Editor’s take: Microsoft’s Phil Spencer, who currently runs the company’s Xbox gaming division, said in a recent interview with Wired that he views 8K graphical capability as more of an “aspirational technology.” In other words, 8K might be more of a future goal to shoot for than something that is realistically attainable in the near future.
“The display capabilities of devices are not really there yet,” Spencer said. “I think we’re years away from 8K being—if it ever is—standard in video games,” he added.
Perhaps Spencer was implying that 8K might not be standard with this upcoming generation of consoles. But to say that it may never be standard, ever, seems a bit near-sighted. “Ever” is a long time.
Indeed, as Steve highlighted in our recent review of Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 3090, it was impressive to see 8K, 60 fps in certain games like Doom Eternal. Others, such as Control, needed the assistance of DLSS to reach playable levels. “Despite Nvidia’s best efforts, 8K gaming just isn’t a thing,” Steve said. And keep in mind, this is with a $1,500 graphics card and a high-end PC.
Interpreting it a different way (and perhaps reading between the lines a bit), Spencer could be suggesting that the future of gaming won’t be dictated solely by graphics prowess or processing power but rather, by the content of games.
What are your thoughts? Are we ready for 8K gaming or is it still too early to even consider 4K mainstream?
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