Horse Armour
Member
Very nice, in depth article. I highly suggest reading the full thing but I've highlighted the most important parts here.
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-vs-wiiu-e3-2012
Here's a quick roundup of analysis based on the "sizzle" reels we saw of footage at the Nintendo conference, where existing PS3 and Xbox 360 versions are already available or are currently in development. As this was not live gameplay based on direct feeds from the console itself, we can't confirm the provenance of the footage and in the case of Mass Effect 3 we suspect that the PC version was being used:
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-vs-wiiu-e3-2012
It's safe to say that last year's Wii U E3 debut left us with more questions than we had answers. It was clear that Nintendo has once again stepped back from the technological arms race that had cost its competitors billions in losses, and was focusing on controller-driven concept games that it felt had a greater chance of mainstream success. However, at the same time, the console was being released seven years after the debut of Xbox 360, so surely it had to reflect the generational leaps in technology we've seen since then? The demos suggested otherwise and, one year later, the evidence suggests that not a great deal has changed.
But Nintendo's E3 showing effectively confirms that there is no unambiguous, generational leap in raw processing power here compared to the current HD consoles, and prior claims that the machine hosts twice the power of the Xbox 360 clearly ring hollow.
Instead, the assets released by Nintendo in particular are notable in how "lo-fi" they are: its own screenshots confirm that some of its most simplistic titles are running at basic 720p resolution with no kind of anti-aliasing whatsoever, just like its demos were a year ago. A closer look at the showcase titles Nintendo debuted at its E3 press conference also shows a puzzling lack of consistency in performance that we wouldn't expect to see in a console based on mature tech less than six months out from release, which we can only explain by the idea that the second screen is imposing more of a drain than we might have otherwise thought. The company's spiritual successor to pack-in title Wii Sports - Nintendo Land - is an interesting example of this inconsistency. In theory this is "home territory" where Nintendo should revel in what it does best. While the concepts and charm are there, the trademark 60Hz update is inconsistent to say the least in certain areas - puzzling for such a visually sparse title.
As you would hope, New Super Mario Bros. U achieves a flawless 60Hz performance
Analysis confirms that Pikmin 3 runs at a fairly solid 30 frames per second, with just the occasional, minor drop in frame-rate when effects work pushes the hardware a little more. This does not tally with a report from the showfloor, where an unnamed rep said it will ship at 60Hz. Of all of the Nintendo titles on display, it's Pikmin 3 that had the most modern attributes in terms of what was being rendered on-screen, and the adherence to 30 frames per second once again strongly suggests that the core hardware represents no fundamental leap in capabilities over what current-gen consoles offer. While we should fully expect optimisation efforts in the time before release, it's highly unlikely that ballpark performance will change radically.
Here's a quick roundup of analysis based on the "sizzle" reels we saw of footage at the Nintendo conference, where existing PS3 and Xbox 360 versions are already available or are currently in development. As this was not live gameplay based on direct feeds from the console itself, we can't confirm the provenance of the footage and in the case of Mass Effect 3 we suspect that the PC version was being used:
Code:
- Ballpark Performance
Darksiders 2 15-60FPS
Mass Effect 3 Cinematics 30FPS, Gameplay 60FPS
Tank Tank Tank 30FPS
Tekken Tag Tournament 2 Cinematics 30FPS, Gameplay 60FPS
Trine 2: Director's Cut 30FPS
Ninja Gaiden 3 30FPS
Aliens: Colonial Marines 30FPS
Assassin's Creed 3 30FPS
Rayman Legends 30FPS
Arkham City is an interesting case in that we have a game that by default has a whole series of enhancements available to the developers courtesy of the existing PC version.Many of these are DirectX 11-based, so almost certainly beyond the reach of the Wii U GPU, but there are a range of tweakables available within the inner workings of the Unreal Engine - draw distance and the like - that the creators of the new version could draw upon.First up, in this comparison shot taken from Two-Face's head-to-head with Catwoman, we find that the Wii U version offers up obvious improvements in terms of texture resolution... it would demonstrate that brand new assets have been created for the Wii U version that would more fully utilise the 25GB of Blu-ray storage - something we didn't even see in the PS3 game.
Arkham City continued: First of all, there are fundamental differences in the lighting model - positioning is different, and some light sources are added, others taken away. Wii U also seems to be sporting motion blur, different settings in the atmospheric rendering, along with the addition of brand new assets to the scene - not just the banners hanging from the tower, but new textures in some places too - it actually seems to be more accurately representing the look of the building when you first make your way towards it after saving Catwoman in the game's first chapter.
The scene is dramatically transformed but where there are some new additions, we also see cutbacks too. Long-range draw distance appears to be pared back noticeably, while in the mid-distance we see missing buildings, and the introduction of minor new scenery like additional water towers. Curiously, thin geometry seems to be entirely absent in places for some reason. We won't draw definitive conclusions until we're hands-on with actual code but it does seem to suggest that elements have been added and removed to better suit the capabilities of the hardware.
We're also fairly sure that the basic console 720p presentation has been augmented with FXAA or some equivalent post-process anti-aliasing, which is present in all the gameplay clips, but disabled when "detective vision" is in play. The PS3 and 360 versions feature no anti-aliasing at all.
Reports continue to emerge from sources suggesting that Wii U is significantly more powerful than the current batch of titles may lead us to believe - the obvious inference being that these games have been created on incomplete hardware, perhaps with development tools that are still evolving, by studios unfamiliar with the hardware.
However, to survive the upcoming transition from the current HD consoles to their enormously improved successors, Wii U needs enough grunt to at least part-way bridge the generational gap - and there was scant evidence at E3 that the raw power required to do this was on tap. If it is a matter of getting to know the hardware and coaxing out maximum performance, the question is whether the third parties are prepared to invest the required time and effort.
In the medium term we should expect to see a new range of "cross-gen" titles come to market - the likes of the Unreal Engine 3-powered Star Wars 1313 and Ubisoft's spectacular Watch Dogs are likely to be amongst their number. These titles are almost certain to arrive on the existing HD consoles, but Wii U versions for these and many other key 2013 titles remain unannounced and there was a palpable lack of more current games in the launch line-up.