Other platforms didn't get a reliable save-bloat bug that ruins the vast majority of saves 10 or so hours in. They have a save bloat bug, but it's rare. On PS3 it affects almost every save and reduces the game to a constant 5 fps on that save (eventually).

You can run a business without resorting to anti-competitive, abusive greed. Try offering a superior product? Valve seems to be doing very well with similar philosophies.

@ Above: I don't think MS spent anything in reliance beyond peanuts drafting quick "Exclusive!" stickers for the Live store. Whatever they did spend they def. made back already from switched PS3 sales.

In contract law, you can always back out of a simple "X for Y" contract, even if it lacks such a clause or expressly prohibits it. If Microsoft gave Bethesda $900,000 for the exclusivity, Bethesda has the choice to refund that money and go back on their decision, just like if you gave a company $5,000 to redo your roof, but they found out they couldn't do it in a timely fashion. They don't have to follow up on the contract. They can refund you before they start regardless of what the text is. If you tried to sue on the grounds that "it says they have to." you'd lose. The only time you cannot back out of a contract is when something non-refundable is transferred by the affected party. For example, if Microsoft helped Beth do optimization and QA as part of the deal there is no way for them to legally back out. Just like recording artists cannot back out of recording contracts (helping make an artist a public figure can't be refunded or undone). Assuming the exclusivity contract is simple, Bethesda can, if they choose, return MS' funds and go back on their decision with no consequences. If MS objected, they wouldn't have a case in court unless they had very reasonable terms for backing out.

Now, the PS3 version is totally screwed with save bloat, stuttering, bad performance, etc. Patches aren't enough, and users without internet on their PS3s are totally screwed. As an apology, Beth needs to do something for them beyond simple patches. Whether that means backing out on their DLC exclusivity (if they can), offering the first DLC free, or something else they need to do something. If possible I think they need to can the exclusive content, even if it's time-limited.

It's unethical [censored] by both parties anyway. Someone needs to ninja this sort of thing into the Sherman Act for the good of the industry, but I don't see legislators caring about gamer problems any time soon. By the logic in the Sherman Act, paid exclusivity SHOULD be illegal in the States, as it is an abusive, anti-competitive practice. Sadly I don't see anyone taking anybody to court on it, and it's not an issue for here. Some extremely similar things are illegal though. IMO the law just hasn't caught up to tech yet. If this was any other industry there would be an uproar. Gamers are extremely tolerant of unfinished / broken products and unethical business practices compared to just about anyone else.

tl;dr: PS3 should get something special. Get on it Bethesda?

Yeah, first - many, many people have had the bloat save issue resolved, hence the patch. Many more never had the issue even before the patch.

In regards to running a business well, I was speaking more of your hope for Beth to first fork over the cash MS had given them - then tell the 360 people thinking they have an edge sorry, no such thing. Stupid ideas.

Seriously? Talking about taking companies to court over a game downloadable content? The world doesn't care about such trivial matters. What they DO care about is breaking contracts - and if Bethesda did so they would be breaking the law under their agreements with Microsoft about such exclusivity.

Please, get a grip of reality.

God forbid Bethesda lie to anyone other than PC gamers right? First they were getting CK on release, now its January. Oh, and did I mention DirectX 11? I don't see why 360 owners would be upset. Bethesda is known to state things before release that they don't follow up on. This is par for the course. Dunmer voice? Economies?

Me? Maybe you need to wake up.

Video games are a billion dollar industry now. This is big business. The fact is that agreements like this one are not ethical anyway. Companies in other industries were heavily fined by the courts for VERY similar deals. I personally think it's time the video game industry got a dose of reality. It's you who doesn't have a grip, not me.

Are you seriously implying that the video game industry should be exempt from all legally enforced ethical standards because "ITZ JUST VIDEO GAMES ITS NOT SRS?" Fact: These kinds of agreements will be illegal eventually. They artificially manipulate the free market with collusion / favors. Lots of big companies have been SLAMMED for this in the past. Video games will get there eventually.

In contract law, you can always back out of a simple "X for Y" contract, even if it lacks such a clause or expressly prohibits it. If Microsoft gave Bethesda $900,000 for the exclusivity, Bethesda has the choice to refund that money and go back on their decision, just like if you gave a company $5,000 to redo your roof, but they found out they couldn't do it in a timely fashion. They don't have to follow up on the contract. They can refund you before they start regardless of what the text is. If you tried to sue on the grounds that "it says they have to." you'd lose. The only time you cannot back out of a contract is when something non-refundable is transferred by the affected party. For example, if Microsoft helped Beth do optimization and QA as part of the deal there is no way for them to legally back out. Just like recording artists cannot back out of recording contracts (helping make an artist a public figure can't be refunded or undone). Assuming the exclusivity contract is simple, Bethesda can, if they choose, return MS' funds and go back on their decision with no consequences. If MS objected, they wouldn't have a case in court unless they had very reasonable terms for backing out.

Now, the PS3 version is totally screwed with save bloat, stuttering, bad performance, etc. Patches aren't enough, and users without internet on their PS3s are totally screwed. As an apology, Beth needs to do something for them beyond simple patches. Whether that means backing out on their DLC exclusivity (if they can), offering the first DLC free, or something else they need to do something. If possible I think they need to can the exclusive content, even if it's time-limited.

It's unethical [censored] by both parties anyway. Someone needs to ninja this sort of thing into the Sherman Act for the good of the industry, but I don't see legislators caring about gamer problems any time soon. By the logic in the Sherman Act, paid exclusivity SHOULD be illegal in the States, as it is an abusive, anti-competitive practice. Sadly I don't see anyone taking anybody to court on it, and it's not an issue for here. Some extremely similar things are illegal though. IMO the law just hasn't caught up to tech yet. If this was any other industry there would be an uproar. Gamers are extremely tolerant of unfinished / broken products and unethical business practices compared to just about anyone else.

tl;dr: PS3 should get something special. Get on it Bethesda?

People decrying breach of contract didn't even read the first sentence from the OP. He says there is most likely a buyout clause, so it's not a breach of contract, it's just exercising it differently.

The bigger issue for me is why people who are fed up with Bethesda want the ability to give Bethesda MORE $$$ as soon as they can. I would think a free DLC would make more sense. It's the closest thing to a partial refund you're ever going to get, and it allows the 360 to keep its DLC first status.

OP did you not read the article saying it was the PS3 hardware causing the problem and not Beth?

Sony is the company that owes you guys an apology. The save file bloating lag is caused by the PS3's wonky hardware configuration, not the game.

How is that not Beth? They wrote the code. Any hardware exotic-ness can be coded around. They just didn't put the time in.

No, Bethseda owes us an apology for releasing the game on the ps3 if they knew there would be problems. That is completely unethical.