Preview The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim Press Event Preview Roundup

Jaesun · Apr 22, 2011

Tags: Bethesda Softworks; Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

 
From the recent press event held for The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim a number of details have surfaced from various websites. First off is <a href="http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2011/04/18/skyrim-character-creation-guide/">MTV Multiplayer</a>:
 
<blockquote>
One of the long-running complaints about "Oblivion" was its limiting experience system. In order to level up their character, players had to use skills which they selected as "primary skills" at the beginning of the game. Players would even intentionally avoid using primary skills to keep from leveling up faster so that the game's scaled monsters wouldn't get harder. It was ridiculous.
 
In "The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim," the experience system has been modified significantly to make things a bit more straight forward. At a recent press event, Todd Howard, the game's director at Bethesda Game Studios, explained some of the differences.
 
Basically primary and secondary skills are out the window. All skills are treated equally and whenever you raise a skill to a higher level, it'll push your character's experience higher (with more experience for higher level skills). Hit a certain amount of experience and your character will level up. It's much simpler than it sounds.
 
Despite the same terminology, perks work differently than they do in "Fallout 3" or "Fallout: New Vegas." When you character levels up in "Skyrim," you'll be able to select a skill perk which is specific to an individual skill. For example, you could select a perk under Marksmen (the bow and arrow skill) which would allow you to zoom in and slow down time when aiming. Or a perk under Blade weapons which adds a chance to cause bleeding damage.
 
Another big change in "Skyrim" is the trimming down of the number of primary attributes. In "Oblivion," there were eight attributes: Strength, Endurance, Speed, Agility, Personality, Intelligence, Willpower, Luck). In "Skyrim," there are just three: Health, Magika, Stamina.
 
When you level up, instead of selecting one of those eight attributes to boost, you're just picking which of those three main attributes to boost. Howard explained the rationale for the change:
 
"What we found is that all of those attributes actually did something else. So a fan might say, 'You removed my eight attributes!' and my answer is, 'Which ones do you want?' 'Well I've got to have Intelligence, because it affects my magika!' Well, now we just have magika. They were all a trickle down to something else. We just get rid of that so now when you level up, you can just raise your magika. In Oblivion, you had to raise your intelligence, knowing that your intelligence raises your magika to cast more spells...so we got rid of them."
</blockquote>
 
EuroGamer tells us about the <a href="http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-04-20-tesv-skyrim-level-cap-explained">new and fast leveling system and dungeons</a>:
 
<blockquote>
Skyrim players will find they level up faster than they did in Oblivion and Fallout 3, game director Todd Howard said at Bethesda's showcase event last week.
 
"We do balance this game," he said. "The levelling is faster. Oblivion and Fallout 3, we think of them as 1-25 games. This is a 1-50.
 
"But what that means is we just sped it up. It's not like it's going to take you longer. There are so many perks and the power really comes from the perks, we wanted to get it going faster.
 
Bethesda has increased the number of staff creating dungeons so they end up feeling varied.
 
"We've got eight or nine guys now who are really good. We have at last count 120-some dungeon dungeons, and then we have another 100 plus what we call points of interest, outside encounters.
</blockquote>
 
<a href="http://www.xbox360achievements.org/news/news-8138-Bethesda--Mounts-in-Elder-Scrolls-V--Skyrim-%E2%80%9CLooking-Good-Right-Now-%E2%80%9D-But-Not-a-Definite-Yet.html">Xbox360Achievements writes</a>:
 
<blockquote>
Horses and Oblivion – especially those with armour! – have become a bit of a running joke in the games industry in this console's life cycle, but despite that, Bethesda aren’t 100% committed to putting them in Skyrim just yet. They’re “looking good right now,” but Bethesda’s Game Studios’ Game Director, Todd Howard warns that if they’re not adding anything to the game, they’ll be cut.
 
“As far as mounts and horses, it is something that we’d really like to have,” said Howard. “We’re messing with it. So we’re definitely not ruling it out.”
 
“We wanna make sure it’s a gameplay addition, you know, they’re not just like there and feel like klugey... Horses have come a long way in games,” Howard notes, clearly referencing Red Dead Redemption, “So we want to make sure we’re paying off on that. As I say, it’s looking good right now, but if we feel it’s not adding, we’ll probably yank the feature if we think it makes the game better.”
</blockquote>
 
AusGamers <a href="http://www.ausgamers.com/news/read/3049109">explains modding and DirectX 11</a>:
 
<blockquote>
"Basically, it's mostly a DX9 game in terms of [how the] shaders work," Todd told AusGamers. "When it comes to DX11 there are things they give us for free in terms of performance gains, and that's really what I meant. 
 
"So we get performance gains out of it, versus an older version, and there are specifics that DX11 does like tessellation and that kind of stuff; we aren't taking advantage of that right now. But that doesn't mean we won't in the future, we just aren't right now." 
 
In the very same Q&A session that Todd answered our question above, he also confirmed the game would offer full mod support in much the same model as their previous games, and that he was hoping to have it ship day and date with the full game, but offered no other details. 
</blockquote>
 
<a href="http://www.next-gen.biz/news/skyrim-mods-could-reach-consoles">NextGenBiz ponders over the why the Glorious PC Super-Race</a> is the only platform from which one can  use fine quality user made content and mods:
 
<blockquote>
The fruits of the Creation Kit, the suite of modding tools for the PC version of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, could reach consoles, developer Bethesda has said.
 
Speaking to us at last week’s preview event in Utah, executive producer Todd Howard explained that while the tools themselves will only ever be available on PC, user-generated content made with the Creation Kit also runs on the console versions of Skyrim.
 
“It works on all the consoles,” he said. “As far as the 360 and PS3, right now there’s not an avenue for us to make that available, but we’d very much like to find a way. 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.
</blockquote>
 
Finally, <a href="http://www.computerandvideogames.com/298610/news/skyrim-looks-the-same-when-playing-on-pc-and-console-bethesda/">Computer and Videogames</a> let us know Bethesda want Skyrim to look the same on PC and Consoles:
 
<blockquote>
Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim looks so good on Xbox 360 (and presumably PS3) that the studio is aiming for minimal visual difference between console versions and the PC counterpart.
 
That's according to Bethesda game director Todd Howard, who admits that Skyrim on console does get a little bit of help from playing habit. 
 
"But most of that... What we want at the end of the day is that the game looks the same. The benefit you get is when you're playing a PC game you're playing this far away [demonstrates a short distance], when you're at home on your console you're usually sitting about six feet away so the game looks the same."
</blockquote>
 
 
Spotted at: <a href="http://www.gamebanshee.com/news/102484-the-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim-commentary-round-up.html ">GameBanshee</a>

turul · Apr 22, 2011

Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim looks so good on Xbox 360 (and presumably PS3) that the studio is aiming for minimal visual difference between console versions and the PC counterpart.

Okeyyy..let's see the specs:

fuckbox360

CPU 3.2 GHz PowerPC Tri-Core Xenon
Memory 512 MB of GDDR3 RAM clocked at 700 MHz
Graphics 500 MHz ATI Xenos

That memory can only do so much for pre-loading textures and models.

aiming for minimal visual difference between console versions and the PC counterpart

obviously, they have to downgrade the graphics to be "minimal" difference, between PCs and the Fuckbox360.

What' I'm talking about:
(Quarls' texture pack comparison to vanilla Oblivion)

And, this is only the graphics. I didn't even mention the limitations on other areas, such as processing power, space requirements, and coding limitations, due to a 6 (at the Skyrim release, almost 7) years old piece of shit console.

We have to stick with a 2005 obsolote console system's limitations, due to the fuckbox360 owners are the lion share of the video game market.
Every single game, that comes out is made for the year 2005.

jagged-jimmy · Apr 22, 2011

Nice to see they are streamlining skills, but having magika, health and stamina is still too confusing. At lvl 50 everyone probably ends up with mixed skills being total n00b. Of course you can always respec, but why dont make it right during development? Its a shame Bethesda aims more and more for the hardcore nerd crowd.

Stalin · Apr 22, 2011

there you have it consoles call the shots if they want to sell ton loads of dlcs then xbawks is the way

villain of the story · Apr 22, 2011

What's terrifying is that we have been making "next Bethesda game will only have three stats" for years.

For this reason alone, I'm pretty sure we will see the day someone will grab the rights to PST and rape it good.

I wonder what was the last straw for them to realise that basic gameplay of Oblivion would lose nothing by going this route. Was it the development of FO3 and later seeing Obsidian's FNV which made them realize how utterly shitty RPGs their TES games were in comparison? That and the realisation that their fans absolutely worshipped TES games despite that?

Clockwork Knight · Apr 23, 2011

Three stats and perks, you say?

...I'm conflicted.

DraQ · Apr 23, 2011

It's not 8->3.
It's 11->3.
Previous games also had health, fatigue and magicka.

As for the attributes affecting something else, Todd is a fuckwad. Agility, for instance, had the effect of preventing knockdowns, strength increased damage across the board (which wasn't affected by skills), speed increased rate of movement (and in DF - attack rate), willpower - saving throws (in MW just against all or nothing effects), and so on.

glasnost · Apr 23, 2011

“We wanna make sure it’s a gameplay addition, you know, they’re not just like there and feel like klugey..."

It seems to me that in games where much of the entertainment is 'emergent', i.e. sandboxes, that the more systems/toys implemented the better the experience. Kludge is good (for what it is). It's a sister to crunch and the disdain for both evinced by developers is unfortunate.

DraQ · Apr 23, 2011

glasnost said:
“We wanna make sure it’s a gameplay addition, you know, they’re not just like there and feel like klugey..."

Click to expand...

It seems to me that in games where much of the entertainment is 'emergent', i.e. sandboxes, that the more systems/toys implemented the better the experience.

Fucking. This.

Azrael the cat · Apr 23, 2011

turul said:
Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim looks so good on Xbox 360 (and presumably PS3) that the studio is aiming for minimal visual difference between console versions and the PC counterpart.

Click to expand...

Okeyyy..let's see the specs:

fuckbox360

CPU 3.2 GHz PowerPC Tri-Core Xenon
Memory 512 MB of GDDR3 RAM clocked at 700 MHz
Graphics 500 MHz ATI Xenos

Click to expand...

That memory can only do so much for pre-loading textures and models.

aiming for minimal visual difference between console versions and the PC counterpart

Click to expand...

obviously, they have to downgrade the graphics to be "minimal" difference, between PCs and the Fuckbox360.

What' I'm talking about:
(Quarls' texture pack comparison to vanilla Oblivion)

And, this is only the graphics. I didn't even mention the limitations on other areas, such as processing power, space requirements, and coding limitations, due to a 6 (at the Skyrim release, almost 7) years old piece of shit console.

We have to stick with a 2005 obsolote console system's limitations, due to the fuckbox360 owners are the lion share of the video game market.
Every single game, that comes out is made for the year 2005.

I call bullshit on this argument. Current gaming is, by and large, worse than that made for 1998-2002 tech. Tech is not the problem. We have the tech, already, to create large and believable worlds with lots of characters acting independently, and doing all the things we need for a great crpg. And we've had that for some time.

Yes, nice graphics are nice. But the worst thing that could happen would be the start of a new console cycle - they are always the worst times for intelligent gaming. It means that every game that comes out for the next few years competes on graphics and graphics alone. And you get a bunch of idiots declaring older and better games as obsolete, as the 'tech level that people can deal with, while still engaging with the game' shifts upwards with no consequent upward shift in quality.

The console cap on tech is a good side-effect of a bad problem. Forcing game developers to work with existing tech, rather than competing on a tech arms race, pushing up the cost of the graphical and tech ends of things, forcing them to compete on gameplay instead, is a good thing. Notice how even the console kiddies now are getting sick of the CoD clones? That doesn't happen at the start of a tech cycle - they just lap up the identical or simplified games due to the addition of new shinies each time. At this end of the cycle, the developers have nowhere to hide. Innovative developers can succeed by creating good gameplay, but bad ones can't spend or tech their way to success on the bad of great graphics.

In fact, I'd say we've seen the fruit of that in recent years with the downfall of Jowood/Arcania, the criticim of DA2 and the success of tech-neutral games like FO:NV, Divine Divinity 2 (and probably Witcher 2 - obviously jury is out on that one, but signs are good). If Arcania had been delivered with 'awesome graphical shinies' people might have bought it on that basis alone - worse games have succeeded purely on graphics - adding yet another boot to the 'stupid games sell' juggernaut. A DA2 that came with the next tech cycle's version of the mid-2000s 'crank up the bloom and the HDR' would have convinced all but a handful of gamers to completely overlook the streamlining, just as all but a handful overlooked the streamlining between Morrowind and Oblivion. Fuck, even FO3 was a step up from Oblivion, because it HAD to be. They couldn't just take shit away while upgrading the graphics and call it a new game anymore.

Obviously there needs to be some tech growth - I'm not being a luddite and saying we should keep current tech forever. But I have no problem with the tech cycle being artificially extended by the console cycle.

Commissar Draco · Apr 23, 2011

Well put Azrael, the Oblibion 2 will be shit no matter what fireworks Bethpizda will use, thanks to consoles stagnation although streamlined and more accesible woud be real new shit... Frack this it'll be still banal boring Shit. :retarded:

meh · Apr 23, 2011

It's sad, that the Intelligence attribute in a RPG game represent only "magicka/mana" to the developers.

DraQ · Apr 23, 2011

meh said:
It's sad, that the Intelligence attribute in a RPG game represent only "magicka/mana" to the developers.

Don't remind me.

I'll beat Todd comatose should I ever have the opportunity.

His modus operandi is:
-take old, complex stuff with many interesting quirks that can be expanded upon to make the game much more interesting and flexible
-streamline all the complexity away
-declare that "lololol it dunt do unything nuthin will be lost"
-butcher, maim and mutilate

Callaxes · Apr 23, 2011

DraQ said:
meh said:

It's sad, that the Intelligence attribute in a RPG game represent only "magicka/mana" to the developers.

Click to expand...

Don't remind me.

I'll beat Todd comatose should I ever have the opportunity.

His modus operandi is:
-take old, complex stuff with many interesting quirks that can be expanded upon to make the game much more interesting and flexible
-streamline all the complexity away
-declare that "lololol it dunt do unything nuthin will be lost"
-butcher, maim and mutilate

It's just a game kid. Why get so worked up 'bout it?

Shannow · Apr 23, 2011

Azrael the cat said:
snip

Not really. 5 years of mediocre tech have not improved the quality of the ports. I don't see any improvement in the mechanics, either. Games have become worse and worse. So much so that even the console crowd starts to notice. Daatoo is actually an argument against your points.
You simply threw lots of stuff together that's separate.
Tech is not the problem, but turul didn't claim it was. His point that multi-platform is keeping PC-tech back is true. Your point that good games can only be made if the tech-armsrace is put behind is not. You'll always have the morons that claim something sucks because of graphics. You still have those now after at least 5 years of stagnation. Arcania still looked far better than Gothic 1 or 2, still nobody liked it. etc.

Anyway, dev's unwillingness to use certain mechanics (TB) or certain POVs (isometric) or to good UIs or or non-epic stories or normal npc interaction or reliance on many skills or an open, emergent world etc and dev's unwillingness to polish their code/games or to use tech that somewhat takes advantage the the PC's power are not interdependant. They have the same root: selling as much by using the lowest common denominator. But they're not otherwise connected.

You might hope that sitting on the same tech will eventually force devs to at long last invest into gameplay, but if they do it's not because of tech but because even the consumerist morons have finally had enough with the crappy quality. (Or at least it seems that way...)

DraQ · Apr 23, 2011

Callaxes said:
DraQ said:

meh said:

It's sad, that the Intelligence attribute in a RPG game represent only "magicka/mana" to the developers.

Click to expand...

Don't remind me.

I'll beat Todd comatose should I ever have the opportunity.

His modus operandi is:
-take old, complex stuff with many interesting quirks that can be expanded upon to make the game much more interesting and flexible
-streamline all the complexity away
-declare that "lololol it dunt do unything nuthin will be lost"
-butcher, maim and mutilate

Click to expand...

It's just a game kid. Why get so worked up 'bout it?

Because this is RPGCodex.
:rpgcodex:

turul · Apr 24, 2011

Shannow said:
Azrael the cat said:

snip

Click to expand...

Not really. 5 years of mediocre tech have not improved the quality of the ports. I don't see any improvement in the mechanics, either. Games have become worse and worse. So much so that even the console crowd starts to notice. Daatoo is actually an argument against your points.
You simply threw lots of stuff together that's separate.
Tech is not the problem, but turul didn't claim it was. His point that multi-platform is keeping PC-tech back is true. Your point that good games can only be made if the tech-armsrace is put behind is not. You'll always have the morons that claim something sucks because of graphics. You still have those now after at least 5 years of stagnation. Arcania still looked far better than Gothic 1 or 2, still nobody liked it. etc.

Anyway, dev's unwillingness to use certain mechanics (TB) or certain POVs (isometric) or to good UIs or or non-epic stories or normal npc interaction or reliance on many skills or an open, emergent world etc and dev's unwillingness to polish their code/games or to use tech that somewhat takes advantage the the PC's power are not interdependant. They have the same root: selling as much by using the lowest common denominator. But they're not otherwise connected.

You might hope that sitting on the same tech will eventually force devs to at long last invest into gameplay, but if they do it's not because of tech but because even the consumerist morons have finally had enough with the crappy quality. (Or at least it seems that way...)

Bingo.
Locking developers into a well specified hardware platform won't produce better games. Proof: Look around today on the shelves. Neither having them set loose on whatever maxing out they could hammer our systems...I have played plenty of shit games in the 90s too, which were bringing my system to a hault, but gameplay-wise they were horrible, so there was no point really spending more money.

But there is a line has to be drawn. XBOX was released in 2005. Even if you were 5 years old and momma got you one...now you are 10. Grow up goddamn it...get a computer. Steal one if you have to.
And if you were older when first got an XBOX..than it's even worse. Don't let these corporate mfuckers keep you busy with that thing...look they produce shit games and they think they can get away with it. You drag us down..everyone else too. Think about the economy..I want to play games before I go begging for food.

Revolution, etc....
:mob:

Mastermind · Apr 24, 2011

turul said:
Shannow said:

Azrael the cat said:

snip

Click to expand...

Not really. 5 years of mediocre tech have not improved the quality of the ports. I don't see any improvement in the mechanics, either. Games have become worse and worse. So much so that even the console crowd starts to notice. Daatoo is actually an argument against your points.
You simply threw lots of stuff together that's separate.
Tech is not the problem, but turul didn't claim it was. His point that multi-platform is keeping PC-tech back is true. Your point that good games can only be made if the tech-armsrace is put behind is not. You'll always have the morons that claim something sucks because of graphics. You still have those now after at least 5 years of stagnation. Arcania still looked far better than Gothic 1 or 2, still nobody liked it. etc.

Anyway, dev's unwillingness to use certain mechanics (TB) or certain POVs (isometric) or to good UIs or or non-epic stories or normal npc interaction or reliance on many skills or an open, emergent world etc and dev's unwillingness to polish their code/games or to use tech that somewhat takes advantage the the PC's power are not interdependant. They have the same root: selling as much by using the lowest common denominator. But they're not otherwise connected.

You might hope that sitting on the same tech will eventually force devs to at long last invest into gameplay, but if they do it's not because of tech but because even the consumerist morons have finally had enough with the crappy quality. (Or at least it seems that way...)

Click to expand...

Bingo.
Locking developers into a well specified hardware platform won't produce better games. Proof: Look around today on the shelves. Neither having them set loose on whatever maxing out they could hammer our systems...I have played plenty of shit games in the 90s too, which were bringing my system to a hault, but gameplay-wise they were horrible, so there was no point really spending more money.

But there is a line has to be drawn. XBOX was released in 2005. Even if you were 5 years old and momma got you one...now you are 10. Grow up goddamn it...get a computer. Steal one if you have to.
And if you were older when first got an XBOX..than it's even worse. Don't let these corporate mfuckers keep you busy with that thing...look they produce shit games and they think they can get away with it. You drag us down..everyone else too. Think about the economy..I want to play games before I go begging for food.

Revolution, etc....

I got an xbox when I was younger so I could play Morrowind.

Zomg · Apr 24, 2011

Hey only took them nine years to implement galsiah's character development

Admiral jimbob · Apr 24, 2011

So a fan might say, 'You removed my three attributes!' and my answer is, 'Which ones do you want?' 'Well I've got to have magika, because it effects how many spells I can cast!' Well, now we just have magickan. They were all a trickle down to something else. We just get rid of that so now when you level up, you can just raise your killan skill or your magickan skill. In Skyrim, you had to raise your magika, knowing that raising your magika led you to do more magickan...so we got rid of them."

Kaanyrvhok · Apr 24, 2011

turul said:
Bingo.
Locking developers into a well specified hardware platform won't produce better games. Proof: Look around today on the shelves. Neither having them set loose on whatever maxing out they could hammer our systems...I have played plenty of shit games in the 90s too, which were bringing my system to a hault, but gameplay-wise they were horrible, so there was no point really spending more money.

Part of the point is that the devs truly arent locked in. They arent going to find much to do beyond graphics when the next gen of consoles release. They are already dumbing down gameplay. That will only get worse when they are pressured to make games look next-gen again. Graphically the 360 and PS 3 arent that far behind the PC's median arc if they are at all. Matter of fact they arent behind by my wager. Does the avg PC have better graphics than the 360? I doubt it. Mine certainly doesnt though for about 45 bucks I can change it.

But there is a line has to be drawn. XBOX was released in 2005. Even if you were 5 years old and momma got you one...now you are 10. Grow up goddamn it...get a computer. Steal one if you have to.

I'll make the upgrade for Rimjob. Any suggestions on a sub 50.00 card?

And if you were older when first got an XBOX..than it's even worse. Don't let these corporate mfuckers keep you busy with that thing...look they produce shit games and they think they can get away with it. You drag us down..everyone else too. Think about the economy..I want to play games before I go begging for food.

Revolution, etc....

Everyone has a PC its just a matter of what you want to play. I'm sure a lot of folks are happy playing the classics and indies on their PC. Who wants to upgrade to play Dragon age, Fallout 3 and the recent batch of shooters?

Claw · Apr 25, 2011

Jaesun said:
Another big change in "Skyrim" is the trimming down of the number of primary attributes. In "Oblivion," there were eight attributes: Strength, Endurance, Speed, Agility, Personality, Intelligence, Willpower, Luck). In "Skyrim," there are just three: Health, Magika, Stamina.

This must be April fools. Did someone quote an article from April first?
I mean, seriously? I was just thinking about how simple early RPGs were and it seems we've come full circle. Gothic starting to look real sophisticated now. Health, Mana, Strength and Dexterity! That's FOUR attributes!
Seriously, they're completely getting rid of primary attributes? I'm not even sure this is technically an RPG still. This is a fantasy action adventure.

Blind Eye · Apr 25, 2011

I thought the old system sucked ass anyway. This could end up being better than the piece of crap they had in Morrowind and Oblivion. It could make character customization better and more focused.

Rancen · Apr 26, 2011

Kaanyrvhok said:
Does the avg PC have better graphics than the 360?

Yes.
Crysis or ARMA 2 give about 30-50 fps on high settings on my mid-end AMD Phenom II x4 945 3 Ghz, Radeon HD 5770, 6 gb of DDR3 main ram. Compare this graphics with shitbox games all running @ inferior 1280x720 resolution.

Any suggestions on a sub 50.00 card?

Only some garbage.

Who wants to upgrade to play Dragon age, Fallout 3 and the recent batch of shooters?

BTW its really horrible how console games with same shitty hardware demanding more and more power from PC.
Lets see. Recommended system for Oblivion:
3 Ghz Intel Pentium 4 or equivalent processor
1 GB System RAM
ATI X800 series, Nvidia GeForce 6800 series, or higher video card

Fallout 3:
* Intel Core 2 Duo processor
* 2 GB System RAM
* Direct X 9.0c compliant video card with 512MB RAM (NVIDIA 8800 series, ATI 3800 series)

Guess how much will be for Skyrim? I bet something like this:
Intel Core i5 processor or AMD equivalent
Nvidia 480 series, or AMD HD 5890
3 gb of ram

So PC users should upgrade their PC's all the time for same level 5 yo gfx. Great, isn't it? Same shitty visuals getting more and more demanding for PC (which is about 10 times faster now than shitbox), while they run just great on 5 years old console hardware.

Xor · Apr 26, 2011

If you don't give a shit about graphics (and you shouldn't) you can still play most modern games on a $600 PC at around medium settings. And you'll be able to play any other PC game that has come out since the 80s with DOSBox with very few exceptions. And you can play just about anything else with emulators.

Why do people buy consoles again?

Preview The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim Press Event Preview Roundup

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