'The Witcher 3' To Require 50GB On PS4, Outshines The Xbox One Version

Storage space on the latest generation of consoles will continue to be a premium considering the latest wave of games bearing massive installation sizes. CD Projekt RED's upcoming action RPG "The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt" joins the league of "GTA V" and "Killzone: Shadow Fall" with an intimidating 50GB free space requirement for the PS4 version.

DualShockers.com picked up this information based on the technical details specified within listing information on the Italian PlayStation storefront. The PC version gets off easier with a relatively modest 40GB specified for the installation. There's no word yet on the storage requirements for the Xbox One release.

However, it's pretty certain that it won't surpass the installation size specified for the PS4. The recently showcased preview build of the game has underscored the performance disparity between Microsoft's Xbox One and Sony's PlayStation 4 consoles. The latest preview build of the game was showcased in full HD (1080p) on the PS4, whereas it could only muster 900p on the Xbox One.

The revelation comes from a German publication Gamestar, which had attended the recent preview event for "The Witcher 3." It had evaluated the game as it ran on all three platforms: PS4, Xbox One and the PC. According to VG247, the website confirmed that both consoles ran the game at 30 fps. However, a translation of the article reveals that the PS4 version of the game was superior to the Xbox One version.

The translation reveals the German publication preference for the PS4 visuals, which were reported to be marginally sharper than what the Xbox One could render. The textures on the PS4 were still blurry as compared to the crisp graphics rendered by the far superior PC version. However, it also added that the lower grade textures on the console version won't matter as much, considering the average TV viewing distances.

The PS4 version of "The Witcher 3" was also said to possess richer and more vibrant colours compared to its American counterpart. Most importantly, the console's graphics capability has been compared with the "High" graphics settings of the PC version. This observation sounds legitimate as the developer had earlier stated that the console versions will be equivalent to same "High" graphics preset for the PC.

The Ultra mode on the PC will deliver significantly more improved visuals, according to Eurogamer. This will be achieved through more aggressive tessellation, post-processing, realistic fur and complex physics. The developer, however, had stated that PC gamers will require a really beefed up gaming rig to handle the "Ultra" graphics preset.

Cinema Blend further notes that CD Projekt RED is pushing to deliver 1080p on the Xbox One. Let's not forget that the game is still under development and there's still scope for graphical tune-ups and overall optimisation. Moreover, the developer hadn't utilised the performance improvements of Xbox One's June XDK, which freed up 10 percent extra processing power by disabling Kinect. However, that was about six months ago.

With the Xbox One version still running at 900p, it seems the developer still hasn't been able to tap into the extra 10 percent performance potential opened up by the XDK update. The developer still has a few months until the game's May 19 release date to optimise the Xbox One version. However, at this rate, the chances of Xbox One users playing the game at 1080p seem pretty slim.

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