[Marine Arrègle]

Once Mass Effect one reaches the PS3 I'm so done with Skyrim.

[sarah simon-rogaume]

The gravity of this failure on Bethesda's part has caused a lot of consternation to them, I don't believe they've ever been put under a microscope like this before. Other Bethesda releases have had the big media push, and Pete Hines running herd on the PR contacts, nothing new here. Difference this time is that they've not delivered what was promised from the get go, and the fact that this game is their biggest seller ever, kind of makes the failures all the more obvious.

Some very poor choices were made regarding the PS3 platform release. It should have been coded for the PS3 in parallell with the coding for the XBOX during development. They would have had more time to address the problems, once they knew of them and could have brought in assistance from Sony, or maybe even 4J studios and tackled the problem head on. Instead they chose do a cheap port, and when that didn't work too well, just to gimp down the game . I still believe that content, and many other features were excised from the original game, just so they could get a PS3 version marketable by 11/11/11. Just my opinion, but it's a hypothesis that has merit given what was discovered once the PC folks started tinkering about. I could take the conspiracy theory a little further, since the dev kit was delayed and not available on 11/11/11; whats the chances Bethesda was yanking things that left evidence of a greater game with longer quests, and more complex AI interactions. We know they cut back on the random quest creations. I really find it hard to believe they intended followers to be so simple , "Hey Look a cave, wonder whats inside?" , uuhhh hey Lydia we just cleaned that out...... sorry badly digressing, its late here in the Pacific Northwest.

At this point I'm a bit more confident that Bethesda is going to offer a solution. They can't bail on us any longer, (they are past that point) because the internets will blaze anew with negative PR, and while it would burn out eventually, the damage would be serious, almost no one on the PS3 would ever trust them again. A popular game , purchased by millions, and 1/3rd of those are left dangling in the cold? Heads would roll, still might happen if this debacle doesn't get a remedy. As it is, the scrutiny on their solution is still likely to create flames, but at least they can demonstrate some attempt at good will, and customer service. But it's going to take some patience on our parts, cause the coding issue requires some real work by Bethesda, and in an area they're quite weak in.

A final comment, this will be the last solution for the coding / game engine problems. It won't be perfect, but lets hope Bethesda makes a decent attempt at it. Failure is really not an option for Bethesda. Owt.

Excellent post, i only have the one question.

@ the bold, i been wondering about this myself.-where they late getting a PS3 Dev kit because they didn't order one until very late or because Sony screwed up an order?

I knew the kits were ~2 grand a pop and started shipping in '05. And they stopped shipping middle of the year '06. Just i been lokking a bit now and still can't nail down when Bethesda got theirs.

[Charleigh Anderson]

Excellent post, i only have the one question.

@ the bold, i been wondering about this myself.-where they late getting a PS3 Dev kit because they didn't order one until very late or because Sony screwed up an order?

I knew the kits were ~2 grand a pop and started shipping in '05. And they stopped shipping middle of the year '06. Just i been lokking a bit now and still can't nail down when Bethesda got theirs.

I believe he's referring to the Creation Kit, not the PS3 Dev kit. It wasn't released on the PC for the modders to start tinkering with for several months after Skyrim came out (I want to say it was released in late January?) I'd wager Bethesda's had that since before Fallout 3 came out.

[Chloe Yarnall]

I believe he's referring to the Creation Kit, not the PS3 Dev kit. It wasn't released on the PC for the modders to start tinkering with for several months after Skyrim came out (I want to say it was released in late January?) I'd wager Bethesda's had that since before Fallout 3 came out.

Thanks for that clarification and the other info as well.

[Carlitos Avila]

Or they are keeping it under wraps. Gstaff's post suggests Beth has something cooking they plan to reveal soon.
Still, the lack of communication from Bethesda is more than a bit ridiculous. Why the hell are they keeping everything so vague?

If true, that could be why the new patch seems to fix so few things.

[stevie critchley]

I couldn't really get into that game at all just like I couldn't get into Dishonored either.

Honestly, I didn't at first either. I pre-ordered it and just didn't mess with it for a few months because I was obsessed with Skyrim. I came back to it later on and loved it.

[Kara Payne]

Or they are keeping it under wraps. Gstaff's post suggests Beth has something cooking they plan to reveal soon.
Still, the lack of communication from Bethesda is more than a bit ridiculous. Why the hell are they keeping everything so vague?

Sorry but, where is this post that suggest that? I am here from the very start and as far as I remember every message he posted, says that we should wait, what makes this time diffrent then for example what he posted two months ago?
Also think about it , I frankly doubt that anything they will post now or relese will be able to make up for what people on ps 3 think about them, hell even if they will go with ridiculuse idea to give dawnguard and hearthfire for free,(and lets not lie to ourselves this will never happen) people will still be mad, because even if they will relese it this will so much broken that it will be worse than Fallout 3 was with DLC .
And just to not attack only Bethesda, if someone thinks that this will change in future because people talkted about it for 30 topics, that I have sad news it will not, next game that Bethesda will relese and we all know that for 10 people who says that they will not buy it , only one person will keep that promise, and people really don't care that PS3 can't get one dlc for one game, deal with it.

[Tanya Parra]

In the beginning I was highly upset but after this long of a wait I really don't care anymore. It's like when you break off a relationship at first you are upset and want answers but after time you heal. So i guess it's safe to say i am over Skyrim DLC...with AC3 coming out that will now occupy my time. For those people who actually believe something will happen "Soon" you're out of your minds. I will bet anything that the next DLC for xbox will come out before there is even an update on what is happening with dawnguard for PS3.

[Agnieszka Bak]

I think the only possible thing Bethesda could do to get back the respect of the PS3 base would be a complete rewrite of Skyrim's code with the help of Sony. Then, do a recall and either give the game away for free to those who purchased it, or an extreme discount.

Either way, this probably will never happen, because we ALL know how Bethesda feels about PS3 owners.

I agree with you, I would much prefer a recall over having to pay for the game again though. Even if it is at a discounted price. I shouldn't have to pay for the same game twice.

[Nick Jase Mason]

Would any of you still want to buy it? I'd buy it only if it was really cheap, like 5.99$

Nope......done.

[Francesca]

Well, I just finished Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, and I gotta say that was a great game! True, the graphics aren't as good as Skyrim, but the overall enjoyment factor through playing the main story, faction quests, and 90% of the side quests sits better than it did with Skyrim. Only encountered one minor bug in the game, and my only gripe is the lvl 40 cap (should've went to 50). Five or six threads ago, I stated that if DG hadn't been released by the time I finished, I would just use my PSN card to get a KOA DLC. Well, looks like EA is getting my money instead of Bugthesda.

Same here. It's so nice to be playing a game that runs so well and not have to worry about how I'm playing it or what order i'm doing things in. Just having FUN again! Great game!

[Colton Idonthavealastna]

This is unbelievably stupid now. Nearly 2 months since we last had an update and the most recent post to a user from pete hines is: 'Hasn't changed'.

Are you kidding me !! 2 months, including Sony's help ( maybe a Lie) and nothing has changed !! Either you haven't been working on it enough, you haven't actually involved Sony or you are lying.

I just don't believe that within 2 months nothing has changed.

[Nuno Castro]

I agree with you, I would much prefer a recall over having to pay for the game again though. Even if it is at a discounted price. I shouldn't have to pay for the same game twice.

Too right.
"We know you paid $60-100 for a broken game. We can sell you one that works! Just another $60 please."
That would make me sick. I really don't think any company would treat it's customers that badly. Although, I didn't think any company would release a broken product, many times, and leave it broken without so much as an apology let alone any fixes, many times.

This is unbelievably stupid now. Nearly 2 months since we last had an update and the most recent post to a user from pete hines is: 'Hasn't changed'.

Are you kidding me !! 2 months, including Sony's help ( maybe a Lie) and nothing has changed !! Either you haven't been working on it enough, you haven't actually involved Sony or you are lying.

I just don't believe that within 2 months nothing has changed.

I really think they don't know what to do or how to fix it at this point. Like I said, if one builds a house with a foundation made of balsa wood and cardboard, there is no way to fix the walls properly when they start to crack without completely redoing everything. I really don't think we will see a fix. Like I've also said, I think they are concentrating on damage control now and how to release to the world that they screwed up without destroying the company. "How can we say oopps we lied, and still get PS3 players to buy our new Fallout title?" Not a position I envy.

[Ross]

Too right.
"We know you paid $60-100 for a broken game. We can sell you one that works! Just another $60 please."
That would make me sick. I really don't think any company would treat it's customers that badly. Although, I didn't think any company would release a broken product, many times, and leave it broken without so much as an apology let alone any fixes, many times.




I really think they don't know what to do or how to fix it at this point. Like I said, if one builds a house with a foundation made of balsa wood and cardboard, there is no way to fix the walls properly when they start to crack without completely redoing everything. I really don't think we will see a fix. Like I've also said, I think they are concentrating on damage control now and how to release to the world that they screwed up without destroying the company. "How can we say oopps we lied, and still get PS3 players to buy our new Fallout title?" Not a position I envy.

I don't think any PS3 player who has experienced this debacle with Skyrim will ever buy another Bethesda game WITHOUT waiting until after it's out and researching it's performance. Unfortuante for the folks who run out and buy the games right away, but they are the ones who will report on the forums about problems, etc. I am not saying I will never buy another Beth game. I am saying I will never buy one new or pre-order or anything like that. I will be extremely cautious before I fork out $60.00 again!

[Chris BEvan]

Murt wrote this on the Bethesda blog thingy

GStaff, I don’t want to tell you how to do your job, but it does look like you could use some advice.

Every few days you come here and post about Dishonoured or Doom or some other Bethesda news item and within three comments someone asks about Skyrim DLC on PS3. It was released nearly four months ago for 360 and there’s been no real update on the PS3 since then. Perhaps if you made a dedicated update post advising of the progress made then you can field questions about the actual blog content instead of being drawn back to DLC all of the time.

That is of course assuming that you have been telling the truth over the last four months and DLC on PS3 is still the plan. If you’ve given up already then better to say so now rather than string people along even further.

GStaff replied

Murt

Understand your frustrations, but from the late August update, there’s not a lot of news to share. I think for you and other fans, the most important information we can provide is dates and availability — right now that’s not information I have to provide.

We’re still working on new Skyrim content, and we’ll release that content when it’s ready.

http://www.bethblog.com/2012/10/25/more-dishonored-content-on-the-way/#comments

What you guys take on this?

[Miguel]

Murt wrote this on the Bethesda blog thingy




GStaff replied


http://www.bethblog.com/2012/10/25/more-dishonored-content-on-the-way/#comments

What you guys take on this?

Well I think they missed his point completely and rather than understanding just kind of blew him off saying "We know what you want better than you do"

[Claire]

They don't understand the frustration of the PS3 users. If they did, then why has each game made by Bethesda been broken, and left broken on the console without even the smallest of apologies? We get charged full price for games that don't work half as well as other consoles. Then, they seriously dumb down the graphics to compensate for lag issues that they still can't fix.

They have no idea of the frustration unless they have spent hundreds of dollars on broken products that nothing can be done with. Products that will always be broken because the company that made them refuses to fix them. Products that if we wanted any money back from, we could maybe get one third of what we spent if we were lucky.

"Understand the frustrations." Patronizing us is not the best idea at the moment.

[Kit Marsden]

Clear house, bring in an entire new team to take over Skyrim and it's projected/ ongoing work. That is all.

Mat

[Jason White]

Bethesda's incompetence & complete lack of respect for their PS3 customers reaches a new low every single day.

[LADONA]

Tweet Hines said

"I don't have any new info on updates or DLC. When I do, I'll let folks know. just not planning on saying that daily"

Seriously? I would just like a weekly update, but how hard is it to send one tweet a day saying "no update"? You do it all the time. You tweet about sports daily. You tweet about Dishonored daily. How hard would it be to reply to one of the people asking about the DLC and say "no update" and provide a link to that major update you released IN AUGUST. You job as a PR guy is to provide information to your fans and you're treating us like children asking what they are getting for their birthday "Not yet". This guy needs a seperate twitter for his job. I really don't care about whatever football team you like. Some of the hope I got when 1.8 was revealed is now gone.

I have an idea Mr. Hines. Since you have provided "no update" as an update since late August, why don't you tell us if its cancelled or not. If its cancelled I won't need hope that we'll ever get it. I can just move on.

[JLG]

"Understand the frustrations." Patronizing us is not the best idea at the moment.

Not trying to patronize you guys. I just can't share new details if there's nothing new to share. We are working on PS3 stuff (as is the case with PC and 360), and when there's a full update I can share, it'll be here in the forums, on the blog, and anywhere else i can share it.

[GPMG]

ooh, Gstaff is reading this, not trying to incite a row or anything but pretty much all of my friends that own a PS3 refuse to buy Dishonored because Dawnguard and Hearthfire haven't been released yet. This is what its come to now, another developers' game sales are being hurt for merely being PUBLISHED by the same people as Bethesda (Game studios).

[Fluffer]

Not trying to patronize you guys. I just can't share new details if there's nothing new to share. We are working on PS3 stuff (as is the case with PC and 360), and when there's a full update I can share, it'll be here in the forums, on the blog, and anywhere else i can share it.

How can there be no new update? Is Bethesda so incompetent that they've accomplished nothing in the last two months?

[Elizabeth Davis]

[color=#A8A8A8][size=3]

Not trying to patronize you guys. I just can't share new details if there's nothing new to share. We are working on PS3 stuff (as is the case with PC and 360), and when there's a full update I can share, it'll be here in the forums, on the blog, and anywhere else i can share it.

I'm sorry Gstaff. I know that you aren't one of the programmers or anything like that, but I hope you (and Pete Hines, since he's the other person who continually says nothing's changed) understand what it means to consumers when you say that nothing has changed after nearly two months of working with Sony on this. It doesn't really inspire much confidence when you guys haven't been able to at least make some progress that you can actually talk about during all this time.

And while I'm sure you can't answer this, I'm going to ask anyway: How big is the team of people working on this (how many from Bethesda versus how many from Sony)? I don't know what the composition of your entire staff is, but maybe you'd have more luck resolving this within a year of the game's release if you dedicated more resources to it. Again, I'm speculating because I have no way of knowing how many people you have working on this, but the fact that you guys haven't been able to give an actual update since August suggests the number is low.

Also, how many people do you guys have working on patches at this point?

Again, I'm sorry that you get blamed for this mess when you're just the messenger, but people have gotten really tired of just seeing you or Hines post that there's nothing new to say.

[Causon-Chambers]

Can't even say that PS3 Skyrim DLC has a better possibility of becoming a reality than it did two months ago?

Can somebody not call down there and ask if things are going uphill or down?