The PlayStation 5 is 1440p Ready, but When Will Games Follow Suit?
If you’re reading this, you probably already know that the PlayStation 5 has been announced, and that it’s going to be here sometime in the next year or two (or three). However, many gamers are still worried about its support of 1440p displays, particularly since Sony was one of the only companies to support 4K TVs at launch back with the PS4 Pro (though it ended up supporting 1080p TVs too). Will the PS5 support 1440p? It seems like a simple enough question, but the answer is more complicated than you might think.
Why Are So Many PS4 and PS4 Pro Titles Still 1080p?
This may be an unpopular opinion, but my biggest question when it comes to the PS5 is whether or not games will still be 1080p. I mean, if this new console has enough power to bring 4K gaming to the masses, surely that power can also offer a crisp 1440p resolution. What am I missing here? Why are so many PS4 and PS4 Pro titles still 1080p in 2018?
Why Is 1440p Such a Big Deal on PC in 2018?
In 2018, the development of 4K and HDR gaming remains a priority for PC gamers. More powerful graphics cards are needed to produce a smooth 60 frames per second in 4K resolution at high detail settings. In contrast, the Playstation 4 Pro can only output 1080p resolutions at 30 frames per second. As such, games have to be developed with a framerate of 30 or 60 frames per second in mind – which means that even if the next-generation Playstation consoles are capable of running games at higher resolutions than 1080p (e.g. 2160p), developers will need to find ways to keep game framerates consistent with what PC gamers expect from their hardware.
Why Does 4K Matter On Console?
- 4K resolution can make all the difference for games with a lot of detail. The extra resolution means more intricate details can be seen in-game, which makes for a richer experience and gives the player more immersion.
- A good way to see this is to look at the difference between 1080p and 4K TVs or monitors. A 1080p TV has a maximum of 2 million pixels on screen whereas a 4k TV has 8 million pixels on screen – that’s four times as much!
- One of the reasons why ultra-high definition TVs have been able to take off so quickly as a new standard for home entertainment is because it offers so many benefits and improvements over other formats like 720p or 1080i.
What Happens If You Use A TV as the Primary Display for Your PS5 Console?
If you’re planning to use your PS5 console as the primary display for your TV, it’s worth noting that there’s a difference between using the PS4 and PS5. The PS4 was 720p and the PS5 is 1440p. If you’re using a 1080p TV as your primary display for both consoles, then you’ll be able to see more on screen with the PS5 than the PS4. We recommend reading our full blog post on this topic: What Happens If You Use A TV as the Primary Display for Your PS5 Console?
What About 60Hz Support at 4K/1440p on PS5 Consoles?
Sony has been known to push the envelope in terms of visuals. The PS4 Pro was a huge success for them and it’s easy to see why: it provided a visual improvement over the base console while also adding compatibility with 4K screens. It’s reasonable to assume that Sony will want to continue down this path with their next console iteration, which should be called the PlayStation 5. If so, then we can expect 4K/1440p support at 60Hz. With the amount of pixels pushed by today’s high-end PC monitors, 4K on consoles seems inevitable.
While there are exceptions like Shadow Warrior 2, most games just don’t take full advantage of resolutions beyond 1080p even on PC hardware that surpasses $1,000 (the low end starts around $200). In fact, many PC gamers say they’re more than content playing these games in 1080p because they have more processing power to do other things like higher quality textures or more detailed models without sacrificing frame rate. That said, higher resolutions are obviously preferable when you have a large enough screen to take advantage of them. However, what about 60Hz support?
