[360] X360 & 720p, oh wait... I'm an idiot...

If 720p is such a big deal to everybody, then how did these kids survive with a ps2 or a snes back in the day? I'd figure if high-res was so important, then PC games would dominate the graphics whores.

Does anybody here acutally have a tv that will do 720p or higher?

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by TonyDaTigger

HD gaming is important because it's the next evolution in video display.

And video display is vitally important to gaming? No wonder all table top games, and card games, and the like suck balls... they don't even include video display!

Gimme a break. Pretty graphics are cool and all, but they certainly aren't central to gaming.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by TonyDaTigger

You tell me how well FFVII would have done if it had no CG and looked slightly better than Final Fantasy VI (ala Suikoden II).

I would've loved it. In fact, I enjoyed FF6 more than 7 because I thought the overall design was better. In fact, most old school games have stood the test of time as far as addictive gameplay due to good design.

Games are good based on good design not merely pretty graphics. Graphics are there to illustrate a concept. Look at games like tetris and dr. mario. They're both great games that do not rely on insane hi-res graphics... they rely on gameplay. I'd rather sit around and play Dr. Mario for hours than touch Dead or Alive Beach Volleyball (pretty graphics though) with a 10ft pole.

Graphics in games are a reflection of current technology, but the recent over emphasis on HD (when most everybody is still chilling at 640x480 on their old school crt) seems to be more important than good game design. Read a game doc or two, there are few places where it says, "insert pretty graphics here."

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by boRAT

I really think someone needs to draft a worldwide edict that relegates gaming technology back to it's 16bit side scrolling days for a decade so we can effectively purge the world of graphics whores and force game developers to focus on gameplay rather than pretty visuals.

I think the reason why those old games were so good was because they had nothing to offer but gameplay. Gameplay was the primary factor that made those old school games so compelling. If they could just get a little more of that gameplay in these new games with all the stunning visuals, I'd be a much happier gamer.

An example of a new game with pretty simple graphics that is awesomly fun... Wii Sports. I spent the weekend playing Wii Sports with my cousins. I haven't had as much fun with a multiplayer game since getting in fights over Mario Kart and Street Fighter II Turbo. The graphics on Wii sports are more simple than the Monkey Ball games. Some of the character models don't even have arms or legs.

I'm glad that at least Nintendo seems to know what's up. I'm sure that the Wii will have some fun games on it that are focused on awesome gameplay rather than window dressing.

(Not trying to be a fanboy here at all.)

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Dude, have you seen the character models in Wii Sports? They look like unfinished Lego people. The emphasis of the game is not on graphics at all.

Nowhere did I state that quality graphics are the devil. I'm only saying that neglecting good gameplay and trying to make up for it with pretty graphics doesn't work.

And, many old school games have stood the test of time in that they're still incredibly fun to play, but their graphics obviously don't compare with stuff that's currently being released. There were a lot of solid games that had terrible graphics (ie Earthbound) but the design was so good that they were awesome anyways. Nowdays, good graphics should be a given. Every current gen console is capable of displaying beautiful visuals. And the quality of the titles shouldn't be based on whether or not they can be displayed in 720p or not. If high res graphics where a deciding factor in the quality of games, PC games would have had the market cornered years ago and home consoles wouldn't be able to compete.

I was speaking idiomatically.