Why Do Gamers Care about 1080p and 60 FPS So Much?

Developers are having issues hitting 1080p and 60 fps. Why do gamers care so much?

At the beginning of the current console generation, hardcore gamers and game marketers decided on a benchmark for consoles: 1080p/60fps. That’s shorthand for a resolution of 1920×1080 in progressive scan, running at a frame rate of 60 frames per second. The latter benchmark, frame rate, can also be locked or unlocked; locked means it says at a specific number, while unlocked means the rate can fluctuate.

Last generation’s consoles, the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, observed a general benchmark of 720p (1280×720 progressive) at 30 fps towards the end of their lifespan. Yet developers have had a hard time hitting the new 1080p/60 fps benchmarks with those system’s successors, especially in the frame rate department.

Will the next generation of consoles fare any better in consistently hitting the mark?