I don’t own a PS3. Despite LittleBigPlanet, Metal Gear Solid 4, and Killzone 2, I don’t want a PS3. In fact, you could go so far as to say that I actually tend to avoid the PS3 side of the gaming industry simply because I cannot have any faith in a platform that costs so much, yet seems to offer so little in comparison to the Wii and the Xbox 360. Call me biased, call me ignorant, but I stand by my decision. Sony fanboys are no worse than those of their Microsoft counterparts, but in this case, the Sony fanboys are right. Todd Howard of Bethesda, I’m going to join in with the Game Gazette in calling you out.
Fallout 3 is an excellent title, set in a haunting post-apocalyptic Washington D.C. that we can spend hours in and have it feel like days in a way so enjoyable we forget we’re experiencing the world post-nuclear holocaust. However, the story dies at the end with no hope for further play, or a sequel, only the loss of your character, or in some cases, your character’s life. But hope came in the form of downloadable content offered to PC and Xbox 360 owners in the form of Operation: Anchorage, and the two March/April DLC titles on Bethesda’s to-do list.
It’s funny really, because I could swear to you now that this game is also available on the PS3, which has its own online store to host downloadable content; in fact, one that even downloads content faster than the other two consoles on the market, and possibly even the PC if you’re on anything slower than fibre-optic cable, or happen to live next door to British Telecom.
Yet, there’s no downloadable content available for PS3 owners, nor will there be, according to the developers, seemingly intent on creating their own nuclear holocaust of poor PS3 sales from this day forward. When asked if the PS3 content was ever to be expected, Todd Howard, PR maestro that he is, had only this in response; "not at this time, no."
So I decided to do some more digging, and apparently it would seem Mr. Howard can’t despise the platform that much, as he decided to write this opening piece for Playstation’s Official Magazine last spring:
"You can use the Blu-ray’s massive storage capacity to place multiple instances of your game’s assets on the disk. Having multiple copies on the disc greatly reduces seek times off the drive, and your load times shrink even more. Small things like this can make a huge difference over the course of a game. That kind of learning has helped us move from Oblivion to Fallout 3."
So, according to him, PS3 owners would benefit more from their console running the title than the Xbox 360? I’m a proud Xbox owner and this doesn’t bother me in the slightest. In fact, I think it’s great to see a developer standing up for a console which, let’s be honest, gets more bad press than is necessary, considering the fact we’re yet to see failure with the PS3 on the scale of the Xbox’s RROD epidemic, which I need not remind you, is still ongoing.
So that’s why Bethesda’s lack of effort for Sony’s console has hit PS3 owners, and I’d wager a fair few unbiased gaming enthusiasts pretty damn hard. Todd Howard knows all he has to do is make a public statement and explain, and we’ll all hear it anyway. There’s no need for emailing me personally, or Skype calls, or anything of the sort. But I’m laying down the gauntlet, here. Either make the effort to back your content on every platform you release it for, or expect no further demand for your products in that sector of the gaming market. Fingers crossed, PS3 owners, and good luck to you, from the sympathetic folks over the hedge.
