Well, technically it applies to gaming in general, but if you're reading this TES is probably one of the most important series to you as well.

Okay, so to start with, I should point out that this really only relates to PC gamers.

Anyone who owns Skyrim on the PC knows how underwhelming certain aspects of the game are. Most of these shortcomings are due to console limitations. But we already knew that.
In fact, we see it all the time. Most developers now focus on the consoles first and the PC second. There are a lot of theories as to why this is, but the most popular (and probably the most likely) is the increased difficulty in piracy compared to a PC. I'm not going to get into that, as I'm sure we could spend weeks on the subject. At the end of the day, though, it's understandable. Developers want to try to curb the losses piracy causes, etc. etc.

Skyrim was primarily developed for 6 year old hardware. And as such doesn't utilise some of the more modern things that newer hardware is capable of. And this is where my realisation kicked in.

The next Elder Scrolls game (in which I mean the next numbered game in the main series) will likely not be released for at least another 4-5 years. And with the next Xbox rumoured to be coming around the end of the year, but the time the next game comes out, the hardware they will likely be developing it for will already be around the same age as the hardware Skyrim was developed for was.

On the one hand, games are about to become incredible due to the new consoles setting a higher benchmark then we're currently limited too, but on the other, TES: VI will likely come out later in its life. And of course PC specs will have rocketed ahead once again.

My point is (in case it isn't clear as it's late and I can't be bothered proof reading) I'm now terrified that the next game will once again be limited by old hardware. Meaning it will never be as good as it could have been. Much like Skyrim. It's an amazing game, as we all know. But those of us who play on PC - especially those of us with higher end PCs - know that the came could have been so much better if it weren't limited by the Xbox.

Am I the only one who's afraid of this being the reality we now face?

So as someone who plays TES games on console, I'm allowed to give no [censored]'s, right?
Not a single one.

That's right. Not a single one.

Consoles limiting development isn't all bad, since it allows people with older PCs to keep up. More people buying the game = mo money for the developers = support for the game and more content.

At least Steam has made the PC fanbase more visible, so hopefully they will take more care in the PC port especially with things like the UI. The high res pack and Creation Kit were nice gifts to the PC players. All in all I don't think we have a lot to complain about. Except for the DLC exclusivity deal. I'm always going to complain about that one.

Not that afraid. That is worries for the future. Who is to say that then next gen Xbox wont be amazing compared to the 360. So what if the PC's also are much better. Thing is. the next game is going to be much better than skyrim in many aspects. Improvement is improvement.

Good, just making sure.
Besides, with a game that requires a good level of work, it's only natural that the released game not be 100% hip with the newest technologies, if one considers the high turnaround for PC tech. They would have to commit to hardware at some point, or they would never finish the game.

And I don't know about you, but I'd like to play the next game by the time I'm 40.

And not a single [censored] was given that day.

I'm not really concerned about the limits of graphical fidelity that consoles impose, but more the limits of scale and depth. It doesn't really terrify me, just worries me. Also that Bethesda doesn't seem to be making any effort to improve the PC GUI with each game they release.

Its not completely true that hardware alone limits what a game can do.
Oblivion came out for the same generation of consoles and Skyrim is leagues above it.
Software improvements allow a great deal of innovation.

I personally think games should stop pursuing better graphics and instead focus on innovating the actual games.

Not another one of these threads, please!!!
I was having such a good day...

Give this guy the effin Nobel Prize. Advances in Graphical features are great, but awesome gameplay is preferred.

I predict the development cycle will be reduced in the future: TES VI will take less time to develop than TES V and so on. Bethesda has grown big and now they can afford bigger teams, better software, maybe they decide to hire two separate teams one for Fallout one for TES so everything would get better and faster.

Use this thread to talk about the future of TES.
http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1434721-official-beyond-skyrim-tes-vi-18/