Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 runs better on PS4 than Xbox One - Report says
New technical analysis of the game's campaign shows resolution and frame rate are better on PlayStation 4.
A technical analysis of Call of Duty: Black Ops III compares the PS4 and Xbox One versions of the game's campaign, claiming Sony's edition comes out on top overall with respect to resolution and frame rate.
Digital Foundry's assessment of Black Ops 3's campaign first tackled the game's resolution. In cutscenes, both PS4 and Xbox One were able to regularly achieve full 1080p. However, native resolution during gameplay is targeted to be 1920x1080 (1080p) on PS4 but 1600x900 (900p) on Xbox One.
The PS4 edition momentarily drops to 1360x1080 before reaching full 1080p, and "some blur across distant details is apparent." The Xbox One edition, however, can rarely hold its 900p target, the report found, instead reaching a sustained 1280x900 resolution "even in less stressful gameplay scenes."
During "more challenging scenarios," resolution on Xbox One could fall to 1200x900, the report found. The game uses a resolution upscaler, but the results leave much to be desired, Digital Foundry said.
"The Xbox One release possesses a consistent blurry appearance when the action really kicks in: fine details are frequently smudged over, while geometry edges appear rough and fuzzy," it said. "It's a substantial downgrade over last year's Advanced Warfare, where Sledgehammer stayed locked at a 1360x1080 resolution during the more demanding scenes."
Note again that Digital Foundry's technical analysis looked at the Black Ops III campaign, not the multiplayer mode, which some consider to be the franchise's overall meat and potatoes. Be sure to read Digital Foundry's full technical assessment to learn more.
An earlier Digital Foundry analysis of another big game, Fallout 4, found that it, too, performed slightly better on PS4 than Xbox One.
Black Ops III launched on November 6 and total global sales during comparable periods "rose significantly" over Advanced Warfare and Ghosts. In all, Black Ops III generated $550 million in its first three days.
For more on Black Ops III, check out GameSpot's review and what other critics are saying.