Digital Foundry Challenges Wii U Graphics Claims

Andy Chalk

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Nov 12, 2002
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Digital Foundry Challenges Wii U Graphics Claims

Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime says games like Call of Duty look "dramatically better" on the Wii U, but Digital Foundry begs to differ.

You can't blame The Reginald for talking up Nintendo's new hardware. The holidays are here, after all, and the man has consoles to sell. Even so, his comments during a recent CNN interview were bold, to say the least.

"The specs [of the Wii U] are quite different than the competitive systems, [it's] much more graphically intensive," he said. "If you did a side-by-side comparison, you would actually see that third-party games like Call of Duty look dramatically better on our system."

But is that actually the case? Not according to Eurogamer's Digital Foundry, which found that while the Wii U visuals are "a class apart from the more compromised PlayStation 3 version," they're just on par with the Xbox 360 edition, a far cry from "dramatically better." And in terms of actual performance, the Wii U release has "serious issues" and "struggles palpably in any scene where a lot of characters are in the area, or when taxing effects work is at play."

"The Wii U version matches the look of the Xbox 360 game and thus gives it an edge visually over the PlayStation 3 release, but unfortunately it comes up well short in terms of performance - an aspect that is all-important to the playability of a COD title," the report concludes. "The frame-rate variance is such that the PS3 game feels generally smoother, while the 360 release feels like an entirely different game in the more demanding levels."

Your move, Reggie.

Sources: Eurogamer [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=137X2LcF-wM&feature=player_embedded]



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Fappy

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TizzytheTormentor said:
Well, there is a lot of Wii-U news today isn't there.

OT: I wouldn't say the game would look "Drastically" better, if the specs on graphics are higher then yes, but I doubt there will be a really noticeable difference.

But give Reggie a break, he has to sell the system somehow right?
I think it's fair game to jump on him for this. He should be focusing on what the console actually does better and nothing else.
 

JediMB

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wombat_of_war said:
sooo nintendo have released their next generation console and its a half assed x-box?

well you kids enjoy your consoles
Or lazy ports are lazy.
 

craddoke

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Obviously the confusion lies in the fact that the Wii-U, due to it's sub-par performance abilities, gives the user a much better opportunity to appreciate the graphics every time a game freezes up. I fail to see why this is an inaccurate parsing of "dramatically better" graphics - especially since slo-mo is often used to convey drama.*

* This is how people in marketing are trained to think.
 

DonTsetsi

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What I've heard is that the CPU is weaker than that of the XBox, which makes games with a large number of characters or advanced physics under-perform on the WiiU. That's why ZombieU looks good, enemies use a very simple AI algorithm and don't usually attack in large groups.
 

Guffe

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If it's on par with Xbox 360 graphics, it ain't too bad right?
Or am I the only onw who wouldn't be saddend if graphics stayed at that level? I mean sure it's cool n' all to have better graphics but I think the Xbox360 is doing a good job today...
 

theultimateend

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Guffe said:
If it's on par with Xbox 360 graphics, it ain't too bad right?
Or am I the only onw who wouldn't be saddend if graphics stayed at that level? I mean sure it's cool n' all to have better graphics but I think the Xbox360 is doing a good job today...
Other than shadows I agree.

I borrowed AC3 from a friend for 360 and the shadows were horrifying. Looks like fishnet stockings on people's faces.

But other than that I do think its all basically where it should be while they figure out the "game" side of video games.
 

DrunkOnEstus

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This isn't enough to really go on as a definitive performance comparison. The 360 and PS3 have both had time to get a few patches in that increase performance, the code was taken almost verbatim from the 360 and not optimized for the Wii U's strengths, and besides that the dev-kit is still a work in progress. Although it's clear that it would take Naughty Dog level optimization skills to actually back up what Fils-Aime is saying, and probably not with COD.

For what Nintendo is trying to do, the graphics are more than adequate as what they want to do is have lightning strike twice with the tablet the way motion controls did. Oh, and 880x720 resolution for a flagship title? Every system needs some new hardware by this point.
 

Covarr

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What the Wii U really needs is more VRAM. If Nintendo was serious about pushing forward, they'd have released a device that can push 1080p.

P.S. Thanks
 

CardinalPiggles

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Capitano Segnaposto said:
wombat_of_war said:
sooo nintendo have released their next generation console and its a half assed x-box?

well you kids enjoy your consoles
Only "kids" play consoles? Don't know why but that sentence irked me.



OT:

The Graphic Chipset on the Wii U is far superior to that of the 360 or PS3, however it is being held back, much like the PC as they are still using the graphics of a PS3 and 360. Of course the games won't look drastically better yet. Hell, half the games that are currently on it are just straight ports of PS3/Xbox games. Wait for a few First-Party titles and the first round of "Next-Gen" games before we judge it too harshly.
Yeah, wait until ZombiU or something like that com- oh wait.

I think coders just need more time to make some more efficient engines for it. As for now? It's an expensive console with a funky controller.
 

Rednog

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At least this wasn't as bad as his conference call to Japan on the Wii-U. Oh Reggie why can't you step up your game and be as crazy as Molyneux, then you'd be the gift that never stops giving.
 

Mr.Mattress

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Jul 17, 2009
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Covarr said:
What the Wii U really needs is more VRAM. If Nintendo was serious about pushing forward, they'd have released a device that can push 1080p.

P.S. Thanks
Ummmm... It [http://www.examiner.com/article/skylanders-giants-joins-the-wii-u-1080p-club-but-will-not-support-miiverse] does [http://n4g.com/news/1081721/zombiu-runs-in-1080p-on-the-wii-u]...

OT: I have personally seen the graphics on the WiiU for BLOPS 2. Yes, it's not leaps and bounds over the Xbox 360 version, it still looks better.
 

Frostbite3789

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Capitano Segnaposto said:
wombat_of_war said:
sooo nintendo have released their next generation console and its a half assed x-box?

well you kids enjoy your consoles
Only "kids" play consoles? Don't know why but that sentence irked me.



OT:

The Graphic Chipset on the Wii U is far superior to that of the 360 or PS3, however it is being held back, much like the PC as they are still using the graphics of a PS3 and 360. Of course the games won't look drastically better yet. Hell, half the games that are currently on it are just straight ports of PS3/Xbox games. Wait for a few First-Party titles and the first round of "Next-Gen" games before we judge it too harshly.
Then why doesn't it look anywhere comparable to the PC version of the games that were ported?

I mean...not even close to close. Don't compare the WiiU to a PC. There isn't a comparison. They still refuse to stay what CPU they're even using. That's bad. That's beyond bad.