'Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes' To Run 1080p On PS4 And 720p On Xbox One: Will The Resolution Gap Eventually Close?

Frame rates and screen resolutions are among the top details being incessantly tracked in this new generation of console gaming. Keeping that in mind, developers have made it a point to release screenshot and video comparisons, so fans following their games know exactly what they’re getting by purchasing the game. Following that trend, Konami (NYSE:KNM) has released several screenshot comparisons for its upcoming “Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes,” which will release be released for Sony (NYSE:SNE) PlayStation 3 (PS3), PlayStation 4 (PS4), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Xbox 360 and Xbox One.

While the screen comparisons show a significant difference between each platform, the released frame rate and resolution specs show an even more apparent difference between the different platforms “MGS V: Ground Zeroes” will be released on.

According to Konami’s released specifications, the PS3 and Xbox 360 version of “Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes” will run 30 frames-per-second (FPS) at 720p scaled, which can be expected for previous generation consoles.

However, specs for “MGS V: Ground Zeroes” on current generation consoles such as the PS4 and Xbox One are just as important due to expectations by gamers that increasingly demand a quality product both in gameplay and graphics. For PS4 players, they can expect to play “Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes” at 60 FPS running 1080p. Unfortunately, Xbox One players will have to settle for a solid 60 FPS running at the lower 720p frame rate.

While that’s not necessarily a deal breaker for most gamers, the performance differences between the Xbox One and the PS4 have been a concern for gamers since their release in 2013.

Whether it’s a cross-platform game or console exclusive, a good number of games released for Xbox One have been found to be running at the lower 720p resolution, including “Battlefield 4,” “Call of Duty:Ghosts,” “Dead Rising 3” and “Killer Instinct.”

The “Titanfall” beta reportedly runs at 60 FPS at 792p, an improvement from 720p, but still a far cry from the higher 1080p resolution that more gamers are demanding.

In comparison, most of the games available on PS4 run a native 1080p, with the exception of “Battlefield 4,” which runs at 900p and “Trine 2,” which runs at the lower 720p resolution when using stereoscopic 3D, according to Eurogamer.

Why the difference between game resolutions on the two supposedly next-gen consoles?

For Xbox One, some game developers have blamed the eSRAM for the 1080p resolution woes.

“It was clearly a bit more complicated to extract the maximum power from the Xbox One when you’re trying to do that. I think eSRAM is easy to use,” said Jean-Baptiste Bolcato, senior producer of “Sniper Elite 3” to GamingBolt.

Bolcato continued: “Part of the problem is that it’s just a little bit too small to output 1080p within that size. It’s such a small size within there that we can’t do everything in 1080p with that little buffer of super-fast RAM.”

Fortunately, Microsoft has been listening to developers and improving its software development kit (SDK), which should make it possible for developers to reach the target 1080p resolution.

In the meantime, gamers will just have to be patient until those tools are rolled out.

You can view all of the Konami screenshot comparisons for “Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes” at the official Konami website.

"MGS V: Ground Zeroes" is expected to be released on March 18 in North America and March 20 in Europe.

Do you think the resolution gap between Xbox One and PlayStation 4 will be less of an issue as the platforms mature? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.