Forums, bulletins and blogs all over the internet are being steadily filled with reports from users that some of the text appearing in Capcom’s new Xbox 360 title Dead Rising is virtually unreadable on a standard definition TV. HDTV users have reported that the text size is not an issue in High Definition, but many gamers without the luxury of a HDTV are pointing their fingers squarely at Capcom; citing laziness on the part of their testing department. There has been no official word from Capcom on the subject, however, one administrator on the Capcom BBS forums has stated that:
"…I have heard your concerns and passed them to every source within Capcom possible. I feel your pain as I, myself, have a large SDTV and am having trouble reading the mission objectives, item names, etc… I’d like you all to know we have heard your concerns and take them seriously. I have been seeing campaigns on other forums to send hundreds of emails to our support email. Unfortunately this doesn’t expedite or increase the importance of the concern in any way, but it does take time and resources from other fans’ equally deserving concerns. All concerns are always important to us and we do what we can."
The reports are widespread, prompting bloggers and news sites to report their own difficulties with the game. Some gamers have found a solution in switching to VGA cables and playing the game through their computer monitor as a reasonable solution to the problem, allowing those without a HDTV to play in High Definition. Others have said that using component cables can help somewhat, though this is debatable.
This kind of oversight on Capcom’s part may be a result of developers’ increasing tendencies to use patches to fix minor bugs in a game after its release as opposed to testing more meticulously before the game hits the market.
