Kojima Wants MGS5 to Make You “Feel the Future;” Thinks Resolution Controversy “Makes Little Sense”

Legendary Metal Gear Solid Creator Hideo Kojima had a few words to share on Twitter today about the genesis of his studio's FOX Engine and the experiments that led to the open world setting of Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes, its multiplatform nature and evolutionary approach to gaming.

[maniacmayhem]

"Resolution Controversy “Makes Little Sense”"

Makes little sense to me also but I do realize certain people on this site need it to sling mud back and forth.

[GTgamer]

I'll take the clearest image quality possible to tbh that adds to the experience so 1080p fits me peferctly 4k will have to wait since Im no where close to buying high quality TV.

[PoSTedUP]

yeah i guess people dont want to see the textures sharper and more clearer... hmm, beats me. its really not the most important thing but it makes sense imo. its great when its 1080p, anyhing else, well, its obvioulsly easy to look past it. a good game is a good game, wasnt TloU like 720p? but imagine if it as 1080 ; ). Exactly.

[Black-Helghast]

I don't understand how anyone would disagree with you. It's not really something THAT important but when you play a game in 1080p and then play another in a lower resolution, you notice the difference.. a lot. I've seen CoD ghost (which is a game that isn't even pushing the ps4's power) in PS4 and Xbox one and trust me you notice the difference. Call me crazy but i'd take a higher resolution over a lower one anyday. :P

[Kenshin_BATT0USAI]

Or a high quality gaming pc. 4k isn't happening this gen on consoles.

[mewhy32]

Resolution makes perfect sense. If you purchase a device that costs 400.00 and it runs this game at 1080p why would you not have the same expectation from a device that costs 500.00? If the xbone can't keep up with the PS4 then they need to lower the price to make the purchase of the xbone more sensible. If you're getting less power and inferior hardware then you shouldnt be expected to pay 100.00 more or even the same price as the PS4. You should be charged less. Maybe around 299.99. That would make perfect sense and all this resolution and framerate stuff would stop or at least slow down. You wouldn't expect a 300.00 xbone to be able to keep up with a 400.00 PS4. Problem solved. Drop the Kinect and lower the price to 300.00. Paying more for less is just stupid.

[Bolts-N-Rays1109]

Yup. I said it earlier today in a post. I don't care about resolution or frame rate. Just give me a good, fun game. That's all I care about, since I play video games to have a good, fun time!!

EDIT: I guess some people don't play video games to have a good, fun time and would rather count pixels and what not. How fun...

[dcj0524]

So 160p at 12fps is for ya right?

[Bolts-N-Rays1109]

@dcj0524

If I find it fun, I'll play it, though I would expect that game to be free. Way to try and take it the extreme, buddy.

Also, you missed my point. Clearly, we have some standards now for when we buy these games and consoles. I'm referring to the 1080p vs 720p and 6pfps vs 30fps arguments that run rampant on this and many other sites. And I do realize when 60fps is needed and what not. It's the people who complain that The Order is only 30fps or that XB1 games are, for the most part, 720p. I don't care as long as they are fun games.

[Kingthrash360]

it made enough sense when he stated "mgs looks prettier on ps4" tho...smh...but hey you gotta sale your product.

[Jeedai Infidel]

It's sad, really, that some gamers may miss out on exceptional games because they may be told by others that "Game X" on "System A" doesn't have as much resolution as "Game Y" on "System B". It leaves uninformed gamers feeling as though they are being cheated, more so if they are the same game on different platforms. I feel that modern gamers are too saturated with reliance on high specs as an indicator of how fun a game is going to be, it's almost as if comparing specs is more fun than actually playing games to some people. I don't get the attraction to it and I can see this hurting developers as a result.

[LOGICWINS]

"It's sad, really, that some gamers may miss out on exceptional games because they may be told by others that "Game X" on "System A" doesn't have as much resolution as "Game Y" on "System B"."

I don't think people outside of rabid console warriors (a stark minority despite what we see on N4G) think like that. It's an Internet thing.

[Jeedai Infidel]

LOGICWINS, I'm talking about the "uninformed" gamers that get their news through people like us. I have many friends and family members that would rather I do the leg work and relay news to them, so I try to point them towards games that they would have fun playing as opposed to games that they would like to look at, if you catch my meaning. I'm worried that more and more "console warriors" might steer those types of gamers away from something that they would otherwise have fun playing, because they were told it didn't look that good.

[GrandTheftZamboni]

@Jeedai Infidel

"I don't get the attraction to it"

It's like choosing between big orange and small orange for the same price, NOT big lemon and small orange. We are talking about the same game (fruit) with better or worse graphics (size).

[maniacmayhem]

I feel it's really the internet and the rabid fanboys who care about resolution and framerates and even then they really truly don't.
They just need to sling that at others as an insult or to knock another system.

But I agree that resolution and framerate should take a backseat to design, gameplay and fun.

I like to use the example of BF4 when it was first released. Great graphics, fast framerate but it all means very little when the game is plagued by bugs, glitches and a mp matching that hardly work.

"It's almost as if comparing specs is more fun than actually playing games to some people,"

Lol, I also feel the same way when I read some of the comments on this site.

[MysticStrummer]

Makes perfect sense to me after last generation, when much was made of smaller differences by 360 fans. If it made sense to point out small differences then and declare 360 the multi plat victor, why wouldn't the cheaper yet more powerful PS4 get the same treatment now?

[DigitalRaptor]

Because they can give it, but they can't take it. That's why.

We're in a new generation. There was an immense amount of discussion about the power we were to expect from these next-gen consoles, before the games were even mentioned. Only now are we hearing the "oh well it's about the games that are fun, I don't care about graphics". You know, after the Xbox fans realise that their console is significantly underpowered.

There's no reason not to discuss resolution, frame rate, especially if it's an interesting and relevant topic -- which it is. We all talk about graphics and who has the best, and which console has better hardware. And hardware affects the games we play, in ways not restricted to visuals, but how an engine can perform along with those visuals.

And then we have those rapid fanboys who are still in denial and expect some kind of secret sauce or cloud functionality to make Xbox one outperform the PS4, so why can we not talk about how that is simply nonsense and an impossibility? To soothe people's fragile minds? I'm sorry but nope, we'll talk about it all we want. And they'll have to dealwithit.

[maniacmayhem]

@Digital

I recall a different story.

I remember all the PS3 fanboys declaring their console the graphics winner as they always name dropped Naughty Dog, MGS4, God of War plus any other exclusive that came to mind. The same way they would always say it was the superior cell architecture or the very wrong notion that Blu-Ray was making the Ps3 games prettier.

And when side by side comparison articles were on this site the most minute details were clarified and you all deemed ps3 the winner, I remember some saying the ps3 version had blacker blacks, crisper dust particles and they could see jaggies on the 360 version. Laughable at best.

If a multiplat game didn't perform well on the PS3 well then it was ps3 fanboys saying "all about the games", "give the game to ND" or my favorite, "Lazy Devs".

You guys talk about resolutions and framerates more than the games for the ps4.

No one is in denial, how can anyone be in denial when every sony fanboy on this site constantly post reminders in every article that their console is superior to everyone else's.

That is until a PC "elitist" steps in, and then all of a sudden it's all about the games again.

[MysticStrummer]

Nice revisionist history, maniac. The pure hearted gamer beset on every side by ravening fanboys. You should apply at FOX News.

Of course those PS3 exclusive games were held in high regard. They won awards for gameplay and graphics. Why wouldn't PS gamers blame devs for sub-par multi plats when better results could clearly be attained? Meanwhile, when a multi plat released there would be comparisons, pixels would be counted, and 360 usually declared the winner over some small detail, smaller differences than what we're seeing so far this generation. Following that there would be much rejoicing among the MS crowd, and declarations of console domination, all because of a slightly higher resolution or frame rate. Back then those things were worthy of bragging rights, but now let's all just get along…? Personally I'd rather see my PS brethren take the high road, but I can't really blame them when I remember how things were here back then. New MS fans here are reaping what their forefanboys sowed.

[starchild]

@MysticStrummer

You're the one guilty of revisionism. The picture you paint is far from the truth.

The truth is, Sony fanboys bashed the 360 for being weaker and when it turned out the 360 performed better on multiplatform games than the PS3 of course people were going to take notice of such a fact. But it was hardly the mass rejoicing you claim.

There was no "resolution-gate" crap. No mass fanboy rejoicing.

All generation-long Sony fanboys made excuses for the PS3's inferior multiplatform games and consistently downplayed any advantages the PC had in terms of resolution or frame-rate. Now they suddenly act as if those things are of supreme importance. The degree of hypocrisy and double standards is astounding.

There is a very big difference, too, between last generation and this generation. Last generation the PS3 was billed as the more powerful console, yet it generally performed worse on multiplatform games. Now THAT was a news story.

On the other hand, this generation the PS4 is more powerful and it performs better on multiplatform games. THAT is NOT a news story. That is simply to be expected. Yet Sony fanboys have tried to make each and every multiplatform game that looks or performs worse on the XB1 into a major scandal. And the whole gaming community has had to suffer through the repeated "resolution-gate" nonsense at the expense of other more worthwhile topics.

[MysticStrummer]

@starchild - I remember how it was here in the early days of last generation. It was heavily pro 360 and anti PS3. There was mass rejoicing and dancing on PS3's virtual grave… for years. If you understood why it was a valid news story back then for the cheaper console to outperform the more expensive one, then you should understand it just as well now. The difference is that PS3 was more powerful and exclusives showed that, which won't happen with XB1 this time.

There's plenty of hypocrisy to go around, but the MS crowd definitely gets a good piece of that particular pie.

[Sarcasm]

Why is it so hard for developers to understand people want the best quality for their money as possible. Which means the highest resolution, highest quality textures, highest quality audio, highest quality story, highest quality everything that a studio can do. If it has all that, typically the game will be rewarded by gamers jumping in or the industry giving it accolades left and right.

Imagine if The Last of Us was in 540p with blurry textures everywhere with glitches, I'm pretty sure it wouldn't get all the praise it got.

[starchild]

I would love it if everybody gamed on PC, but sadly a lot of people don't care about such things as resolution and frame-rate and they choose to game on consoles instead.

[Dubaman]

"Imagine if The Last of Us was in 540p with blurry textures everywhere with glitches, I'm pretty sure it wouldn't get all the praise it got."

Wouldn't that be down to piss poor development, no play testing and no quality control?
Also, in The Last of Us, aren't your companions and NPC's invisible to the enemy so they dont get killed off script? That doesn't seem like a combat and A.I system that was developed to the highest quality. People need to stop focusing on how to make something look beautiful when they should be perfecting its soul. We need better animation, we need better A.I, we need better physics.
You want high definition, you want focus on textures and visual masturbation.

When did gaming become so vain?

[Sarcasm]

I'm not saying it's just visuals, I'm saying it should be EVERYTHING. Yes better AI, better animations, better audio, better everything. Instead we're going a few steps backwards or really side-grading.

While I realize it's not feasible to have that 100% perfect game, to me it isn't too much to ask for a developer to give us what's worth our dollar.

[Baccra17]

Give me enough money and I'll tell you anything you want me to too.

This would have more weight if we didn't know:

A. This game was coming to multiple consoles, one of which is known to be the less powerful and capable when compared to it's rival.

B. MS hasn't been caught paying people off left and right.

[mcarsehat]

The people commenting on each side make little sense...

[SwiftArsonist]

Anything thats a little positive for Sony this people will post and make it a hot article. Stealth marketing at its finest.

[IIZANGETSUII]

That is so true

[ABizzel1]

@lonelygoner

It has nothing to do with being positive for Sony, but everything to do with gaming. The entire resolution / framerate issue is a PC gamers go to for deciding what graphics card to buy.

To put it in the simplest of terms. If a PC gamer walked into a store and saw a R9 280x GPU for $500, and right next it there's an R9 290x for $400 no one in their right might would pick up the 280x over the 290x for that price.

It's the same issue with the PS4 and XBO. It's not a deal breaker that the XBO is weaker, but being weaker and costing more is a problem. And and for most consumers nowadays it's the cheaper option that gets bought, and with the PS4 you're getting the cheaper and most powerful console available.

MS needs to do something about this or they're going to get left behind in sales, which means they're going to get left behind in developer support, and the power difference is going to be even more noticeable.

[SwiftArsonist]

no they will not fall behind. games dictate console wars. ms sells the most third party games and its a fact. last generation sony was the most powerful console yet games looked better on xbox.

is what to do with what u have. ms is little by little unlocking the potential of the console by making sdk's more easy to use.

rebellion games said that they had trouble creating 1080p games on x1 and n4g ran with it but didnt say anything about the sdk, about how they saying they got no more problems with x1.

is that type of shit that just sick. this site should be impartial but the admins control everything. look at all the anti xbox, anti titanfall articles, in a instant, hot status.

[starchild]

Sony fans didn't care about resolution or frame-rate in the slightest for the past 3 generations, now all of a sudden we have absurd "resolution-gates" over it. Get real. I can't take any of it seriously after being told by console gamers the past three generations that graphics, resolution and frame-rate weren't really that important.

[ABizzel1]

@lonelygoner

"ms sells the most third party games and its a fact."

That's not a fact, and honestly both are neck and neck. The 360 had a full year of software sales ahead of the PS3, and since the 360 took off first as the console to buy, and that helped it take home the greater 3rd party software sales. This generation sales are already neck and neck with MS having more retail games out allowing it to keep pace with the PS4 regardless of having more sells.

"last generation sony was the most powerful console yet games looked better on xbox."

And we all know the horror stories of programming for the PS3, due to Cell, first parties were the ones who had to prove it, and later in the generation 3rd parties got on board and PS3 versions of games generally began performing and looking better. This generation again is different, because both platforms are nearly identical architecturally, but the PS4 is MUCH faster thanks to it's graphics RAM, and it has a more powerful GPU. MS improvements to devkit performance is great, but do you not think Sony's doing the same thing. The XBO will never be able to outperform the PS4 in the same game which means parity is the best they can hope for or end up in situations where the PS4 version has a higher resolution (not much of a problem IMO), higher framerate (30fps vs 60fps is a big deal), or both.

Again it's nothing against the XBO, and anyone who wants to buy an XBO still should, because you'll still get a good gaming experience.

[Majin-vegeta]

*last generation sony was the most powerful console yet games looked better on xbox.

If were talking Multiplats some of them were.But when it came to exclusive Sony shatted all over xbox exclusive graphics.Hell Halo 4 barely looked as good as UC2 a game from 2009.

[Nero1314]

He want us to feel mgs V

[Nero1314]

Be one with the METAL GEAR

[MultiConsoleGamer]

It makes sense, it's a marketing tool.

[videgamenext1]

Console wars are dumb. Just play what you play and enjoy it.

[cyclindk]

Exactly right... what controversy?

One will generally have an easier time producing games at higher native resolutions. There IS no controversy.

And for the PC boys, yes four 1,000.00 dollar video cards in some sort of synchronous set up will be able to do 1,000,000p at 300,000 frames a second, congratulations.

[Dubaman]

...and that children is where hyperbole came from.

[Kenshin_BATT0USAI]

There are many single gpus that crush what the ps4 and xbox 1 have for $200, so yeah...no point in spouting childish none sense. If it really doesn't matter to you, you shouldn't be posting such butthurt comments.

PC gaming = best, but most expensive

Console gaming = more affordable and easily accessible.

[cyclindk]

Who the hell said it didn't matter to me?

Do you come into these places pre-loaded with... X GPU does this, if it doesn't matter to you, butthurt, pc ggaming = best...

jesus christ

I am actually AGREEING with you 100 percent if you aren't realizing it though through your (not fanboy) imbecile goggles.

[GrandpaSnake]

kojima can get away with that remark because he always tries to make games that are technically good games.

[pyramidshead]

Then why did he highlight the fact his new game runs better on PS4 :/

[porkChop]

Good question.

[NihonjinChick]

People keep asking him about it and he is just answering their questions.

[BX81]

Maybe because his loyalty is with Sony 1st. The Sony fans have made him a lot of money over the years. Plus he's just answering a ?

[Mvp-Machiavelli]

Exactly!!!!!!!!! Of course frame rate and resolution has a factor when purchasing a game. If it runs better on another system and not on another AND THE OTHER SYSTEM is more expensive, then as a buying customer you want the best possible product... And then you have to ask why its not as good, especially when the OTHER system does cost more....

[impet25]

As a pc gamer and owner of both consoles I will always get the best looking single player game. Multiplayer games wherever my friends are.

[SIRHC13]

You just had to throw down the PC card, even in an article about a console-exclusive game?

Typical.

[Jeedai Infidel]

If his PC is another choice to choose a game for, why wouldn't he mention it? He's voicing his opinion based on the majority of the conversation we are all having, maybe you should have read above first. You just seem mad because he's not making it directly about PS4 vs XB1, right?

[BitbyDeath]

I think most people are just more surprised than anything since games were already 720p lastgen. New hardware usually brings a higher standard.

eg.
PS1 - 240p
PS2 - 480p
PS3 - 720p
PS4 - 1080p

You'd think competing consoles would also aim for the same increases.

[Jeedai Infidel]

How did the games in the first four months of those consoles look compared to after the first year and beyond? Most new consoles' launch games were made for the previous console, then upgraded towards the end of development as they became more aware of the new consoles' release and were given SDKs later as to not tip off the competition. What's surprising is the lack of patience most gamers have, especially because they should remember this from watching previous launches throughout the last twenty-five years.

[BitbyDeath]

Resistance Fall of Man was 720p.
Might not have been as good looking as Killzone 3 but the resolutions had not changed.

[mediate-this]

Both machines are kinda lacking, both should be able to perform 1080p/60fps but they have to make cuts to do it, there are no graphically demanding games right now and with those specs.

Im talking tessaltion, crazy physics and parties plus 1080p/60fps these machines csn not do this. They are both lacking, ps4 is better, but its lacking still

[BitbyDeath]

I don't think 60FPS is a necessity but I know many disagree with my opinion.

However aside from COD where even the PC had framedrops due to bad coding, had you heard of any other? Most games on PS4 appear to sit between 30FPS and 60FPS.

As long as games don't fall under 30FPS then most will not notice.

[mediate-this]

Indeed indeed

[TomahawkX]

so close, 1 more month to go!

[N8]

The resolution thing wouldn't be a problem if both platforms where the same resolution. Why wouldn't you want the better experience for your money?

[SwiftArsonist]

Hideo Kojima: Feeding Pony's since 1998

[curtis92]

"feel the future"

"resolution controversy makes little sense"

Well, increased resolution is part of the future. Otherwise we'd still be in 320x240 from ps1 days.

[Remy_S]

"Makes little sense" if you're shilling for Microsoft.

[fhizikz]

Playing this on ps4

[Meltic]

I wont buy this prologue. I'l wait until Phantom pain and then buy this cheap. I'l Watch those ''2 hours'' for free instead on youtube.

[Kenshin_BATT0USAI]

You do that.

[windblowsagain]

Resolution does matter.

But it's only important for playing in your Tv or monitors native rez.

If you have a tv that's only 720p (some do).

Then 720p is all you need.

[Guwapo77]

720p/1080p TVs were not the standard when PS3/360 came out. Here we are almost a decade later 1080p TVs are fairly commonplace in majority of the households in the US. 720p gaming has been rough these last few years on a 1080p TV. Going back and forth from my computer to my PS3...you can tell it was time for a graphical update to the consoles and the NEXT gen gaming was well overdue. That brings us to todays systems. PS4 did what X1 should have done, 1080p standard to match what today's TVs handle. There is really no excuse for cutting corners in the GPU.

In this day and age, there is zero reason to be playing in a resolution a decade old. 720p gaming for almost 16 years? Rediculous.

Last gen it was the medium...this gen it's the GPU. Thanks again MS for entering the gaming market.

[Flewid638]

People here are making the assumption that a game can't look jaw dropping at 30fps and that no game can look sh*tty at 60fps.

Uncharted, TLOU, God of War III...all 30fps and amazing.

I would rather a development team just give me an awesome game. I don't care how they come up with it.

Most HD channels dont even broadcast in 1080p yet either. At the end of the day, does what you see and play on screen look amazing or not. You're either gonna say yes or no, and 9 out of 10 times it has nothing to do with the resolution.

[Guwapo77]

Resolution is the biggest issue. Not all games need to run at 60fps. Mainly shooters anything else that just so happens to do 60 fps is nice to have but not required. 1080p is the requirement for this generation. Nobody wants upscaled graphics on a 1080p TV... I didn't care for it last gen and that 8 years ago.

[Flewid638]

All of that is fine, but irrespective, even if smoke and mirrors are the tactic, do my eyes see awesome graphics? Any time I play a game it's gonna be yay or nay. And all the times I said yay, it had nothing to do with resolution.

It could be art style, resolution, fps, etc or all of the above and more. I'm not gonna bash an amazing looking game because it's at 720p at 30fps. If it's jaw dropping I got my money's worth.

[Guwapo77]

I want to get my money's worth and there is no reason I should go back in time. This ain't Back to the Future. Progression is what I need and when I get my 4K television do I want 720p upscaled or do I want 1080p upscaled? One is going to look a whole lot worst than the other.