E3 in crispy High Definition

Without a doubt, the buzzword of 2005 is "High Definition" - all the talk of HD has been defening (sic). First off the mark was Microsoft's Xbox 360, for which all games are reportly in High Def. And while just last week the concept of playing games in resolutions up to 1080i seemed pretty damn cool, Sony have gone even further: not only can Playstation 3 support up to 1080p - Progressive Scan vs the inferior Interlaced of 1080i - but it can power two HD displays simultaneously.

Broadcasts of HDTV vary across the globe, from fairly common (USA) to non-existent (UK) but anyone who has splashed out on a plasma or LCD TV recently should already be "HD Ready" and well placed to impress their mates with crispy textures and jaggie-free action.

Of course, PC gaming has been "high" definition for years, but for the first time, you can download in-game footage of PC & console games from E3 courtesy of FileShack: they have videos of 14 Xbox 360 games such as Project Gotham Racing 3, Call of Duty 2 and Dead or Alive 4, with Playstation 3 and PC videos on the way soon.

The catch is that you need a Mercury account to access the HD videos, but there are also lower res files available to all. But for just 5 bucks, I'd sign up and enjoy E3 in full 1280 x 720 HD glory: there's so much detail, it makes my brain hurt!


Don't know your 720p from your 1080i? It's 2005 man, so check out Wikipedia to learn all you need to know about HDTV.