What people don't realize is that when they are playing a console, they are basically using an 8 year old gaming rig with the user interface dumbed down to the point where you can't edit files and install third party software, or do anything that the freedom of a real PC allows.

I would hazard a guess that "90%" is a number picked out of the air. It's too exact to be a real figure, firstly, and it's also nowhere near in line with what few other sales figures we have. Certainly consoles make up the majority of the playerbase, but that's an unfair comparison - there are two consoles, but only one "PC". Seeing as services such as Steam are not just surviving, but thriving, and hardware sales (One metric we *do* have) are still strong, PC gaming is certainly not a dead horse.

i don't see why every one thinks this is so impossible
it seems obvious to me that
1 they would release only the more popular mods that were of good quality and uncontroversial (no naked people decapitating children)
2 they would charge money for it

This is completely false. PC gaming hasn't been dying, gaming in general has been on the incline. Ten years ago the image of a nerd was far different then it is today. Gaming is mainstream, everyone plays. The people who used to be gamers are the PC gamers today, the people who have since jumped on the bandwagon are the console gamers of today. They don't realize nor do they care what they are missing by limiting themselves to a console; some because they don't have to money to afford a gaming PC, some because they only know how to use a computer for the internet and MS Word.

PC gaming has been on the incline, but is overshadowed by the growth of console gaming.

They would have to open the console interface up to third party software, which would allow for a lot of tampering
I doubt many modders would allow for their mod to be charged to other players without being compensated, and this would cause animosity between console players and PC players, who get these mods for free.

' “It works on all the consoles,” he said'

If Todd thinks it's possible, it must be possible. I'm sure he knows what he's talking about. Unlikely, perhaps, that Sony and Microsoft would allow it.

Improbable. Not impossible.

Using your own anology of the Ford Pinto above you prove my point. We PC gamers are the few who have taste and are willing to spend the large amount of money for the more powerful and expensive car while the rest of the world simply buys a Ford Pinto so that they can go to work in it. Gone are the days when car owners were all driving the rare and elite Model Ts, now everyone has a car but almost no one has the nice cars. Even worse, very few people make accessories, parts, or upgrades for the nice cars which causes them to become even more exclusive and niche.

You can rationalize it however you want, as a percentage of gamers we are on the decline and that means that we will be paid less and less attention by the mainstream publishers and will have to resort to third parties and niche developers to get our PC fix.

Of course that means Microsoft/Sony would also have to pay the creator's for the content, which isn't going to happen. The best thing consoles can hope for his that BGS releases a lot of DLC for Skyrim, as that's the best ya'll can really hope for.

[quote name='Aetar' timestamp='1303232041' post='17498196']
Yeah, I bet Microsoft and Sony are jumping all over the whole blurring the lines between the PC and console games so that they can see all of their precious content pirated away as well.

User made content generates no revenue; Microsoft and Sony like revenue. They like is so much that they would definitely never allow this to happen. I do not have to buy developer made content when what the expert modders make is almost always of higher quality, and supported much better by the author. This loses companies money.


We have talked to Microsoft and Sony, and so there's a chance it might happen one day, [but] I don't see it happening for release.

According to Todd

Right now you are correct, however the evolutionary path of the console can only go so far. A console is, for all intents and purposes, a PC with a dumbed down interface. They can't continue to keep making consoles better and better, they will eventually begin to evolve into what they are meant to be, a PC. Consoles have USB keyboards for sale now, practically the only difference remaining is the mouse and the distance you sit from the monitor, aside from the hardware of course.

It won't be long before the mainstream console gamers of today become more and more hardcoe, and hardcoe gaming takes a turn from the nerdy reputation it garners today, to be a normal practice. Within the next 10-20 years I see console gaming taking the pitfall, giving way to the PC.

PC's will never be useless, they are an integral part of everyone's life outside of gaming. Consoles only have games and netflix

sony and microsoft would benefit by allowing this to happen as it allows the replayability of the product to skyrocket resulting in a more appealing product to those that are still on the fence.

Obviously there ae a number of reasons this wouldn't work...however if it does work as on the PC :bowdown: to Beth (even though I'll probably play on PC )!

10 to 20 years.... TV's WILL BE PC's.

Ever heard of the Logitech Revue with Google TV?
With companies like Dish Network buying Blockbuster (http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-20051170-17.html) the old go to a video store to rent a movie days are fading away.
It's only natural that TV's and PC's will eventually merge (they already are) into the all in one entertainment center.
20 years from now TV's will be PC's.

I wouldnt mind seeing a limited toolkit for consoles thats basically just a watered down dungeon maker and cant modify settings or add new textures/models, and places a cap on how many actors a new dungeon could have. Like the Halo: Reach map maker.


Edit: The whole point of making games on consoles is the set hardware and not having to constantly upgrade. They may get more and more like PCs but PC isnt going to replace it(depending on your definition of a PC seeing as how every electronic is a computer of some sort).

why would they pay the creators. they made it and put it out there for free. what you would be paying for is the ability to play them on consoles not the content its self. Correct me if I'm wrong but there's nothing along the lines of a copyright for mods or other legal restrictions. i don't see why they would even notify the maker that their using their work let alone give them money. I was under the impression that people moded for the satisfaction of knowing people enjoyed their work. On the other hand if they did decide to pay the moders a percentage of what their mod makes it would most likely lead to even better mods which they could charge even more for.so it could even turn out to be a good business decision for all involved.

You cant charge for user created works. The only reason mods are so popular are because theyre free, and I dont just mean TES games.

While the actual modfiles themselves are the property of bethesda softworks if they are only touched by the construction kit, models, textures, and sounds are entirely separate, and BGS have no say over them. Additionally, there are many third party tools that can interact with the mod files themselves, and then the legal situation begins to get very, very blurry.

If the modder in question was that talented at redoing textures,adding storyline/dialogue or what have you it would also be a great way for Bethesda to find 'new blood' for developing future games.

hmmmm i see what your saying. could bethesda filter these out and only realess mods made with the creation kit maybe? im not a modder so im not to educated on the issue but todd is closer to this situation than any of us and he sounds optimistic that it could be done. i guess we will wait and see.

No actually, I think it is possible. Like they do with Halo 3 and Reach, you upload your created content onto the Bungie server and from there you can download it to your xbox from the Bungie server and play or watch other people's content on your console, and Halo 3 had a couple of modded maps.

What struck me more was how 90 percent of TES players were console players. Sounds much.

The difference in complexity between slightly altered maps and a TES mod is comparable to the difference between a unicycle to a eurofighter.

I have a feeling that number is a bit of a fib.

Difference between adding things in a map.

and completely changing how the game works to the point that some mods require third party programs




Todd thinks alot of things, and he throws stuff out there and people gobble it up, for instance "How would it look if Skyrims UI was like an Apple Computer"

Well technically Skyrim will take all out of consoles system resources so mods even can has no room to be added into game.
So forget about HiRez texture replacers, high poly meshes, CPU hungry scripts, far distant view, large numbers of actors and objects in render, large mod lists.
Another problem is modders utilities like OBSE, Wrye Bash, OBMM, BOSS, LODgen, what essential for mods cannot work on consoles.
Besides there will be problem in credits, not all modders like consoles, many dislike them because of simplification and reducing features of vanilla game.

But thats can be done with smaller replacers, what will replace default resources so base archives will be repacked into new ones, small mods what will not hungry to system resources, but such changes hardly to name as real modding, since changes isn't significant to distinguish modded game from vanilla, it more like installing GNU\Linux on Coffee Machine can be done but looks ridicules.