Metal Gear Solid Master Collection Runs At 720p Upconverted to 1080p

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Salman Fareed

At HI Digital I test and write about different hardware configurations to show other PC users what they can expect from their build. My end goal is to educate the masses to make the right decision when they are looking for new PC parts to buy

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The Metal Gear Solid franchise has been around for over 25 years. Therefore, Konami’s revival of the IP has led to a lot of excitement after Metal Gear Solid 5 debuted 8 years ago.

There was a surreal hype when the Metal Gear Solid Master Collection was originally announced. However, fans hoping for an enhanced experience may find it disappointing that the bundled games won’t run at 1080p – never mind 4K.

Why it matters: 720p was an acceptable resolution over a decade ago when the PS3 and Xbox 360 could not handle much beyond this resolution. However, modern consoles and PCs target 4K resolution, so Konami’s decision to stay behind the curve is disappointing.

Konami recently posted the collection’s resolution breakdown for each platform. The chart tells us that every console will be able to run the games at 1080p resolution except for Nintendo Switch.

However, there is a footnote that says the games in the collection are ‘upconverted’ to be able to display the mentioned resolutions. This basically means that players won’t be able to experience the Metal Gear Solid games at native 1080p resolution.

It is important to remember that earlier this year, Konami clarified that all Metal Gear Solid games from the Master Collection would run at 1080p. The company issued a statement stating the compilation would target 60 FPS at this resolution.

However, this target will only be achievable through upconverting. Even on the capable current-generation consoles, the collection will not aim for a native 1080p resolution.

This effectively means that it will mimic the PS3 Metal Gear Solid HD Collection being played on a higher-resolution display.

Fans are frustrated with this announcement, claiming that Konami should have done better for such iconic releases. As for the Nintendo Switch, all Metal Gear Solid games will run at 30 FPS.

With Konami charging quite a hefty price for this collection, some may find it disheartening that it won’t even manage to achieve a native 1080p resolution on modern displays.

Nonetheless, the games are quite old, already looking dated by today’s standards. This may help Konami and the collection, with most people choosing to ignore the visuals and focusing on the gameplay and narrative.

Salman Fareed

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