There are a lot of descriptions we could use for the fact that, even spending five years in development, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim was, rather spectacularly, infested with bugs after the game’s launch: unfortunate, careless, frustrating, Bethesda. PlayStation 3 owners get to use one more: foreboding.
The same buggy pitfalls that befell Skyrim after its multi-platform launch last November have, on Bethesda’s own admission, seeped into Dawnguard, the game’s first expansion. And while Xbox 360 and PC owners (since June 26 and August 2, respectively) have access to the now-smoothed-over editions of the DLC, Skyrim’s PS3 population has been hung out to dry - with little assurance for the future.
We began growing concerned in July. Dawnguard was released for the Xbox 360 in June (to our positive review) as a temporary system-exclusive: 30 days separate its launch and any further details on multi-platform aspirations. When the window expired, however, Bethesda PR and marketing VP Pete Hines would only impart us with a cryptic tweet - a PC/PS3 “timeline” was unavailable, he stated. In the following weeks, Bethesda would post on their official blog that they “are not satisfied yet with Dawnguard’s performance on the PS3” and “aren’t going to release it for PS3 knowing that some people’s experience in Skyrim will be worse.”
The 30-day restriction was long gone, no PS3 release date was in sight, and the only thing on the horizon was more quality calamity.
And that’s where things stand today, following the unveiling, detailing, and trailering of Skyrim’s next DLC, Hearthfire; the Xbox 360 once again playing the initially-exclusive host (the content releases September 4th), Skyrim appears ready to move beyond its vampire-hunting expansion before PS3 owners ever get their hands on it.
Responding to a series of tweets inspired by Hearthfire’s announcement, Pete Hines, at the very least, explained why Dawnguard’s PS3 absence had nothing to do with the homebuilding add-on. Needless to say, new Dawnguard information was kept at a premium:
