Metal Gear Solid V Confirmed 720p on Xbox One, 1080p on PS4; Screenshot Comparison Released

Giuseppe Nelva February 17, 2014 1:37 AM EST

Hideo Kojima Announced it a few days ago, and finally the much awaited Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes comparison showcasing the differences between the PS4, PS3, Xbox One and Xbox 360 versions of the game has been released.

The announcement comes with a surprise (or maybe it’s not too much of a surprise): While both next generation consoles will run at 60 FPS, PS4 will run the game at a native resolution of 1080p. On the other hand Xbox One will render Snake’s infiltration at 720p. Last generation versions (PS3 and Xbox 360) will run the game at 30 FPS, 720p (scaling internally).

It’s definitely rare to see a developer like Kojima-san and his studio be this open about the differences of a game’s different versions, even if he went as far as commenting on Twitter that the whole controversy “makes little sense” to him:

Being asked so often about differences in “frame rate” and “resolution” depending on the hardware model make little sense to me, but I listened, so I plan to publish it tomorrow (laughs).

Despite that, looks like it’s difficult even for him to resist the charms of the next generation, at least for what frame rate is concerned:

Well, once you play with the next gen version, it’s smooth like butter, and you won’t be able to go back to the current gen version though. (laughs)

Something tells me that many gamers will take this a lot more seriously than Kojima-san does.

That said, he also mentioned that the FOX Engine was created specifically to bring open world gams even to current generation consoles.

The reason why we created FOX Engine was to be able to bring open world games efficiently even on current generation consoles.

Judging by how good the game looks on Xbox 360 and PS3 despite their limited power, I’d say the mission has been accomplished.

At the bottom of the post you can see the screenshots that were sent with the announcement (you can click on them for a full resolution version), that actually compare directly with each other just platforms of the same brand, in a rather funny attempt to hold a semblance of diplomacy. There are also detail shots with an explanation of the improvements coming with PS4 and Xbox One compared to their respective predecessors.

To help you catch the differences more easily, at the bottom of each comparison we also included an animated GIF that will automatically swap between each version of the screenshot. Just click on them to see the full resolution picture and start the animation.

A trailer showcasing the differences has also been announced to be coming at a later date by Kojima himself, and we’ll be sure to publish it as soon as it’s made available.

Because there were many questions, we published comparison pictures between the current generation and next generation versions of Ground Zeroes. First of all check it out with stills. We will publish the video later. It’s difficult because we cannot predict how people will react, but that’s how it goes.

As a side note, a limited edition PS4 console bundled with the game has also been announced at the same time (only for Japan, at the moment of this writing), you can see it and read more details here.

PS4 (above) to PS3 (below): Day Infiltration

Animated GIF

Xbox One (above) to Xbox 360 (below): Day Infiltration

Animated GIF

PS4 (above) to PS3 (below): Night Infiltration

Animated GIF

Xbox One (above) to Xbox 360 (below): Night Infiltration

Animated GIF

As a final bonus, below you can find animated GIFs pitching the PS4 version against the Xbox One version and the PS3 version against the Xbox 360 version. While they’re hardly a perfect comparison due to the differences in the screenshots, you can still pick up a few details. The Xbox One version of the screenshots was upscaled to match the PS4’s size (your console will do that anyway).

Again, just click on each picture to enlarge it and start the animation.

PS4 vs Xbox One GIFs

PS3 vs Xbox 360 GIFs