Batman Arkham City will be a Wii U launch title and will not only include console specific features for the GamePad, but it’ll also feature better graphics, as the above screenshots show. Eurogamer recently analyzed the Wii U hardware and found that while the new console is not that much more powerful than current gen systems, Wii U games are already looking better than on competing consoles. Batman Arkham City for example, features a better draw distance, higher resolution textures, and better effects on the Wii U compared to the PlayStation 3 version. Eurogamer’s analysis of Arkham City reveals that the Wii U edition of the game has a different lighting model with more light sources, motion blur, and new textures. Finally, the Wii U version features FXAA anti-aliasing, something that the PS3 version didn’t have. All of these small changes amount to the game generally looking better than on current generation consoles, thanks to the scalability of the Unreal Engine 3.
Eurogamer’s analysis concludes that the Wii U isn’t that much more powerful than current gen hardware, and that the upcoming consoles from Microsoft and Sony will offer much more power than the Wii U. However, it’s still unknown whether the new PS4 and Xbox 720 will be out in 2013. Right now, everything points at a 2014 release for those systems. This should give the Wii U a two year head start. Regarding the Wii U hardware, it also appears that the Wii U GamePad does take up considerable resources when used, which explains why game frame rate will drop to 30 when two GamePads are used, according to Nintendo. Head on after the break for another Batman Arkham City comparison screenshot.
