30 FPS Versus 60 FPS For PS4 And Xbox One: Does It Really Matter?

"As a gamer, have you ever heard about frame rate drop? Of course you have, we’ve all experienced it from time to time. Most gamers have experienced some brutal frame rate drops that cause their screen to look like a sequence of snapshots. This distracting experience is absolutely annoying at best, and can end your game at its worst. It makes it impossible to react or play accurately and can cause some real problems."

[ape007]

we all agree that 60 FPS is better but are there any one agree with this.......yes 60FPS is awesome but it doesn't feel right for all games

for example games like KZ and GTA, if u have them run at 60 FPS, the gameplay will feel less authentic, less "OMPHH"

i don't know, maybe it's the just me

[Tooly]

So true 60 fps is not for all games.

[_QQ_]

yes it is... but that doesn't mean 30 fps is bad.

[GameNameFame]

Yes it does.

Also, the power difference wont always manifest in 30 fps to 60 fps.

What if both games get 30 fps and PS4 gets more polygon, higher res texture, better effects, better ligthing?

Or what if game difference becomes 1080P and 900 P.

or graphical difference of Ultra/high vs medium at same frame rate.

There are so many ways this huge power difference can manifest.

[ShinMaster]

If they can push higher visual fidelity @ solid 30fps, that's fine by me.
Not every type of game is worth investing 60fps over graphics.

Maybe if the majority of games you play are shooters or any other games that are competitive by nature and require faster reaction times, then I see your point. However, not every game is the same way.

It can be dependent on genre, gameplay speed or artistic choice. The higher the frame rate, they less cinematic it feels and the more it seems like live TV broadcast.

[guitarded77]

Just wanted to share this .gif since it's relevant to the conversation.

http://i.imgur.com/lZj9Rul....

[Magicite]

I played Dead space 3 on rock solid 30fps and bioshock infinite on rock solid 60fps. Both run fluidly and had no issues.

[Boody-Bandit]

60fps all day every day over 30fps.

[nveenio]

I'd rather have 30fps @ 1080p than 60fps @ 720p.

[Pandamobile]

That is ridiculous logic. GTA IV is phenomenon at 60 FPS. Every FPS game benefits from higher framerates too.

[Blackdeath_663]

agreed this flawed logic has no base or reason. 60 FPS is better in every single way shape and form and no this is not subjective its a fact. games like beat 'em ups and FPS' show the biggest improvements at 60 FPS. people who say its not a big deal only say so because they have never gamed at an FPS higher than 30. i think next month when next gen finally arrives we can be done with this topic once and for all, killzone shadow fall and BF4 are the ones to look out for

[nukeitall]

@death:

That is BS!

It depends on what you are trying to achieve and how you want to present your game. It is no different than certain film makers choose to film their movies at a certain frame rate to reach a visual effect. In the same way, game developers will choose a frame rate to match what they want you to feel when playing their games.

Certain games will benefit from higher frame rates, particularly games that are competitive that faster reaction times matter.

The unfortunate matter of the situation is people love to compare, and numbers is way easier to compare than say better pixel quality!

Remember when Intel had the highest GHz cpu's, but AMD beat them in real life performance?

Don't buy into numbers alone. They are often carefully crafted to mislead you or are only true in certain restricted scenarios.

[ShinMaster]

phenomenal*

Also, if the majority of games you play are shooters or any other games that are competitive by nature and require faster reaction times, then I see your point. However, not every game is the same way.

If they can push higher visual fidelity @ solid 30fps, that's fine by me.
Not every type of game is worth investing 60fps over graphics.

It can be dependent on genre, gameplay speed or artistic choice. The higher the frame rate, they less cinematic it feels and the more it seems like live TV broadcast.

[JsonHenry]

I'd prefer a higher fps. Especially since I am used to running at 100+ in a lot of games on my PC. It is noticeable in shooters and 3rd person action games when the fps is below 40 or so.

[pedrof93]

Actually the human eye canonly see 75 fps. In other words waste of power.

True.

[Pandamobile]

Every eye is different, but the human eye does not see at a fixed frame rate and can perceive motion down to 1/1000 second.

True.

[JsonHenry]

Humans are different and several millions of people around the world can see as high as 1/1000 of a second.

This is actually one of the tests most military's give their pilots to test reaction times. (reaction time and eye speed/detection are directly related)

[Hicken]

What's with this falsehood that the eye can only see at a certain framerate?

The framerate we see at doesn't technically exist, because life doesn't adhere to a refresh rate. There are individuals motions that are too fast for us to perceive, such as the speed of light, but a meteor moving through the atmosphere at a few thousand miles an hour doesn't have a framerate, yet we can still perceive such a thing.

[Dasteru]

@pedrof93:

The human eye actually does not see in a set frames per second at all, it works completely different and can vary significantly depending on what is being viewed. Testing has shown an ability to see anywhere from 24-200fps on average and sometimes even higher. Adrenaline can also increase that even further. Potentially as high as 1000fps.

[secretcode]

Killzone? Really? Any fast-paced FPS game would BENEFIT from a 60FPS frame rate, especially one that pushes competitive modes. Why do you think the developers for the game are pushing that for multiplayer?

[Irishguy95]

That's just...No.

All games benefit from 60FPS. However depending on the genre, it depends on how much the FPS jump is a benefit, all FPS's, all racers too, depending on the speed of gameplay too, such as hack and slash games all hugely benefit from 60FPS. I have to say there is literally no case at all that 30FPS is superior to 60FPS. My gameplay experience has only ever improved from more FPS.

[SpecialK]

QFT

That feel people are talking about in games like killzone are not down to fps, thats down to the way the controls are set up by the devs. They just made the game feel weighty.

It'd still feel like that at a higher fps. A higher fps brings extra crispness, better responsiveness. There's literally no downside.

Now one could argue that at some point it becomes unnecessary for some games, but it certainly wont make anything worse!

[DeadManIV]

When one console is cheaper yet more powerful...

[clouds5]

What people often forget 60fps needs ALOT more power than 30fps. Not just a little optimization here and there, ALOT.
That is one reason we won't see such a huge boost in graphics when switching to the ps4/xb1. We'll have bigger levels yes and more stuff in it but that is mainly thx to the bigger RAM. When you want up the resolution and rendering speed from 720p/30fps to 1080p/60fps you need alot more power. I'm speaking from over 10 years experience in PC gaming (my first games ran at 320*240p ;) so when i played my first 640*480p game my eyes almost popped out of my head because it was SO BEAUTIFUL. Anyway i have a lot of resolution increases behind me).

I remember when the switch from 4:3 to 16:9 came. My old monitor was a 19" 1024*768 (basically 720p) and everything was fine. Then I bought a 27" 1080p monitor and right after that I had to buy a new GPU just to run the same games (!) smoothly at the higher resolution while keeping up the framerate.

BTW: Constant 60fps means your average fps should be quite a bit higher than 60fps. That's why we have alot of games on 360/ps3 that have very visible framerate issues. They are locked at 30fps and the average is also around 30fps. Then your range is between 20fps and 40fps, so every once in a while you get some 20fps scenes and everything below the magic 25fps mark is very noticable and feels stuttery. I think that is the biggest reason why 60fps is WAY better than 30fps. Example: You have one scene where the framerate drops 20fps below your target. With lock@30fps you go down to 10fps which is almost slideshow like. With lock@60fps you drop to 40fps which is still very smooth.
I hope you get my point :)

All I can say in conclusion: I'm not defending or bashing xb1 or ps4. In my opinion EVERY game should run in 1080p/60fps because that is what our modern TVs are built for!
But the hardware that can output modern, big open world games with huge polygon counts at 1080/60 simply is not available in the console price range. Sony&Microsoft could make a 1000$ system that is built for 1080p/60fps right now but no one is going to buy that. I think they should have waited another 1-2 years, but that's just me.
Anyway if you want 1080p/60fps, there is one way: PC, and better get a good one.

[Dasteru]

Sry but slow and clunky does not equal realistic/authentic or anything similar.

[mistertwoturbo]

Yes it's just you.

I'd prefer 60fps for all games. HOWEVER doesn't mean I don't enjoy games that are 30fps either IE: Uncharted, Killzone, etc.

[SlyGuy]

Wait...weren't we promised 1080p 120fps for PS3? :p

I sure hope PS4 has 60fps for most games because PC gaming has spoiled my eyes and now they demand at least 60fps

[Aceman18]

Personally I pretty much don't care I enjoy games are both ends 30 or 60.

[MEsoJD]

There isn't a game I can think of that wasn't better running at 60fps. There are no disadvantages for 60fps. It should be the standard.

[Jaqen_Hghar]

all other effects take a hit when that happens. You can't standardise it as developers wouldn't want to develope for whoever did. Developers choose 30fps for a reason.

[Magicite]

it depends on the TV/monitor. For example 120hz or higher monitor would demand more frames to look decently fluid.

[Hufandpuf]

It does matter. Just about every PC game runs at 60+ frames. Are we going to sit here and be content with tech that is supposed to be "next gen" het still cannot compete?

Don't get me wrong the games will be really fun, but the tech behind these console are lacking.

[Tooly]

if console went down the route of high end pc parts we would be looking at more expensive consoles and if that's the case we might as well get a pc. console exclusives are way better then pc's,plus you got pc devs making there way to console now.

[sorane]

:console exclusives are way better then pc's"

Uhh maybe in your opinion, but definitely not mine. I see PC exclusives being miles ahead of any console exclusive.

"plus you got pc devs making there way to console now."

Yeah and you have a lot of console devs making there way to PC. Hell, PC is the lead platform on most games these days.

[hellzsupernova]

I agree I prefer the games on console I'm an avid pc gamer mostly playing war thunder at the moment.

The only games I play on pc now are rts games mostly everything else if there is a console option I'll pick that

[GarrusVakarian]

"Just about every PC game runs at 60+ frames"

No. The game running at 60fps depends on the PC, not the game. I imagine there are many gamers without PC's powerful enough to run EVERY game at 60fps.

[shoddy]

Those PC boys think that if games are play on PC is automatically superior.

Except for a cheap ass PC.

[CrossingEden]

If you're expecting high end pc performance out of a $400 console then you're deluding yourself.

[AndrewLB]

^^^ This man speaks the truth.

[Feocart]

Both machines are capable of running these games at 1080p/60fps, it's just that the games aren't developed to meet those standards. They're most likely rushed to meet demand. Keep in mind that launch titles have historically looked bad in comparison to what can be achieved (in some cases, they look worse than previous gen titles).

This doesn't concern me all that much.

[GarrusVakarian]

Exactly. For example, compare Perfect Dark Zero or The Outfit (lol) or PGR3 to The Last Of Us or Uncharted 3. Same gen, miles of difference between them graphically.

[d3nworth1]

Correction every PC game can run at 60+ frames but not every PC can run games at 60+. Its not even the console tech. Alot of these game are being developed for 5 to 6 platforms at once. They don't have time to specifically optimize for each one. Final Fantasy 14 is out for PC and ps3 so now Square only have to focus on the ps4 version and they have confirmed that it run at 60fps. Why? cuz the have time to properly optimize for one platform.

[Jaqen_Hghar]

other things advance. 1080p 60fps was done with wipeout. It's gonna be done with Flower on PS4. KZ and Infamous look loads better than those games though

[EXVirtual]

Well, it depends what kind of game you're playing.
It's awesome to have, but it's not mandate for all games. If we wanted 60 fps for all games throughout the gen, we'd be looking at some seriously expensive consoles, which does not work at all. Remember the launch of the PS3? Also, has anyone thought about how the PS4 would handle a cel-shaded game? Because most of these graphics discussions have been solely based on realistic visuals, from what I've seen at least.

[lifeisgamesok]

I'm not going to say 60 frames isn't great but I just seen new single player campaign of Ryse at 30 fps and it is by far the best looking game I've ever seen before

The foliage, water, rocks, characters, and even the butterflies swaying in the wind looked unlike anything I've ever seen on a game console

I'm starting to believe there's more to the Xbox One that MS is putting out there

[GarrusVakarian]

"I'm starting to believe there's more to the Xbox One that MS is putting out there"

So, erm...that supposed NDA agreement ended on the 30th of last month, i didn't see any big announcement on secret hardware from MS.

[pyramidshead]

lol didn't you hear? They extended it conveniently another 3 months! What a surprise aye? *rolls eyes*

[lifeisgamesok]

But they still haven't confirmed that this is a 7770 or 7790 like people believe. All MS has confirmed is that it's a Sea Island gpu

And my logic is based on how astounding Ryse looks compared to other titles

Oh and GG thought it was being played on a high end PC the last time they saw it. That says a boat load about how good it looks

[Kayant]

On consoles devs will choose what they go for because they choose the settings and effects for their games during development and a compromise has to be made somewhere whether be it performance or graphic effects.

If the framerate is locked at 30fps but doesn't dip that dramatically then you can still get a great experience. It's not like at 60fps it doesn't dip as well. IMO it's how stable the framerate is that matters rather than the number it's running at.

[Jaqen_Hghar]

can one "lock" a framerate? Like it'll never go under that? Or is it always fluctuating?

[GribbleGrunger]

We've got a choice here: Do we want next gen tech (which means compromising on early games) or do we want current gen tech in 1080p at 60fps? I know which one I want. I believe that once people have 'experienced' the advantages of realtime shadows, realtime reflections, realtime lighting and fully polygonal worlds for all that to interact with, they'll want the same as me.

[fattyuk]

I want good games.

[GribbleGrunger]

That should always be the priority but you also want full immersion which means great next gen tech to put you there in the thick of it. Cars that reflect and react to lighting that's bouncing off all the surfaces you drive through or on for instance, not just the same God damn tricks and shortcuts we get now because the tech isn't there. I would actually consider it a 'con' to simply up the resolution and framerate. Looking at framerate, resolution, or scrutinising every last 'jaggy' is just not going to help people appreciate what they're looking at, you need to dig much deeper.

[GarrusVakarian]

Almost every game ive ever played was 30fps, all of my favourite games of all time ive played at 30fps.

Although i would like the MP portions of some games to be 60fps. Apart from that im fine with 30fps.

[gaelic_laoch]

Some people prefer Vinyl over CD!

[Stsonic]

Play a game at 60fps for long enough and you will start to see the drawbacks of playing at 30fps. It is less noticeable with a game pad but when it comes to a mouse trying to aim at someone at 30fps can be very tedious. It also depends how the game is optimised. some games feel less leggy than others.

http://frames-per-second.ap... Test 2 soccer balls, one at 25fps and the other at 60fps and see for yourself. Or put everything on 60 for a minute then everything on 30 and you clearly notice the difference.

[fattyuk]

No

Never get why people are so sensitive about all this FPS malarkey.

If it plays well it plays well... nuff said.

[CrossingEden]

^ For example.
30fps hack and slash
http://www.youtube.com/watc...
30fps open world gameplay
http://www.youtube.com/watc...
Quality of animation is a big factor.
DmC and infamous second son=more fluid animation than bayonetta or CoD which both run at a consistent 60fps.
Edit:And instant disagree from my stalker. -_-

[SynestheticRoar]

Double of any gain is always better. Just common sense.

[fattyuk]

"Double of any gain is always better. Just common sense."

I'm gaining weight.

Will doubling my weight be better for my health?

Ive had turds with more common sense than your comment

[razorpakk]

Wow, you're getting to the point of saying that 60 fps isn't clearly better than 30...
When I'm on the pc I ALWAYS turn down effects if I can't have 60+ fps, you guys have no Idea what you're talking about :(

"All of my favorite games of all time are at 30 fps"

Jesus Christ...

[GarrusVakarian]

What is wrong with what i said? Its true, Skyrim,Fallout,Mass Effect,GTA5, Red Dead to name a few ive played were all at 30fps....and are all some of my favourite games of all time.

I don't get your reaction to my post.

[Grave]

I contend that it doesn't matter for some games, like ones without a ton going on, but for games where you want have highly accurate responses when moving, shooting, driving, or flying, you bet your ass (and your online life) is matters.

Also: there is no such thing as 30fps 'vs' 60fps. The fact is that 60fps is much better than 30fps.

I could maybe see it as should I play 60fps vs 100fps because then you are talking about a very small difference that is getting impossibly small to perceive, if at all, once you're above that.

[4logpc]

its is very rare that 60 frames isnt better. The only game I can think of that was so weird in 60 frames was Gears of War on PC. Gears is just made for 30 frames.

[alexkoepp]

I'd take 1080p @ 30FPS over 720p @ 60fps any day... this means you Battlefield...

[Dasteru]

Depends on the game, FPSs/Racers/Fighters i'd prefer 720/60, RPGs/RTSs/Sports 1080/30.

[MEsoJD]

I would take the opposite, especially for consoles since they are normally enjoyed on a television at a far distance so the dimensions aren't as noticeable oppose to pc gaming upclose on monitors.

[MasterCornholio]

We are talking about consoles here so you either have 30 FPS with maximum graphics or 60FPS with toned down visuals but a more responsive frame rate.

As long as the frame rate is solid the difference between 30FPS and 60FPS doesn't really bother me.

Nexus 7 2013

[MooseWI]

I don't want my game to stutter and slow down. That is annoying for me.

[thehitman]

No it doesnt really matter that much. 60fps is just a showcase of more power doesnt really increase your game experience that much. Whatever your framerate is it just has to be stable whether its 30 40 50 60 80 or 120 any studder looks bad no matter what it is.

[quenomamen]

It might not matter in this first batch of games cuz people just want to get their hands on the new consoles but ask this question in 2 - 3 years when the shine wears off and people start asking why BF6 runs smoother on PS4.

[boeso]

If all of your old maths teachers could see you arguing about numbers...they'd be proud!

No it shouldn't matter, let the game creators create the game then you play it. Let them do the boring maths.

[Stsonic]

Comparing the numbers 30 to 60 is not exactly maths unless you are a 5 year old. And if every developer had the power to utilize 60fps over 30fps they would take it.

[boeso]

I'll play and you guys can compare the number 30 and 60 then.

BTW if you are thinking about frame rates then it distracts from the gaming experience, so in worrying that the frame rate might be ruining the game, you are inadvertently ruining the game experience for yourself regardless.

That's why I play games. Wish more people could see sense. And get a life.

[byeGollum]

I couldn't agree more. . . They pay more attentions to stats instead of the game itself.

[mkis007]

We never really even had 30fps this gen. People do not know what a 30fps no dips game looks like.

[MasterCornholio]

What about fighters?

And Wipeout HD was a 60FPS game if I'm not mistaken.

Nexus 7 2013

[mkis007]

Come on you know what I mean; a game that you control the camera that needs to load things constantly. Fighters don't really appear at the top of the most taxing performance list.

[metalgod88]

Yes it matters. 60 FPS is a must. If a game on the PS4 doesn't have 60 fps, I'm not going to buy it. Simple as that. At this point, developers should have no problem getting their games to 60 fps unless their game is multiplatform on the ps3/360.

[McScroggz]

The question isn't whether 60 FPS is best for all games, because for a select few games 30 FPS feels better. Killzone is the best example of this. However, what IS important is being able to consistently get 60 FPS if that is the goal of the developer. Right now, it's looking like PS4 is a lot closer to being able to give that option to the developers and that could become a problem for the Xbox One.

I don't think Titanfall is having problems getting 60 FPS, nor do I think Call of Duty: Ghosts will have any problem reaching that framerate; but if a multiplayer focused game can't hit 60 FPS on the Xbox One but it does on the PS4 that will absolutely be a big deal.

Still, I'm not going to assume either console can or cannot reach 60 FPS until they release and we have concrete facts to go on.

[worldwidegaming]

60fps perfect 30fps bare min! (current gen)
Whats the point of next gen if we run games at 30fps?
Dont settle!

[Underworld]

I can't really tell a big difference between the two most times.

[Gr1mmyshadows]

Just give me clean framerates all the time, im more worried about good gameplay and a good storyline to keep me entertained

[KontryBoy706]

YES it matters. Only people who say it doesn't haven't played enough games at 60fps. Period! I bet you money if there were two versions of each game on shelves next gen... one says 30fps on the box the other says 60fps on the box. Lets see then how many people don't care about the difference.

[panbit86]

YES.

[kaozgamer]

Yes it does matter. Trust me, once you get used to 60 fps and then try playing a game in 30 fps, you WILL see a BIG difference in smoothness.

[dsswoosh]

Play at 120 fps on a 120 hz monitor and realise that 60 fps looks bad and 30 fps begins to make yojr eyes bleed and looks godam aweful.

[SynestheticRoar]

A FattyUK 30fps 60fps 100fps it does not matter. If your as big as you say you are. Display resolutions is the least of your problems. Drop the joystick. Throw it down, and reclaim your life. Go outside. Take a walk, ride a bike, go jogging. Before the next story NG4 reads. Fat kid dies from heart attack. Playing Halo Surround by Ding Dongs, and Mountain Dew.

[MAULxx]

If it doesn't dip below 30fps & there's no screen tear I'll be fine. If it's something like a 2d platformer then it should be 60fps.

[DistroyerOfFanbums]

It matters, it's like going from SD to HD. Once you make the jump to HD you can't and won't go back to standard. Same with 30fps to 60Fps but not to that extent.