HD young, gamers on standard-def
by Zack Stern 
{ Oct 9th 2006 at 9:20PM }
HDTV is the future of gaming, but when will that happen? As Joystiq writers, we mostly play games on fancy HDTVs, but Gamasutra reminds us that we're in the minority; HDTV adoption has been increasing, but the market is still in its infancy.A series of interviewed analysts discuss the conditions needed for HDTVs to be common and if Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo have the right approach to the new technology. The analysts don't offer any concrete answers, but share the opinion that movies will continue to drive the transition because they're much more common than games.
The next-generation console war is about HD -- or lack of it -- as much as anything. We're disappointed that the Wii won't run higher than 480p, but maybe Nintendo and its developers are saving by omitting something most gamers lack. Or if consumers want a Blu-ray player combined with a game system, Sony will likely be the next-gen champion.
See also: Capcom aware of Dead Rising standard-definition woes
See also: Mea culpa for 360's King Kong
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
velcrocore @ Oct 9th 2006 9:27PM
I got an DLP as a wedding present. I wasn't ready to see all my 480i tv shows look so crappy! Thank god we all ready had the HD cable box. Strangly, now the PS3 seems like more of a bargain.
darryl @ Oct 9th 2006 9:32PM
"HDTV is the future of gaming, but when will that happen?"
It starts next month.
Probot @ Oct 9th 2006 9:33PM
I think a good analogy of this is broadband penetration when Xbox Live was launched. It was a broadband-only service, even though that excluded most people. MS took the bet that broadband penetration would increase and it did. Nintendo didn't really do anything with online and Sony's attempt was pretty mediocre.
This time, HDTV isn't the standard, but prices are falling and more HD content is becoming available. Nintendo isn't going really going to bother with any of it, but this time Sony is taking the biggest bet. MS falls somewhere in the middle, requiring all games to be HD, but not supporting HD movies in the standard package. It's akin to Sony's half-hearted online service.
Personally, I don't have an HDTV and I have no interest in getting one. The price is still too high for me and the quality isn't *that* much better. Plus, I don't think games are going to benefit as much from HD as they did from online connectivity.
As an aside, I was in Wal Mart the other day looking for a game, and while glancing over the rows of TVs, I noticed that only the HDTV had a clear signal. All the standard TVs were staticy. Nothing like deceptive marketing to sell some HDTVs.
Kuan @ Oct 9th 2006 9:33PM
yeah i have a 1988 toshiba 19" and that has satisfied my gaming needs for about 12 years.....
until that tv dies on me i wont be in the market for a new tv and when i do enter that market there is no way in hell i am spending more than 250 bucks for a new tv
Paco From Del Taco @ Oct 9th 2006 9:36PM
I game on a 92" screen with a 720p projector. I couldnt imagine playing games any other way. Even my PS2 and Gamecube games look great on it.
Nathaniel Harmon @ Oct 9th 2006 9:41PM
I thought what all of you are saying until I bought an HDTV, now I cant even watch SDTV anymore
Fuzz @ Oct 9th 2006 9:45PM
Hopefully will be getting an HD this month . .Just in time for the Wii. I know, that sounds so wrong, considering its lack of HD, but I realy want widescreen ,and my current set doesn't even have component input. I'm looking forward to a size upgrade, too.
RyanTV @ Oct 9th 2006 9:40PM
I'm with #1 - I've had a 62" DLP for a few years now and man I couldnt believe how terrible regular TV looks on it.
Why are we having such slow adoption of HDTVs? because we are given no content. Watching movies is great, but only having 6 or so HD channels on any given cable system is really holding back the sale of HD sets. Its the chicken and the egg syndrome.
Kuan @ Oct 9th 2006 9:40PM
i think the problem with many of the people here is that they are all rich 20 something's living at sme high end dorm with mommy's money flowing freely into their pockets....
i am a senior in high school and my parents are vrom from poor but they dont give me anything. heck - i get kcked out when i graduate and have to pay for college on my own.
the diffference is that i have to pay for my stufff on my own so i choose what is more important. the games - or the billion dollar projector. and for me its the games.
fawazr @ Oct 9th 2006 9:41PM
#1 makes the perfect point.
What incentive do I have to purchase a PS3 if my television displays only SD and I'm not willing to purchase a HD set?
The way I see it, a lot of consumers share my skepticism.
nick @ Oct 9th 2006 9:43PM
One of the issues they don't tell you about in the stores with HDTVs, is that when you watch standard defintion channels on an HDTV set (which by the way is still the major of channels), they actually look somewhat crappy compared to the same channels if watched on a tube TV. It's not totally awful, but it IS noticably different.
Nice.
Now HD channels look amazing, but that's only if you subscribe to HD service and have an HD tuner
So now I pay extra for HD content and also a HD DVR, and I get about 21 HD channels, out of something like 600 total channels, having subscribed to all possible channels.
I really wish all channels were in HD
dolemite @ Oct 10th 2006 9:10PM
As an HD gamer, I appreciate the difference in picture quality. But I have also seen the 360 drive HD sales, and I am sure that the PS3 will do the same. Having HD movie playback was forward thinking by Sony and they were right to do it. Microsoft should have included an HDDVD drive, but o well. Anyway, HD is here, hell, even Walmart sells them. 720p, 1080i, or 1080p, just get one.
Optimus Prime @ Oct 9th 2006 9:47PM
"i think the problem with many of the people here is that they are all rich 20 something's living at sme high end dorm with mommy's money flowing freely into their pockets...."
The thing is that the demographics of gaming have changed; compared to the NES generation, gamers are older and are at a point in their lives where they have disposable income. Gaming is really just competing for their entertainment dollars; if it werent gaming then the monies would be spent elsewhere ..like cars, vacations, drinking, or movies etc.
And, hey, i paid for university on my own too. Its called an investment..some sacrifaces now for future rewards. It sucks now, but, it (usually) works out in the end.
Dirtyboy @ Oct 9th 2006 9:55PM
I play my 360 through my LCD PC monitor at 1280x1024. I have also played it on 32" LCD and 60" plasma HDTVs (at 1080i) and my craptastic 27" SDTV. To say you don't notice a difference is just silly (or you don't have it hooked up right). There's really no point in buying a "next-gen" system if you are going to lose most of the graphic detail on an SDTV.
Blake @ Oct 9th 2006 9:59PM
Does anyone own a full 1080p TV???Mine is 720p Sony LCD , I don't think you can get a 1080p set up here in Australia for less than around $12,000USD...
iEnigma @ Oct 9th 2006 10:00PM
I think if you're upgrading to the next generation of consoles (PS3/ 360 specifically), you owe it to yourself to get a HDTV. My family has a 56" Samsung DLP. We found a great price online. For TV we have DirecTV and the 120 package includes around 20+ channels of HD content, from TNT HD to Discovery HD Theater to Kung Fu HD. It looks amazing in 720p!
As for the main event (gaming), I have a Xbox 360 and it looks much better than my friend's 360 which is on a 31" SDTV. It really enhances the experience. When I go off to college next fall, I'm hoping to eventually get a 32" HDTV for my dorm. It's really hard to go back.
patrick @ Oct 9th 2006 10:03PM
i really like my parents DLP, but alas, i'm stuck with a tiny insignia. NOT EVEN FLAT SCREEN! OH NOES!!!
i for one welcome our high def overlords.
Negativecool @ Oct 9th 2006 10:05PM
Whoever at Sony decided 1080p was critical for their console is a hypocrite. Here is a company that charges a premium price for its HDTV’s, yet believes 1080p is were HD starts, and on top of that, Sony still laughably believes they are going to be #1 in the console business next generation. A lot of Sony’s business comes from kids…can kids afford 5,000 bucks for a Sony 1080p after just having begged his/her parents retarded to get a 600 dollar game console?
If Sony were REALLY trying to push 1080p, they would have locked their engineers in a room and not let them out until they came up with a 40” (minimum 40”) 1080p set” that can be priced competitively with standard def TV’s of the same size.
I’m surprised they haven’t started marketing a cheap, yet respectable HDTV that would go perfectly with their new PS3. Seriously they should market/create an HDTV specifically for the PS3.
Wulkar @ Oct 10th 2006 6:17AM
My tv is not hd. but it doesn't stop me from enjoying my 360.
qbix @ Oct 9th 2006 10:21PM
Well, I play my 360 on a VGA monitor. Sure it sucks playing team slayer on a monochromatic monitor, but it works.
refinedsugar @ Oct 9th 2006 10:25PM
" As Joystiq writers, we mostly play games on fancy HDTVs, but Gamasutra reminds us that we're in the minority "
lol, cheese-fest anyone?
Scott @ Oct 9th 2006 10:21PM
HDTV prices are plummeting and will become ubiqutous among the Single Urban dwellers that can recieve Over the Air HD. Rural Areas and Canada will be less penetrated because of that lack of OTA HD, they will be limited to the relatively small Cable HD selection. OTA HD is awesome by the way(I'm 4 Miles from the Transmitter.)
epobirs @ Oct 9th 2006 10:28PM
It's a positive feedback system. The market presence of HD displays for several years create a point at which console makers feel it is the next big feature, especially for reach the type of customer with much disposable incomes for throwing at luxuries like games.
In turn, the advent of HD content in more accessible forms, be it games or the long delayed arrival of the competing disc formats, makes the purchase of an HD display far more attractive than previously. That those displays are rapidly dropping in price doesn't hurt their attractiveness either.
Each depends on the other. HD gaming is limited by how quickly display makers can bring the cost of entry to mainstream consumers, and in turn, those display makers are limited in their sales volumes by the game consoles (and movie disc formats) ability to drive demand for the displays.
A lot of people with the desire to own an Xbox 360 or PS3 may be inclined to wait until they can also afford a display that lets the machines show their full abilities. Thus, when an HD display drops in price by 10%, it boosts not only the HD display market but also the market for devices to drive that display. When those devices become more affordable, a good HD-DVD deck for $300, it drives not just HD-DVD but the accompanying display market, too.
Splorky Fish @ Oct 9th 2006 10:28PM
I've been reading analysts discuss the coming "HD era" for a while now, and I have come to the conclusion that the whole “HD versus Non-HD” discussion misses the point. Even if there were a non-HD game for PS3, it would probably have to be downscaled a lot for Wii just because of sheer processing power. The more powerful machine can handle more complex character AI, collision fields, physics engines, etc. Similarly, if Wii could support HD and a high-definition game came out for designed specifically for the Wii, the control scheme probably wouldn’t translate as well to a PS3 or Xbox 360 controller.
The products are simply so different in so many ways that this discussion is really quite tangential. I think that the adaptation rate of HDTV will have a slight impact on this console war, but it’s not going to be a deciding factor. I suppose that in the extremely unlikely event that future Xbox 360 or PS3 games don’t display properly on regular television sets, this will become a critical issue. I really doubt that either Microsoft or Sony would be stupid enough to let this minor issue become a major issue for their system.
GamerZero @ Oct 9th 2006 10:27PM
Before Shakephere wrote "Where art thou Romeo?"
He also wrote this lost treasure:-
Oh Blu-Ray...Oh Blu-Ray
Sweeter doth your screen display
thou slayeth DVD with thine spin
whilst others turn thine heads
and yet I adore thee so
But threw it away because it needed some work,
but alas it was still insightful!
Buy all of Shakespere's work on Blu-Ray today
all in 1080P text display also with 7.1 uncompressed
audio for those who do have ears...and a healthy investment....and a Blu-Ray Player.....and a
HD-TV...yes you..you lucky lucky bastard who
owns a yacht,an Enzo and party's with the uber elite!
Will you be my friend?
B33 @ Oct 9th 2006 10:30PM
It's not about the Tv. It's about the console and games.
john @ Oct 9th 2006 10:33PM
I currently have an SD tv and will be getting a HDTV in december or early after that.
Capcom's stupid mistake of not supporting SD, is the sole reason I did not buy Dead Rising, when I was really excited for it. I lost so much respect for Capcom the day I found out.
Ness @ Oct 11th 2006 8:47PM
Yea i Run mine for now in a 19lcd monitor(VGA) Much better than SD but it looks like a PC game It doesnt do warm colors too well. I goes to my friends house he has a 37 Plasma(samsung) I throw the component in there and DAAAYYYYUUUMMMM! I swear the xbox load screen said "you've been PWNED" NBA 2k6 looked like a live cast and NFS looked like hollywood footage, dont get me started on COD2.......To the guy who said HDTV isnt much better than SDTV...No disrespect but you've never seen it to make a statement like that my friend YOU WILL NUT ON YOURSELF!!!!when you use an xbox on a 'GOOD' plasma, not that EDTV or even DLP(no disrespect to DLP owners)but Alas i cant afford one damn!!!!!But the rollout will take some time but it will happen but even now there's a higher def coming soon....
rockintom99 @ Oct 9th 2006 10:58PM
@Probot:
Ah, but the thing is, it only costs 15-50 dollars a month for a broadband connection, whereas a decent HDTV will set you back 2000+ dollars. Many people don't even *want* one, because the large majority of content is in standard def, and looks *terrible* on an hdtv.
My family just picked up a 36" SDTV for a hundred bucks a few months ago (from a neighbor who just got an HD), and we couldn't be happier. It still looks pretty amazing compared to the old 27".
Ethan @ Oct 9th 2006 10:58PM
Ever think of this...
The Wii wont output anything higher than 480p, because tv screens any bigger would omit too much light for the wiimote sensor bar to be operational.
Oh burn.
TheRustyGamer @ Oct 9th 2006 11:03PM
I recently hooked up my 360 to a 20" CRT VGA monitor, I cranked the resolution up as far as it would go and then went into the monitor settings and changed the vertical height to as small as it would go... INSTANT WIDESCREEN!. Keep in mind, it's in my studio, and I'm reallly the only one in the house that plays games. I know that this may sound silly, but it looks great and it saves me more time to look for a new HDTV. So I'm happy with both resolution and screen size for now, besides this holiday season prices in the states for a good HDTV will drop...wether or not people will bite we'll have to wait and see.
zer06ame @ Oct 9th 2006 11:09PM
I don't really see the point in buying an HDTV for gaming unless you have over $1,000 to spend. It's kind of pointless to spent $900+ on a 32in 720p when you could spend $250 on a 21in wide screen LCD monitor that accomplishes the same thing. To each his own I guess, I like playing up close to my games, so I don't mine playing on monitors (I guess that's where my PC gaming habits come back).
frickshun @ Oct 9th 2006 11:27PM
I bought a 42" plaz in May. I love it. I haven't played video games on a console in yrs. Although I want a Wii, I check every game preview to see that it's widescreen & 480p. There's no reason not to take advantage of what I have.
I don't need a PS3 or 360 b/c I'm not a hardcore gamer. But filling my entire screen does matter for TV, movies & games. Also, to anyone that thinks SD looks like crap on an HD TV, you're misinformed or way too picky. It's completely acceptible. I just watch the HD counterpart whenever available. And in LI, NY you don't pay for the HD channels, just a few bucks for the cable box.
By the way, 1/3rd of the HD channel shows are in god-damned 4x3 so I stretch the image anyway!! Thanks to Panny for "just" mode!
JKeovichith @ Oct 9th 2006 11:28PM
I have a plain old 27" SDTV that I use for all my TV needs, which only involve video games, DVD's, and The Simpsons. Other than that, I don't watch much TV (as I find most of it to be crap) so I don't really plan on buying an HDTV merely for the 3 things that I do with the TV.
Actually, video games is all I really use my TV for, seeing as how I download a lot of movies and simspson's episodes onto my computer and I rarely use the TV out option on my videocard. I don't plan on buying an HDTV until they're less than $300USD for a 27" set.
I'm an avid gamer, but I really don't want to have to have an HDTV to fully enjoy games the way their meant to be played, seeing as how games are the only use for my TV.
LaughingTarget @ Oct 9th 2006 11:35PM
Lower quality HDTVs will have problems displaying SD programs in HD. The better ones do a great job of properly adjusting the picture so it doesn't come out distorted. Anyone who has issues watching SD on their HD screen got shafted and probably paid way too much.
Chucky's Cat @ Oct 9th 2006 11:34PM
I'm with #1's comment. The broadcasting has to catch up to the HDTVs and do the PS3 fanboys even use their brains cause they're all talking about 1080p resolution but do they even realize they'll need the 1080p TV to display it? I just spent 2 grand on a new HDTV and I don't think these kids are gonna be picking one up anytime soon when they purchase their new system.
SquirrelPhister @ Oct 9th 2006 11:55PM
17. Negativecool:
"I’m surprised they haven’t started marketing a cheap, yet respectable HDTV that would go perfectly with their new PS3. Seriously they should market/create an HDTV specifically for the PS3."
I can't believe no one has mentioned this before. You're absolutely right, they should be doing something just like this, creating a line of cheap 1080p sets to compliment the 'ultimate multimedia exerience' or whatever.
This is exactly the kind of move they could pull that Microsoft never could. And they drop the ball. Microsoft meanwhile has been getting in bed with Samsung (whom Sony turned to for help with LCD technology when they made the wrong bet on CRT HD sets).
Hopefully we'll see them do something like this next year. I haven't been a fan of Sony since they were the king of large SD TVs with Trinitron back in the 90s, but the videogame inidustry needs competition. And if they really start going down the tubes as I fear they may, Microsoft might just buy them. [shudder]
/rant
makesevenupyours @ Oct 10th 2006 12:12AM
"6. i think the problem with many of the people here is that they are all rich 20 something's living at sme high end dorm with mommy's money flowing freely into their pockets....
i am a senior in high school and my parents are vrom from poor but they dont give me anything. heck - i get kcked out when i graduate and have to pay for college on my own.
the diffference is that i have to pay for my stufff on my own so i choose what is more important. the games - or the billion dollar projector. and for me its the games."
i know where you are coming from. im 16, and i have a minimum wage job and i will have to pay for college. i get a 17 year old car that doesnt even have a cassette deck in it. and lots of my friends' parents have bought them cars, or are giving them something make within 10 years ago, and they pay their insurance, and some of them pay their gas.
anyways, im not trying to whine or cry, but im saying i can relate to you, and i have to buy ALL of my gaming stuff on my own.
but im saving ALL of my money and hoping to get a fairly large 1080p sometime within the next year and a half. and my parents HATE video games, so i dont get ANYTHING video game related for christmas or my birthday. but its ok you know? feels good to earn what i have.
but anyways, hd is catching on and come the last 2 years of this i think there will be A LOT more people with HD's.
Wild Homes @ Oct 10th 2006 12:23AM
I have two thoughts about HDTV. for reference, I don't watch too much TV, but I game and watch a little tv and some movies on a 720p projector (97" diagonal image)...
first:
stores don't generally do a great job selling HDTVs. do to poor deinterlacing chips, most HDTVs showing standard definition programming look worse than SDTV CRT units showing the same content. however, _many_ stores (here's looking at you, Wal-Mart, Sam's Club and the like) show SDTV content on HDTV units. and make no mistake, places like Wal-Mart and the like, selling lower-end units, move a lot more HDTV tech than big-box tech retailers like Circuit City and Best Buy. the other day I was grocery shopping at Sam's and saw four people walking out with LCD units in the span of maybe ten minutes. low prices sell, even when it's just inferior tech.
second: there is a conspiracy going on. HDTV units produced before 2005 (by and large) did not include ATSC tuners, and even current, new HD monitors (like the new 1080p Westinghouse units) don't contain them either. it's easy enough to receive local OTA HD with a simple UHF antenna and an ATSC receiver, but it's very hard to come by said receiver. directv only lease them (you buy it, but you're required to return it when you stop service), and only a few hugely overpriced standalone models are commercially available (I recall Circuit City had one last time I looked for like $215)... this leaves many to buy questionable used Voom and Directv units from pawn shops or from Ebay ($50-100 and in the case of the Voom unit it's very difficult to set up for OTA), or to submit to DISH or DirecTV or Comcast's HD subscriptions, despite the availability of over the air signals for FREE core programming.
and the kicker is? the over the air signal is of a higher quality than the HD cable content, because the signal isn't constrained by such a narrow compression.
Wernstar @ Oct 10th 2006 4:58PM
I game on a standard tv and don't really care about HD. It is way too expensive and, honestly isn't that huge of a deal to me. It's tough for ppl who don't have that much money to spend on gaming- I feel your pain #35!
As Probot said, HD isn't going to benefit games as much as online play did. Adding to that, upgrading from dial-up to broadband was kinda expensive at first, but compared to upgrading normal tv's to HD, there is a huge financial difference.
I guess it comes down to how deep your pockets are, if you can afford it, then more power to you, but if you are like me, you probably don't see the big deal.
I imagine that - as the experts said in the article that this article is linked to- in about 2-3 years HDTV's will be more affordable and more people will be able to buy them. So, wouldn't that mean that the HD era would begin near the end of the next-gen consoles life cycle? All the game companies call it the future, so the next, next gen consoles would sound like an appropriate time to buy an HDTV, for me at least.
David @ Oct 10th 2006 1:32AM
I have a 30" Sony Direct-View Tube HDTV. The thing is huge but the picture quality rivals $4000 plasmas... and it only cost me $650 (originally costs $1200 but I got a helluva deal). Anyway, part of my decision to get a PS3 over a Wii is beacause of Wii's lack of HD support. Both systems will have games that interest me but the lack of HD really was the deal-breaker for me. This said, if I didn't have an HDTV I would either get one before I bought a next-gen console, or if money was really tight just get the Wii. I will get a Wii eventually whent the price goes down but the launch price doesn't seem worth it to be lacking HD.
H-QB @ Oct 10th 2006 1:34AM
#27 "Ever think of this...
The Wii wont output anything higher than 480p, because tv screens any bigger would omit too much light for the wiimote sensor bar to be operational.
Oh burn.
Posted at 10:58PM on Oct 9th 2006 by Ethan 0 stars"
*pulls out his Troll Feeder*
Sure, if for starters, you have your sensor bar facing the television (WOW! Fail!) ... and your TV has the same light frequency as direct sunlight.
HOW DU I SHOOT WEB? ¯(O__°")/¯
The ZeroCorpse @ Oct 10th 2006 1:47AM
#36. . . Spot on!
I have an "HD Ready" TV, which basically means it's an HDTV without an ATSC tuner, so I had to spring for one of the DirectTV boxes you mentioned. I *don't* get satellite- I just use the tuner for over-the-air HD programming, and I'm VERY pleased with it. The over-the-air high definition programming is MUCH better looking than the bogus HD offered by Comcast "digital" cable. Formatting is perfect, picture is clear, and everything is just gorgeous. Even the SD shows broadcast on HD channels look better than the SD channel versions of the same shows.
As a former Best Buy salesperson, I can say that they have a lousy way of selling their HDTVs. The feed is frequently not a true HD signal. Up until recently, they were showing "HD" content that was filtered to all the HDTVs from a standard DVD player spitting out an anamorphic 480p signal from a demo DVD. ---THIS IS NOT WHAT HDTV LOOKS LIKE!!!--- It bugs the hell out of me when I see people at retail stores watching the "HD programming" on the bank of HDTVs, and they say "It doesn't look that much better than regular TV." And they're RIGHT because they aren't watching a real HD broadcast!
No wonder HDTV penetration is so low. Nobody's selling them correctly, and no major retailer actually seems to be displaying HD programming on their HDTV units in the store.
So consider this a customer service announcement: ATTENTION! The "HD" image you see on an HDTV in Best Buy, Wal*Mart, Target, Circuit City, Sam's Club, and Costco (among others) is *not* what HDTV looks like with true HD content! Bring your Xbox 360 or PS3 or HD-DVD player or Blu-Ray player to the store and INSIST you hook it to the HDTV you like, to see what HD content really looks like on that set.
It's such a shame retailers are such HD idiots. If people were seeing that they can get a GORGEOUS picture, and MORE CHANNELS for FREE with just an antenna, they'd be grabbing these things like crazy.
JPRacer @ Oct 10th 2006 1:58AM
There's a noticeable difference between SDTV and HDTV but things like better models, lighting, textures and shaders are more important than just resolution. Playing Doom in HD don't magically make the graphic looks better, only sharper.
minimak @ Oct 12th 2006 4:23PM
HDTV hype is one of the things pushing me away from console gaming. It's a solution in search of a problem, and a costly one unless you just use a CRT or LCD monitor. PC games have been playable in high resolutions for years, but no one speaks of simply hooking up the new consoles to a monitor using a VGA input. I've been gaming that way for years using VGA adapters, but this generation will finally offer native VGA/HDMI cables for the PS3 and X360. But since I refuse to pay $30+ per game or $200+ for a system, I'll wait until next gen prices drop by about 60% before making a console purchase. I think my backlog of unbeaten games and a low end Geforce 9 should hold me over until then.
Ben Hobbs @ Oct 10th 2006 2:11AM
I live in Phuket, Thailand which is a developing nation, the local electronics stores sell 5 times as many HDTV's as SDTV's. I've personally sold 13 this week - I don't know a single person who has opted for an SDTV in the last two years. The expat community is pretty wealthy here but I think there's something else driving the uptake of especially flat screen TV's.
Women....
A conventional CRT TV is an ugly looking beast and takes a whole lot of room up, People call it WAF (Wife Approval Factor) and Husbands everywhere are getting HDTV purchases with the complicit approval of their wives. Something that didn't happen so much with large screen CRT TV's or Rear Projection models.
Myself I game on a Projector, It's by far the best picture and a decent projector runs at just over $1,000 for a 720p model capable of 100"+ sizes.
icelandman @ Oct 10th 2006 2:11AM
Hmm, I'm not an HD-gener yet, I have an HD console, but somehow I manage w/ no 720p when I'm killing zombies and fragging nazi's. HD may be the future, but its honestly the least exciting part about it. I believe the Statue of Liberty says "Give me your small, You cheap, Your innovative masses". Wii = No HD, yet I'd pick it over PS3
~PEACE
Wilky @ Oct 10th 2006 2:23AM
Dudes, I dont see what all this HD fuss is about at all. In fact if you have ever played a PC game in the last 4 years, there is a likely chance you have experienced HD. Heck, even the windows desktop on a 17" tft can be classed as HD. Its nothing new, and its certainly not the saviour of the film studios. Just a way for companies to over hype and flog you more shit you dont need.
kawaii @ Oct 10th 2006 2:31AM
People with SDTVS ARE POOR IGNORANT PEOPLE
HDTV IS THE FUTURE WETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT!!
Burnt Meatloaf @ Oct 10th 2006 2:54AM
My feeling is that if budget PC video cards can handle 1280x1024 without much trouble, expecting a game console to handle 720p with anti-aliasing is hardly unreasonable.
Now, a lot of Wii screenshots don't even have anti-aliasing at 480 resolution. That's just sad.