Bethesda Clarifies Oblivion PS3 Rumors
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: PC, PlayStation 3, Role Playing Games, Rumors, Xbox 360,
IGN’s preview of Elder Scrolls: Oblivion for the Playstation 3 seemed to trigger some debate about the release, particularly regarding the rendering engine upgrades and optimizations and the fact that many of the downloadable modules for the PC and Xbox 360 versions of the game would be missing. Pete Hines, Vice President of Public Relations and Marketing at Bethesda tried to clear up some of the issues.
First, Hines clarified that the missing content for the PS3 version was not due to any technical limitations of the console. His explanation was that some of the content was not appropriate for the balance of the game for a new player and that for other content, Bethesda simply hadn’t had time to look into developing content for the Playstation Store; he believes that Bethesda will be making some content available at a later date. Bethesda’s decisions here seem a little flakey; saying that delaying the release of content so that gamers could have a better experience seems a little odd considering that an Xbox 360 or PC user that buys Oblivion this week can have the content on day one. Still, given the choice between having Oblivion in PS3 gamers’ hands earlier without Playstation Network support or facing further delays while Bethesda works on implementing downloadable content, one would certainly want to have the game sooner rather than later.
On the new hardware optimizations, Hines admitted that the PC and Xbox 360 would see the shader improvements in an upcoming release, but indicated that certain vague Cell-specific enhancements would be exclusive to the PS3. Specifically what those enhancements are were left undefined.
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| IGN
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Oblivion PS3: Improved Load Times, Graphics Over Xbox 360
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories:
IGN recently got some hands on time with the Playstation 3 version of Elder Scrolls: Oblivion, and they had some interesting observations. The game is scheduled to ship March 13th, roughly a year after the Xbox 360 release, so one would expect some upgrades for this release. Overall, IGN’s experience with the PS3 version was improved over the Xbox 360 release, including better load times, improved draw distances and sharper textures. It sounds like whatever issues Bethesda had with the PS3 Blu-Ray drive have been resolved, and they have spent additional time optimizing the release for Sony’s Cell architecture. The improved draw distances and frame rates may not stay exclusive to the Playstation 3, however, as Bethesda has promised that their improved shader code will also be hitting the Xbox 360 in the upcoming Shivering Isles expansion pack. In regards to expansions for the Playstation 3, IGN found that of the eight add-ons that Bethesda has made available, only the Knights of the Nine quest will be included in the retail release for the Playstation 3. Other modules might be added later through the Playstation Network, but Bethesda has made no promises regarding availability for neither the downloads nor the upcoming Shivering Isles expansion on the Playstation 3. At the very least, though, it appears that Bethesda has taken their time on the release and gone beyond making the game a simple port from the previous versions of the game.
Read More | IGN
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