8K GAMING

Will Project Scarlett and PS5 truly be able to deliver resolutionary pixel power?

Let’s face it, 8K gaming in 2020 seems hopeful. While both Project Scarlett and PS5 claim to have maximum resolution outputs of 8K - yes, that’s 7680x4320 - there are a few technical reasons why we probably won’t be playing launch games with more pixels than we thought would fit in our eyes. This isn’t to say that 8K won’t eventually be possible with next-gen consoles, but there are definitely some limitations when it comes to what these new boxes will be able to achieve. Not to be too negative, but the good news is that you don’t have to upgrade your TV yet…

It’s a little cheeky but, to say they are 8K ready, technically all PS5 and Xbox Project Scarlett have to do is use the new standard of HDMI, HDMI 2.1. This new connector allows much faster refresh rates, with 8K resolution supported at 60 frames per second and 4K at 120fps. Presumably both new consoles will have exactly this, meaning that on the surface, it is possible for 8K gaming to speed down your new favourite wires. The problem arises when it comes to the machine doing the hard work… and natively 8K gaming is

seriously hard work. Given that our current benchmark is 4K and it takes a not insignificant gaming PC to reach these heady heights in new games, it is phenomenally unlikely for games consoles in 2020 to have the capability to power four times the pixels.

However! Look at the current PS4 Pro and it’s easy to see how future consoles might cope with the next step in TV tech. Sony’s updated PlayStation 4 uses a combination of native 4K and 4K upscaling to deliver an improved experience onscreen that makes it difficult to tell whether you’re looking at ‘real’ 4K or not. Studios working on the current generation of games have had to get seriously inventive with a variety of development techniques that deliver better, crisper imagery using less processing power. Checkerboard rendering has long become the new norm for both PS4 Pro and Xbox One X to deliver on 4K targets. It’s also important to look at upscaling. Where a standard PS4 lets your 4K TV do the grunt work of pixel stretching, the PS4 Pro takes care of the process, delivering smoother 4K visuals. Imagine a future console delivering a next-level version of this upscaling,and 8K gaming feels a bit more reasonable.