Text works fine with SDTV resolutions, if made large enough.
And "large enough" doesn't mean absurdly large either, simply not the insane small sizes they're using. In most cases there really isn't a huge amount of text (we're talking video games here, not novels, here), and there's little apparent justification for the small size other than "hey it looked good on my dev monitor!"
Moreover, it's not just an "SDTV vs. HDTV" issue; as I mentioned, in most cases, the sizes used would be uncomfortable for almost anyone playing with a typical TV setup (where one tends to sit fairly far away from the display), even if their television is capable of resolving it. The sizes used seem pretty clearly intended for people using a typical desktop PC setup, where the monitor is much closer.
And "large enough" doesn't mean absurdly large either, simply not the insane small sizes they're using. In most cases there really isn't a huge amount of text (we're talking video games here, not novels, here), and there's little apparent justification for the small size other than "hey it looked good on my dev monitor!"
Moreover, it's not just an "SDTV vs. HDTV" issue; as I mentioned, in most cases, the sizes used would be uncomfortable for almost anyone playing with a typical TV setup (where one tends to sit fairly far away from the display), even if their television is capable of resolving it. The sizes used seem pretty clearly intended for people using a typical desktop PC setup, where the monitor is much closer.