What is the deal with games that run at 16:9 ??

[stargate]

I mean, do 16:9 games actually give you more playing field than 4:3 or does it simply stretch the picture to fill the bigger screen?

[hezeuschrist]

Depends on the game. Every 360 game that runs in 16:9 actually gives you an enlarged playing field, but most of the original Xbox stuff just stretches it to fit the screen.

And for PS2, I think there are only two that actually have settings for such a setup, God of War and Gran Turismo 4 I know both do, but I'm fairly certain there are no others.

[roushimsx]

I mean, do 16:9 games actually give you more playing field than 4:3

Yes. If it supports 1080i or 720p, then 16:9 will give you more fov. If it doesn't support those, but DOES support a "Widescreen" option, then it's a grab bag. I believe most games will give you a wider fov, but didn't Panzer Dragoon Zwei just crop the 4:3 image? I don't remember and I haven't got the Saturn hooked up right now to check.

tl;dr -> If a game says it supports widescreen, expect either a wider field of view or a less cluttered hud with stuff thrown onto the sides of the screen.

[zmweasel]

www.hdtvarcade.com has accurate lists of PS2, GC, and Xbox games that support 16:9 and/or 480p.

-- Z.

[Anthony1]

I think what you are asking is, are the widescreen games truly anamorphic widescreen 16:9 material, or are they just converting it to fill a 16:9 window.


The answer to that is yes and no. With the XBOX 360, I would imagine that the vast majority of games are actually being developed in 16:9, and they are true anamorphic widescreen games. Having said that, I'm sure that there will be XBOX 360 games that fill a 16:9 frame, but aren't truly anamorphic. But for the most part, the 16:9 games on the Xbox 360 are the real deal.


Now, when it comes to other systems like the XBOX and PS2 and GameCube and any of the other systems that have games that offer widescreen modes, I would have to say that the majority of those games aren't really true 16:9 material. It's more of a custom stretch thing. For example, a ton of EA games feature a widescreen mode in the options, but none of these games are actually truly 16:9. It's just a deal where it stretches it to fill the 16:9 frame, but you aren't getting any extra visual information, or a different field of view. I especially remember this with a Madden game that I had on the Xbox. It had a 16:9 mode in the options, but it really didn't do crap.


With the 360, when developers are using the development tools, they are basically programming the game to run in a 16:9 frame, so the games are actually true 16:9 games. Whether or not they are actually taking any advantage of that ratio or not, is another story. And again, I will just guarantee that there will be a small number of 360 games, over it's lifespan that don't have a real 16:9 mode at all. It will fill the screen of a widescreen TV, but it won't be truly anamorphic.


The first game I know of that was truly anamorphic 16:9 was Azurik for Xbox 1.

[XianXi]

Honestly you want your games to run in 16:9. Soon all HDTVs will only run in 16:9 and if you run something that only runs in full screen its really stretched out badly. I wont buy an HDTV until all stations, movies and games are in 16:9.

[stargate]

thanks folks. yeah, I only have the original Xbox and GC, no 360 yet, so I guess I'll hold off on the 16:9 tv until it is worth buying it.

[CYRiX]

Depends on the game. Every 360 game that runs in 16:9 actually gives you an enlarged playing field, but most of the original Xbox stuff just stretches it to fit the screen.

And for PS2, I think there are only two that actually have settings for such a setup, God of War and Gran Turismo 4 I know both do, but I'm fairly certain there are no others.

If you set your PS2 to Letterbox (or what 16:9 is) then you see more of the field in madden 2006.

[Zing]

Final Fantasy XI on the PS2 also gives you a wider FOV when running 16:9.