So I'm replaying Alan Wake on the 360 at the moment, in glorious 960x540, a resolution that was mocked even when the game released in 2010, and it strikes me; this still looks fine, far better than the number itself would seem to imply.

It got me thinking; is more pixels really the best way to spend limited rendering resources? For a long time now, I've felt like devs nowdays place too much emphasis on the number of pixels, when it my opinion you often get better overall results with fewer but better quality pixels.

On the Wii U for example, Smash Bros 4 at 1080p is crisper than Mario Kart 8 or Captain Toad Treasure Tracker at 720p, but does it look better overall? I'd argue not, as the tradeoff is lower quality textures, materials, and effects. 

On Switch, Mario Odyssey and Kingdom Battle forgo a full 1080p in favour of richer lighting and materials, and I personally feel the results pay off handsomely.

But that's me. Which would you rather be prioritized, resolution, or detail/asset quality/effects/etc?

Resolution is just something PC gamers use to act superior...

I have been saying this since the launch of the PS4 and X1. I would take FPS and special effects over resolution any day.

I am an image quality whore. Clear image > nice effects, for me. But I can still play games at low resolutions, just would prefer not to.

It's the combo of HD resolution and high frame rates. For me, as a PC player: frame rate > resolution > graphics.

1080p is the current standard, and anything above that is only necessary for larger TVs or monitors.

Well, if you take a look on my greates games list (last year), the answer should be obvious. It's not only nostalgia. I replayed some of these old games, and they can certainly stand their own against new titles. That doesn't mean newer titles with better technology cannot be great, again my list also contains current titles. But the major thing here is, that other things than pretty graphics and technology matter for good games which you still can play and have fun 20 years later.

There are diminishing returns. It's not a linear quality.

I don't need anything over 1080p and I'm frankly fine with 720p if it means the framerate's better.

But it's not irrelevant. The difference between 1080p and 480p is a pretty big deal.

Far from overrated. I feel its underated. My eye sight isnt the best anymore, but when playing in glorious 4k, my eyes feel relaxed and less strained.
Nothing beats playing a great game at high clarity.

Well obviously, but none of the current consoles go much lower than 720p.