Halo 3 brings the true 1080p pain?
by Richard Mitchell 
{ Apr 24th 2007 at 12:35PM }
A gaming blog by the name of PlayThree.net claims to have some top secret info from a Bungie insider. What is that info, you ask? According to the inside source, Microsoft is pushing Bungie to make sure that Halo 3 can churn out native 1080p support. 360 Fanboys will know that the Xbox is capable of 1080p, but for most games this effect is created by upscaling a 720p image. Apparently, last year's E3 made Microsoft think differently. While most games will remain 720p, the sheer amount of money and manpower being poured into Halo 3 make it the perfect candidate for true 1080p. According to the source, "if [1080p] can't be done on Halo 3, then the Xbox 360 can't do it at all." Apparently, Halo 3 is already running at 1080p at 60fps, though it's not final code at this point. Also, Bungie reportedly wants to be sure the game functions perfectly on the Core system, which adds to the difficulty of maintaining frame rate in large levels with many players. Oh, and just in case you were hoping to try out 1080p during the beta next month, don't hold your breath. The source notes that it won't be available in the beta.As always, information from "inside sources" should be taken with a grain of salt. Besides, it's not like a lack of true 1080p is going to keep people away from Halo 3.
Update: Fixed grammatical error. Flogged self.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Abe Froman @ Apr 24th 2007 12:42PM
"Besides, if Halo 3 it's not like a lack of true 1080p is going to keep people away from Halo 3."
Uh, whuh? English?
Dan @ Apr 24th 2007 1:17PM
I personally don't buy this at all. I follow all things 360 and Bungie pretty closely and from what I've read, Bungie wants Halo 3 to look great AND run very smoothly. That means 720P and a good frame rate. I don't mean to say this is impossible (1080P) but it's highly unlikely. Most PS3 games that have a lot to render and high textures won't run at 1080P. 720 upscaled is fine and the most important issue is that the game looks, feels, and plays smoothly.
Scaught @ Apr 24th 2007 1:03PM
Sweet, all I need now is a TV that can display 1080p!!! Oh and the money to buy this TV.
jabbertrack @ Apr 24th 2007 1:04PM
I hope it's 720p actually. Why waste resources on 1080p?
AG @ Apr 24th 2007 1:06PM
@Abe Froman
....Really dude? Where have you been?
PS nobody has anything to worry about. Forget how it looks, seriously, this game is going to be great for it's "feel" alone.
machrc @ Apr 24th 2007 1:35PM
maybe its their way of saying,
the game may not look super kick ass like gears,
but its going to be "hella" clean.
Chappy @ Apr 24th 2007 1:25PM
A) Frankie has already described this as bullshit
B) There's no difference between the Core and the Premium when it comes to frame rate or networking
Jon @ Apr 24th 2007 1:30PM
Please tell me this isn't true. 1080p is such a waste of time for any game except maybe Command and Conquer 3 where the extra resolution might help.
I want fast framerates throughout the game...just like we got with Gears of War. 1080p is not needed to make a game look great. Again I reference Gears of War. Still the best looking game on any console...and still 720p.
andres 360 @ Apr 24th 2007 1:32PM
I dunno, I'm kinda torn.
on one side, I think its great that they can push that kind of resolution, so people can really get all out of their 1080p tv's
but on the other side, I don't have a 1080p tv, I was thinking of getting a 720p one. It also bugs me that they probably had to cut down on effects and gameplay stuff to get it on 1080. I'd rather they make it beautiful at 720 and just upscale.
but anyways we don't even know if this is true so until they anounce something I'm not gonna worry.
kokoro @ Apr 24th 2007 1:36PM
Why do Microsoft push for 1080P??? Well, to sell more Elite, that is. how many TV accept 1080P Via component?
so Microsoft would say... "you want to play Halo in 1080P? Get an Elite with HDMI port"!!
it's their way of justifying Elite and the price, try not to ruin it for them please.
EdgeOne @ Apr 24th 2007 1:48PM
Microsoft's decision to sell an Xbox 360 without a Hard Drive continues to baffle me (they didn't do that with the fist Xbox!?) I work with developers and IF there is enough memory AND your code is awesome, then no, you shouldn't need a HD, but there are times when its so nice to have that virtual memory.
And if I can say a word about the Elite... no built in Wireless? No HD DVD? C'mon MS.
Back to the subject though 720p looks great. 1080p would rock, but not at the expense of the experience. Besides, I still have to buy something that can display that resolution.
fragglefart @ Apr 24th 2007 1:50PM
I do not want 1080p
Give me 720p and turn up all the shaders, textures and geometry, please.
Jason @ Apr 24th 2007 2:03PM
I think it's obvious it won't be 1080p. It's on DVD format, hello! It can't hold that amount of data. That's why the PS3 uses blu ray.
Tony @ Apr 24th 2007 2:51PM
You know, I hate to take this route, but assuming for whatever reason (and I doubt the game will look like this as a final either!), but if the final does look like what it does in the leaked beta versions... I really don't see how it would be an impossibility.
So who knows.
h0mi @ Apr 24th 2007 2:57PM
Id rather they spend the time making the 720p game work well and look great and do everything like it should, instead of focus on the 1080p buzzwords of the week.
Jon @ Apr 24th 2007 3:41PM
But boy it sure would be some major egg on Sony's face if the 360 is the first to have a major AAA title in 1080p.
Chappy @ Apr 24th 2007 3:54PM
Just to back up my earlier post: "Playthree.net link - It's total BS, but it's so confidently written. You have to admire their brass ones." - Frankie on the neogaf forum
Oh, and Jason? The delivery method for a game (CD, DVD, BR, HDDVD or download) has absolutely nothing to do with a game's resolution. Both Virtua Tennis 3 and NBA Street Homecourt support 1080p on the 360.
Konchu @ Apr 24th 2007 5:08PM
#13 I giggle everytime I see that argument that you need Blu Ray for 1080p. Like #17 said 1080p is a resolution and that can be done just fine as it is, are you saying Tekken Dark Resurection, Flow, or Gran Turismo HD on the Playstation Network are not capible of 1080p cause they aren't on Blu Ray. Infact they are fairly small downloads.
Just how much data do you think a console can stream in a level. On 360 there is a maximum ammount of 512 for graphical data and game code(same as PS3 though Xbox360's is a little more flexible but Im sure the PS3 has its strengths too) and if you take system bus memory speeds etc in consideration I dont see this being an issue on a game such as Halo 3.
Really the only game that I could see this even being remotely an issue would be a sandbox game that is just extremely large and im talking budget breaking large. Sure not having multiple disk is great but this doesnt make it un-doable.
Anonymous @ Apr 24th 2007 5:49PM
That is why I bought an elite; For 1080p over HDMI (traded in premium, got about 280 for it) and if Halo 3 can get 1080p running at 60fps, then more power to them. Unless you have a 50 inch TV or more, 720p is more than enough. But as any videophile can tell you, once you hit 50 inches, you run into screendoor problems on fixed pixel TV's like Plasma's and LCD's. I was a bit pissed when I found out that I couldn't do 1080p over component or VGA on my set, so I was elated when I found out the Elite was coming.
Now I sit and wait for the Wii Lite, or Wii Plus, or whatever they will call it, with 720p over component =p round out my Hi-Def trifecta.
Danger @ Apr 24th 2007 8:57PM
i have a 51" ready and waiting for it, still holding out on buying an elite for awhile, will prolly get one once more stuff is built around it.
http://www.burnedbytheman.com
go360 @ Apr 24th 2007 9:28PM
It would be nice in 1080p cuz i have a hdtv with hdmi. Kinda off topic but does the Elite have a hitachi dvd drive?
guitarherolover @ Apr 24th 2007 9:41PM
Alright! I have a 1080P TV but only 2 games I have (Soniic the Hedgehog and Guitar Hero II) support it. Good that halo 3 will be!
jason @ Apr 25th 2007 5:46AM
get rid of music ad plezzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!!!
James @ Apr 25th 2007 3:47PM
Well seeing how simple Halo 2's graphics were compared to other games for Xbox 1 I could see this being a possibility. I'm sure Halo 3 will be good but I don't expect Gears of War type graphics. The architecture in Halo 2 was dead simple it was the enemies that looked good.