kyrian007 said:
Quiet Stranger said:
asinann said:
Quiet Stranger said:
Aura Guardian said:
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.

Soooooo you can't say the same for a Super Nintendo? or 64? or Gamecube? oh no! Also about ur 360 maybe it's just bad luck, I've had mine for over two years now, warranty ran out last year NEVER had a single problem and it's still going fine
An article here on the escapist says that 42% of owners reporting problems with the 360 is an improvement. That's not just bad luck, that's almost even odds. Xbox 1 was unstable as well, while Gamecube was stable. Yes, those systems had some good exclusive titles (a lot of them) but it's hard to get any lasting appeal out of equipment that you have to replace over and over to enjoy the games for any length of time. Nintendo may have gotten things wrong, but their console has always been the most stable one on the market. Of course that's not hard to do when your competition is Sony and Microsoft.
 

Sonic Doctor

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Well, at this moment I am using my 32 inch 1080p HDTV as my computer monitor, so I am in full support of being obsessed with HD.
 

Cowabungaa

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I never knew what the big deal was about HD. Then I watched Watchmen on Blu Ray.

Now I pretty much buy all my movies on Blu Ray. The intro of Zombieland was utterly amazing in HD quality.

HD really is a big improvement on image quality.
 

In7ernal

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Well if games/movies are bad in their gameplay/story-telling etc. you can atleast enjoy the nice image quality and great graphics ! Graphics make somethings worthwhile.
 

Quiet Stranger

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Kyrian007 said:
Quiet Stranger said:
Kyrian007 said:
Quiet Stranger said:
asinann said:
Quiet Stranger said:
Aura Guardian said:
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.

Soooooo you can't say the same for a Super Nintendo? or 64? or Gamecube? oh no! Also about ur 360 maybe it's just bad luck, I've had mine for over two years now, warranty ran out last year NEVER had a single problem and it's still going fine
An article here on the escapist says that 42% of owners reporting problems with the 360 is an improvement. That's not just bad luck, that's almost even odds. Xbox 1 was unstable as well, while Gamecube was stable. Yes, those systems had some good exclusive titles (a lot of them) but it's hard to get any lasting appeal out of equipment that you have to replace over and over to enjoy the games for any length of time. Nintendo may have gotten things wrong, but their console has always been the most stable one on the market. Of course that's not hard to do when your competition is Sony and Microsoft.
Well I will admit Nintendo has been in the business for much longer so they know what they're doing (when making a console's hard drive....the stuff inside the console so it runs well and is Stable) but how was the first Xbox unstable?
 

chronobreak

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HD has become the industry standard for television manufacturing. If you bought a CD player, and it just sounded like a cassette tape, most people would think it was a waste. I have a nice television, and I would like to accentuate my purchase is all.
 

snake116

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hd only comes in handy for blu ray and occasionly a game risen being the only example ive found so far possible dragon age awakeing
 

Andantil

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I like HD because it improves the overall experience, but if the game itself is essentially bad *cough*Halo 3*cough* then pretty graphics don't at all make up for it. Graphics aren't a central element of a good game, and are far too emphasized. Recently I've been playing Creeper World and having tons of fun despite it's grid based terrain and browser-game graphics, just because the gameplay itself is good.
 

Kyrian007

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Quiet Stranger said:
Kyrian007 said:
Quiet Stranger said:
Kyrian007 said:
Quiet Stranger said:
asinann said:
Quiet Stranger said:
Aura Guardian said:
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.

Soooooo you can't say the same for a Super Nintendo? or 64? or Gamecube? oh no! Also about ur 360 maybe it's just bad luck, I've had mine for over two years now, warranty ran out last year NEVER had a single problem and it's still going fine
An article here on the escapist says that 42% of owners reporting problems with the 360 is an improvement. That's not just bad luck, that's almost even odds. Xbox 1 was unstable as well, while Gamecube was stable. Yes, those systems had some good exclusive titles (a lot of them) but it's hard to get any lasting appeal out of equipment that you have to replace over and over to enjoy the games for any length of time. Nintendo may have gotten things wrong, but their console has always been the most stable one on the market. Of course that's not hard to do when your competition is Sony and Microsoft.
Well I will admit Nintendo has been in the business for much longer so they know what they're doing (when making a console's hard drive....the stuff inside the console so it runs well and is Stable) but how was the first Xbox unstable?
It stopped reading discs after 2 months. All I'd even played was MGS 2 Substance, KOTOR, and Ninja Gaiden. I only bought it (new) after my PS2 stopped reading discs. The used $60 Gamecube I bought still works to this day, I've never had to send it in or replace it. I still think that PS2 and Xbox are superior to the 'Cube in many ways, but its hard to enjoy them now that they don't work anymore. And now in this generation of games its shaping up the same way.
 

DustyDrB

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Jan 19, 2010
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The only difference I ever notice between HD and SD is words on the screen. It was extremely difficult to read in Mass Effect 2. I'm not buying a new TV just for that, though. I guess it might look better overall, but I wouldn't notice unless there is a side-by-side comparison. Games still look awesome on my 34" SDTV.

The reason I DO want a new TV: mine is so freaking bulky and I've moved four times in the past year.
 

Plurralbles

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Jan 12, 2010
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I guess if I had a good gaming machine I'd care more, but high graphics= You can't play, for me so... I'd rather get 60fps and see pixely images and play the actual game, than zero and have a pretty start screen.