... of course rumour at this point, but lets just assume its true. I was wondering, without being a nintendo fanboy, is there a need for that? I mean this is somewhat like 4320p or whatever. Why would anyone go for this? Most TVs that are established at households now can do FULL HD (1080p) just fine and honestly compared to the average distance you'll have watching your TV I don't think 4K-resolution has much advantages - and yeah you'd need to get a new TV for it anyways, otherwise it will just be 1080p. Yeah maybe it's sony's try to "stay relevant" really long, by overshooting in the beginning they might be ready for future trends - even though I don't think this is going to be trend too much, just like 3D TVs are more or less a flop, the market is satiated. If you bought a TV in the past 5 years chances are slim you're upgrading anytime soon unless you're really tech-fanatic and always want to have the "end of it all"-technology or your TV breaks - which - even in now's day and age - shouldn't happen too regulary in just such a short time.

So if we assume this is true I bet MS will also go for something similar. But besides having a much higher resolution which will not be easily be accessed by the bigger part of the userbase "stuck" on "only" FULL-HD sets, thinking of Apple's retina-displays, it of course takes much more processing power to fill THAT many pixels with life. So I would guess that it will take ALL the power PS4 and XBOX3 have to offer (and it's rumoured to be a lot) to produce a steady 60fps on 4k-resolution, oh yeah and sound, level design, artificial intelligence of enemies, etc... will also need some power... and I am sure it will also raise initial prices (if they're not going for some model including membership to PSN or LIVE with a set-time contract like a mobile phone).

So now I haven't even talked yet about the WiiU, the event in september will hopefully clarify a few things about it's capabilities, but most people seem to agree that it is "somewhat" more powerful than the PS3 and will do 720p to 1080p natively. Well for now this seems reasonable enough for me, but what do you guys think, will the 4k-resolution thing become a trend and Sony and MS will once again dominate the playing field from a "graphical appeal" perspective or do you think Nintendo is betting on the right horse the way they're handling things? Oh yeah and Im also curious about the expectations of the public of "next generation" because you know, that technologie is there already since years, its called "PC" and I don't see any photo realism (not that I need it) or something completely blowing everyone's mind on PC yet, why do some people expect it from consoles being built on the basis of ca. 4 year old PC hardware? (nope im not a PC fanboy, just stating facts).

So to sum things up, do you think 4k-resolution will be something Nintendo has to worry about or will it just go poof like the 3D-craze?

there's no way that could be true. the most power the next xbox/PS4 are rumoured to have (which would make them insanely expensive boxes) is still less than current PCs. it's debatable whether next gen consoles will even be able to push advanced graphics at 1080p, 60fps. probably a lower framerate or 720p.

wii-u would have to be a monster to push the good looking games beyond 720p, which it won't be. i don't think nintendo have anything to worry about. 720p looks HD enough for their audience and fine on any HDTV really. i'm certainly happy playing games at 720p and at good framerates. just give them some nice AA.

I think if they wanna pump up graphics that much, it also needs to be way higher than 60fps. Sure, 60 is the sweet spot now but seeing something refreshed at 120hz just looks amazing compared to 60.

Graphical ability of consoles is peaking. Now it pretty much just comes down to the games you choose to play.

would be a reversal of the current trend which is to favour detail and effects over framerate. hardly any console games run at 60fps now, while still at 720p-ish resoluitons. to have both, well we're talking strictly monster PCs.

Please. The PS4 is going to include Cloud gaming. If you've got a fast enough connection I'm sure Sony could deliver 4K resolution at 4976349067239056723905723095672390572390572fps over its servers. :3

That'd just be a waste to put in there and would higher the costs. There's no way I'm paying more than $350 for a system next gen. I'd rather just upgrade my PC if that's the case.

Well from what I've heard analysts say, Sony and Microsoft are going to try to keep they're next gen consoles as affordable as possible. They may not improve much on graphics power but everything else should have more power. Also apparently a certain analyst who's hated on this site said that Sony wouldn't make the same mistake twice of making a console that's too powerful and too expensive like the PS3 was when it had initially launched. Let's not forget that the PS3 had a REALLY rough start until Sony was able to reduce the price to about $350.

Twice..? They've already done it twice, both Ps3 and Vita have been overly expensive.

I've read that MS is looking in to making their next system powerful but adding a fee to pay every month. Like a pay-off system with Xbox Live subscription, in the same way you can buy a expensive smartphone today for $90 with certain subscriptions to pay off every month.

That'd be an interesting idea.

I don't think graphics are close to peaking. Peak would mean it looks real, not necessarily a realistic style, but it has to actually look like the game is right in front of you, not just on a screen. I think lighting, framerate, and resolution are the biggest things when it comes to something looking real, and lighting and resolution have a huge impact on performance, so we're not too close in my opinion.

he may mean the ability to squeeze extra graphical performance from current gen consoles, which is kinda true. but current consoles also leave a heck of a lot to be desired compared to PCs.

sony seem unable to do much right these days, so i wouldn't put a repeat of the PS3 past them. what they really need to do is change their business model and do something disruptive ala the Wii. for example buy the console rights to the oculus VR headset and push that as the 'next-gen' experience.

personally i think they're going to take a lot longer to come out with a next-gen console than most people anticipate. they might even go under with the global economic situation worsening and big problems in the near future.

MS can afford to soak up the losses if they choose to go the high-powered route, subscription service, etc and it isn't profitable at the start.

Consider my mind, blown.

a. Probably under 10% of gaming households are the only ones who actually have a home theatre screen that can actually support that resolution.

b. Most of the screens to support that kind of resolution are either still in development or are in their primetime, and therefore are most likely bloody expensive to the point where either only mafia drug lords or relatives of the late Steve Jobs can afford them.

c. A gaming console supporting 4k resolution, among tons of other fancy thingamabobs within? Let me just estimate how much that must take to produce - oh, wait. A lot. And it's probably going to end up with an exact repeat of the PS3 launch, only for much higher and much longer based on all that console tech that Sony can't afford to make a loss on.

So unfortunately, I personally cannot see a positive on this inclusion to the PS4, even if it does turn out to be true. It's absurd, and pretty desperate on Sony's part in some respects. It most certainly will not help consumerism, from the standing point I'm looking from - it's just a very flashy inclusion, albeit a considerably naive one. And this is coming from someone who believes that graphics are an important factor towards the experience of gaming.

^This. All I can say is PC, PC, and PC. We have already seen PC do amazing things like it always will in the power department, I don't see how people are acting like the next Microsoft and Sony systems will basically be like PCs, it's literally not possible speaking that it takes time to develop a system. Not only that there is a limit for prices. The point of consoles are to make a system that can be mastered over time and is affordable. I don't see what the point of uping the resolution when that resolution isn't even out now. There is nothing that is shown in that high of resolution, everything is in 1080p. Let's also not forget that as resolution gets higher it's going to be pretty hard to see a difference. The jump from 480i to 720p is huge, 720p to 1080p is noticeable but it's actually a pretty small difference, especially compared to the former. Microsoft and Sony might be able to make more powerful than the Wii U but let's not get crazy. I don't even know how Sony is going to be able to make an expensive system again with their finances. If you want pure power, get a PC.

That idea could work if Microsoft wants to make a really powerful and expensive system. It just depends on whether people will be up to that when it comes to a console. There is also the question of development cost for developers.

Don't forget Stereoscopic 3D. Which lends an enormous hand in realism and depth perception.
It's the next big thing i want from Nintendo on the big screen....Hell, i can't even be bothered playing 3DS games in 2D.
playing 3DS titles in 2D in comparison to 3D just flat out blows imo.

Even that isn't at its considerable best right now, judging from its pioneering device. The whole "sweet spot" ideal is really still a little... problematic, in respects. And it's perceptively not fine-tuned overall, judging how it's an unexpected first in this generation. But that is not to say the concept itself is not an graphical breakthrough, in some respects.

Well slap me and call me Sally, I think steroscopic is 3D is fantastic and playing games on my PS3 or watching 3D movies just takes it to another level. If you got problems with it you are extremely picky and your eyes must not be human.

OH. Hang on a minute, I mistook this for auto-stereoscopic 3D, as in the technology used by the 3DS. My bad entirely, disregard my former statement.