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Sorry about the innuendo. I wish I could subtly introduce what this topic was about but when I say I've been looking at (finally) getting a widescreen TV you're all going to know.
I've had a DVD player for a while now and, for films, widescreen is the norm (albeit in varying ratios). More and more TV programs and stations are being broadcast in this format and, as such, a visit to any electrical store will present you with widescreen sets taking an ever-increasing share of the floor space. Basically, they are taking over as the standard and nothing is going to stop them.
DVDs are already in widescreen (variably so). TV will eventually be totally widescreen (except for repeats), as will an increasing number of VHS tapes. How about games?
So far I know of only 2 which take advantage of this feature (Rayman 2 and Metropolis Street Racer - as a cheat) but there are probably some I don't know about.
Will we see an increasing number of games being playable in a widescreen format? I personally would love to see this happen. Especially if the increased interest in home cinema warrants the inclusion of surround sound wherever appropriate.
Will it ever happen? Somehow I doubt it would be for a long time, if ever. At least not until widescreen TVs become as cheap as the cheapest portable TVs today. Think of how many kids play games on a 14" portable. Could they afford a couple of hundred quid for a widescreen TV? Of course not.
But hey, a widescreen ratio and digital surround sound mode would be much appreciated by the lucky few who have that kind of setup for their console. The fact that only a limited section of the audience can properly enjoy a feature never stopped Internet gaming being forced into PC games.
What games could benefit from a widescreen image? Driving games would allow for you to see more of what's going on at the sides of your vehicle (like you would be able to in real life). Fighting games would allow more of the fighting area to be seen without having to zoom out. Any game with lots of information shown on screen wouldn't have to have so much of the play area taken up with statistics and information - just whack it in the extra space gained at the sides and keep the full (normal) screen size for the actual game.
In general, it allows for that little bit more to be available on-screen, whether it be a wider, visible play area or less intrusive on-screen information. Personally I think an increasing number of games will (cautiously, at first) take advantage of the new screen size to test the water. If it doesn't burn their feet we may find lots of companies jumping in the bath with them.
I've had a DVD player for a while now and, for films, widescreen is the norm (albeit in varying ratios). More and more TV programs and stations are being broadcast in this format and, as such, a visit to any electrical store will present you with widescreen sets taking an ever-increasing share of the floor space. Basically, they are taking over as the standard and nothing is going to stop them.
DVDs are already in widescreen (variably so). TV will eventually be totally widescreen (except for repeats), as will an increasing number of VHS tapes. How about games?
So far I know of only 2 which take advantage of this feature (Rayman 2 and Metropolis Street Racer - as a cheat) but there are probably some I don't know about.
Will we see an increasing number of games being playable in a widescreen format? I personally would love to see this happen. Especially if the increased interest in home cinema warrants the inclusion of surround sound wherever appropriate.
Will it ever happen? Somehow I doubt it would be for a long time, if ever. At least not until widescreen TVs become as cheap as the cheapest portable TVs today. Think of how many kids play games on a 14" portable. Could they afford a couple of hundred quid for a widescreen TV? Of course not.
But hey, a widescreen ratio and digital surround sound mode would be much appreciated by the lucky few who have that kind of setup for their console. The fact that only a limited section of the audience can properly enjoy a feature never stopped Internet gaming being forced into PC games.
What games could benefit from a widescreen image? Driving games would allow for you to see more of what's going on at the sides of your vehicle (like you would be able to in real life). Fighting games would allow more of the fighting area to be seen without having to zoom out. Any game with lots of information shown on screen wouldn't have to have so much of the play area taken up with statistics and information - just whack it in the extra space gained at the sides and keep the full (normal) screen size for the actual game.
In general, it allows for that little bit more to be available on-screen, whether it be a wider, visible play area or less intrusive on-screen information. Personally I think an increasing number of games will (cautiously, at first) take advantage of the new screen size to test the water. If it doesn't burn their feet we may find lots of companies jumping in the bath with them.
I do not know for definite but I think a lot of games are actually set up for widescree. It just is not marked. For instace Goldeney has an option to be displayed in 16:9 screen ratio. Is that not the screen ratio used by wide screen tvs? I am not 100 percent sure though.
Biggles
Biggles
well, and you gotta wait for the price to go down. I havnt got a wide screen at the moment, just a normal super triniton. But if i were to got a widesreenit would have to be at least 30" and definitly flatscreen. and the good ones cost at least a grand.
yeah more TV programmes are in widescreen and I think it's better, although alot of films are still in cinema scope which is the long thin line and has black bars even on a widescreen TV this is how it was filmed and how it should be seen.
Gran Turismo 3 is based in widescreen as are most DVD's. Films have nearly always been in widescreen of some sort and VHS videos are edited for it to be seen in the square format so you miss alot of the picture.
I still can't believe that we're just getting to terms with it, I mean widescreen tv's have been around for a long while but people rushed out for them only to find that all they do is stretch the square image to fit into a rectangle. These old ones are pretty useless and can ony display how it is encoded or transmitted.
Now we're seeing beautifull top quaility TV's that have options to adjust the picture to show the correct ratio and although some have a massive 32 inch screen but the tube is really thin so you can place it easily in any corner.
Personally I think Widescreen TV's will completly take over and make Square Tv's as obselete as black and white tv's but this is still a while off because VHS videos and analog terrestrial TV is still in the Square ratio.
Gran Turismo 3 is based in widescreen as are most DVD's. Films have nearly always been in widescreen of some sort and VHS videos are edited for it to be seen in the square format so you miss alot of the picture.
I still can't believe that we're just getting to terms with it, I mean widescreen tv's have been around for a long while but people rushed out for them only to find that all they do is stretch the square image to fit into a rectangle. These old ones are pretty useless and can ony display how it is encoded or transmitted.
Now we're seeing beautifull top quaility TV's that have options to adjust the picture to show the correct ratio and although some have a massive 32 inch screen but the tube is really thin so you can place it easily in any corner.
Personally I think Widescreen TV's will completly take over and make Square Tv's as obselete as black and white tv's but this is still a while off because VHS videos and analog terrestrial TV is still in the Square ratio.
Sorry about the innuendo. I wish I could subtly introduce what this topic was about but when I say I've been looking at (finally) getting a widescreen TV you're all going to know.
I've had a DVD player for a while now and, for films, widescreen is the norm (albeit in varying ratios). More and more TV programs and stations are being broadcast in this format and, as such, a visit to any electrical store will present you with widescreen sets taking an ever-increasing share of the floor space. Basically, they are taking over as the standard and nothing is going to stop them.
DVDs are already in widescreen (variably so). TV will eventually be totally widescreen (except for repeats), as will an increasing number of VHS tapes. How about games?
So far I know of only 2 which take advantage of this feature (Rayman 2 and Metropolis Street Racer - as a cheat) but there are probably some I don't know about.
Will we see an increasing number of games being playable in a widescreen format? I personally would love to see this happen. Especially if the increased interest in home cinema warrants the inclusion of surround sound wherever appropriate.
Will it ever happen? Somehow I doubt it would be for a long time, if ever. At least not until widescreen TVs become as cheap as the cheapest portable TVs today. Think of how many kids play games on a 14" portable. Could they afford a couple of hundred quid for a widescreen TV? Of course not.
But hey, a widescreen ratio and digital surround sound mode would be much appreciated by the lucky few who have that kind of setup for their console. The fact that only a limited section of the audience can properly enjoy a feature never stopped Internet gaming being forced into PC games.
What games could benefit from a widescreen image? Driving games would allow for you to see more of what's going on at the sides of your vehicle (like you would be able to in real life). Fighting games would allow more of the fighting area to be seen without having to zoom out. Any game with lots of information shown on screen wouldn't have to have so much of the play area taken up with statistics and information - just whack it in the extra space gained at the sides and keep the full (normal) screen size for the actual game.
In general, it allows for that little bit more to be available on-screen, whether it be a wider, visible play area or less intrusive on-screen information. Personally I think an increasing number of games will (cautiously, at first) take advantage of the new screen size to test the water. If it doesn't burn their feet we may find lots of companies jumping in the bath with them.
I've had a DVD player for a while now and, for films, widescreen is the norm (albeit in varying ratios). More and more TV programs and stations are being broadcast in this format and, as such, a visit to any electrical store will present you with widescreen sets taking an ever-increasing share of the floor space. Basically, they are taking over as the standard and nothing is going to stop them.
DVDs are already in widescreen (variably so). TV will eventually be totally widescreen (except for repeats), as will an increasing number of VHS tapes. How about games?
So far I know of only 2 which take advantage of this feature (Rayman 2 and Metropolis Street Racer - as a cheat) but there are probably some I don't know about.
Will we see an increasing number of games being playable in a widescreen format? I personally would love to see this happen. Especially if the increased interest in home cinema warrants the inclusion of surround sound wherever appropriate.
Will it ever happen? Somehow I doubt it would be for a long time, if ever. At least not until widescreen TVs become as cheap as the cheapest portable TVs today. Think of how many kids play games on a 14" portable. Could they afford a couple of hundred quid for a widescreen TV? Of course not.
But hey, a widescreen ratio and digital surround sound mode would be much appreciated by the lucky few who have that kind of setup for their console. The fact that only a limited section of the audience can properly enjoy a feature never stopped Internet gaming being forced into PC games.
What games could benefit from a widescreen image? Driving games would allow for you to see more of what's going on at the sides of your vehicle (like you would be able to in real life). Fighting games would allow more of the fighting area to be seen without having to zoom out. Any game with lots of information shown on screen wouldn't have to have so much of the play area taken up with statistics and information - just whack it in the extra space gained at the sides and keep the full (normal) screen size for the actual game.
In general, it allows for that little bit more to be available on-screen, whether it be a wider, visible play area or less intrusive on-screen information. Personally I think an increasing number of games will (cautiously, at first) take advantage of the new screen size to test the water. If it doesn't burn their feet we may find lots of companies jumping in the bath with them.