BioWare has said that it can't do anything to bump up the text size in Mass Effect 2 to placate struggling SDTV owners, but that it will try to avoid the problem next time.
"We understand that on some Standard Definition TVs the smallest text in Mass Effect 2 can be difficult to read. While this was not an intentional result, it was a byproduct of enhancements to the user interface," BioWare's Michael Gamble wrote on the official forum.
"After investigating potential solutions, we have determined that while this issue does affect a small portion of SDTV owners, we are unable to resolve it for Mass Effect 2 through a title update.
"However, we have taken note of this issue and will take it into consideration as we plan future games in the Mass Effect franchise."
Small text has been an issue in games before, most notably Dead Rising and Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts - although the latter ended happily with an SDTV patch after release.