Video: Here's How The Witcher 3 On Switch Compares To The PS4 Version

This is looking fantastic....and all on one cartridge - if they can do it so can everyone else.

And they fit the whole thing on one cartridge, man they are good

Edit: @Lordplops Ha, Snap!

Isn’t it a bit early for comparisons ?

Looks fantastic and all on one cart..... panic button have competition

@Gerald Nope, can't blame them, the level of interest in this game is incredibly high right now, and they are - probably - the best guys to do it.

No need to hit this panic button this time! This and Aliens Isolation made this an extra special E3 for me. Two great third party games I regrettably missed out on. Plus it’s all on 1 cart! (can everyone please make that comment)

This really looks pretty decent.

If the framerate is stable enough and the dynamic resolution drops are not as noticeable as in Wolfenstein 2, count me in.

Lol. even though it looks decent, but some stuff are gone. Just like those birds... half of them gone. So we will get half game? Except for the story and quests... ok

No one expected the game to look as good as on PS4, but this is very impressive. They did a fantastic work on this one.

All on one cart...?

Well ****** me.

I'm officially abandoning the very slow progress I was making with my PC version and waiting for Switch.

It does look very rough with low detail on far landscapes and objects, overall it's a strange choice porting such a big open world game to this beloved handheld with its narrow constrains on memory bandwith etc. Still, Im considiring buying it if it does stick to 540p in undocked mode and looks overall good on the small screen.

@Lando_ did you play Wolfenstein before or after patches? I played the game last November and it looked great to me (better than doom before patches for sure)

Yeah it's impressive! Hopefully this stops the whole "Panic Button are the wizards of the Switch" thing, They weren't doing anything special, just something that people didn't have the time or money to do But go CD Projekt Red! This is quite a leap for a console they haven't released anything on.

@RasandeRose
*beloved hybrid console.
That being said, I don't think I will get this, 'cause it doesn't look like a game, I would really enjoy. Besides, there are to much other games this year I (still) need to buy.😩

Very low detail. The distance is just a blur. Was not expecting the difference to PS4 to be so drastic. Actually surprised how good game looks on PS4 after 4 years. If Switch version uses original engine will Cyberpunk 2077 be possible?

Not really a fan of the Witcher, got super bored with it and doubt I'll be giving the Switch version a chance, just wanted to see how it's shaping up.

The comparison with PS4 is night and day. If I were to play it, I would avoid playing it docked since that's only going to showcase how downgraded everything is when I could be playing a far superior version on PS4 or PC. The things that instantly stand out are the view distance, model and texture detail and lighting really stand out, the colours seemingly being less bright on the Switch too IMO. Ultimately the game looks a lot older than it is.

For handheld though, I can't imagine it being very noticeable. Things like the huge lack of foliage will be noticeable IF you've played it elsewhere and know what it's SUPPOSED to be like, but as with most ports, being on a small handheld screen is going to mask a heck of a lot of the downgrades. As per, it's impressive that we have a game like this on a handheld system.

Ultimately, happy for those looking forward to the game but if you're planning on playing it docked for any significant amount of time and do own another platform, maybe consider that (though I'm sure anybody with another system who is interested has already played this).

Been visiting this site so much, I might as well join in the discussion. So, uhm.... Hello everyone!

I am probably getting this game. I haven't played any Witcher games before. I don't own a PS4. Playing it on the Switch will allow me to experience this game whenever I have a smidge of free time.

I really don't care that there is a downgrade to the graphics. For me, it is the atmosphere that is important, and not the polygon count. I recently saw a comparison vid for FF12 on PS2 and PS4. Sure, the PS4 version looks ten times better, but that didn't stop me from thoroughly enjoying FF12 back when I played it on the PS2.

Portability is a huge plus for me. I simply don't have the luxury of setting up a gaming station with a large TV, and have thus far played many games in handheld mode on the couch, and it works more than fine for me. And I think that is exactly the target demographic for this game. Those who want it on full screen in all its graphical splendour already own this game on PS4 anyways.

Going to have to replace that left joy-con for the Panzer Dragoon game.

Just waiting on reveal of new console SKUs.

Yeah, this confirms I won't be getting this for Switch.

yay another DF video to confirm that the PS4 is more powerful than the Switch.

Like we didn't know that for three years now...

@sanderev I think the point of these videos is going well over your head.

@Indielink PS4 fanboyism, clicks, etc.

I could make this video and compare it to a 3000 dollar PC that would run the game at 4K 120fps. Then even the "best" PS4 would look terrible in comparison.

If only it's as good as Hellblade, but it won't be.

Hellblade is 18+ GB on Switch, the same game is 14+ GB on PS4.
Witcher 3 is 32 GB on Switch, the same game is 65+ GB on PS4.

It looks fantastic. And given I've never played the PS4 version, I won't be imagining it against higher resolution textures when I play it.

Imagine if this comes out on the PS5 ... The PS4 version will immediately be unplayable __00__

@sanderev @Indielink
I have to agree with Indielink I watch lots of Digital Foundry videos and I never thought of this as having anything to do with fanboyism. I have a PS4 pro, pretty strong gaming laptop which can run The Witcher 3 maxed out at 1080p and well I can see myself playing this more on the Switch, same as Skyrim, for the portability alone. When I watch these comparisons I don't see it like which console is superior but rather are the compromises reasonable to my taste to orient my purchase decision. I bought Witcher 3 about 3 years ago and never put more than 2 hours in it... Because I barely ever get a chance to sit in front of the TV. I would like to add that beyond portability the Switch wakes up from sleep mode much more rapidly than PS4 which also contributes in my opinion to a better fit for a busy lifestyle. (edit: spelling)

I'm totally okay with what I'm seeing here. There are going to be some who sneer about inferior versions and helpfully recommend buying a PS4 to play the game "properly". Well, I already have a gaming laptop that can play this game on at least mid-range settings. But I'm much more excited to have it on Switch with worse graphics, because on Switch I will actually play it.

I can never get behind the idea that a game has to have the most dazzling graphics to be fun. Comes from being a gamer for over 40 years I guess. Any time someone starts touting a game's amazing graphics, I'm thinking about how many hundreds of hours I spent playing Asteroids, Nethack, Tetris and other games that could run on a modern car's audio console, because they were fun. Fun is not about how many pixels are in a blade of grass. It's something totally different. And I'm pretty sure that "something" will be there in the Switch version of the Witcher 3.

You know what? That actually looks pretty good.

@dil_power If they wanted to show off the Switch version they should have excluded the PS4 version. Now it's 100% an upsale for the PS4 version of the game. Which is still inferior to when you use a gaming PC with a 2080 ti @ 4K or an XBOX ONE X.

if they wanted to compare the Switch version to the "best possible" version, which would be equally stupid, they should've compared it to a 2080 ti PC with a i9 of the latest gen and at least 32 GB of RAM. Sure, the Switch version would look bad then.

For instance this is a video comparing a 1080 ti i7 to XBOX ONE X and PS4 Pro:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOv5-qM2poc

NintendoLife, when you do an article put some pictures too. Just a video is plain lazy and not what news websites do.

@carmudgeon If you see a "blurry mess" it's because you've forgotten to clean your pc screen.

I will buy this again

The Switch version looks good enough for me so far.

@Daniel36 welcome! You nail it for me, atmosphere is so often overlooked but it’s crucial for me. I have coveted this game on the ps4 but never played it. Unless this is launched broken, which I doubt, it’s a day one purchase for me!

@sanderev They compare it to the base PS4 which they easily justify because it's a very popular version and frankly the least powerful platform next to the base Xbox One. Thanks for the link but I already have seen those videos. In fact the fairest comparison was done by digital foundry about a week ago in a theoretical test scaling down the PC version to see what it could temptatively look like on a Switch before the rumor became a fact: https://youtu.be/q1O18TNN3d4

@sanderev

I think that a lot of people miss the point. The Witcher 3 port on the Switch is impressive because we're talking about a $300 "portable" machine. When people are saying that it runs better on a $3000 PC, it's not impressive. It's expected.

Even on PS4 or XB1, we're talking here about consoles who consume a lot more wattage, that are by their definition more powerful than anything "portable". So again, better performance doesn't surprise me. It's expected again.

The Switch running it this well (apparently), is impressive because even with the graphical downgrade, it is still an achievement to have it running like this on what is essentially a low-power mobile system.

The differences are not as obvious or dramatic as one would expect.

I play in handheld mode mostly and this looks compromised to the point that I wouldn't pick it up. There are just some games that shouldn't be ported and this looks like one. Will wait to the final release but not excited when it looks so low res with murky textures.

@nintendolie "Witcher 3 is 32 GB on Switch, the same game is 65+ GB on PS4."

PS4 game sizes are always oversized because Sony has this strange habit of forcing the user to download every imaginable language regardless of region. The PC and Xbox versions of Witcher 3 with a single language file are around 32GB.

@dil_power That video is jus another confirmation of the bias against the Switch.

I wasn't necessarily interested in the game but I may buy it and try it out if for no other reason than to reward them for porting it (and getting it all on the cartridge!).

Good job team!!!

@sanderev they compare it to the PS4 version because it's a known benchmark. Yes, they could just show just the Switch version, and comment just in its performance, but the point of the video is to investigate what concessions they made to get the game running on Switch. If you only care that games runs in an acceptable state, that's totally fine. Some people who are interested in the technical side want to see how it was done. It's not pS4 fanboyism, it's informative.

I'll just wait till the game comes out on switch.
But this shows we need a switch 2 (pro) to keep up with the bigger games.

Are you guys trying your best to make Nintendo switch newcomers to witcher 3 to hate the game?? If so you're failing Digital foundary!. For the game to run on switch is more than enough fun once you play portable. If your first time to play the witcher 3 and you have only the Nintendo switch buy the game it's great rpg.

@sanderev you know what I respect your opinion but I love my Switch, my PS4, my PC, and my Xbox 360 while I'm at it. Meanwhile I also thoroughly enjoy digital foundry's videos and well... too bad you can't find something positive there, either way have nice day. (edit: spelling)

When this is happening, there really no reason for gta V not to make switch, particularly as they have the 360/ps3 version to work of. Come on Rockstar, take our money!!

@R1spam Oh yessss that'd be sweet . I honestly can't think of a good reason why not, I would be willing to bet it would sell like hotcakes on the Switch.

@Ricochet72 digital foundry just got to you friend. Psychological they've confused your judgement. Yes the game looks low res, but you can never tell till it's out! Mind you digital foundry are just trying to justify themselves of what they said previously about the switch not going to be able to handle the witcher 3!

You really like to promote Digital Foundry right? Anyway, I don't need to look one of their videos to know this game looks awesome and it's going to be a blast playing it on the Switch!

@JasmineDragon wise judgement i like that you said.

@Edu23XWiiU absolutely don't mind them trying to make people dislike the game for no apparent reason other than what they said previously before the witcher 3 was announced for Nintendo game console, "that the switch won't be able to play the witcher".

@Rpg-lover That was funny as hell. And stupid. This is another clear show that the Switch can handle any game if it's developed correctly.

Impressive. Hopefully the sound quality is OK too (unlike in the Switch version of Dark Souls)

Another great video from DF. I wish they had more gameplay to work with for this comparison, but there's probably a good reason why they don't. They probably need every bit of time they've got to optimize the frame rate. I can't imagine what a challenge it will be to get this locked at 30fps on Switch. Thanks to DF for the videos and thanks to Nintendolife for the articles! I'll probably end up playing The Witcher 3 on Switch if it runs with even frame pacing on Switch.

Basically the worst version to play this game in the last 5 years. But I guess something is better than nothing.

For me, Just this 1 game is worth a PS4 and making some time to play at home.

@sanderev I only own a Switch and i enjoy DF videos.

You shouldn't look it from a gamers standpoint but more from IT perspective. The comparison wouldnt detract people from the Switch version because only we lifeless geeks are watching videos like that, to directly notice the difference.

It's so mind-boggling that they got this running on a handheld (which is the main appeal of this version). Like yes, there will be some visual and technical compromises, but to be fair, The Witcher 3's main strengths are its narrative and side quests, and I can't see them cutting any of that. Just hope the framerate stays near 30fps.

@Tao I'm just finding that my completion rate for games has been higher on the Switch than on other platforms.

Being able to pause and resume at any moment, while also being able to play anywhere certainly helps compared to the other consoles and my PC.

People might just be motivated to pick up stuff on the Switch simply because they feel similarly, that they'll finish what they buy.

So it seems like The Switcher 3 runs at a resolution and framerate higher than 240p 3 FPS like some actually believed.

Cool.

@sanderev you do realize you can buy a ps4 for the same price as a switch. If portability isn't something you care for then the switch simply offers lower tech for the same money.

@JasmineDragon yes graphics aren't everything. But if you have the choice why not choose better graphics if portability wasn't a factor. I had fun in my corolla growing up. It got me from point a to b. But now I have a Lexus. It gets me from point a to b as well. Guess which one I prefer? That doesn't make me a snob. That makes me a relatively sane person. Same with my tv. Had lots of enjoyment on a black and white tv. But for some odd reason I upgraded to colour. Then years later I did a crazy thing and upgraded to hd. And last year I upgraded again to a 4k. Sure I had fun on my black and white tv. But I prefer my 4k. I also prefer my cell phone to my land line. But I had some great times talking for hours to my gf years ago before text.

It’ll be interesting to see how it turns out. I’m excited for Witcher, Panzer Dragoon, and Alien Isolation, and FFVIII the most.

It looks very blurry and on the big screen those downgrades will hurt it, in portable or should look reasonable as most of that will be hidden. I wont get too carried away over the framerate until we see it in and around Novigrad. The area in the trailer runs at a locked 60fps on Xbox One X but drops to the low 40's even outside of that city, so hopefully it's not too bad there, I'll be sticking to the PS4 version but it's a great title for those who don't have access to it or really want to play it on the go. Despite me sounding slightly negative it's another little miracle for Switch

@Gerald This isn't the proper Digital Foundry comparison, that won't come out until they have a copy.

This is just a comparison of the footage we've seen to capitalise of the current interest and get some traffic.

@Rpg-lover "Are you guys trying your best to make Nintendo switch newcomers to witcher 3 to hate the game?? "

Since the entire video literally screams the opposite and Digital Foundry are huge Switch fans, I'm gonna say no?

@Indominus_B They did the same about Doom and then it came out and they sang it's praises.

They aren't saying things are impossible on Switch to trash the Switch, they're saying it because they genuinely can't see a way to make it work.

Panic Button worked magic on DOOM and Saber Interactive are working magic here, and Digital Foundry happily eat crow every time and say how incredible the job is etc.

You act like they regularly say the Switch is rubbish when the direct opposite is true, they are huge fans

How? just how

The game is like 60 gb's in my PS4 without the expansions, how is this even possible?

Do they just don't bother compressing for PC/PS4/Xone?

@Starcakes Low resolution assets. The biggest cause of huge game sizes are the assets. When 4k becomes standard, expect game sizes to be even bigger. Since this is only 900p on the Switch, that's a huge storage savings compared to checkerboard 4k.

@NotoriousWhiz Do lower res assets and textures really make such a huge difference tough? maybe it's a combination of lower res assets and actual compression? those are still a lot of GB's tough...

I dunno, i know absolutely nothing of these matters, but there's just something fishy about storage this gen. Even old games take an obscene amount of storage these days.

RE4 is like 13 gb's, that is a game that was on the freaking PS2, you can't tell me there is no foul play.

@graysoncharles Screw them then, they are the reason my PS4 can't have more than 6 games installed, i swear to god it's the exact same thing as my Switch.

@sixrings I think you missed my point. I'm not trying to say better graphics aren't nice to have. I'm sure the game is awesome to play on XBone or a high-end rig. I'm just saying it looks perfectly good on the Switch, which is a platform I own and enjoy playing games on.

To use your own example, just because you upgraded to a Lexus doesn't mean another person can't have fun going for Sunday drives in their Corolla.

Oh man, that grass density on Switch is totally unplayable.

(I bet some folk don't twig that is nonsense!)

@sanderev DF is clearly very impressed with the Switch. There is no "PS4 fanboyism." They love the Switch. They heap praise on it all the time. And from a technical standpoint TW3 is a fascinating comparison. They have a PC they built to run at the same spec as the Switch to experiment with the possibility of ports. The PS4 is the most popular system around. It's fair to compare the Switch version to the PS4 one to see what concessions are made. It's legitimately an interesting topic.

@Indominus_B if you read my comment as being offended you live in an extremely delicate world lmao. Your opinion of DF isn’t relevant to me and if you read my comment as somehow defending them then try again, or don’t because arguing here is lame

Day one buy for me and that's after having it on Xbox and PS4. For me easily one of the best games and stories I've played over the last decade. Yes technically it won't match PC/consoles, but I prefer to look at the positives and I'm ultra excited to be seeing this on my favourite console. The more compelling games that come to the Switch the better. Half-life 2 The Orange Box remastered anyone?

@PorllM That’s why I think it is a pointless comparison. We have no idea about the footage shown, what level of build, how long ago it was taken.
I am looking forward to seeing more extensive footage

It sucks how the narrative switched(pun intended) to "There's no chance in hell TW3 will run on Switch" to "TW3 on Switch sucks/doesnt compare to my ultra hd overclocked pc version!!/omg textures look worse etc" We can't just be impressed its running on mobile hardware? I think by now people realize the Switch isn't as powerful as the PS4, my goodness that dead horse has been beaten to dust by now. I'll gladly take a hit in the graphical department if it means playing this game wherever I want.

While the game itself is a fantastic port of Witcher III, this goes to show that third parties aren't willing to make a dedicated Switch version of the franchise but opted for a waterdown port instead. This is what I don't want the Switch to become cause now the Switch is starting to look more and more like a PS Vita all the more so with only difference being that it has Nintendo exclusives behind it. While I'm glad we had a Witcher III port, an original Witcher game made with the Switch in mind would had fare much better so we don't have to worry about low resolution or low fps framerate dips.

@Agramonte to be fair I played this on a base ps4 and one of my mates from work tried to convince me it was worth building a 1k rig to play it at 60 fps ultra! He looked at me like I was peasant for playing on a ps4. Novigrad made my ps4 sound like a jet engine about a year after launch. Everyone has a level to balance where they play, whether it be performance, play on the go or the platform they have.

@Starcakes This is the Complete Edition (all the patches, dlc, etc...) which is only 42.23GB on PS4. If you bought the original then you have to count 40GB + patches.

@graysoncharles Shelling out and extra hundred bucks for my already expensive system doesn't sit well with me, especially when i have no less than 3 different systems.

I guess that's my problem, but what really annoys me is that not even physical games are a reprieve from this madness, most PS4 games i own are basically "keys" to download the rest of the game. I thought the Switch was the exception, but Crapcom games were a wake up call.

@KryptoniteKrunch that's the spirit friend.

This game will be great on the switch. Will buy one for myself and send one to DF just to eat their words(if possible). Trying to make the game look bad when it's still not yet available for switch.

@R1spam If someone tells me they playing 1080p (or even 720p) at what would be "medium"... not sure why spend 1K to play at 4K. (It can be a PS4 or a PC with a GTX1050Ti)

If they playing at 720p, on "low" and still need to turn off Anti Aliasing - it is time to upgrade. (it can be a Switch, PC with Intel GMA or your Job's Laptop).

Sure, that is just me - and it depends on "tolerance". But it be hypocritical to accept that some Switch owners are Happy when a WiiU game runs "a bit better" on it. But later find it ludicrous when other owners don't care about a PS4/PC game that runs "a lot worse on it"

Yes, "Everyone has a level to balance"... and sometimes (for some) it simply does not favor the Switch.

@Indominus_B ...i think you are the troll here.

@JasmineDragon. I agree, I'm 34 and like you graphics are not how I judge a game, I judge it on how much I enjoy playing it. Even though I wasn't born yet to play them when they first came out I still ended up playing them later on and I enjoyed them despite the very low graphics.

bottom line I love that I can play it on the system that I have which is a switch and not have to buy another system just to play The Witcher 3 this is a game I'm definitely going to buy

I’d like to hope, the future of the Switch is developers competing over the prestige and point of pride to say “You thought Skyrim/DOOM/Witcher on Switch was impressive? Watch this!” And they keep competing to one up each other.

Saber is working on it? I don't have hope, seeing the state Quake Champions is in

Played it on PS4, but if this port plays well, I see no reason why I wouldn’t buy this. CDPR makes quality games and does good for the consumer. The least I can do for them is buy their games and keep them in business

One of the greatest games ever made imo. Won't be going back to it as I have put hundreds of hours into.it and also finished the dlc's which were fantastic too. It does look pretty ugly on Switch to be honest but amazing achievement none the less.

PC Master Race this one guys

I laughed at stupid people telling us that it cannot be done on Switch. Now see ? They can do that. So can everybody else with other ports to Switch. Amazing!

The downgrade looks huge, but the Switch version definitely doesn't look ugly. I'd imagine there's a big enough audience on the switch to end up making the port worth it. It has the benefit of being a complete edition and releasing several years later so it's not directly competing with the technically superior versions.

Every happy Switch owner knows whats up. We sacrifice for the freedom. As long as the gameplay is good I will buy this.

@LargeFarva007 for freedom!

Ok so I’m surprised at some of the saltiness in the comment section... but I really shouldn’t be haha.

It totally looks playable but it does look quiet ugly when compared but the portability is a huge plus for me as I didn’t finish it on PS4 due to limited time. So I’m down for this version.

The size and whether or not they can fit it onto one cart I think is the bigger stretch for me though. I’m hesitant to believe this claim until launch. I can see this changing before release. I am, however, happy to be proven wrong.

its all about the game.

i dunno why these dumb people keep comparing, i even sence a negative tone in the reviewers voice. why the hell is that for???

the witcher 3 on the switch is a big achievement for gamedevelopment, let alone to fit it on a gamecard and on the go. for that alone we should suport cd projekt and buy the game.

the witcher 3 is "one of" the best game from the past 7 years.
you dont care less about graphics if you start playing it, it absorbs you.
also developed by a friendly company who realeased all dlc for free on xbox one as a thank you for suporting us.

@sanderev ok. Now I only have to carry my PC onto the bus every morning

Nintendo Need to make A Power dock with a 1tB hardrive built in and
another tegra Chip and 4GB of Ram built in.

@Nudawa https://www8.hp.com/us/en/vr/vr-backpack.html

@sanderev no thanks, I have a thing called LIFE

Considering that I keep forgetting to play this on pc I am looking forward to this on Switch. I don’t care about the graphics as I get to play it on my system of choice and that is all that matters to me. Giving the consumer options is always a great thing.

If I played more games at home I would beef up my PC and play at max power. Sense I am normally playing my Switch portably, I am happy with how this is looking so far.

I already own this game on PS4 and PC, and owned it on Xbox, and with all the new Switch games coming out this year I think I'll hold off. Still, tempting to play Witcher in handheld mode

Exactly!@Lordplops

I would say it’s definitely impressive. I didn’t buy a Switch for graphics capability.