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'The Elder Scrolls VI' is real
It's been seven years since Bethesda debuted "Skyrim," but the franchise's fans won't have to wait much longer for the sequel. Just after previewing "Starfield," the company's first original IP in a quarter century, Bethesda had "just one more thing" for the assembled crowd: "The Elder Scrolls VI." The iteration number is just about all we know about the upcoming title so far but stay tuned to Engadget for more updates, we'll be reporting from the E3 show floor all week. We're excited to announce our next chapter, The Elder Scrolls VI. pic.twitter.com/3aF5evUsnY — Bethesda Game Studios (@BethesdaStudios) June 11, 2018
'Skyrim Special Edition' is the remaster you asked for
The rumors are true: We're getting a prettier version of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Developer Bethesda ported the original game to this round of modern consoles as part of the development process for last year's wildly popular Fallout 4, so it was just a matter of time before we actually saw it. And guess what? Mods are coming with it, thanks to Bethesda's framework that allows players to use fan-made customizations on consoles. This new version of the game looks really well-improved in the visual department too and you can check it out in the trailer embedded below.
Elder Scrolls Online coming to the PS4 in the spring
In case you haven't already lost enough sleep (and probably a few girlfriends) to the Elder Scrolls Saga, Bethesda is turning the world into a next-gen MMO. The title appears to have many of the same, non-traditional (for an RPG) elements that made titles like Skyrim so successful but brings them to a massively multiplayer world in the vein of WoW. And, if any franchise has the ability to unseat the current king on online RPGs, it's the Elder Scrolls. There will be a beta period kicking off, starting with the PS4, before the title will officially hit shelves in the Spring of 2014. It's probably best to start stocking up on Red Bull and Cliff Bars now. Follow all of our E3 2013 coverage at our event hub.
Skyrim gets Kinect integration on Xbox, over 200 voice commands in tow (video)
Okay, we have some excellent and some disappointing Skyrim tidbits to share. The good news being that bestseller The Elder Scrolls V is finally adding (real) support for Microsoft's Kinect, but unfortunately, it's coming exclusively to the Xbox console (sorry PC folks). That said, developer Bethesda says the update -- which is arriving later this month -- will bring more than 200 voice commands to the title, allowing things like Dragon Shouts, Follower Commands and Hotkey Equipping. In addition to busting out your best moves, you'll also be able to control menus within the game, as well as save and load your Skryim progress. While the full list of commands is set to be unveiled "in the coming weeks," there's a sneak preview waiting on you right now just past the break.
Bethesda tells Mojang to lay down its virtual guns, lawyer up for a trademark battle
Time was, men could settle their disputes with glinting swords at the ready and their honor on the line. Nowadays, only the cosplaying and Comic Con attending folk alike are likely to burnish (elvish) blades, although they're rather inapt to sully them with enemy blood. Well, unsurprisingly, Mojang head Markus "Notch" Persson's modern day offer of a Quake 3 Arena simulated duel -- his proposed method of extralegal recourse -- was shot down by Bethesda, the company suing the Minecraft creator for use of the word "Scrolls" in its unreleased card game. As these are apparently sue-happy times, both parties are headed to court to battle it out, with Mojang facing the terrible repercussion of a forced product name change. From the looks of the defendant's Twitter feed, however, it doesn't appear the impending litigation's breaking this Swede's stride.
Minecraft creator challenges Bethesda to deathmatch for the word 'scrolls'
While Samsung, Apple, HTC and others battle it out in court with lawyers and expansive patent portfolios, one man seems to know how real geeks settle disputes -- with a deathmatch. Markus "Notch" Persson, the man behind Minecraft and head of Mojang, has decided the best way to put the trademark squabble with Bethesda to rest is two rounds of three-on-three Quake 3 Arena action. The Elder Scrolls developer is sticking with the same tactics that have made smartphone companies our new least-favorite corporate citizens, but Notch thinks ownership of the word "scrolls" can best be determined with BFGs and railguns. With any luck this will catch on and, when Steve Jobs and Larry Page lead their forces into battle in Team Fortress, we're gonna have to put on our money on the Mountain View crew.
UK retailer GAME faces delivery issues with PS3 Oblivion
Is United Kingdom retailer GAME refusing to stock its store shelves with the PlayStation 3 version of Oblivion as part of some shady, conspiratorial deal with Microsoft and/or Nintendo? It must be that the retailer, as an entity, is so anti-Sony that it's willing to sacrifice a hefty amount of business on a high-profile, well-reviewed game launch so as to deprive helpless Sony fans of their Elder Scrolls fix.Put your tinfoil hats away, however, because it's just not true.Though the PS3 Oblivion was released today in Europe, a spokesperson for Ubisoft has told CVG that there were some distribution issues and that the title, while missing at some GAME stores, is available elsewhere. "Rest assured," said the spokesperson, "Oblivion on PS3 is definitely out today in online and high street retailers."The real loser in this situation is GAME, for aforementioned financial reasons. Many branches are not expecting to have the game until next Monday.[Via PS3 Fanboy]
Shivering Isles patch coming Monday for Xbox 360
According to a post on Bethesda production director Ashley Cheng's blog, a patch to fix the "formID" bug in the Oblivion expansion Shivering Isles will be available for download on the Xbox 360 Monday, April 30. The patch has been available for PC since April 12, as well as some fan-created solutions prior to that.There's a chance the patch will not make its purported Monday deadline, but the good news still is that there is a patch and it is complete and coming very soon. The critical bug would essentially appear late in the game and cause items to disappear.Cheng, whose current project is Fallout 3, has also posted a handful of YouTube videos featuring the various introductions from the Fallout series. Maybe they're considering a similar opening for their version? Time will tell.[Thanks, Megen]
PS3 Oblivion content will hit 360 too
Some of you may have heard that the PS3 is getting its very own version of Oblivion, the 360's premiere RPG. Having heard this, you may also have heard that the PS3 would be seeing some content that isn't available for the 360 version. Upon hearing this, you may have been somewhat, shall we say, bummed. Fear not, bummed out Oblivionites, for Bethesda has spoken and the news is good. When IGN asked if the PS3 content -- titled Knights of the Nine -- would be available for PC and 360, Bethesda's Todd Howard replied, "We always aim to have all our content available across all platforms, so that is our goal." So there you have it, folks. Expect to see Knights of the Nine available sometime in the not too distant future.And since we can't resist kicking a little fanboy sand every once in a while, we'd like to point out that Bethesda is still in the dark concerning downloadable content on the PS3. Gotta love that Xbox Live.[Via Xboxic]
How modders saved Oblivion [update 1]
[Update: We covered this exact article yesterday. Consider this a different angle and color me foolish.]Pixel Rage has compiled a list of user-made modifications for Oblivion that should never have been necessary (i.e. features that should have been in the game out of the box). Oblivion, for all its praise, is strewn with bugs and other maladies that degrade the overall experience. You might find that harsh and overcritical, but we think its warranted to hold a title that spent over three years in development (on an engine the developer had been using for almost eight years) to higher standards. The modifications listed include: More realistic weather patterns, vegetation, and habitat, including the addition of birds and insects. Murkier, more transparent / realistic water effects. Light that shines through windows at night. Adding side effects to drinking too much wine (it's about time we get double vision for dipping to much into Skingrad's finest ... ). Inventory list customization. Interjections of silence within the constant soundtrack (a clever way to add to the atmosphere). Unique icons for spells. Various quest-specific fixes. It's wonderful to see the community perfect the game, but what are Xbox 360 owners to do? When the "vampire cure" quest was found to be broken, PC users could fix the problem themselves, while console gamers were forced to reload an earlier save (or, in worst situations, restart the game). Bethesda is currently working on Fallout 3 using a variation of the same engine used in Morrowind / Oblivion; let's hope they get the kinks out this time.[via Penny Arcade]
Mehrune's Razor shaves its way onto XBLM
In case you haven't noticed, new Oblivion content is available on Marketplace. Here's the description according to Major Nelson: "The lost Ayleid City Varsa Baalim has been unearthed by a rogue Telvanni arch-mage, in pursuit of a fearsome Daedric Artifact, Mehrunes Razor, which he believes will give him the power he needs to topple the Imperial reign - but what horrors lie in wait beneath the Valus mountains; and can you overcome them to claim Mehrune's Razor as your own?" You can grab Mehrune's Razor for 250 points. Personally, I'm waiting for the next expansion: Kerrek's Aftershave.
