Trickster prank: Sony talked about games running at 120 FPS before the launch of the PS3

Mark Cernychief architect of the PS5 Prohighlighted that the new console Sony arrives to meet an increasingly present desire among base gamers PlayStation: a higher frame rate. According to Cerny, 75% of PS5 players prefer frame rate (FPS) optimizations over prioritizing graphical fidelity. This data reveals the growing demand for more fluid gameplay, something that Sony promises to deliver with the PS5 Pro.

The PS5 Pro, with its renewed hardware, promises exactly that: improved gaming fluidity. However, it is still too early to know whether Sony’s promises will be fully fulfilled. There are rumors that the label “PS5 Pro Enhanced” can be applied to games that run at 30 FPSwhich certainly wouldn’t please all gamers who will invest around US$700 in the new console.

Designing a world that runs at 120 FPS

The discussion about frame rates is not new to those who follow the gaming world, and this topic has been gaining more and more prominence. Since the rise of competitive multiplayer games, even players who didn’t care so much about FPS have started to value this aspect, boosting the market for high refresh rate video cards and monitors.

Interestingly, Sony already envisioned a future with more than 60 FPS in 2005, before the release of PlayStation 3. Already Tokyo International Digital Conference of that year, Ken Kutaragio “pai” do PlayStation, declared what I expected the PS3 to be able to run games at 120 FPS.

In some PS5 games this is achieved. In titles like Dirt 5, Doom Eternal, Destiny 2 e Borderlands 3. However, these games run at 120 FPS at lower resolutions than the console’s native option.

The harsh reality

Despite the high expectations surrounding the PS3, the reality, in terms of frame rate, was quite different.

The console’s biggest highlight was the Cell processor, but even with this powerful component, the PS3 was unable to reach the much-desired 120 FPS. Furthermore, the market for TVs with 120 Hz support was still in its infancy at the time of the console’s launch.

The first 120 Hz TVs appeared exactly the year the PS3 was launched, 2006. The model below JVC holds the title of the first television to support a 120 Hz refresh rate. The screen resolution was 1366x768p.

In practice, the maximum the PS3 could deliver in terms of frame rate was 60 FPS. Some titles, such as Marvel: Ultimate Alliancefaced severe performance fluctuations, sometimes running at 15 FPS. To reach 60 FPS, many games needed to have their resolution adjusted to 720p or even 480p, well below the promised native 1080p.

Today, it is easy to see that the expectations created around the PS3 were not met in terms of frame rate. Even games like the trilogy Splinter Cell, remastered in HD, which promised native 1080p, sacrificed the framerate, dropping to less than 20 FPS at times, according to analysis by Digital Foundry.

A Reddit user reported in 2022 who, upon turning on his PS3 again after a long time, noticed the inconsistency of the frame rate, something that had gone unnoticed at the time. He even asked the following question in the post: The frame rate has been inconsistent in the past and I’ve never noticed, or is there something I can do?

The answer is obvious: it was relinquishment, but it went unnoticed, because it was a different moment.

Comparing 2006 to 2024, the mindset of gamers has changed a lot. Today, many are more attentive to technical specifications, such as frame rate, and Sony is clearly adapting to this new reality.

The fact that 75% of gamers prioritize FPS is a reflection of this change, and the PS5 Pro promises to deliver what these gamers want. However, it is always important to remember that the promises made by companies do not always reflect the actual experience of the product. Let’s wait and see!