Guys, you are missing out that if they do maintain gamebryo as their engine for TES V, be prepared to see some BUGFEST upon release much like Fallout 3/ NV. I really hope that its not going to be the case but... its bethesda.

Who cares about graphics? I still play Morrowind. As long as it's a new ES game (which it is) and as long as it stays true to the series, I'm happy. The improvements of Oblivion and Fallout with the style of Morrowind would be best. My main concern is that they have more than 3 voice actors playing all the races.

When you're making something as complex as a game, it really comes down to the engine driving the experience more than the hardware supporting said engine. Most developers today say they don't feel impeded in any way by consoles (Crysis developers being the only exception so far), and I have to agree. There are many games - open world, mind you - that look absolutely beautiful on the console. Ever seen Just Cause 2 in action? How about the upcoming Two Worlds II? The engines driving those experiences are absolutely top-notch in terms of graphics and they certainly run on consoles without any issues.

Developers rarely blame the hardware. What the challenge becomes is: how do we (the developer) optimize the engine so it can show as much graphical detail as possible without sacrificing framerate or functionality? New technologies are emerging all the time that make these sorts of challenges easier to approach and solve, and cheaper (in terms of processing-power) as well, so the console is not really going to be an impeding factor. Especially considering the date they're aiming for - if you really expected graphics that would push a console's muscle to its true limits, you'd also expect a good deal of time spent developing their engine up to that point. They've only been working on their engine for a year or two now - absolutely not enough time to get the graphical detail up to a place where the console would struggle.

tl;dr: Consoles are much more powerful than most PC gamers seem to think they are. With modern consoles, it's down to the software, not the hardware, to solve the challenges necessary to meet modern graphics standards. Which, according to Todd Howard, they've been able to do already. So all this "doom" speak about "your" game being limited by those "old" consoles is rather childish and, frankly, wrong.

Does anyone else feel that Skyrim just wouldn't feel right if it wasn't released with quite a few bugs? That's pretty much one of the defining characteristics of Elder Scrolls games.

And better storylines .... and daggerfall-esque immersion.

I'm not suggesting they wait a generation - just that they live up to Todd's words (that the game will look as if it's next-gen). It's not that big a deal though.

Trying to make an open world game with no bugs is nearly impossible. Especially with how big the map will be.

Do any PC gamers here (possibly with lower disposable income like me!) feel that it's a good thing that consoles hold back the gaming market? I'm in 2 minds about it, because on the one hand I have a flash new PC that I saved up for and is miles better than any console and can run stuff that consoles can't, but on the other hand I remember the days of trying desperately to keep up with game releases - components becoming outdated within months if not weeks of buying them, PC gaming was a neverending money pit for a good few years - if consoles have put a brake on that, it's not all bad.

Maybe if your PC is an Amiga or something.

There are reasons consoles are $200 and gaming PC's are $2000+.

Scalable graphics settings. FTW.

I don't care too much about the graphics

I'm not saying I'll be happy if TESV had Daggerfall graphics (not that Daggerfall isn't good) but so long as the story, characters, and character creation have been improved I'd be happy.

I'd be really disappointed if characters were still stuck with a few lines and then that's the end of them. Even in F:NV I felt a lot of dialogue was constricted and detracted from the overall experience.

Yeah:

1. You got ripped off.
2. Consoles are specialized yet PCs are for multiple abilites consoles are not capable of accomplishing.
3. $200 isn't quite the right amount, either, but it's closer than your $2000+ figure.

no what do you mean no when I first bought my computer it couldn't handle Oblivion, its a plain and simple as that, not all computers can handle games, but all consoles can

o.0

Ok then, good luck with that.

Good luck bringing logic that that particular 'debate.'

Thats because...I dunno...the console games are -made- for the console? How does that make it any more powerful than a PC? 0.o

My God, what's with the console/PC wars? I can't beleive within hours of announcing there is already complaining. Bethesda said it's going to be like looking at a next-gen console, so take their word for it or don't.

Take a look at STALKER, as a PC exclusive it pulled amazing graphics and incredible deep and huge gameplay and there are a lot of people that thinks it couldn't run on a console. Now when GSC announced STALKER 2 they said they were working on a multi-platform engine. Guys, in my opnion, STALKER 2 will have much more improved graphics, I mean really improved but as you can see it is being developed in a multi-platform engine and it has a big possibility of releasing in a console. What I am saying is that, even if consoles are kinda of holding back graphically speaking, you can still make something as good as a PC exclusive or even better with just some effort and dedication.

Mark my words, Skyrim graphics will be amazing and the gameplay will be even better.

Good luck with what? Who pays $2000+ solely for a gaming PC? If consoles are really holding back gaming technology that much, why the hell would anyone do that?

Guys guys.. look at what BioWare has done with Mass Effect. ME2 looks so much better than ME1 in almost all ways. But both games were built for the same generation of consoles. Mass Effect 3 will probably look even better.

The point is, developers have gotten really great at cranking the last juice out of these consoles. And surely Skyrim will look way, way better than Oblivion. Could you ask for more?

This idea that people who "don't care about graphics" are some how more mature than people who DO care about graphics sickens me. Yes, I am a graphics wh0re, but that doesn't mean that I refuse to play games with outdated or nonexistent graphics (I've played many a MUD in my time). It just means that aesthetically pleasing graphics aid my immersion and provide a better playing experience for me.

Same goes for audio too.

Me! (If I were buying everything.)

My new mobo/RAM are over $500, and my 2 graphics cards cost over $800 for the pair.

I love being as close to bleeding edge as my finances allow, because I just love hardware. TVs, consoles, stereos, computers, whatever, I like tech!

"It's almost like a new console."

Is the exact quote. It'll look like Fable 3, or Red Dead Redemption, or Just Cause 2, which are all fine. I just hope for an entirely open world. No more cut off buildings or cities.

I'm not going to get into some juvenile flame war over console vs. pc, but regarding PC's:

I do. Many people like me do. You spend your money, I'll spend mine, and whoopdeedoo, who the hell cares.

I love new graphics and I did I claim I was more mature. My age reference was meant to question if people here remember graphics far less nice than modern graphics because they did exist not so long ago. My point was that people do not need to constantly obsess about them so much that they want to postpone games for better graphics. There will be future Elder Scrolls games for that. Postponing a game for better graphics that just haven't even shown up over the horizon makes no sense. Nobody's ever happy with what they got, even when they haven't even seen what they got. It's just an endless wave of "more, more, more". Why?