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[leadbelly]

Actually, what he said is that it means that the native resolution is 900p and the frame rate is locked (which is actually just a euphemism for capped) at 30.

That does NOT mean everything else is the same between two versions.

The most cynical and literal takeaway of what he said is that everything else will be the same too. Perhaps that reading is perfectly justified due to the stupid way the producer worded it.

However, it is not the only possible outcome.

Here are some entirely plausible scenarios that would not contradict the guy's original words:

- PS4 version stays at 30fps more constantly than the Xbox One version.
- PS4 version features superior AA.
- PS4 version features better textures.

Don't get me wrong; what the producer said is almost PERFECTLY tailored to be interpreted as "we're just gonna force complete parity guyz." It's a PR blunder of absurd proportions. However, that doesn't mean the reality is as bad as you're expecting based on these words.

I suppose it could mean that. I will take the sentence literally though, until further clarification is given.

 

[Shpeshal Nick]

Agreed. Those people need to fuck off and not even bother posting in this thread.

This is a huge issue which sets a precedent for future multi-platform titles.

Anyone who doesn't oppose this awful practice is scum.

So am I scum if I don't agree with it but really don't care that much?

 

[Radec]

Well, yes. I'm no expert but isn't this what happened on other games since MS gave that extra 10%?

Genuine question.

10% cpu improvement won't make up the 50% difference in gpu power. The two will never be on parity unless MS replaces the gpu of the xbone.

 

[Mushroomer25]

I'm just not seeing what Ubi gains with this decision. So can we safely assume money was involved with this? And who can we really blame?

They get to shift the blame from themselves to the fans. They were unable to deliver a game that ran at 1080p, so now they're using this excuse to dodge judgement. It's our fault for caring so much, it made then unable to release the best version of the game that totally exists guys, don't you worry.

 

[corrosivefrost]

Imagine if they tried this with the PC crowd (you think PS4 owners are being pissy about it.. I guarentee you the PC crowd would be a helluva lot louder if they gimped the PC version to be the same as console). And if you don't think that's ok, why is it ok to gimp one console version for parity to the other?

Better yet, imagine if they put the "parity" aspect to the now "last-gen" PS3/x360... then maybe people would see the problem a little more clearly.

 

[Avatar1]

Scum? Really? Over the resolution of a video game?

This is a case where a game could have been better but it got dragged down because of a clause in a marketing agreement I'm certain.

 

[OneEyeTwoHead]

The salty PS4 only owners are making this great. I love my PS4, and XBone. I'll be picking this up on PS4 assuming performance is better. But if it's not, I'll pick it up on the XBone as I haven't played too much of anything on it in a while.

Great addition to the thread.

 

[LowParry]

I was never gonna buy it in the first place. But I know 80% of the people bitching will still buy it. Because 'must have gaem" I guess.

But Dragon Age is the following week.

 

[Nokterian]

LOL, is this a serious comment?

Yeah? Black Flag was patched to 1080 native on PS4. Look at the difference in the gifs 900p blurry 1080 sharp. If you can't see it you need to get some glasses.

You won't be playing this on PC ? You have a very good machine.
Better graphics (tessellation, HBAO+, PCSS), higher framerate + 1080p or above

Easy choice in your case.

Made by Ubisoft Kiev...avoid it like the plague.

 

[Patroclos]

The salty PS4 only owners are making this great. I love my PS4, and XBone. I'll be picking this up on PS4 assuming performance is better. But if it's not, I'll pick it up on the XBone as I haven't played too much of anything on it in a while.

I'm a salty owns both guy. I can see when there are bad practices happening in my favorite hobby. I consider it my duty as an informed consumer to be pissed about this sort of thing and make my voice heard through twitter and my purchasing power.

In regards to the bolded part of your post, it won't be because of forced parity admitted by the developers. Do you even understand the topic?

 

[BlastProcessing]

I just don't buy conspiracies like this. I mean if it makes you feel better.. sure.. go ahead

Does it seem like people in this thread are busy making themselves feel better?

 

[Lemondish]

If those "PS4 users" understand nuance, they will know that it is quite possible to get a heavier bang for the buck than that last 180p. If it's purely a numberzzzzz race, then sure, you don't care. You just want the 1080p. If it's more about the actual visual impression, then you would consider the tradeoffs.

Note that in no way am I saying the PS4 version *will* get nice things in return for staying at 900p. Just that it's entirely possible and not necessary nothing.

I can't tell if you're just being silly with the reference to "that last 180p" or if you're actually being serious.

 

[killatopak]

 

[Waylon Drums]

This is a case where a game could have been better but it got dragged down because of a clause in a marketing agreement I'm certain.

Yeah, you're going a tad far. It's annoying that Ubisoft is doing this but no one is "scum" about it.

 

[Wattie1980]

 

[Curufinwe]

Forced parity seems crazy, but with the recent Mordor faceoff it also seems weird for Unity to not be 1080p on PS4.

 

[ShinMaruku]

But Dragon Age is the following week.

That one I will buy but AC? I never bought their games. Just not of interest. Same with shadows of mordor, not interesting.

 

[Gleethor]

It's crazy that they axtually came out and said that. Like if they had said "the game is just so big we couldn't get it to run at 1080 on ps4!" some of us would've still had doubts but shit, they removed all of those for us.

 

[RedRedSuit]

Not how it works.

It depends on the engine. Resolution is absolutely in a tradeoff with other aspects of perceived visual quality, whether it's AA or something less intimately related to it. Any PC gamer knows that after a certain point one can turn down resolution and turn up other things while keeping frame rate constant; or turn down the resolution to get a smoother (closer to the cap) frame rate; etc. (Of course, PC gamers nowadays don't use CRTs, do they'll need to keep the resolution native <ignoring down-sampling> for it to not look like shit; but the point stands.)

 

[AgentP]

let me know when you see the difference between 1080 and 900.

Like when I had AC4 pre-patch and post patch? I don't own a 900P TV, so I don't want the blur.

 

[Lucent]

Here's the thing man, the conversations about XBO games being 900p while they're 1080p on PS4, we were used to it now. The discussions had already disappeared for the most part because there's nothing controversial.

Ubisoft's decision yet again changed it out of something we were used to and now blew up the debate again by artificially going for parity.

They ignited more debate by this decision than not.

Yep. I almost wonder if they did this because they were lazy as another reason.

"Eh...we could reach 1080p with PS4, but why bother. Let's be done and call it a day. Get the discs printed."

I also think they have too many NPCs on screen sometimes. Probably also hurting them.

 

[Mononoke]

So am I scum if I don't agree with it but really don't care that much?

I think they meant people that are telling others they are exaggerating the issue and that this isn't somethng to get worked up about. I don't agree with his post (lashing out at others and name calling). But I assume they aren't talking about people that don't care about this or don't personally see a problem with it. They are talking about those dismissing others for caring about what they say is a non issue.

 

[backbreaker65]

We all know EA and MS have a special relationship. But, you guys EA has been doing parity with UFC and Hockey. That's is why I didn't buy either of those games.

 

[gundamkyoukai]

Scum? Really? Over the resolution of a video game?

It's not about the resolution it about them gimping the game because of a certain reason which don't sound right.
I sure you won't like if UBI said there were gimping the PC version to 900p.

 

[OléGunner]

Given watchdogs was 900p on PS4 why is everyone so certain that 1080p was easily achievable for what looks like a more demanding game running (based on NYC count) on a similar engine?

By that logic, the X1 version of Unity should run at 540p, seeing as WD, a less demanding game in your own words, run at 792p.

 

[DryvBy]

Sucks.. Brad from GB said they're not going to talk about this (or at least hinted they're not).

"why would we when Ubi already explained the technical reason behind it?"

 

[7DollarHagane]

If this shit becomes the norm for this generation it will do a fine job driving me back to PC games for my multiplatform titles.

Of course at $20 or less. Way to go publishers!

 

[Toki767]

I think they meant people that are telling others they are exaggerating the issue and that this isn't somethng to get worked up about. I don't agree with his post. But I assume they aren't talking about people that don't care about this or don't personally see a problem with it. They are talking about those dismissing others for caring about what they say is a non issue.

Basically reminds me of the the Xbox One DRM reveal. You have a handful of people coming in to say that it doesn't effect them so everyone else making a fuss is complaining over nothing.

 

[Biker19]

Yeah? Black Flag was patched to 1080 native on PS4. Look at the difference in the gifs 900p blurry 1080 sharp. If you can't see it you need to get some glasses.

Oh, the irony coming from someone who just commented that the differences between 900p & 1080p aren't big. Amazing on the backpedalling.

 

[Avatar1]

Yeah, you're going a tad far. It's annoying that Ubisoft is doing this but no one is "scum" about it.

Your right. As you can see I edited my post. That part was unnecessary but I still can't see how anybody can support this.

 

[Kezen]

Made by Ubisoft Kiev...avoid it like the plague.

Optimization will not be perfect that's a sure thing, but speaking for myself Ubisoft Kiev have not let me down, I could always play with great performance and graphics (ACIII, ACIV).
Even Watch Dogs ran very well and looked really good, arguably a superior experience to what I played on PS4.

I'm not too much of a fan of 900p and I'll take a PC port by Kiev over that any day of the week. ;-)

 

[RedRedSuit]

I suppose it could mean that. I will take the sentence literally though, until further clarification is given.

I have no problem with that. It was a clumsy and ridiculous statement. All I am saying is that ultimate reality might not be what everyone is inferring as fact.

 

[DOWN]

Nah. We don't know at what cost.
We don't know if it's actual, complete parity or its just resolution and target framerate.
If both versions are indeed identical, one could imagine ps4's was somehow capped.
But like I said, I doubt they'll be the same except when it comes to numbers that are easily compared.

Now though, Destiny. That was exactly the same game. Magically o not, Bungie did just reach parity, but I don't see people getting mad at that for not having better AA and whatnot on PS4, although it is safe to assume it could look/perform much better than it does.

Parity on cross gen is a different small beast for these new consoles. And Destiny still looked better on PS4.

 

[Tainted]

" to avoid all the debates and stuff "

81 pages in a little over 7hrs ...GAF proves Ubisoft wrong

 

[WordsintheWater]

It's crazy that they axtually came out and said that. Like if they had said "the game is just so big we couldn't get it to run at 1080 on ps4!" some of us would've still had doubts but shit, they removed all of those for us.

That's the thing, they came out and basically said they forced parity, which was absolutely stupid to do. If they came out and said the game was 900p and 30fps on both consoles, I wouldn't have an issue. But this dude is basically admitting it could run better than it is.

 

[Wickerbasket]

I'll buy it on PS4 after they release the 1080p patch again.

If they don't, then I'll get it during a sale on PC.

 

[Everis]

Yep it sucks big time and i hate that Bungie got not called out for that. I mean they even said "we want the Destiny experience equal on all platforms". Best evidence for this forced parity ? No use of the Dualshock 4 features like touchpad (it would fit perfect for menu navigation) and the speakers (again would fit perfect for Dinklagebot when he is scanning some shit). This was Bungies last gift to all Xbox and Halo fans imho.

You realize you could say the exact same thing about XB1? Why didn't Bungie make use of the impulse triggers? Why didn't Bungie use any Kinect features? Hmm, maybe because they had four platforms they needed to worry about getting the game running properly on?

I swear, Sony fans are the craziest bunch. How did you guys ever survive getting inferior multiplatform games for pretty much the entire first 3/4 of last generation? How do you think original Xbox fans felt getting graphically gimped games from the vastly underpowered PS2?

 

[Lucent]

Sucks.. Brad from GB said they're not going to talk about this (or at least hinted they're not).

"why would we when Ubi already explained the technical reason behind it?"

lol "technical reason". That's not a technical reason. He said to avoid debates. That's another reason all together.

 

[Hagi]

I think I'll have to check my PC specs and see it'll fair with Unity, gotta have 1080p.

Agreed. Those people need to fuck off and not even bother posting in this thread.

This is a huge issue which sets a precedent for future multi-platform titles.

Anyone who doesn't oppose this awful practice is scum.

Get a grip you're embarrassing yourself.

 

[ThoseDeafMutes]

Shadows of Mordor is a good example of how to do a title right. It was tailored for each platform. Hardly anyone complained.

Actually it was the home of the 6GB VRAM controversy, where we got dozens of meltdowns from some PC gamers thinking that their video cards were now "worthless". It also went through a bit of a console roller-coaster, where people were mocking the XBO version for being "720p30", based on some sort of vague information that the PS4 was expected to be 1080p60. It turned out that XBO was 900p30 and PS4 was 1080p30, so nearly everybody was wrong until we got our hands on the game.

Resolution/Framerate are the two PR hot button issues these days, and passions fly high in threads about them. I am looking forward to seeing how Ubisoft deals with the bad press they're getting now, but I suspect that what we're going to see is better effects on PS4 and slightly fewer framedrops (the GPU related ones; obviously if it's a CPU related drop it's not going to be affected at all).

 

[FlamingHawk]

If they really wanted to take resolution gate seriously perhaps they should have released a technologically superior gaming platform like they did the past two generations - which was, ultimately, how they cultivated such a loyal customer base in the living room (well, that and Xbox LIVE... which Sony was playing catch up on for years).

Except Don Mattrick was in charge at that time, now it's Phil Spencer who knows that resolution gate is actually making a difference in sales.

 

[stew]

Thinking about this, I don't even understand what debate Ubisoft is trying to avoid. If one version performs better than the other, we will see it with our own eyes and the answer will be obvious. There would be comparisons, but why would there be a debate? This whole thing is incredibly fishy.

If PS4 version were running at 1080p and Xbox One version at 900p, there wouldn't be debates. If the PS4 version were running at 900p and the Xbox One version at 720p or 792p, there would have been a lot of discussions over the Xbox One version.

But yes those comments didn't avoid debates.

 

[smurfx]

guys microsoft didn't pay to nerf the ps4 version. they paid to make sure the xbone version was just as good as the ps4 version.

 

[Mononoke]

Basically reminds me of the the Xbox One DRM reveal. You have a handful of people coming in to say that it doesn't effect them so everyone else making a fuss is complaining over nothing.

People get upset when they feel they are being belittled. They obviously are upset about an issue they care about and don't want to hear people telling them they are complaining about things just to complain. Again there is a difference between stating that you don't think this is an issue, or an issue you care about, and commenting on others for caring about something (and dismissing them for caring about it).

But like I said, lashing out and name calling isn't cool. And someone that doesn't think this is an issue is totally valid even if you think it's an issue.

 

[King Gilga]

let me know when you see the difference between 1080 and 900.

Let me know when you stop being blind.

 

[TetraGenesis]

let me know when you see the difference between 1080 and 900.

Obligatory "you're going to go far here" response.

 

[dmr87]

let me know when you see the difference between 1080 and 900.

 

[meppi]

wat

He's voting with his wallet.

Nothing wrong with that at all!

 

[Memorabilia]

Here's the thing man, the conversations about XBO games being 900p while they're 1080p on PS4, we were used to it now. The discussions had already disappeared for the most part because there's nothing controversial.

Ubisoft's decision yet again changed it out of something we were used to and now blew up the debate again by artificially going for parity.

They ignited more debate by this decision than not.

This is a great point that deserves quoting so it can be re-read. Regardless of whether or not there was actually a MS money-hat to precede this move, Ubi really screwed the pooch with this decision by resurrecting what was quickly becoming a dead issue.

 

[WordsintheWater]

Sucks.. Brad from GB said they're not going to talk about this (or at least hinted they're not).

"why would we when Ubi already explained the technical reason behind it?"

How is "we wanted to avoid debates" a technical reason? Games journalists are another issue for this industry. It makes me sad that they can either be this uninformed or just not care about stuff like this.