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| "This s#!t's broken!" |
However, rather than push the release of the PS3 version back further, they decided to release the game and patch it quickly with patch 1.2. "The 1.2 patch took care of a lot of it" claimed Howard. Still, there were gamers (myself included) that actually saw more problems post-patch. "We didn't know why," stated Howard, "So they sent us their saved games." The development team then dedicated the majority of December breaking down each submitted save file to figure out just what went wrong.
When asked whether or not the size of a save file was really the culprit in all of this, Howard swatted that down. "No it's not," Howard said. "That's the common misconception. It's literally the things you've done in what order and what's running. Some of the things are literally what spells do you have hot-keyed? Because, as you switch to them, they handle memory differently." So, apparently, Skyrim allows too much freedom to its players? "The way our dynamic stuff and our scripting works, it's obvious it gets in situations where it taxes the PS3. And we felt we had a lot of it under control. But for certain users it literally depends on how they play the game, varied over a hundred hours and literally what spells they use. Did they go in this building?"
Howard then went on to say that while the team is hopeful that the latest patch (patch 1.4 released on February 9th) will fix the game for PS3 users, they will continue to seek-out and fix other issues that should arise. "Now that we've been through this, we're not naive enough to say, 'We have seen everything,' because we have to assume that we haven't" While I hope that they keep assuming that there might be more out there, I certainly hope that it remains an assumption rather than proven fact.
I love Skyrim (when it works). Not only do I believe that it's the best in its amazing series, but I also believe it to be one of the best RPG experiences of all time. Having said that, I believe that Bethesda really dropped the ball on Skyrim's launch. The fact that they knowingly allowed a broken game to hit store shelves to hit a date and a quota makes me very weary about my future purchases with them. I have heard the argument that had the game not released simultaneously alongside the Xbox 360 and PC versions, PS3 owners would be up in arms. While this might have been true, I believe that had Bethesda publicly come-out and admitted that they were experiencing issues but were working day and night on a fix things would have turned-out alright for everyone involved. More importantly it would have shown that the publisher really cared about the experience that it was offering to its supporters. What they did instead was remain tight-lipped to reviewers and consumers alike about the problems with this one version of the game. There is no doubt in my mind that Todd Howard cares about what the gamers think of his franchise. I just wish that things would have played out a little differently.
(Thanks to Edge for the Todd Howard photo, and thank you Kotaku for the interview.)
Ps3 ownsrs would have been more angry about it not coming out on time than some glitches. People don't respect honesty now a days. They just want instant gratification and to play the game right away no matter how broken it was.
ReplyDeleteAs always, sir, muchos gracias for your comments!
DeleteHowever, very few people would have been more upset about it being delayed. Few. The majority, however, as well as the industry, would be happier and certainly more trusting if they had only come forward and admitted the problem. Hell, admit the problem, assure the consumers that they are working night and day on a fix, and still release the game. Just be a little more forthright with your product. Furthermore, it makes your company appear far more honest and certainly puts them on the moral high ground in an argument.
We already know what happened: PS3 version is broken, no copies are given to review, title is released, consumers are livid that their new $60 title isn't functioning correctly and nobody seems to know why. Game sites are pissed, consumers are pissed, and Bethesda can say what? Nothing. They knowingly released a faulty product, everyone else has a right to be pissed.
Scenario 2: PS3 version is broken.
Bethesda: "Sorry guys, we're experiencing problems but we're working night and day to solve them. PS3 owners will have to wait until a late January launch."
Consumer A: "RAGE! Stupid 360, I hate Bethesda games! The black on my system is better than the black on yours!"
Consumer B: "Jeez, dude, take a breath. As PS3 gamers it's not like we didn't have to wait a calender year for Oblivion and even longer for Mass Effect 2." Those games turned-out fine. Just go enjoy some Uncharted 3 or any of the other fine titles that released exclusively for PS3 this year."
Review Sites: "Bethesda announced that Skyrim PS3 will be delayed due to issues involving the Playstation system. Consumer A is pissed! However, they should be happy that Bethesda cares enough about them to solve the problems before shipping a faulty product. In other news...."
Bethesda: :) "Thank you for your support Consumer B. As for Consumer A: we at Bethesda are in the business of providing quality products to all of our consumers...." etc. etc. etc.
See? In the end of scenario 2, the only people pissed are Consumer A. They, by the way, are ALWAYS pissed anyways. Consumer B (myself) is content in knowing that Bethesda didn't sell them a lemon and the review sites had one more story about how the industry is growing in a "good" direction!
Unfortunately, since scenario 2 was not how it turned-out.... I, along with the rest of the Skyrim PS3 community, will be demanding the heads of those responsible and free DLC... oh, and hats with horns. I wear a large.