Are the Wii's visuals that bad compared to the 360/PS3?

I want a PS 3, but I'm not so sure if its games look that much better than the Wii's. A lot them look bland, blurry and generally not much of an improvement compared to the Wii's output.

Before anyone says anything: Graphics =/= Gameplay

I'm a sightseer. I like my Scenery Porn.

If I had to be totally honest, no, I don't really think the Wii's visuals are "bad" compared to the 360/PS 3. Obviously, sure, by tech specs, they're probably inferior, but I've always been more interested in artistic style than in how absurdly realistic we can make everything look.

Plus the PS 2 was the console I've put the most playtime into, the Wii's visuals always seemed basically on par, if not a little better, and I see no need to hate on what worked so well for me.

edited 28th Sep '10 1:20:40 PM by DrPravd

Well, they at least have a lot of bloom.

But really, I can't say as I don't own 360/PS 3, but while they might have better graphics, they don't really impress me that much. Well, expect in shiny trailers...

With the right equipment and settings (i.e., component/HDMI cables, 720p or whatever your HDTV goes up to), many PS 3 games do look pretty good. If you're really a graphics whore, go ahead and get it.

That's not to say that the Wii looks terrible in comparison. Really, if you hook up component cables to that little white box that could, I honestly can't tell the pixel-by-pixel difference between Super Mario Galaxy 2 or Metroid Other M at 480p, and Red Dead Redemption at 1080p. The games, of course, have to be made right to look halfway decent.

edited 28th Sep '10 1:21:01 PM by WildKnight

I think on its own merits, Wii's graphic capability isn't too bad, but then again, I have low standards for that.

A lot of Wii games compensate for the lack of graphical power with their art style. You tend to see stylized graphics rather than realistic because of this.

If you've got an HD TV, the difference is pretty noticeable, even for Wii games that run in Progressive Scan mode.

The polycounts and all don't mean as much to me, and honestly the fact that so many Wii games are so much more colorful than most of the 360 games I play make me lean towards Wii in terms of raw visual appeal anyway....but HD is excellent.

Speaking from the point of someone with a pretty killer setup, yeah, there is a noticeable difference. How big of a difference it is depends on the individual game, though. An Xbox game that's less about looking pretty and more about how much shit they can cram on the screen (read: Prototype, Dead Rising) is about on par with the better-looking Wii games, whereas one that's greatly focused on scenery porn and graphics in general (Final Fantasy XIII, for example) is far and away better than anything the Wii could dream of putting out.

As mentioned before....it sometimes quite hard to notice the difference in graphics quality. There is a difference, and the Wii often can not do games that the other 2 consoles can. Hence why fanboys in the other two consoles bash this one so much.

But as for me...I'm not a graphics whore. I'm an art style whore. Even with weaker polygon count, the Wii still have better visuals overall. Of course, that part is pretty YMMV. I like thee Wii's visuals over 360/PS 3...also, I bought a Wii for Monster Hunter, something the other two console lacks....the Internet Backdraft that ensued was hilarious.

edited 28th Sep '10 1:30:39 PM by Signed

Short answer: No. People exaggerate.

Long answer: the Wii's graphics are doubtless not as good as X:Box or PS 3 graphics, but the difference is nowhere near as debilitating flaw as people tend to imply: Wii graphics are good just not as good. This is especially obvious in games where graphics are good but gameplay is even better and in games where graphics is more of an extra perk rather than a necessity - good Wii games have more than decent graphics and I don't own any that are so bad that they take away from the game.

edited 28th Sep '10 1:37:46 PM by KnownUnknown

If you have a Wii, just enjoy the games. Same with if you want a PS3 (and make sure there are some games you want for it first).

Even if you like that trope, you don't need to spend $50-$60 for that reason (that applies to both the Wii and PS3).

Tried playing my Wii on an HDTV. Looked horrible. Everything looked so blocky and transparent objects were actually colored pixls spaced apart.

The "quality" games on the Wii have good graphics. As long as you stay away from shovelware, you won't have any complaints.

I dunno, it depends on how "realistic" they're tring to be.

Geometry Wars for the Wii, for example, is definitely unrealistic, but one of the prettiest games I've ever played.

edited 28th Sep '10 2:24:25 PM by AllanAokage

I find the No More Heroes does look blocky on an HDTV. But when I'm busy trying not to get killed by a dozen yakuza, I find I don't care about that.

No More Heroes looks blocky no matter what.

It's one of my favorite games, though.

^ No it doesn't. That issues solved on the Ps3.

^ Don't forget the 360.

But it doesn't matter. It's still a bunch of cel shaded polygons. What matters is that the game is good.

I still get turned on by Bad Girls's Sexy Walk, even though it looks a bit blocky when far enough away.

Yes, they are. The only exception happens when you connect a 360 or a PS 3 to a non-HD TV (for instance, a CRT one). Then, PS 3 graphics, which are AWESOME, look like shit on the level of PS 2.

Yeah, I wish the Wii had HD support. It would be an excellent system if the graphics didn't suck.

"It would be an excellent system if the graphics didn't suck."

How about that's developers not using the system right, either in specs or art direction?

Whoops. Meant it would be a nice support for the Wii to have. HD really shows blocky graphics on the Wii. I haven't played Super Mario Galaxy or 2 on my new TV but I hope it doesn't look bad.

Well some games look blocky, but not all. The Conduit has pretty good anti aliasing, so still looks nice on an HDTV.

I grew up on the Super Nintendo. Anything that runs 3D looks the same to me :p