The question of the day, “Do HD graphics matter to gamers?” If you’re currently rolling with a PS3 or Xbox 360 and you’ve got HDMI and or sweet component cables you’re probably saying, “duh, of course they do.” What about everyone else, those Wii consoles for instance, there are so many of those. What about gamers that do not know what HDMI means?
Let’s face it, an estimated 21-million people are still using over the air TV broadcast signal and a large portion of those think that their TV is high definition because it doesn’t have an analog dial anymore. Recent Nielson ratings are showing most gamers are still pushing PS2 hardware, which isn’t high definition.
In the US, HDTV sales only reach 25-30% of the population. Couple this with the fact that one in five HDTV owners can’t tell the difference between standard definition and high definition content and you’ve got roughly 20% of the population utilizing HD. Looking at the number of gaming consoles out there and the rate of uptake, it’s clear that a large majority of gamers are not using HD resolutions for their gaming needs. (loot-ninja)
We’d like to think 1080p looks much different than 480p but some people don’t seem to notice because, honestly, they just don’t care. We’d also like to think a PlayStation 3 buyer would be aware of the HD content and already have equipment at home to take advantage of the system. Although there are no solid facts to state otherwise, there must be a group of individuals that have purchased a PlayStation 3 and are rolling with SDTV (ghetto).
High definition graphics matter to people who want a true HD experience. Wii gamers don’t care about high definition because they’re focused on the game play environment or are just following the wave of hype and desire to own the infamous white box. The Xbox 360 gamers may go either way, a gamer wants to own the system because they can get a lot of cool new games for it secondary to the HD experience. The hot games just don’t get designed on the Xbox classic or PS2 anymore. We’d presume a PS3 gamer really wants to play a high definition game because the cost of the console is more and you’re getting a Blu-ray player all bundled into one.
HD graphics matter to us, we see the difference, respect the detail and use the HD portion of the console as an excuse for paying so much for the technology. The United States, as a whole, isn’t fully ready or equipped (mentally) for a full HD experience. When will they be prepared to experience high definition at its fullest?
My guess, five years after Nintendo makes the transition to 1080p. Nintendo is capitalizing on the “average Joe” and the average consumer is still catching up on the high definition. Hell, many gamers are still playing the dial-up game!
Maybe we need to start a new government funded orgnization: The No HD Left Behind Act. Everyone should be in HD.
Just last week in our
If youtube would have an easy way to get to the mp4 file they host, I could whip out some hosting/customized audio player/podcast feed thingies.
I mean they [youtube] do provide a good API for their player, I can do an app that you’d just right click on an MP3 and say “Publish”. But when it comes to doing a podcast feed, I’d need to link to the mp4 file, and that is not yet allowed by them.
@Yoshida: PlayStation Vita sales are below expectations
Erm, did you really expect something else? Not enough devs, you say? Really? Here’s my thought:
“And what do we have here? A PS Vita? It has a game pad, a back touch screen and a price that is too damn high”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqHZWdFVyyQ
Yessir …
@DICE giving away Battlefield 1942 for free on Origin
I did play BF1942.
Funny how a simple thing, such as password recovery page can have quite an impact on the number of customers. So yeah, bad web programmer, no twinkie.
— edited —
Their password recovery system is working ok now. He he he, forget what I said.
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Jordan, you do recall it right, but I think it was 1943, for BF3 (thanks Jonah for confirming).
@“lower-case aaa” games where the industry should be heading
You know, I am starting to hate the use of financial rating system with games. What would be rated as a Baa game?
As for ‘async MP as a core component’ … I think the writer went a bit outside of what was sane advice: “cut the costs and make good games”. Leave the game design decision to the game makers, please.
@Microsoft and 343 Industries taking hard stance on sexism
Really? Ban players for sexism? And you think that THAT will stop it? Really? On planet Earth?
Oh, and did I mention about this automatic censoring system that censored “glass” because of the “ass” part?
The same person who’s a sexist is not sexist just in Halo 4. Fix the bigger problem, with the real world, and the little one will not exist.
@QOTW:
Plenty of SP games that can be played. Plenty of software development that can be done without Internet. Most likely pull apart my for-repairing-and experimenting-with binoculars, see if I can’t do anything to improve it.
Just an update on my offer to help out moving the podcast to youtube:
If a feed like this is OK for an iPod, then I can implement the thing during the winter holiday:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/UploadsByClarkeanddawe
@Yoshida: PlayStation Vita sales are below expectations:
orly? is that so? perhaps one of the main reasons is, i dont know, YOU ARE STILL GIVING FULL SUPPORT FOR THE PSP?
seriously?
@DICE giving away Battlefield 1942 for free on Origin:
seen it, got it, played it, AWESOME.
even for 2002 graphics, the intro still gives me the chills. the gameplay is fantastic, simpler and still giver dozens of ways to play the game your way (i know it is a slower paced than now-a-days shooters, but who cares?) the sad thing is, in the first day there were thousands of players. today there were only about 300. the game is good, it was a great deal by EA, but unfortunatelly, is dying soon.
@Microsoft and 343 Industries taking hard stance on sexism:
sexism, racism, and anti-gay…ism are very real issues and deserve to be treated like so. i’m glad she (whoose name had escaped my mind right now) is taking the 1st strike against such issues online game wise, even if it is, officially, only on sexism.
@QOTW:
when the power is out i spend most of my hours trying the lights on my house *click* *click* *click* *click* until the power comes back, and when i have no connection i do what any sane person would do: SPAM F5
so, seriously, out of power, i TRY to do something productive, always fail. always end up on some kind of deppressive state of “what should i do now”?
no internetzz: i play single player games, or campaign mode or watch some series/movies i have on my external HD, while spamming F5 each 5 or 10 minuter appart.
@Asian Civilizations
Haven’t played Civ since 3 so this won’t affect me. It makes sense to release games aimed at the eastern audience. The East has a very different culture from the West. If something gets popular, pretty much everyone gets involved. Lots of dosh to be made there. But it doesn’t make sense to bar the rest of the world from it. I hate it when I can’t play a game cause my eyes are too big.
@DICE free Battlefield
Got it. Played it. Dated but still fun.
@Microsoft, 343 Industries and all that
The man behind Halo 4 was a woman?!!! Despicable!!! I will take out my frustration by traveling to the Large Hardon Collider to smash my copy of Halo 4 into a copy of Call of Duty to merge them. Oh no. Wait. 343 Industries already done that for me. Still can’t believe that the assault rifle I used for the past 10 years now sounds like an M60 machine gun. And “press B to crouch”. Seriously? This is why we can’t have women do man things.
On a more serious note, I tend to play on-line games with my friends in a private party chat. I dislike joining game chat parties because I hate trash talk. And singing 10 year olds. That’s my advice to anyone. You don’t want to be subject to abuse – don’t expose yourself to the low intelligent common rabble. If you find yourself forced to mingle with the simpletons (i.e. no party chat in Counter Strike: GO), just ignore them. Remember: Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me.
@QOTW
I read books. A book is an object which is imprinted with letters that form words that form sentences which form Harry Potter. It causes no strain on your eyes and has a positive side effect of raising your intelligence, granted you are not reading Twilight (in which case you are a lost cause and should DIE). I always have a book around. It’s a great way to pass time while my brain is rebooting for some more gaming action.