pc games generally use smaller fonts than consoles, wasnt ported properly

Thanks for the answer.  I don't know what to do with it.  Since my HDTV is the "family" tv, I play games on my 32 inches SDtv, but can't see anything.  I'll wait untill I "upgrade" my basement television. 

Most current games weren't developed to be played on SD screens. It's not a strike against the developers; SD is simply not the standard for anything outside of the Wii.

If it's still an issue on a 1080p display, which is the current industry standard, then it's more of an issue of viewing distance to size of display.

If you have a 22" PC display for instance, you probably shouldn't be any further than PC viewing distance (arm's length). If you choose to sit back over 5" away, it's not "the game's fault" because you're viewing a display too small for such viewing distances, and that's for an assumed 20/20 vision.

If you need corrective lenses and you either don't wear them or don't even realize you need them, again, it's not the game's fault. Get a bigger display or scoot up closer to the display you have.

I played dead rising on a 34" HD ready crt tv with component cables. I could read the text from 8ft, but the developers didn't take the overscan area into account. CRT tv's don't show the entire picture so the text at the bottom was cut off...

GTA4's text on the cellphone was definately too small, I had a 52" 1080p lcd tv by then, but could not read it from 10 feet away.

Now I have a 92" home theatre screen with 1080p projector and can read all console text comfortably from 10ft. Along comes the witcher 2 on pc, and the screen isn't big enough again... Even behind the pc monitor I have trouble reading the text in the combat log. It's 7 frigging pixels high.

i am playing though Deus Ex and man the small text is tiny for me, i have to have my head right up to the computer screen 

It happens on the DS too! It makes me mad, I gotta put my DS way close to my face (sometimes I do that anyway, but whatever). But it is definitely an annoyance on my Wii as well.

For RPGs, it wouldn't really hurt to make the text box bigger during conversations, that really gets on my nerves, because I want to know the storyline, and I can stare at my character as much as a want later; so they could have --

wait!! i have a theory: the developers are teaming up with television companies. They make text smaller and smaller so you will buy a bigger TV. They make it small on DS so you will buy DSi XL. it's most likely not true, but I thought I might add some humor to this thread...

Play on an hdtv with an hdmi cable

I use component and its not a problem for me. But I sit pretty close to my TV.

i upgraded because i couldnt read a bunch of games without trying really hard lol, i wish developers added more text options like disgaea 3 did, its really not a lot of work

1. Lots of TVs shipping today are 720p, not 1080p. Those are the cheap ones, so I wouldn't be surprised if they actually ship in greater numbers than the larger, more expensive 1080p units. 

2. Even if they are 1080p, the text can still be a struggle to read if your screen isn't huge. I often find game text challenging sitting within 10 feet of a 32" 1080p display. And yes, I do remember to wear my corrective lenses, thank you very much.

3. Yes, it certainly is a strike against the developers. All the input and outputs need to work, and text is important output. This is no different than a game having fickle, unreliable controls or dark rooms where nothing can be distinguished. Bad design is bad design, and developers shouldn't assume that all their customers will sit within ten feet of a 50" screen, just as they shouldn't assume that players will simply adapt to their sloppy control mechanics.