Madden 06 comparison: HD and SD
By Kevin C. Tofel 
posted Dec 6th 2005 3:26PM
posted Dec 6th 2005 3:26PM
Sorry for the bad quality of the pic, but then again, this is a shot of Madden '06 using the standard Xbox 360 cables. My digital camera didn't really do it justice, so I may have to ask these guys for some advice going forward! Please don't attribute ALL of the fuzziness to the SD version; I might have had a little image stabilization problem. Do take note of a few specifics in the pic because I've got the same screen using the HD cables with the 360 after the jump!
- You can't see the entire offensive line
- The dialog box is smack-next to the running back (hope he doesn't run left!)
- You can barely see the game clock at the top of the screen
- There are nine sections of fans viewable
Madden '06 in 1080i using the HD cables on the Xbox 360:
- I see seven men on the offensive line
- The dialog box is not as obtrusive to our friendly li'l running back
- The game clock appears farther away, but is readable when viewing the set
- You can see almost a quarter of the stadium's fans
first off, i'm jealous you have 360. did you have to rub it in?
secondly, who would ever play as the cardinals!? :)
good article, though
I have the demo of madden and I think its really lacking. I had espn 2k5 last year for my normal xbox and that game was great. I think EA's new monopoly with these sports games isnt going to be a good one.I guess you cant ask for much for the first generation games, but they could have done better.
The cardinals?
You show off a great point to why 16:9 and 1080i are THE way to game, and you go with the cardinals?
Sheesh, atleast go with the Giants.
hehe :P
Thanks for the comparison, cant wait to go home for christmas break and try it out.
I wouldve said go with the Eagles, but 42-0 kinda blows donkey d**g... Great comparison btw.
Its funny, at first it seems like no-one thought to do this kind of comparison, but in the past week, it seems like everyone is doing it.
just wanted to say I really do like these comparisons and hope you guys continue with them. Hopefully these can help the non-hd among us to convert! Are these being posted on joystiq as well?
Ok, we should be focusing on the GAME people, not my choice of teams! ;) However, since y'all brought it up, there's a very good reason I'm picked the Cardinals. I positive that I posted a big clue in a previous post, so happy hunting!
wow that's a big difference... now i know i have to get an hdtv asap for my 360...
The game looks great in HD. I love it. And I'm finally getting used to the gameplay. NOTE - the ZOOMED IN default camera angle can be changed to a more zoomed out / widescreen camera before the ball is snapped by pressing either the left or right trigger.
you went to school with a cardinal, I just can't remember his name. i say you should have done it for the bengals though, because they have the coolest jerseys
Look how rigged this comparison is, two of the bad points on the non HD pic is that u can barely see the top clock, and nine sections of the fans right, well that game clock is part of the stadium right, and in hte non HD pic they are MUCH closer to the endzone then in the HD pic, so ofcourse the stadium clock is going to be farther away, easier to see, and ure able to see more of the fans in the stadium. Also they took a pic of the non HD version with much lesser quality to make it look just that much worse...most rigged comparison ive ever seen.
This story hasn't been linked to on Joystiq proper, travis, but it has been featured on our affiliated Xbox 360 Fanboy companion site below:
http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2005/12/06/hd-vs-sd-comparison-madden-nfl-2k6/
Yes, please do some more. At least one more round with a better SDTV image.
I must say though (I know I am on an HD website), but I game on a crummy 13" regular TV, and games like PGR3 still look amazing.
Regardless of an HD TV or not, you will see an improvement. HD and widescreen just make it that much bette.
You should recapture the SD screen at a shutter speed of 1/60 second to avoid the dark bars across the center of the screen--it will be a fairer comparison.
We'll snap a few more in SD to be fair and try to make sure the pic is the best quality possible for the camera.
I do own a 360 and madden and a HD wide CRT those pictures do jusitce, 360 is so muddy looking without hi def i wish those pictures turned out better because the difference is more incredible then the first HD programming I watched. 720P is amazing for games (buttery smooth), PGR3 is a joke with the composite plug. As far as madden goes although I've not like EA for some time now, madden does look and play pretty good but after buying nba 2k6 (nba live is pitiful), I think its a shame ea owns the rights for the next 4 years. 2k sports games are so much realer, better looking, and they actually make the games better every year (I've been playing these every year since dreamcast). 2k actually adds to the graphics and gameplay every year. When people tell me how good they think madden looks I say "yeah it looks dope as hell but remember because its ea this is how its gonna look until the generation of systems in 4-5 because of their half ass quality and devoted simplistic fanbase.
I would like to see Perfect Dark Zero compared.
I was wondering if you could take the picture with component inputs but not in HD, i ask since i have a philips tv non-hd but the difference between composite and component is very noticeable still. Thanks and keep up the good work.