14 DAY TRIAL // Ever since the PS4 and Xbox One have appeared on the market last November, the importance of a game's performance on the two platforms has grown exponentially, as the next-gen console war isn't being waged just in terms of features or exclusivities, but also in how titles run on the two devices.
The PS3 and Xbox 360 saw minimal differences between games, and even then they were mostly certain mechanics and features that needed to be studied closely and in certain conditions.
Meanwhile, the PS4 and Xbox One games are being judged via simpler methods, relating just to native resolution and to framerate.
If a game can't reach the gold standard of a full HD 1080p (1920x1080) resolution alongside a 60fps framerate, then a big controversy is sure to spark on all sorts of forums and websites.
What's more, seeing as how the Xbox One has been proven to be more complex to work with and underpowered in comparison to the PS4 to some degree, fanboys from both sides are always questioning if a game will run the same on the two consoles.
PS4 owners will rejoice that they're getting the best experience (besides the PC edition, of course), while Xbox One users will blame the "lazy" developers or try to minimize the lower performance figures by saying that it's not just about the graphics or the framerate.
However, I believe that both sides are correct.
A game running at 1080p native resolution and a smooth 60fps framerate should absolutely be the gold standard. Platforms and titles that achieve this should be congratulated and highlighted to consumers that want a high quality experience.
However, a fun game is still a fun game even if it has a sub-1080p resolution or a 30fps framerate.
Take the upcoming Watch Dogs from Ubisoft. It manages 1080p and 60fps only on somewhat powerful PCs. On PS4 it runs at 900p and 30fps, while on the Xbox One it reaches 792p and 30fps.
While it's unfortunately that a high resolution and framerate aren't possible on the two new consoles from Sony and Microsoft, it's still great that Watch Dogs, a high quality open world action adventure experiences, is available on these platforms, as gamers can enjoy them no matter what device they have.
Due to my job, I play games across practically all platforms, from PC, to the new PS4 and Xbox One, to the old PS3, Xbox 360, or Wii U, not to mention PS Vita or even 3DS.
I enjoy games across all of these devices even if some are more powerful than others and some can produce better looking results. I will always point out where the best experience can be had but I don't believe that if a platform can't run a game at its full quality, it shouldn't even get it.
In a perfect world there would be no exclusives and developers would have enough resources to bring their games to all possible devices at the highest quality possible. However, we don’t live in such a world, so it's more important for studios to try and deliver fun gameplay to as many platforms as financially possible.