just wanted to put this out there. Now I have a 4K tv I can just say what I always suspected, developers throwing huge amounts processing power at native 4K would be a huge waste next of gen technology. I hope 1440p is the standard developers target and use next generation GPUs to aim for actual better vfx, lighting l, assets and performance.

Would everyone be Ok if native 4K remained a rarity next gen?

What your saying makes sense to US... the people who actually know gaming inside and out. But for the average consumer, the eye test is what sells the most and those make up the bulk of purchases when it comes to consoles. The companies making them know this and so, your wishes are likely to end up unfulfilled.

The next round of consoles from both Sony and Microsoft are going to tow the line and try to one-up each other with 4K graphics and 8K up-resultion etc. It's just the way it is in the mass market.

Well it keeps us spending money on new HW and SW and that's what the corporations want, so who are we to argue

It is worth it if it's done right. What are you playing at the moment that made you get buyers remorse?

4k will be the selling point of the next gen consoles. Not because it makes huge difference in graphics quality, but simply because it's catchy. It's much easier to sell 4K, native 4k, real 4k ... or whatever catchphrase manufacturers going to use, than 1440p, 60 frames per second or 10 ms response time. It's too technical. 4K is easy.

Native 4K is not needed.

No, we should have native 4k PLUS everything else you said. Anything less than 4k is unacceptable, my cellphone has better pixel density than 1440p, no way should TV gaming standards be so pathetic.

"I hope 1440p is the standard developers target and use next generation GPUs to aim for actual better vfx, lighting l, assets and performance."

You don't have to worry about that, apart from performance. Developers will continue to prioritize shiny graphics over resolution and unfortunately framerate too.

I hope 4k won't be the norm next gen as we would basically be seeing ps4 like graphics which look a bit sharper on a giant tv if you see sit right in front of it. But I don't think 4k gaming will be a catchy buzzword at all. It's not like the ps4 pro and Xbox One are selling like hotcakes and probably 75% of the people out there don't even own a 4k tv.

If games on next gen offer a "true 4k" 30fps mode and a checkerboard 4k 60 fps mode I will always go for the later (with VRR-supporting TVs 30/60 locks might be a thing of the past though) - the difference in image quality is pretty miniscule imo

native rendering of super high resolutions is only really needed for VR