The PS5 Doesn’t Support 1440p Output Now, But It Could In The Future

The PS5 Doesn’t Support 1440p Output Now, But It Could In The Future

Keep bugging Sony about it and the PS5 might one day support 1440p just like the Xbox Series X/S.

This ray of hope comes via an interview with Japanese tech outlet AV Watch in which two Sony VPs explain that there’s nothing technically holding the PS5 back from outputting in 1440p, the native resolution of many gaming monitors.

“I want to prioritise TV support,” Hideaki Nishino, VP of platform management, said when explaining why 1440p isn’t currently supported, based on a translation of the interview by Kotaku. “There is absolutely no technical problem,” added Masayasu Ito, VP of hardware engineering and operations. Based on its interview, AV Watch reports that support for 1440p might be added in the future, “depending on the market trends or how many requests [Sony] receives.”

[referenced id=”1191870″ url=”https://www.kotaku.com.au/2020/11/playstation-5-versus-xbox-series-x-s-ready-fight/” thumb=”https://www.gizmodo.com.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/11/07/vs1kqfy7xwesdenqmnyo-300×115.jpg” title=”PlayStation 5 Versus Xbox Series X/S: Ready, Fight!” excerpt=”The PlayStation 5. The Xbox Series X. The next generation of console gaming is upon us. As is our sacred duty, we must now compare the two in a variety of very important scientific categories: Size. Design. Molecular density. Usefulness at a picnic. And of course, the dreaded essay section….”]

News that the PS5 wouldn’t support 1440p at launch first began to spread last week based on a statement from the company received by IGN Italia. Reviewers of the hardware proceeded to report as much when the embargo lifted last Friday, and Sony confirmed the lack of 1440p support in an exhaustive FAQ about the next-gen console posted over on the PlayStation Blog yesterday. It’s a real bummer for a lot of people who prefer to play games at their desk on a monitor, especially since it seemed like a forgone conclusion that the PS5 would support it in the first place.

Why is it such a big deal? While TV displays largely filter into either 1080p or 4K, both of which the PS5 supports, 1440p is a popular resolution for gaming monitors like the Asus ROG Swift PG279Q, the favoured display by reviewers at PC Gamer and Wirecutter. That’s because 4K monitors are still pretty expensive, especially ones with the refresh rates needed to achieve higher framerates. 4K at over 60fps is also something anything but top end graphics cards struggle to support, making 1440p a nice compromise between the two.

The PS5 will still output to a 1440p monitor, but will upscale the image rather than hitting that resolution natively, leading to poorer image quality overall. Meanwhile, it’s a non-issue on the Xbox Series X and S, both of which support 1440p natively (though the Series S being the weaker console might not be able to reach that in every game). Hopefully, if Sony does eventually decide to add 1440p it does so while it’s still relevant.

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