Now we've all heard about how they decided not to wait for the next console generation to make skyrim, which in my opinion means we can be reasonably sure that TES 6 will be in the net gen.
So my question is: will they be able to start TES 6 before the release of the next generation, or will they have to wait for the consoles, hardware etc to be released then start the game. If it is the latter then it would mean a huge wait for all of us TES fans.
Also, what are the community's views on the consoles seemingly slowing down progress? In one sense imagine where we could be if they decided to make a game that pushed the boundaries hardware-wise and brought in some ground breaking stuff! On the other hand I think that Bethesda might not be what it is today without the revenue that console sales generated.
While we're on the topic, what differences do you think there would be between the skyrim we're going to get in November, and the skyrim that they could have made If they had waited for the next generation of consoles?
TL;DR Are consoles good or bad in terms of development?
I'm interested to hear your views on the topic. Apologies if the thread is in the wrong place, or if there are any mistakes; it was composed on my iPod :/
EDIT: I am a console gamer myself so I'm not moaning about them (or anything infact) I'm just speculating about the future that TES have with regards to this.
And no Flamrz pl0x.

Hmm.....you got a point. When I think about it, I do not want Bethesda to beginning on creating TES:6 untill the next-gen consoles hardware-and-features is revealed.

As for Fallout 4? Not that conscerned.

No. There may never have been Skyrim without console sales. And if there would have been, the budget would be no where near what they're playing with now.

Fallout 4 will probably release sometime in 2013. I believe Bethesda will start making really high resolution assets for Fallout4, then scale them down when the final specs are released.

I think the next generation of consoles (excluding nintendo) is probably 2 years away. This way developers have time to play around with Directx 11 so that when the new stuff is released the games will look and feel "next-gen". I am just a random internet scrub though, so I am probably wrong.

Absolutely. I have no doubt whatsoever in my mind that if Skyrim was being developed as a PC exclusive, it would be better. Maybe not massively better, but better nonetheless.

The current consoles are falling ridiculously far behind PCs, and it'll only get more obvious next year and the year after.

The Xbox720 may release in November 2013 depending on how successful the Wii2 is. PS4 in 2014.

While I agree, my problem with that is the budget wouldn't be nearly what it is today without the money from the console sales. That's a big problem.

This holds a lot of truth in the current situation, but the question (although obviously pretty irrelevant) could also be: would all the console players be playing on PC if consoles didn't exist? If the answer is yes, then it definitely does slow gaming development.

However, as I said, that's pretty irrelevant now. Consoles do exist and they're here to stay. By looking from that perspective, consoles help for more sales, but at the same time, they make development slower as new things/technology/gaming possibilites can't be utilized for obvious reasons. Still, consoles are much cheaper (and easier to use) than PCs and simply feel more casual and "soft" to play on I think. It's often more social as well. This appeals for many customers I believe. For those reasons, I think the "console help for more sales" part probably outweight the other one.

I'd like to see how Skyrim turns out before I say whether or not they should wait for next gen consoles to start development on FO4.

Yes I agree, but as Dragonborn1 said, they wouldn't have the same resources to work with. I've never played it, but the witcher games might be a good example of PC exclusivity at the price of a smaller audience.

And in fact, if it is the console users that made so much possible, then maybe the release of Modern Warfare 2 will have an effect on sales after all, seeing as it's release date is three days before skyrim's.

Oh ya, I'm sure all that money made from those console sales are slowing things down. In the shortrun, if Skyrim was pc only sure it would probably be much better. But in the long run, the quality would be down due to less people on the team and budget/time problems.

The thing most pc players forget is this, most people who play games play on consoles not all people who own pc's are willing to get a high end system just to play games. the fact is Bethesda is smart enough to realize that console players make up a large portion of there costumers, you have to understand the video game industry is a business you have to spend money to make money which means you need every single customer you can get,

saying "the consoles made my game worse" isn't going to get anything done if you want the industry to change then do something about it become a designer get a career and make a difference . and as a future game designer myself i see the logic in making games for consoles and pc yes you have to limit yourself at times but as long as the game is enjoyable and fun to play then you would think people would at least be satisfied with what they get instead of constantly whining about every little thing.

This seems like a very general discussion about PC versus console and not so much about Skyrim, yet again for the millionth time. It ALWAYS leads to console wars, but maybe I'll be surprised by the community. I wont hold my breath though.

As for the topic, do we honestly need to kid ourselves that consoles are ever going away? Why even discuss it? They aren't going away, plain and simple. They will always be part of gaming and game development. This is one of those things that we absolutely must accept as it is nothing that can be changed. Either way, Skyrim is going to be amazing.

They'd still be looking at a huge profit if they went PC-exclusive. There's are general misconception in the gaming community that games need to have console versions to sell well, yet plenty of companies have made a ridiculous amount of money from PC exclusives (Blizzard being an obvious example)

The idea that their resources or budget would be reduced to such an extent as to have an impact on the quality of the game seems silly to me. The Elder Scrolls franchise was popular before it went to consoles... and Bethesda would certainly have much more resources at their disposal than say, CD Projekt do with The Witcher franchise.

Perhaps they will wait even longer... they ARE making an MMO afterall... perhaps thats why they made this one for the 360? Elderscrolls VI may be online.

Precisely! I am a console gamer myself, but only because I have too many other commmitments to afford spending ￡600 on a new rig. I was interested to see what people thought about te whole set up, and perhaps make some people appreciate that.

Bethesda seems to follow the beat of it's own guarskin drum. As far as I know, the timing on the release of the Xbox, in combination with it's available power, simply allowed them to port TES III: Morrowind, a game they would've made the way they did anyway, onto it. Sure a lot of things were changed/lost in the transition: Raven Rock got smaller, you couldn't drop as many items in one cell before getting the Loot Bag, no Hot Keys, no Construction Set, etc. but none of that could be helped even these days really.

Same with TES IV: Oblivion. Xbox 360 and PS3 were on their way, powerful enough to handle what they were working on, and the Xbox Morrowind port had worked to bring in a lot more fans, so why not go for it again eh?

Now the next console generation is just a little too far out, but I doubt very much that Bethesda severely blunted their work on TES V: Skyrim just to be able to port it to this generation's consoles. Just try to imagine how awesome a game would have to be to top how Skyrim looks to so many of us. Bethesda wouldn't be making that game regardless of a desire to port it to consoles.

If Bethesda waited to develop Skyrim, we'd just be waiting longer for a probably-only-slightly-better game. They'll always be thinking with the PC brain when it comes to game development, because that's how they are. What the next consoles are capable of isn't going to enable them to push harder on the PC format, only allow them to port their games more easily. Let's face it, PCs are the best homes for role-playing games, especially the Elder Scrolls kind.

As for the effect consoles have on gaming development across the board, I'm afraid that's just immeasurable. Wouldn't be as bad if gaming wasn't as big of a business though.

Both Todd and Pete are on record saying around 90% of their audience are on consoles. I cannot believe that their budget wouldn't be tremendously affected if the series remained PC exclusive.

*SIGH* not another of these posts, come on, I mean really, can we get a moderator to just close these posts b4 they get people fighting ?

Consoles are probably pretty good for development if your on a console. The developers will have a large demographic with the exact same hardware and software, meaning they don't have to cross test a mio. hardware software comb. Since the tech stays the same, developers will have to break away from the norm through gameplay instead of graphics. It's how it happened in the old days on the pc's, graphics wasn't advanced, so everybody got creative to go over and beyond with what they had.

I have no doubt that PC's have more capability to run a more powerful game than a 360 but as others have mentioned Skyrim would not be what it is or may never have happened without consoles.
This is mainly due to budget realities, it is the money generated by the close to 90% of bethesda games sold console owners that are paying the 100+ developers that are creating the game. If this was a PC exclusive that team would be much smaller and the game would not be what it is.
PC owners have the creation kit and can make the game as good as they want with that

Since someone brought up budget: I doubt Morrowind had much of a budget to be built with, and look what THAT game did for Bethesda.

Budget is pretty well irrelevant next to talent. Hell, Oblivion might've even been more fun without all that money behind it. And Skyrim would still be happening, there just wouldn't be as many people looking forward to it.

There's no question about it that TES VI will be on next generation consoles. Did developers wait for Sony and Nintendo when the Xbox 360 came out? Nope, and the Wii lost a lot of potential third party support due to its power. Likewise, are all developers going to wait for Sony and Microsoft when they have a more powerful Nintendo platform to develop for? Nope! They may continue to support the Xbox 360 and PS3 just as the Wii got some third party support, but they aren't going to let Sony and Microsoft dictate when the next generation starts. Nintendo would have to make some serious missteps in order for that to happen, third parties so far sound thrilled with Nintendo's new machine.

Nintendo's firing the first shot this time with its machine and Sony and Microsoft aren't going to just sit around and let Nintendo build a huge install base next generation. Look what launching first did for the Xbox 360, are Microsoft and Sony really going to let Nintendo have several years to build up support and users? In response to Microsoft's Xbox 360 Sony declared that the 7th console generation didn't start until Sony said it starts. That didn't work out so well for Sony.

Honestly if Nintendo plays its cards right it wouldn't surprise me to see Skyrim on its new machine, making use of the higher resolution textures and consistent 1080p 60fps support.

With prettier and prettier games though the development is getting slower, though that's not what the topic title means.

Yeah, i am a college student so i don't have the extra cash to spend on a good gaming pc, so i completely agree on other commitments. im sure next gen consoles will break the boundaries of what we think consoles are capable of.