Earlier this week, Ubisoft revealed that their upcoming open world racing game The Crew would run at 1080p30 when it launched this November. This, of course, drew considerable criticism from gamers, especially those who consider any product not running at 1080p60 as inferior.
However, Ubisoft was quick to respond and say that, although The Crew is currently locked at 30 frames per second, the development team is still shooting for 60 fps at launch. In essence, they wanted to do a little damage control before the negative press got out of hand.
News of The Crew's frame rate surfaced after a few gamers noticed that the racing title was running at 30fps. It's worth mentioning that this was a PC beta test for The Crew, but nonetheless these gamers inquired as to whether the 30 fps frame rate would be bumped up to 60fps at launch.
Things got a little sticky for Ubisoft when Community Manager Valentin responded with the below message:
"The final game will run in 1080p with 30 frames per second on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC, and will support up to 5760X1080p on PC for triple screen set-ups. Right now the team is focusing on providing an optimal experience for all players."
Then, Ubisoft EMEA Live Community Manager Natchai Stappers clarified Valentin's comments, saying that the development team has not settled on 1080p30. They are still shooting for 60 fps, but the game is not there yet.
While 30 fps might be suitable for the average release, there are certainly genres that benefit from the doubled frame rate. Fighting games, for example, need as solid a frame rate as possible for those perfectly timed blocks and counters.
Racing games also benefit from the silky smooth 60fps by making those hairpin turns that much easier and delivering that ever-important sense of speed. That's why gamers were up in arms when Ubisoft revealed the game might ship at only 30.
However, our hands-on time with the game (with the 30 fps frame rate) has proven nothing short of impressive. The expansive world that Ubisoft has created – a rough approximation of the continental United States – offers a ton of gameplay opportunities. That also might be one of the major reasons the developers can't get the game to 60fps, but oftentimes it's a give and take when it comes to ambitious game development. If The Crew can deliver something unique and engaging to racing fans, though, then we doubt they will mind the lower frame rate at all.
How would you feel if The Crew shipped with a 30fps frame rate? Do you think Ubisoft should push for 60?
The Crew releases November 11, 2014 for PC, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.
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Source: CVG