BenQ Defines The Gaming Projector – It's The Future of Projector Gaming

Anyone familiar with our writing on Projector Reviews might scoff at the thought that input lag and resolution aren’t the only two features to consider while gaming with projectors, but we’re here to tell you why that is actually the case and why the future of gaming projectors is seeing beyond these two focal features.

But before we dive into a feature-based article highlighting why we think BenQ’s upcoming gaming projectors may offer the best gaming performance for projectors (our future reviews will levy an official verdict on this point), it’s useful to discuss why any of this really matters.

After all, what is gaming all about? Is it about maintaining bragging rights with your friends? Escaping the harsh world around us in favor of a fantastic virtual reality where we can be the heroes? Finding that Easter egg in a game that’s already been well-explored by your peers? We think the answer is a little bit of everything, and that’s exactly why gaming designers spend so much time developing complex story arcs associated with characters in the game, whether that’s role-playing, first-person shooter, or sports.

Discovering more about the characters while gaming is half the fun, and it’s important for gamers to have that in-depth storytelling to really develop an affinity for a game, or a style of game. This has been true since the beginning, a perfect example is the Super Mario™ franchise. We don’t all love Super Mario because of the amazing graphics, but we love the characters and the storytelling involved. To this day, the Super Mario franchise remains one of the most popular games on the market. Let’s also not forget the outrageously awful live action Super Mario Bros movie with John Leguizamo, which further proves our point: storytelling is really what it’s all about when it comes to gaming.

But, back to projectors. As projector enthusiasts, we don’t really consider the fact that distinct styles of gameplay (FPS vs. RPG vs. SPT) do actually demand different things of the projector to offer a stellar experience. For instance, when you’re playing an intense round of a first-person shooter game like Call of Duty, you’re going to want deeper black detail to reveal hidden enemies in the corner. Another instance might be Red Dead Redemption 2, which offers some of the most gorgeous gameplay we’ve ever seen. The right projector should offer stunning cinematic color to bring that fantasy world to life, further immersing the gamer into the true intention of the creators. So we ask ourselves, why haven’t projector manufacturers focused more heavily on gaming as a core premise? That mindset is shifting. The smart people at BenQ are convincing us that projectors are actually more uniquely suited to vividly improve the overarching game experience than we previously thought possible.

A product we’re excited to learn more about once we get it in for review is BenQ’s upcoming x1300i gaming projector, which has several features designed to capitalize on the storytelling aspect of the games we love and translates that into useful features to improve gameplay. The core premise of taking a fresh look at gaming projectors is that it’s not just about making the games easier to play, it’s about elevating the most exciting parts of the game using projectors to highlight those details.

An aspect we’re excited to test in further detail is going to be the various Game Modes that the new BenQ gaming projectors are said to offer. The idea of a ‘game mode’ actually doesn’t sound like a very novel idea on its face, but after learning more about the unique approach taken by the group at BenQ, we had our curiosity piqued. This harkens back to earlier in this article when we mentioned a few different types of common gameplay, first-person shooter, role playing, and sports games. To take advantage of the specific needs of each of these styles of gameplay, BenQ has created four different gameplay modes, developed for each specific style of play.

Role Playing Mode offers cinematic color to make the game more like the real world so it’s easier to see your enemies on the horizon. First Person Shooter, offers incredibly deep black details to reveal hidden enemies and stay a step ahead of the zombie on your right (!). Sports Mode offers incredibly natural colors for diverse skin tones, more accurately reflecting the way people look in real life and creating a deeper connection as you manipulate Rondo to the basket. BenQ is also offering a unique “user customized” game mode giving you, the gamer, the opportunity to match different content to your preferred video and audio settings.

Now, this is something we can sink our teeth into, a unique application of game mode tailor-made to fit into the specific style of game you are most interested in playing. To further enhance the richness and vibrance of colors needed to bring these game modes to life, you’ll start seeing projectors from BenQ that use 4LED technology.

In addition to 4LED, BenQ is working closely with the geniuses at Texas Instruments (yes, the calculator guys), to co-design a color calibration algorithm to ensure more consistent color over the course of the projector’s lifespan. We’re excited to learn more about the auto-calibration and 4LED features as BenQ introduces new products with these technologies soon.