‘Frame rate is more important than resolution’, says Xbox boss Spencer

The boss of Xbox has argued that people shouldn’t get too hung up on game resolutions.

Although this is of course no surprise coming from a platform holder whose flagship machine has struggled to hit 1080p, Phil Spencer rightly told CVG that a smooth and stable frame rate is far more important when it comes to enjoyable gaming.

"Reaching parity with our partners has been important but in the end I don’t want it to be about a number, because 1080p isn’t some mythical, perfect resolution,” Spencer said.

Frame rate to me is significantly more important to gameplay than resolution and the mix of those two which brings the right art style and freedom, whether it’s on PlayStation or our platform.

"Clearly some genres like with racing sims like Forza, hitting 1080p/60fps is important. So there are certain genres where there’s an expectation, but there are also other genres where I’d rather use the cycles to put more effects on screen or better lighting.”

Spencer also cited PS4 exclusive The Order: 1886, which runs at a black-bordered resolution of 1920×800, adding: "I look at games like The Order on Sony’s platform and they picked a different resolution – I like the resolution that they picked, I think it’s interesting."

Last month Xbox’s UK marketing boss Harvey Eagle claimed that: "If you put third-party games side-by-side that are running at slightly different resolutions or frame rates, then unless you are using a screen that’s more than 60 inches big, I defy you to really see the difference. I personally struggle to see the difference.”