MikeB said:
I don't think resolution is overrated, you are able to see more details. Like for instance when a spaceship is far away in the distance, higher resolution also helps with regard to jaggies like AA but with better detail. You can add smart manual color selection for art to that list, you can spot jaggies because of high level of contrast between neighbouring pixels, the various AA techniques are aimed to reduce this contrast. IMO 720p at solid 30 FPS should be minimal for the high def consoles, that's why many are surprised a high profile big budget exclusive game like Halo 3 was only running in 640p without AA (not really relevant to those playing on old TVs) while also noticeably dropping frames in parts of the game. The PS3 is able to go higher when game engines are fully matured. |
Regarding old TVs people often mistakenly assume the lower resolution plays part in less severe aliasing issues, this is of course a complete misunderstanding of what's the true reason. Lower rendering resolutions cause more jaggies due to larger pixels, also a lower than intented for resolution can cause pixels to unexpectedly neighbour each other (more contrast than intended).
NTSC is often jokingly referred to as "Never The Same Color", basically old TVs aren't able to output the exact color like was originally intended, thus with modern HDTVs and monitors more contrast (as intended by developers) is visible. Also the shittier the connection you use to connect your console to a screen can play part in this. You will notice far lower image quality but also experience fewer aliasing issues.