The sales are a big blow for the complainers, numbers can be disputed but it shipped 7m copies initially and 10m before the end of the first month, so it had sold out and had to be restocked. That's not to say it can't be criticised, any game this big can be but it's qualities far outweigh it's faults and the improvements have made it more popular than it's predecessors.

And it hasn't come out in an easy month but it's still held it's own and done better than expected, I'm not surprised that Howard hasn't mentioned the criticism.

And (2), I haven't played a Beth game which had forums dominated by people complaining it wasn't as good as the last edition, it's as if that's one of the pleasures of the games. With Skyrim the complaints read as if people are going through the motions and just can't bare to admit that it's a really, really good game.

Where did you get the impression that quote ?complainers? (whomever such a blanket hollow designation aspires to nominate) would be happy to see Skyrim fail miserably? Conversely, how does commercial success invalidate this or that concern, this or that complaint, just or unjust?

What's preventing you from thinking past clichés and generalizations?
Please explain to me as I fail to see the logic in your post.

Because it's not a "tsunami" of criticism.

The amount of complaints that happen on message boards is but a drop in the bucket of the actual player base. Also, while there are legitimate concerns that are brought up, the majority of complaining is not constructive, but rather just mindless whining and trolling.

Most of the complaints are also about the same 3 things, over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again.

Not exactly a "tsunami"

Right.
Because you would have conducted a survey. Or because you actually read most of the posts in most of the threads.
Currently, when it comes to Skyrim, there are

• 97,135 topics
  
• 1,844,738 replies

Let me ask you, how many have you actually read?
Right.
Let's say you read 50.1% of them. You read around 900 000 posts. After going through 900 000 posts, you've come up with the conclusion most of them concern complainers complaing for the sake of complaining.

And yet you still hang around here. Why?
There goes your logic.

Fair enough, so what was your point again?

This.

Like any forum, some people have an overblown view of how popular their opinion really is. As I mentioned before, in the very same article that IGN printed about the so-called ps3 Skyrim "crisis", their poll indicated only 34% of respondents were experiencing problems. There are bugs, Bethesda is trying to patch them. People are mocking your argument, op, because it is ridiculous in the extreme. You created this thread to make Howard out to seem as some kind of Bond villian and demand he answer for the tsunami of complaints.

Except there isn't one. You're using hyperbole to defend a flawed premise.

Please stop using those defensive techniques forumites everywhere are so quick to use (i.e. hiding behind the "it's my opinion" argument). Own up to your argument and try to defend it. Good luck, because it's ridiculous.

See the thread header? I replied to that, sorry if that's hard for you to grasp.

Feel feel to insult me in turn, I really DGAF.

Since when do sales have anything to do with game quality?

Sales are a result of hype, nothing else.

I am trying hard here to establish a connection between what you wrote and what I have been writing. Let's go over this one more time.

1. Skyrim is a very good game and a vastly improvable game.
2. Todd Howard is the best game director around.
3. I couldn't care less whether he decides to make a public statement or not.

#1 Media professionals had the opportunity to press Todd for some comments, namely on serious lag issues. They didn't. Todd, apparently, didn't offer a comment either. That's the pink elephant in the room no one dared to bring up. It didn't have to be umpleasant or nasty, a simple honest question would have helped journalists escape with their integrity intact.

#2 He did mention DLC being aimed at making the game better - as opposed to bigger (my interpretation, which i dare say, is firmly rooted in his words, which you can check for yourself at Joystiq).
I do not think he meant bugs.
I thinkl he meant improving gameplay. That's what i'm hoping for, anyway. The hint of contrition I see refers to design issues, poor design choices. Especially because i'm playing on PC, call me selfish, but game breaking bugs and lags are not my major concern. I haven't experienced any. On the other hand I have witnessed some poor design choices..

Now, the goal of this thread - and I'm sure I'll have some people dispute that since they're ommiscient and can read minds - is to inquire the board as to how to interpret both his silence and that remark.
You'll notice the original post ends up with ?What's your take??.

Self-explanatory.

Now, feel free to misrepresent what i've just posted as trollism or wanting Todd's head on a silver platter.
Feel free.

Dear Skyrimer,

Nope.

Sincerely,
bcs

In my opinion, I think Todd's remark was just a generic statement. I really don't think he needs to be pinned into interrogation and have to explain what every single syllable means in complete detail. I think he was just saying "hey, we think the game is great, and we have more great stuff on the way" like any good director would say about any game they made. Plain and simple.

Over anolyzing his "silence" just seems pointless. The game is out, patches are on the way, let's give it a moment to catch up.

I think you guys are blowing this way out of proportion. Bethesda games have always been buggier than Megan Fox's acting, you like to ignore the fact that Fallout 3, Oblivion and even your precious Morrowind were virtually unplayable on release. Skyrim is buggy to be sure, but compared to its predecessors it is relatively stable.

I don't know what i was expecting when I signed up on these forums, but they seem like nothing else other than a place for negative people to spread all their bad mojo. I have never seen so many complaints before about something in my life. They're about the tiniest things too. Such as the Skyrim HDR post up right now, it just pisses me off seeing the stupid things people say about this game. everybody I know irl who owns skyrim loves it, and has nothing bad to say about it.

This is exactly what happened when Morrowind and Oblivion were released, and it's what happens when any new game is released. People are very quick to judge a game based on minor grievances and in no place is this clearer than the forums.

I wouldn't drink beer with someone who can't think of anything bad to say about Skyrim, personally

Todd works for a large corporation. He isn't about to say ANYTHING that could make him look bad, especially promises about future game development. That's a great way for him to get fired. If he says they will do something without clearing it through the Bethesda lawyers first, he will catch all the blame if something goes wrong.

I wouldn't like to judge who I befriend based on whether they can think of something nasty to say about a particular game.

Personally, natch

I detest this comment for everything it states... Your giving too much credit to Megan Fox comparing her in any way to Bethesda.

That said, he is right: Oblivion was a steaming pile, put on everyone's doorstep and set on fire. 5 years on, I still cannot run it for 4 consecutive hours without a crash. I still love the game, but it's horribly buggy. Skyrim is above and beyond a better game.

Also, Skyrimmer... For the love of god, stop saying: Pink Elephant, it's just Elephant in the room, Pink elephants are what you see if your drunk. Honestly I see your point, but that is really bugging me.

As to your point: What do you want him to say? It's been said before: If Todd Howard were to comment he would open himself to an ocean of criticism. You don't draw undue attention to your flaws, because it leaves you vulnerable to reprisal later. Thats all it is.

And the reason it isn't thrown in his face is simply: Because there is a difference between the number of people unhappy, and the number of people who are very happy. It's vast.


Rant warning: This is not addressed at the OP, this is something that I have been avoiding saying for a long time though it really pisses me off.
On a side note: to address the people who say Bethesda is a crappy developer... No, Bethesda doesn't give a crap about you or me. No, we don't get perfect products. But, name me 5 gaming companies who offer an equal experience to bethesda products, at the same level of quality and exposure of bethesda products, in this genre. Now, I'll make your life impossible: Name me 5 companies who make perfect games without any bugs what-so-ever.

I'll go ahead and name Stardock for you, because I know it's on your tounge, even though they have showed through elemental they are as flawed as everyone else.

heck, while we're on Stardock, lets talk about their Gamer's Bill of rights. Wasn't that a wonderful marketing campaign? Isn't it awesome that they convinced people that they, as another multimillion dollar company, actually care, while other multimillion dollar companies don't?

Is this a matter of being soft on developers we like because of nostalgia? Not if we don't see issues?

If you find an issue and no one else really cares, does that mean your the one lone genius sailing a sea of ignorance? No, it means you had a bug no one else did, or cared about. Deal with it. Does that mean there arent' big bugs that haven't been addressed? Nope. PS3 owners have a huge reason to be upset.

Does that mean Todd Howard and Bunch should work over christmas to fix your game? No.

Are you taking time off of your family to go do some work Christmas Day? No? then stop telling other people to, and blaming them for bad workmanship if they don't.

You are right, I apologise. I would rather put up with Bethesda's bugs than expose myself to that talentless moron. At least Bethesda bugs can be entertaining.

I do know that in the proverbial expression the Elephant's colour goes unmentioned.
But I watched a ?six and the City? episode where Mianda, I think, colours the expression pink.
I thought I'd borrow from her.

Now, for the n-th time, I'm trying to figure out Todd's statement. Was he filling up the void his silence created? Dd he mean bugs? DId he mean improving gameplay?

This is all speculative of course. That's why the OP ended with ?what's your take??
I certainly wouldn't want Todd, or any Bethesda employee, or any employee for that matter, to waste his time fixing bugs instead of spending time with his family.All in all, i'm rooting for some gameplay improvements in future DLC. That's how I will determine I'll be buying or not.

I think you have to be a completely biased and blind fool to think that criticisms are anywhere near the same level of praise. Skyrim is nearly sweeping all the ''Best-of'' awards. The only one I can think of is Forbes. The only places you'll see any criticism is here on these forums and some of the comment sections of different gaming website. These comment sections themselves are filled with praises as well. Other forums around the internet have the biggest hard-on for Skyrim. In fact, MANY of them laugh at the users of this very forum.

Look, stop creating a situation that doesn't exist. Stop blowing out of proportion the critical view of Skyrim in the media. Its not there. Just because you say IGN, Gameinformer, and PCMag have pointed at certain flaws in the game that doesn't mean Bethesda is now the black sheep of the gaming world. A handful of articles are nowhere near the above and beyond magnitude of praises coming from consumers, and reviewers.

For example, nearly everyday websites like Kotaku or Joystiq or GameSpot have something about Skyrim. And these articles are just small little glimpses of features or experiences within the game. There is just so much positive coverage of Skyrim its really staggering. It even has its own set of dedicated memes!

Face it, there is very little negative press relative to the crushing amount of positive press. Stop making things up. Its kind of crazy just as to how MANY people are talking about Skyrim. Its almost a cultural experience from a game.

If you really want a survey I'd be more than happy to set one up

Skyrimer, you're really judging a guy for keeping his own ass out of hot water?? Try to look at things from his perspective instead of just complaining about petty things...

Those who aren't "complainers" don't heed to what you've post so yes it gets blown out of proportion and made out to be a big deal when it really isn't. the criticisms are only noticable because the people that react to it inflate it so much. so of course the forums as a whole gets labled as "complainer city" because the very folks in the forum don't react well to critics it happens every day.

hopefully in a few more months it'll die down and go away.

I'd be willing to agree to most of what you write about - minus the cultural experience thing.
Yes it would be foolish to claim criticism is on the same level as praise.
That's why i said the criticism was proportional - not equal - to the ammount of praise. Praise is obviously and deservedly more prevalent - though it's hard for me to grasp how one would rate a game, any game, a 10/10.
So the ammount of praise has been remarkable. Though much smaller, the ammount of criticism has been remarkable too. You can choose to dismiss it via any rationalization you choose. But it won't go away.

So other than the cultural experience phenomenon-ization - do 10 million gamers really constitute a ?cultural experience?? It's debatable - I'd subscribe to what you wrote.