14 DAY TRIAL // The last week was filled with new controversies surrounding the performance of certain video games on various platforms and a key statement appeared from Ubisoft, saying that the general trend in the industry in terms of framerate was moving towards 30fps to deliver a cinematic experience, similar to feature-length movies that run at 24fps.
The key problem with that sort of reasoning is that video games are not movies. Video games are interactive entertainment, not passive one like movies.
30fps is the minimum
24 is the number of frames per second needed for the human eye to see a fluid movement, and it has been a staple of the moviemaking industry for around 100 years. As I mentioned above, however, this framerate is suitable for films, but due to the interactive nature of video games, a higher framerate is most certainly necessary.
30 is the bare minimum, in my view, for a video game to reach, and even then serious setbacks need to be present in order to prevent it from reaching 60fps.
Ubisoft's attitude is bad
Assassin's Creed Unity is the latest to settle for 30fps, but while that may not be so bad, Ubisoft's attitude concerning framerate is certainly alarming. Its Montreal developers mentioned last week that the whole industry was moving towards 30fps as in the end it doesn't matter if you reach 60 and it even makes the game feel more like a movie.
"I think collectively in the video game industry we're dropping that standard because it's hard to achieve, it's twice as hard as 30fps, and it's not really that great in terms of rendering quality of the picture and the image," Ubisoft's Nicolas Guerin said.
"30 was our goal, it feels more cinematic. 60 is really good for a shooter, action adventure not so much. It actually feels better for people when it's at that 30fps," his colleague, Unity Director Alex Amancio added.
The Last of Us Remastered proved 60fps is better
The recent The Last of Us Remastered Edition for PS4 is a prime example of the 30 vs. 60 framerate debate. The original PS3 game, due to hardware constraints, ran at 30fps, while the PS4 remake used the more powerful console to run at 60fps.
Many fans lamented this transition, saying that the whole cinematic feel would disappear and ruin the experience, but the end result is that it made the game even better, delivering a much more responsive title, despite it being an action adventure one just like Assassin's Creed Unity.
After playing Unity at Gamescom I most certainly believe that the game benefits from the changes made to the combat and other mechanics, not to mention the increased number of NPCs on the roads of Paris. If that meant sacrificing the framerate to just 30fps, it's not the end of the world, but saying that the whole industry is going into that direction as such a sacrifice means nothing to gamers is wrong.
I for one will still play Assassin's Creed Unity but I'll do that on the PC, where I can decide the framerate, resolution, and many other things. PS4 or Xbox One owners, unfortunately, don't have that option.