Call of Duty has done it again, at least in terms of causing controversy. Unlike previous controversies of the next-generation consoles, one of which involved Microsoft’s crazy DRM policies and the feud with the retail/resale market while another cited NSA-like data collection associated with the Kinect device, this one involves the release resolution for Call of Duty: Ghosts. The bad press, at least for Xbox One, seems viral; as it stands, the PS4 version of the new game will run at a higher native resolution than the Xbox competitor.

PlayStation/Xbox rivalry is well-documented, and Call of Duty: Ghosts producer Mark Rubin certainly didn’t help things when he confirmed the difference on Twitter:

Hey, been on the road last couple weeks so haven’t had a chance to update, but wanted to confirm that for (cont) http://t.co/du9QZJNkLm

— Mark Rubin (@IWMarkRubin) October 30, 2013

“[For] Xbox One we’re 1080p upscaled from 720p. And, we’re native 1080p on PS4. We optimized each console to hit 60 FPS and the game looks great on both,” the tweet continued.

Erik Kain at Forbes writes that this difference shouldn’t be a dealbreaker, especially for console gamers, most of whom probably don’t care about the strength of their hardware. In other words, “you don’t buy a PS4 because it has higher resolution if you’re a big Halo fan,” he wrote. “You don’t buy an Xbox One because it comes with a Kinect if you’re a big Uncharted fan.”

Kain takes note of a piece on CinemaBlend by author William Usher, who clearly believes the gaming media is doing Microsoft a favor by downplaying the Xbox One’s technological inferiority. But unlike Usher, Kain acknowledges that console players probably won’t angrily charge onto internet forums and voice their disapproval.

The endless debate over PC graphics cards shouldn’t even extend to consoles, Kain contends, because a vast majority of console players don’t overclock, tinker, and upgrade their gaming rig in the same way a PC gamer does. “You just plug and play, end of story,” he writes. “You don’t equip your PS4 with water-cooling.”

[Image via Microsoft/Xbox.com]