60Fps - is it really that important?

[MikeRox]

NightDragon83 said:

MikeRox said:

Funny you put this. It was actually the 6th generation consoles that made me care about 60fps. Plenty of Dreamcast games ran at 60fps. Same for PS2. It's actually become far less common since the 7th gen.

A big part of that is likely the shift of focus of gaming from arcade games.

Even most of the Dreamcast and PS2 launch titles were all 60fps. So I don't get where this myth that it's a recent thing comes from.

While some of those games did indeed run at 60fps, like you said many of them were arcade games so they weren't exactly pushing new boundaries in the visuals department either.  Crazy Taxi and Soul Caliber for example were ports of arcade games, and then you had PS2 launch titles like Ridge Racer V which while running at 60fps was also a jaggy mess like most early PS2 games were...

 

Very few games that generation managed to really impress visually while holding a rock solid 60fps.  F-Zero GX is one of the few titles that comes to mind that actually accomplished this...

Ironically given your post... F-Zero is an arcade port :p

Actually 60fps arcade ports themselves were a huge deal in the 6th gen. The Dreamcast was the first home console to consistently deliver arcade perfect home conversions. PS1 and Saturn always had cut back visuals and/or halved frame rates. This is because the Dreamcast was practically an arcade board in a home console.

If you don't think games like Crazy Taxi and Soul Calibur were impressive in 1999/2000 I'd love to know what visually boundary pushing console games you were playing at that time...

From a Soul Calibur review: " There are the graphics nuts out there, for instance, whose interest in the product will be for nothing more than its graphical splendor. These individuals can take solace in the fact that Soul Calibur is a indeed a beautiful game. In fact, it's probably the most graphically impressive title you'll see on the American DC this year (only NFL2K has managed to impress me as much)."

Crazy Taxi: Sparks fly, phone booths crumble under-tire, pedestrians dive out of the way, cars flip..you'll see it all in Taxi and thanks to the game's amazing visuals, all will want to see it, as well. I can't recall the last time a game has drawn in this many on-lookers, much less the last time this many non-gamers simply had to put down their work and give it a go. Everyone from Accounting to the fun-deprived Power Students had a sit-down with this game, and the mass of addicts often exceeded 10 or more eager gamers. Remember that this in an office where the majority of the people play games for a living! If you're looking for a show-pony for your new console, this is an unquestionably good choice.

You also don't think Gran Turismo 3 was visually mind blowing in 2001? What racing games were on the market that looked notably better? Could ask the same about Metal Gear Solid 2. These 2 games were the PS2's visual showcases prior to release and a big factor in the hype around the PS2s power.