Video: Digital Foundry Produces Extended Breath of the Wild Technical Analysis

Encouraging to hear that the WiiU version is really maximising the potential of that console and Nintendo hasn't just taken a "that'll-do" approach for this (dying) hardware. Enticing to think of the potential for the NX too.

I was expecting to hear things along the lines of 'oooh look at these dips in frame rates... the Wii U is visibly struggling here...'

But actually they seemed to be praising it so hats off to them.

I, for one, cannot wait to see the NX version

Every screenshot and video I see only makes me long for this game more. Wake me up in march.

This Game is going to be the biggest buttkick from Nintendo to all the whiny whiners of developers who failed to get their Game running on Wii U.

@Ryu_Niiyama Waking you up in march would require you go into hibernation or a coma. Neither of which sound too appealing.

I do love how the game looks though. I'll end up buying this on the nx when it comes out. I've never been a day one purchase kind of guy but this game will convince me to get the nx and BotW.

What absolute bullpoop!
They shouldn't be running any tests!
They don't have the gamemin hand.
They have a rip of a stream that was compressed to run and stream again over youtube!
There's no way in hell they can make any real judgement on it!

I'm sure it runs very well. Nintendo wouldn't have shown it otherwise and its performance and polish will only improve as it gets closer to release.

That's it, I don't care. I'm buying the NX on launch with BotW.

If the reaction is good now, it can only get better when it releases. I don't foresee the game getting worse between now and then.

@abbyhitter Unless they pull a Ubisoft like how they did with Xenoblade Chronicles X. It was spanking beautiful when they first revealed the trailer

@Gold_Ranger You're wrong. It's even stated in this article; Digital Foundry were @ E3 and captured their gameplay, so it's direct-feed video they're using. There's no other way they could've tested and analyzed all this. XD

OT: The game's looking marvelous, and I'm super excited Monolith Soft is assisting with the game - especially after the miraculously wonderful world and visuals of Xenoblade Chronicles X!

I do hope the NX version is significantly better, in technical terms. That said I was very impressed with what i saw and if it's identical I would not complain

The game looks great so fat but it's just a demo. For me, all this analysis is redundant until we get our hands on the final build.

@Snow-Dust to be honest... XCX always looked like it. Problem is they showed it too early and after all those years and games that came out, the game became outdated. If it released in 2013 or even 2014, no one would be complaining.

@Ryu_Niiyama This is basically what I was going to say. I hate that we have to wait so long to play this, because it looks more amazing with each new video I watch.

They said it's coming out March 20, 2017. Has that been confirmed somewhere?

EDIT: Just March 2017. So they're assuming it'll definitely be a launch title for NX? I really worry for the game's polish; it felt like it still had a lot of work needed.

@Dave24
Anyone who thinks Xenoblade Chronicles X looks outdated is not taking into account that it's world is far larger than the witcher 3. It also bothers me that I've seen many people complain about pop in in Xenoblade but don't with witcher even though it has a lot. Double standards are heavily prevalent when it comes to Nintendo.

It just looks absolutely amazing!😍

@-DEMISE- which version are you getting? I plan on getting both since I'm not sure yet when I shall get an NX.

I wonder why Alex couldn't pull off the see-saw trick and make Link fly high in the air like that. I am totally doing that and combining it with the hang glider to get to unreachable areas.

@Zeldafanforlife this is true. Try being a Nintendo fan AND a Michael Jackson fan! Double standards are just for starters, common sense, common DECENCY all go out the window lol.

nx version all the way

@Zeldafanforlife Comparing it to Witcher 3 is unfair to XCX, since it's on weaker hardware.
Still doesn't change the fact it looks worse in comparison, because it does, although Witcher 3 at times can look like ps3 game even on best rigs.

XCX came too late to the party and all the downgrade talk comes because of games that came out in 2015, be it TW3, Fallout 4 or other.

@Ryu_Niiyama I'm not entirely sure yet. I plan on getting an NX, but without knowing exactly what NX will be like, it's hard to say. But if NX looks rad and I buy one at launch, and assuming it has the better version of Zelda, then I'll definitely buy it on NX. That said, I wouldn't be opposed to buying it on Wii U, especially if the two versions are more or less the same. All I know is that I'm pretty excited to see how things play out in the next few months.

@-DEMISE- nintendo alrdy confirmed the nx version of zelda u will have far better visuals then the the wii u version and wouldnt be surprise nx version will have a much higher resolution and fps

@Camilla I don't remember them saying it will have far better visuals. I know they said it would be the exact same in terms of content. Where I expect improvements will be in terms of draw distance, crisper textures and a higher resolution.

@SLIGEACH_EIRE they did say that http://wiiudaily.com/2016/06/nintendo-confirms-the-new-zelda-game-will-look-better-on-the-nx-duh/

These guys actually have the highest quality direct-feed footage of the game that I've seen so far (much cleaner and sharper than any other videos I've watched). It manages to show off the game's visual strengths better than any other footage I've seen (some of the textures look a bit more detailed than I thought for example), and also makes some of its graphical weakness a bit more obvious at the same time (like the constantly shimmering shadows).

Still, I really hope the NX version can do this game's visuals full justice.

@Camilla the way the article is written is ... a little fishy

@Camilla Not quite. They said it will have "different visuals", which you can pretty much interpret any way you want.

Definitely impressive for the now anemic Wii U. I'm sure all sorts of things had to be sacrificed at the altar of Amaterasu (the Japanese Sun Goddess) to get the project to where it is now. Hopefully, the NX will have a remastered DLC version of it to give it a big upgrade. The scope of BotW has clearly outgrown it's tiny Wii U nest.

@Zeldafanforlife The Witcher 3 has very high system requirements, higher texture quality, more fluid environments, and much less plastic character models / animations / facial expressions compared to XCX. The pop in mainly occurs on lower end settings and hardware. At the higher settings with better hardware and an SSD, the pop in is nowhere near as bad.

The double standards of those who blindly defend Nintendo are just as bad as those who arrogantly shun Nintendo.

@electrolite77 LMAO! You hit the nail on the head... Funny how people continue to forget that Nintendo practically has all the time in the world to develop games for their own system, and know the hardware best. No one else has that kind of advantage on Nintendo's systems, unless they engage in an integrated partnership.

Alright. I'm legitimately impressed by some of the details now.

Brightly colored swathes of leaves bobbing around on the water surface and petals on little blue flowers opening and closing as the wind sweeps through the tall grass.

@Zeldafanforlife But the pop in for Xenoblade X is right on top of you sometimes... Things as major as enemies suddenly spawning on you and world objects not being solid, as in you can run straight through them, is hilariously bad.

Yes, they made a large play area that also requires no loading, which would be quite the feat if the drop in quality to achieve that wasn't so tremendous.

Getting the NX version day one. Looks beautiful. And btw considering the scope and the system it is on Xenoblade looks absolutely gorgeous.

Man, the combat looks so clunky. Why does it slow down so much when you're making contact? I don't know if I'm just getting old, (and I always enjoy Zelda games when I'm playing them) but this just looks really childish.

@Ryu_Niiyama I'll gladly wake you up, although you might be upset because it probably would have been delayed by that point

Xenoblade X looks amazing. Bayonetta 2 is miraculous with the graphics and how smooth it runs in parts where you would expect frame rate drops and it doesn't.
101 is probably one of the most technically impressive games we will see for the next decade.
Gaming is dropping PowerPC. Its the only computer using industry that is. Everyone else uses PowerPC. Its like cars switching from gas engines to steam power. You download PC games from Steam, kinda funny they call it steam. CHUGGA CHUGGA CHUGGA CHUGGA CHOOOOOOO CHOOOOOOO.

I basically stopped collecting games and stuff, but this is Zelda, looks amazing (not just graphics-wise), so I'm getting both versions, hoping to see some awesome collector's editions (not just amiibo bundles), and a gold-coloured hardware bundle or something.

@electrolite77
Sure there are going to be complaints but why is it only truly brought to the forefront when it comes to Nintendo? To see the complaints with the witcher you have to go out of your way to find people complaining. With Nintendo it's brought up constantly, you don't need to go out of your way to see the complaints when it comes to them. Jose Otero from ign complained about pop in in Xenoblade Chronicles X in his review but I've never once heard him complain about it in the witcher even when he's talking about both of them. Yes there most definitely are double standards with most people.

@greengecko007
I haven't played witcher but from videos I've seen the pop in is really bad there too at points. Seeing an entire group of people spawn right in front of you. I saw one video where it was an entire building. You don't think that's hilariously bad? You're double standards and hypocrisy are astounding.

For the record, I don't even care about pop in. I just needed to call out a hypocritical fanboy.

@PlywoodStick
The textures of the witcher on the console versions don't look too great. You're also not taking into consideration the fact that Xenoblade has some of the processing power going to displaying information on the Gamepad. I'd have to guess that without the Gamepad taking up some processing power the pop in would be nearly non existent.

@Dave24
Xenoblade has some of the processing power allocated to displaying information on the Gamepad. Did you ever take that into consideration? I doubt it.

@electrolite77
I wonder how much CD projekt red paid off people to win that game of the year award last year? The entire gaming industry is paid off which is why I put little to no stock in 80% of the reviews I read from people who are paid to review games.

@Zeldafanforlife True, the console versions of Witcher 3 are gimped by default. The game's base requirements were just too high for the current consoles to really be able to handle them beyond low-medium settings. The Neo and Scorpio (and maybe NX) at least should be able to handle medium-high settings, though. CD Projekt Red only released Witcher 3 for the consoles to rake in more money. The real (DRM-free) deal is on PC.

The GamePad does take up some critical processing power from the Wii U, sure, but it does that for every Wii U game. So the hypothetical of "if it didn't..." doesn't apply in any case. Although perhaps someone will eventually make a Xenoblade X Ultra HD mod to prove your point, much like the Xenoblade HD mod.

@PlywoodStick
Not every Wii U game has processing power going to the Gamepad.

@Zeldafanforlife I have to wonder what the game was running on and if this was before the several patches that were released to improve the game's performance.

No doubt that there is pop in, even after the patches, but I've never seen anything as ridiculous as Xenoblade X. That's not a double standard, it's what I've seen with my own eyes. Everything about the Witcher 3 looks better, while Xenoblade X looks very dated.

@greengecko007
Yes it is a double standard.

@Zeldafanforlife You know what I mean, every major Wii U game. And have you ever considered that those Witcher 3 videos you watched may have been either poorly prepared, or even intentionally setup to highlight the settings under which popup is the worst?

@PlywoodStick
The videos I watched said it was the ps4 version and no I don't know what you mean. It is not a hypothetical that the Gamepad takes processing power away from the tv and should most certainly be taken into account. You have no idea what you're talking about.

@Zeldafanforlife If you really think that, you need to review what a double standard is. Switch the publishers of The Witcher 3 and Xenoblade X, and I'll still think one looks much better than the other. I couldn't care less who the game comes from. The Witcher 3 looking better has nothing do with blindly hating on Nintendo, so you can take your witch hunt elsewhere.

@greengecko007
We're not discussing the graphics of either game we're discussing the issue of pop in!!! What the hell is the matter with you? Do you think I have the attention span of a goldfish or the mental capacity of a 2 year old? You trolls are beyond pathetic.

@Zeldafanforlife I meant the hypothetical you posited about Xenoblade X encountering less pop in if the GamePad wasn't used beyond the controls. You're probably right, but until we see someone make a modded version that doesn't draw processing power away for the GamePad, we won't know the exact results for sure.

@ArcadeLove That's mainly just because of the vast power that IBM wields over most computer industries. The gaming industry is just about the only one recent enough that IBM doesn't have a chokehold on it. If anything, the gaming industry is the one leaving the fossil behind. It's the right way to go.

@Zeldafanforlife Everything that has to do with the visual design and appearance can be lumped into graphics. Which shouldn't even be an issue because I didn't even use the word "graphics". Have you got nothing better than just arguing semantics and throwing out baseless playground tier insults like fanboy and troll? Get real.

@greengecko007
You said one looks better than the other, LOOKS better than the other, you are talking about the visuals, THE GRAPHICS!!! Pop in has nothing to do with how something looks, only when you finally see it. I'm calling you a troll because you are being a troll. You are in the wrong and I'm calling you out on it.

@Zeldafanforlife And how do you notice things popping in? I would wager you see it, visually. But please, keep reaching. The only thing I see now is someone giving actual Nintendo fans a bad name.

@greengecko007
It doesn't affect the end result. What you see in the end will always be the same.

@Zeldafanforlife I doubt it you know that what you said doesn't even have a point.

@Dave24
Whether there is any merit to what he's saying is not pertinent to the original argument. He's giving witcher 3 a free pass for all the pop in issues and yet takes issue with it in Xenoblade, that is a double standard, hypocrisy.

@Zeldafanforlife and what does your dodge have to do with gamepad?

@Dave24
Unless you've read through our entire discussion you have no right throwing your two cents in. He's the one trying to change what the argument's about because he knows he's been caught in his hypocrisy. He was also trying to say I don't know what a double standard is when I do, it's hypocrisy and that's exactly what he is, a hypocrite. If pop in is an issue to you in one game it should be an issue to you in another. Trying to change the subject is the only thing he can do because he knows he is in the wrong, and it's very immature. If you can't stay on the original topic and veer into another direction then you're not worth talking to.

@Zeldafanforlife I asked simple question, and you so far you're the one changing the subject. So I guess you're not worthy of yourself, since you change the subject. Must be hard to live.

@Dave24
I'm really glad I don't know you personally, at least I hope I don't. I wasn't even talking to you in that conversation so how can I change the subject of something you had no part of? There is no doubt in my mind you and greengecko007 are the same person or at the very least are friends in real life. It honestly wouldn't surprise me if both of you were developers on the witcher 3. You people are untrustworthy wretchs. I really wish I didn't have to say that as much as I do, I wish I didn't have to say it at all.

@Zeldafanforlife "I wasn't even talking to you in that conversation so how can I change the subject of something you had no part of?"

I asked about that, and only thing you could do:
a) dodge it
b) go full personal

Don't worry, I won't laugh at your condition.

@Dave24
Staying directly on the topic, what the whole argument was about, let me ask you this. Is it all right to take issue with the pop in in Xenoblade but at the same time wrong to take issue with it in the witcher?

@Zeldafanforlife I've played both games and the pop-up in Witcher 3 (PS4) is absolutely nowhere near the ridiculous ones from XCX (WIIU). I cannot fathom how you would even make the comparison. Have you even played XCX or Witcher 3? I highly doubt it.

@Dislikesfats
It doesn't matter if one doesn't have as much as the other. From what I've seen on youtube the ps4 version has quite a lot of pop in. Even if one has more than the other you can't completely dismiss the one with less. I will eventually play XCX but I will not be playing witcher.

@Zeldafanforlife So you've played neither? Amazing.

@Dislikesfats
You're not arguing my point because you can't.