Why so few games in 1080p?

[bossdirge]

Has anyone else notice this? There's no way I am shelling out money for a playstation move when they can't even put my games in high res. Why did I pay for this huge expensive tv if they can't even give me games that utilize it? Now they want me to buy a 3d tv? I don't think so.

 

[Danceofmasks]

Because the current consoles aren't powerful enough.

 

[Anarchemitis]

Because not all TVs use the highest standard for TV output, therefore game engines aren't always made to be capable of it- even though 1080p @ 60fps (or 120fps for 3D) is still less demanding than most newer PC gaming rigs.

The most common employment of HD formatting is HD 720p. It's even the default for HD on Youtube.

 

[Tupolev]

Consoles have no excuse. Well, they do...they just aren't powerful enough to play certain games in 1080p with any sort of decent quality settings. Which is why I'm really surprised it's taking so long to move on to the next generation.

I would imagine that the majority of console users aren't quite as obsessive over resolution as PC gamers are; 720p is easily enough to look just fine for most purposes for an acclimated eye, so people roll with it. Heck, I would go as far as to say that most "oh no, horribly low!" resolutions look just fine as long as you're acclimated, and as long as the game you're playing stylistically accounts for it; every time I fire up the oXbox after a long break, it's pretty painful for a little, but once I get into the flow of things even 480i starts to look great (well, at least it would if it weren't for the horrible combing that crops up occasionally due to modern flatscreens being complete crap for handling interlaced video; sometimes I wish I still had my CRT for certain purposes).

As for the console makers, if the actual users are happy with what they've got and keep supporting the consoles, they sure aren't going to develop new ones! Console R&D, along with initial sales, is extremely expensive; they only make returns on their investment in the long run. What's happening right now is a console developers' wet dream. Vast improvement could be made, particularly for games that gun towards hyperrealistic imagery, but if anyone announces jumping ahead, the whole market will have to in order to stay competitive, and everyone takes a hit.

 

[Nfritzappa]

Has anyone else notice this? There's no way I am shelling out money for a playstation move when they can't even put my games in high res. Why did I pay for this huge expensive tv if they can't even give me games that utilize it? Now they want me to buy a 3d tv? I don't think so.

Your playing on a Console, Get a PC. Enjoy resolutions above 1080P.
Problem solved.

I'm not speaking for OP, but both monitors and high end video cards add up to be really expensive.

 

[Kae]

Because I don't have a 1080p TV thus the industry doesn't care, although I don't even have a current gen console, so I really should not care... last game I bought was Star Wars Rogue Squadron for the N64, if that were on 1080p I would totally get an HD TV and all of the current gen consoles!

 

[Waaghpowa]

Has anyone else notice this? There's no way I am shelling out money for a playstation move when they can't even put my games in high res. Why did I pay for this huge expensive tv if they can't even give me games that utilize it? Now they want me to buy a 3d tv? I don't think so.

Your playing on a Console, Get a PC. Enjoy resolutions above 1080P.
Problem solved.

I'm not speaking for OP, but both monitors and high end video cards add up to be really expensive.

Well, if you already have an 1080p HDTV and any computer, buying a GPU that could run a resolution of 1080p would only be about $250 to $300.

He's right, generally pc games are the ones rendered in 1080p, consoles sit at about 720 or less. A monitor and Graphics card can be bought for far less than most Hidef televisions.
Also remember that even lower end cards can be hooked up to a hi def tv, no other monitor needed

 

[Jfswift]

I believe that most of the people purchasing xbox360s and PS3s obtained 720p tvs as those were more cost effective at the time. Only recently has 1080p been afforable really.

 

[strum4h]

I can play nearly all of the new games that I play in 1080p on my pc.

 

[Fenring]

Because 512 MB of RAM ain't that much if it's unified. It's a bit more if you're not sharing with the system (as such a GT8800 can do some 1080 stuff well), but 512 unified is normally not enough.

 

[Fenring]

Has anyone else notice this? There's no way I am shelling out money for a playstation move when they can't even put my games in high res. Why did I pay for this huge expensive tv if they can't even give me games that utilize it? Now they want me to buy a 3d tv? I don't think so.

Your playing on a Console, Get a PC. Enjoy resolutions above 1080P.
Problem solved.

I'm not speaking for OP, but both monitors and high end video cards add up to be really expensive.

Well, if you already have an 1080p HDTV and any computer, buying a GPU that could run a resolution of 1080p would only be about $250 to $300.

Bull. My GTS250 1gig is about USD100, and it does 1080 on all my games except Metro 2033. A 5770, which is like $120, could do better.

 

[TehCookie]

Well obvious get rid of your crappy console and join the better platform

/sarcasm

You can't updates consoles and TVs as easy as computers so they tend to fall behind on some of the newer technology, since at the time of their creation it's ridiculously expensive. Some people will claim it still is.