Gore impresario Hershell Gordon Lewis summed up an important rule of film-making when he pointed out that "People have walked out of movies after looking at 10 seconds of them, saying,'This is pretty doggone dull,'... [but] no one has ever walked out of a movie because of a ragged pan." But does the same axiom apply in video games? Specifically, has anyone ever stopped playing a game because the frame-rate is too low?
According to Insomniacs Mike Acton, No, they haven't. "There is virtually no advantage in sales or reviews of a 60 fps game versus a 30 fps game," reads a blog post from Acton. More boldly, Acton states:
"Framerate is still important to us here at Insomniac, but it’s not on the same pedestal it was before. And that Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time
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will probably be Insomniac’s last 60fps game."
This assertion is backed up with impressive charts and graphs that seem to indicate gamers and reviewers don't actually care about high frame-rates, so long as a game performs solidly. According to Acton, framerate drops are seen by some players as a "reward for creating or forcing a complex setup in which a lot of things must happen on the screen at once. As in, 'Damn! Did you see that? That was crazy!'"
So... how important is a high frame-rate to you?
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Displaying 1–20 of 57
1232
AwayFromKeyboard
High? Not at all. Solid and smooth? Absolutely important.
I think anyone who's played a respawn gametype in Gears of War with gore on can attest to that.
cmdluke
60 fps = over rated
Redd75
This gamer doesn't care.
altizar
It's important enough to go spend 6000$ building a quad SLI computer so that can I can have a smooth flow in my desktop games at 2500X1600.
mikesctr
As long as the gameplay is good. I don't care about the framerate. Plain and Simple. I never look at the number of frames per minute when i buy a game. Actually that would be the last thing I'd be interested in.
asthmagasm
Smooth is more important than high, but that being said 30fps is kinda low after playing Final Fantasy XI for all these years (but I may feel that because you can't ever keep 30fps at certain areas of the game no matter how good your computer/connection is; maybe 30fps isn't that bad on a game that can keep it at least a good majority of the time).
PuppetpalKlimp
as long as it holds up and is smooth i'm okay with any framerate
Mr_Troll
I love 60fps. It just feels more real. Every since I first played COD4 I anything slower just feels jerky at times.
weejifiend
If it causes games to start looking better, I'm all for it.
deathtomonalisa
If your eye's senses drop off somewhere around 20 to 40 depending on who you are why does it matter to have 60 fps. yes it sounds cool but most people just think they can see a difference since they know it is higher. if I was a cyborg though i must admit i would love it.
Army_Ant
It depends on the game. Consistency is more important, so as not to riddle the gameplay. I would say a game that runs at 40 fps throughout the most intensive parts is more pleasant than one that runs at 60 fps that hiccups when the intensity builds up.
ZyloWolfBane
Higher framerates? YES I care about them, I didnt plop down $400 (Original launch price) for a "Next-Gen" console to play games that skip and plod along like a PC game on a crappy rig.
The technology has come far enough along that anything less than a constant 40-60 FPS is unacceptable.
And more companies need to realize that this is standard, people pay upwards of $2500 for a computer that can accomplish this, since consoles cant be upgraded its up to the developers to actually do their jobs and make the hardware work in their favor and provide us with a decent end result.
aztecyankee
It all depends on the game(sports,racing sims,fps,3rd person). Case in point Madden 2008 frame rate for 360 was at 60fps while PS3 was at 30fps. There is video comparison at gametrailers and youtube. You can def see a chug while while the game is running and animations are in motion.
p.s....I'm not flaming I'm just pointing out one difference in a game ....you can make the same point for alone in the dark ps3 no framerate issue while 360 was full of framerate drop issues.
gear176
As long as it runs smoothly i could careless what the framerate is.
Army_Ant
I played through Super Double Dragon the other day. It chugged along like flash cards, but it was still a good ride.
stdTrancR
Yes, Framerate matters case in point for me was Hellgate : London
ProjektX13
As long as it looks good and plays good.
EntropyMu
If a game runs smoothly, it doesn't matter. The people that want super high framerates are the same people who brag about a car going 250 miles per hour. It is just a number that doesn't mean anything in real life usage. 60 is often used as a cutoff, but it seems like most games are smooth as silk at 45+.
rpm285sm
It really depends. If you can keep the game running smoothly without any hiccups then I wouldn't mind a lower frame rate for msot games. Most games you don't know or care what the frame rate is anyway unless it suddenly drops because you overwhelmed it. I like my FPS's to have higher frame rates and I'm sure there are a couple other genres where it effects gameplay but for the most part you can take it down a notch.
Bookshelf
When it comes to console games... 30fps is good enough. 60fps is nice but not necessary. When it comes to PC gaming, FPS's expecially, 60fps is pretty much required.
"has anyone ever stopped playing a game because the frame-rate is too low?"
anything below 25fps is really pushing it. I wont play a game with framerates below 20fps. It's just unplayable at that point.
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