I'll begin by saying that this will be a civil post - I'm not here to trash/flame/insult anyone. But I have a very strong opinion of Skyrim, and regrettably of Bethesda as a result.

Some of my earliest memories as a PC gamer were sinking countless hours into Morrowind, and eventually Oblivion (and later Fallout 3) - I found that these games had an ability to immerse me to a degree that console games and even the vast majority of other PC games could not. I looked past the bugs, glitches, etc to the bigger picture - these massive, open gaming experiences which were unlike anything else I had seen.

It saddens me then to be so utterly disappointed with Skyrim, and not merely with the game itself but the treatment of a huge percentage of customers who purchased it (for PC or PS3).

I've no love whatsoever for the Playstation brand (having 4 well-taken care of systems die within the PS2 lifecycle to thank for that) but Bethesda shipped an inexcusably broken, unstable wreck of a port to PS3 gamers. Almost 9 months later and the PS3 version still has significant issues, is still behind on patches, etc. However epic the 11-11-11 release date seemed at the time, the fact of the matter is Bethesda should have delayed that version of the game. Releasing an all but broken game to be fixed later by patches is unacceptable on PC (where sadly that is often the norm), much less on a console. And yet this is exactly what Bethesda did. PS3 gamers - and no, to any wondering, I am not one of them - got the shaft to a degree I've rarely seen regarding a multi-platform release.

Moving on to PC, there was a similarly game-breaking issue - if you are one of the countless PC users still using a 32-bit OS, Skyrim for you was arguably even less stable than the PS3 version. Crashes abound, lockups, instability, memory issues, you name it. For me the game was absolutely unplayable. In an average one house session of playing (and I use that word lightly) Skyrim, I crashed perhaps 20-25 times. I spent more time rebooting the game than playing it. Despite updated drivers, clean OS install, one of the best video cards on the market at the time. In no documentation by Bethesda that I could find was there any mention of the game being disastrously unstable for 32-bit OS users. Apparently none of the many software engineers, developers, etc felt the need to communicate that "hey, if you're running a 32-bit OS, you're in for a really, really rough time with our game."

Of course, it probably didn't help matters that the PC version was simply a port of the console games, as opposed to being build from the ground up for PC users. Everything from the clunky UI to the horrendously low-resolution textures screamed "I used to be on XB360, now I'm here!" Despite the fact that *millions* of people buy their PC games - Skyrim broke just about every Steam record that a single player game can break - we can't even be afforded a version of the game developed with our platform of choice in mind. Instead we get the console versions, with all the issues they entail. Even the HD texture pack that we got, however nice that seemed, was and still is broken - modders had to fix it.

In the end Bethesda delivered one respectably stable version of Skyrim, for the XB360. My daughter, who plays it religously on that platform, has had perhaps... 10 crashes or lockups in all the time since its release. When I was sitting merely a few feet away, rebooting my PC version for the 7th, 8th, 10th time in a given session, the look on her face was sympathetic.

I finally caved and upgraded to a 64 bit OS - no other changes to my system - lo and behold, the game actually became stable. My constant crashes disappeared. Sadly the months of frustration I endured with trying to play the game on a 32 bit Windows install ruined my love for it. Despite the fact that the game ran rock-solid reliably for me at last, I simply couldn't enjoy Skyrim - and so, a few months back I uninstalled it.

And none of this speaks of the current fiasco that is exclusivity of DLC for XB360. Apparently Microsoft paid Bethesda X sum of dollars to have DLC appear on their system alone for a minimum of 30 days - a deal Bethesda should have declined but did not. PS3 gamers, who basically paid $60 for a bug-ridden beta version of Skyrim (I've seen games in beta testing that ran more reliably) now get the further raw deal of not knowing when or even if they're getting the DLC XB360 users have enjoyed for the past month. PC users, who largely built the house that Bethesda lives in (so to speak) get the shaft in similar fashion. While we have mods, countless thousands of mods, to placate us (I'll take modding tools over canned, ported-from-XB360 DLC anyday) the fact of the matter is this: Bethesda should treat its customers equally. And yet it doesn't. PC and PS3 users not only have the issues with our versions of the game to contend with, we now have the infamous "We never technically even announced Dawnguard for your platforms" statement from Bethesda themselves.

Having said all of that, Skyrim will be the final Bethesda product I purchase. They clearly do not believe in providing an equal experience for all the people who purchase their games, and they are apparently okay with shipping broken products to meet a hyped-up release date. This is not the kind of company I will support further with my wallet. I will not be purchasing Elder Scrolls 6, I will not be purchasing Fallout 4, I will not be purchasing Dishonored. All games I would have, a year ago, snapped up without hesitation.

No thank you , I love Bethesda and TES series with obsession.

Cool story, needs more dragons.

So, you are basicly saying "Hey everyone, I am leaving now. You must pay attention to me because of it"?
Fine, leave. No one actually care about that part of the topic. You have legitimate reasons for being disappointed in Skyrim, but why do you have to bring the "I am leaving" part into it? Seems rather childish in my opinion.

We share the same thoughts.

Btw, my problem with Skyrim are not crashes. Problem are quests, storytelling, RPG elements...

Although Dishonored is not Bethesda product.

i completely agree

The OP has a point.

That about sums it up. Well said.

Okay. Thanks for letting us know.
I'm sorry you feel this way, but its your opinion, and i respect that.
I however love Skyrim. Sure Bethesda do have a kufuffle now and again, but they're still a great company, imo.
Have fun with other games in the future.
Goodybye EdwardBean77, we could have been great friends on the forums. Oh well.

I agree with the OP on many things.

Skyrim is beyond a joke and should never have been released in that state. I have beta tested games that work better.
Not to mention it is the same every single time, repetative, has no choice, and fails as a RPG in every way it can.

I did'nt know they screwed people over that bad though. What if you don't have the money or inclination to buy a 64bit OS, that's not fair.
That is unacceptable.

I won't be buying any more games bethesda make because they've clearly lost the plot in every way they can.
They disgust me.

They're going to destroy Fallout 4 and the entire fallout series.
No true fallout fans going to buy that rot FO4 will be.
I am not going anywere near it.
Wasteland 2, I'll buy that, maybe. Nuclear Union, could be good.
But Fallout 4, no chance.

I will be thinking twice about buying games they publish too.
Dishonoured, I would'nt touch it with a 10ft bargepole if bethesda were making it.
That they're publishing it, makes me very wary.
Their none existant bug screening, if they do the QA, it'll be a broken mess.

And don't blame consoles for skyrims visual quality.
There are some truely beautiful games on PS3 and Xbox360.
They have moving hair, moving clothes, beautiful settings, great combat, everything a game needs.
Every other publisher can make multiplatform games that look and are great or awesome.
It's bethesda who can't be bothered to make it look good.

Bethesda are to blame for the visual quality, because they put the barest effort possible into the visuals and graphics.
It looks like nothing more than cut and paste, cut and paste, repeadedly.
The graphics are PS2 quality in parts. But not as delicate, or logical.
You, know, grass usually stands up, bethesda, they mastered that in PS2.

Goodbye!

It's not really childish. It's just complete and utter disappointment. I can see where he is coming from and i play on xbox. The game deep down is rushed and sloppy,and covered up by beautiful graphics and cool things for the younger ones. To me,it doesn't really feel like an elder scrolls game. They ( bethesda ) wanted to attract more people to the series, and in order to do that have stripped the game down almost to it's bones. They have got more people now. And what comes with that is also more complaints...especially from the older fans. For me,there is a severe lack of care in this game at it's core and i find it quite worring what people are defending to be honest. That does not look well for the future of the series. I,like the OP am heart broken about how things have been done in this game. And i to am considering not buying a bethesda game again. You know.... people can hide behind a bethesda shield all they want, they are not seeing the bigger picture. Maybe you won't know this untill you've been conned to buy the next copy/broken game.....the penny has got to drop sooner or later.

Unfortunate, truly. I may not buy any more of their games should I be insulted with another 'RPG' that has about as much RPG elements as Saints Row the Third.

I think you missed an important pert of my post. I don't say it is childish to be disappointed with the game. I think it is childish to do the whole "I will no onger buy yoour products" theme. No one really cares about that, and it seems silly to me to ask for attention when you intend to leave ni the first place.
Just leaving without telling people about it isn't something that is hard to do. Making a thread about these issues without bringing in the "I am leaving" speech is also very easy and people take it more seriously.

He's making a statement, nothing childish about it.

You could say that about every post on here. You are posting here to get attention...you know,for people to see what you think. If he ( the OP ) wants to do that .....let him.

Of course, he have the right to post it. And I have the right to post that I think the whole "I am leaving" speech to be silly.

Hmm....I play Skyrim on a 32-bit system running Windows 7 and haven't encountered anything near what you describe. Perhaps it was an issue with your rig. I've never heard of these 32-bit OS issues before.

As for the rest of your thread? Umm... OK?

I come back from a 1-2 week forum-no-go and there are still threads like this!

That's up to you. But that's how people feel sometimes because they love the series so much. I've done the same. There are times i could be more constuctive or whatever about what i'm saying...but sometimes my blood boils about things. So i say it like it is. And i feel better for it. I might come across as an aggressive arsehole,but i don't care....sometimes it's better to be blunt...it gets more of a reaction. I'm 36 and i'm thinking about not buying more bethesda games. People sometimes type what they feel at that particular time. It doesn't always loook good,but it feels better personally.

Leaving without voicing your disappointment/displeasure solves nothing. Saying you aren't going to buy any more of their products sends a message to Bethesda that they need to shape up or lose customers. Will that message be heard by Bethesda? Probably not, but it's better to actually send that message than not doing so just because you don't think it will work.

True, the OP could get that point across merely by emailing Bethesda directly (something I did today) but posting it on the forum here may encourage others to do the same.

In battles between the consumer and corporations, the individual is unlikely to prevail. That's why people bring their dissatisfaction not to the corporation, but to their fellow consumers. While individually their lack of patronage might go unnoticed, a coordinated boycott or some other sigh that showcases their refusal to support a company may actually cause someone to take notice. If not the corporation, then maybe gaming sites, magazines, or other outlets, whose sudden interest in the story can force the corporation into a position that it either has to change to comply with the demands of consumers, or die due to lack of patronage.

Is that likely to happen to Bethesda? Probably not, but it definitely won't if people don't talk about the way they've been falling short lately.

Yup a group of gamers did this with mass effect 3 and we all know how that turned out for EA/bioware oh boy during their next release i know they will be a lot more careful. Now they know that fans won't eat everything a developer hands to them.

I say voice your displeasure if no one did we would not get any improvements to games.

This forum is full of kids!

OP is saying this primarily to Bethesda, not to other members of this forum.

And he is right.

He's voicing his opinion.

For example, imagine if all of us decided we were gonna stop buying Bethesda products after this whole Dawnguard fiasco, but no one bothered mentioning it. What do you think would happen? Bethesda wouldn't change a darn and then come Hearthfire release, they'd be scratching their heads at the drastic drop in sales.

Or what if no one voiced their dissatisfaction with ME3's ending? The new endings never would've came and Bioware would be scratching their heads and asking why when sales on their next game svck.

Hell, I'll take this a step further and say it's far more plausible that infact you're the one being childish, looking for an excuse to slander someone who's opinion opposes that of yours. Not neccesarily saying that's the case, but something to consider.
Just let him have his thread, he made good, objective points presented with constructive criticism. If you're gonna disagree with him, then disagree with his objective points; DON'T make baseless accusations about his attitude and focus on the issue he's brought up.

Yeah, not really caring over here. You didn't like a video game, boo-hoo. Move on and and get over it.