Gamernode: News - GTA IV PS3 version resolution is sub-HD

GTA IV PS3 version resolution is sub-HD

Category: PlayStation 3, Posted: 05/02/2008 at 12:36PM CDT by Chris Abiuso, Staff Writer

GTA IV It has recently been concluded that GTA IV on the PS3 runs at 640p, a resolution not considered to be hi-def. This is the same resolution that caused some console flaming by PlayStation fanboys when it was discovered that Halo 3 was not "hi-def."

The irony? GTA IV's home is the PS3--the console that has consistantly boasted of its superior graphics.

The man who found this out was Quaz51 from Beyon3d technical forums. Announcing his news prior to receiving a reliable screenshot, he stated that the PS3 ran at 640p with no anti-aliasing while the 360 ran at 720p with 2xAA.

Eurogamer, as usual, took the information from Quaz51 and ran with it, regardless of the absence of a reliable screenshot. When the game came out, IGN had a head to head, which revealed, surprisingly, that even though the PS3 version had no anti-aliasing, the edges in the game still looked smoother than the 360 version.

IGN went on to say that the game did not suffer from pop-ins on the PS3 as much as the 360 due to the seven-minute install time, and the load times are significantly decreased for the same reason. IGN then went on to say that the PS3 version has a sharper and more vibrant look, regardless of the fact that colors are brighter on the 360.

Overall, despite the sub-HD resolution, the PS3 version apparently takes the cake in terms of graphics quality perception. But good luck distinguishing these differences in-game without a PS3 setup running next to a 360 setup. The differences between the versions are so minute that you'll have to look hard on the IGN head-to-head to spot them.

So, what does this all mean? Resolution has little to do with visual appeal, other than giving game developers something to boast about. Perhaps this should be a message to all developers: It's time to get off your high horse and stop screaming that your game has a resolution of 1080p. Nobody cares anymore.

If you want to see the IGN head-to-head, go here.

Posted by Lopez on 05/02/2008 at 12:51PM

I really don't see why people get all fussed over "OMGOT ITS NOT FULL HD" Just sit down and play the game ffs, you're still going to enjoy it.

Posted by tigger on 05/02/2008 at 01:56PM

i like 1080p. it makes me feel warm and fuzzy and inside.

Posted by KindGalaxy on 05/02/2008 at 04:47PM

People get so fussed because they only have one of the two consoles in question, Xbox 360 or Playstation 3. They require certain things to justify their purchase or the purchase their parents got them. Their console is the superior consoles and the other console is a piece of shit that deserves death, no game on the other console is ever good and multi-platform games are always better on their console.
I'm still playing X360, PS3 and Wii on a CRT big fat TV that is certainly not HD in any way.

Posted by Lopez on 05/02/2008 at 06:07PM

Ah I see. A mate of mine was getting all angry with another mate of mine because that latter mate had a better pc yet his argument was "My pc is better than yours because it cost less" which is kind of the opposite but nvm. It makes him happy.

Posted by Dr.Aaron on 05/03/2008 at 08:46AM

Pc version at 1600p at 16xAA.

Much better lol.

Posted by Sersoft.corp on 05/03/2008 at 01:28PM

True, but we PC users will have to wait a long time until they release our version :(

Posted by rtanger on 05/03/2008 at 01:36PM

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/33469.html?type=wmv

Much better comparison video, in HD.

The PS3 clearly has more aliasing, but it almost makes the game look blurry next to the 360.
Personally, I prefer the color contrast of the 360 version in that vid. Black most certainly is black on PS3, but I prefer actually SEEING what I'm doing...360 seems overall brighter from my linked vid.
Textures seem to be slightly sharper on 360.

At one point in that vid above, the Getalife building straight disappears from the PS3 vid and pops back up. I have yet to see an entire building vanish in my game. Er, actually, I've only noticed world model fade-in when going inside to out or vice versa. Draw-ins at range for detail and phys models are to be expected. Only a powerhouse PC could do otherwise, I imagine.

In the end, if the games weren't seen side-by-side and examined with a magnifying glass, they wouls probably appear functionally identical. Except for that disappearing building on the PS3. Ouch.

Posted by Leonick on 05/04/2008 at 05:45AM

Pretty fun, though i guess no one noticed anything before they read the technical specifications....

Posted by Disc0 on 05/05/2008 at 10:50PM

Resolution is superficial? Seriously?

Depends largely on your display, of course, but when you have a large 1080p display rendering at 720p, and you're looking at something aliased, you notice the scaling and the lower resolution. You can certainly crank an old, ugly game up to 1080p and it'll still look awful, and you can render Bioshock at QVGA and it'll still look gorgeous, but the clarity is changed, and so of course is the visual quality.

Frankly, I think framerate and resolution are important to action and shooter games. If I'm trying to snipe someone from two hundred meters and his model is only a 4x10 pixel model, moving around at 20 frames per second, I get annoyed, even if the rest of the frame is full of beautiful digital artwork.