Skyrim, a game in the Elder Scrolls series first released in 2011, is now available for the Nintendo Switch, and has a VR version for PC and PlayStation 4 as well:
How Bethesda was able to fit Skyrim on the Switch
"While docked, Skyrim operates at a native 1600 x 900, while playing in mobile mode shows us the first sign of compromise," Digital Foundry said. "When we looked at the Switch port at Gamescom, everything indicated a native 720p resolution, but the final code reveals more: a fairly basic form of resolution scaling designed to sustain smooth performance. Under load, resolution drops back suddenly to 896 x 720 — 70 per cent of the native pixel count."
'Skyrim VR' makes the 6-year-old game feel fresh again
Having played through Skyrim from start to finish more than once, and having drudged through the opening act more times than I care to remember, I was skeptical that what amounted to a gimmick would be enough to draw me back into the snow-capped region that I'd already seen every inch of. But within moments, I was captivated.
How Bethesda brought The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim to VR
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim VR is available now for PSVR and PC. With hundreds of hours of gameplay between the core campaign, side content, and three expansions players will be able to lose themselves once again in the frosted wastelands of Skyrim.
The world of Skyrim is thrilling and flawed in VR
Other small annoyances abounded in my brief time with Skyrim VR so far. The interface seems imperfectly tuned for the new VR perspective; in-game books and menus are presented with big, readable text, but pop-up warnings and notifications like a stamina bar appear too small and out-of-the-way to be very useful. Navigating menus means holding a button and flicking in the direction you want to move, a usable but imprecise method of navigation. Picking up loose items, meanwhile, requires pointing directly at them and tapping a button, a process that gets annoying after constant repetition. This also makes it extremely awkward to play while sitting, as your legs often end up getting in the way of items on the ground.
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As of mid-December, Nintendo sold 10 million Switch consoles worldwide, after around 9 months of availability. The Switch outpaced sales of most other consoles in their initial months, except for the PS4.
Some big titles like The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (an influence on Zelda: Breath of the Wild) have been ported to Nintendo Switch. But the ability to port certain games may be hindered by the delayed release of 64 GB "game cards" (proprietary ROM cartridges) for the system:
Those wishing for 64GB Nintendo Switch game cards will have to keep waiting. According to a Wall Street Journal report, Nintendo pushed back the rollout of 64GB game cards until 2019, citing "technical issues" as the problem. Game developers get Switch cards from Nintendo, so this means that they'll have to wait to get game cards that can support big titles.
[...] Nintendo initially attempted to alleviate the storage issue with the Switch's microSD card slot, which can hold an extra 2TB of space. However, 2TB microSD cards aren't available yet, and not every microSD card is the same. Some big titles require high-speed microSD cards to run properly.
While many mobile devices and the Nintendo Switch can support up to 2 TB of microSD storage, the largest currently in production is SanDisk's 400 GB card, which currently retails for $250.
CNET: Nintendo Switch was 2017's best gadget. What does it mean for 2018?
The Verge 2017 tech report card: Nintendo
Previously: Nintendo to More Than Double Production of Switch; Success Rooted in Wii U's Failure
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 19 2017, @08:56PM (2 children)
When will Bethesda stop beating this dead horse?
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 19 2017, @10:46PM
Not fixing year old bugs, introducing new ones, ignoring feedback but letting the large and thriving modding community fix said bugs for free, while Bethesda is monetizing new platforms and paid mods at the same is the problem. Putting the game on more device is not for a larger audience is not.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 19 2017, @10:54PM
Gimme TES VI... I need it... Don't care for a game that I spend already 100's of hours on.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by linkdude64 on Sunday November 19 2017, @09:01PM (2 children)
And admit that they did almost nothing to modify the game to run on the Switch, yet it still costs $60. Guess they have to recoup the R&D costs from the GOTY editions, Enhanced Editions, Legendary Editions, etc.!
(Score: 3, Interesting) by takyon on Monday November 20 2017, @07:59AM (1 child)
I didn't even realize.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – Special Edition was a graphics remastered version for PC/XB1/PS4 released in Oct. 2016, but that doesn't justify such a price and there is no need to remaster at the Switch's resolution. The game already scaled pretty well to low res/quality back in 2011.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 20 2017, @11:05AM
"graphics remastered" edition which had significantly worse graphics than mods have been offering for years... Bethesda should just give up on game development and start offering game engines :)
(Score: 4, Insightful) by RamiK on Monday November 20 2017, @12:18AM
Seeing how it took Oblivion 10 years to reach the point the community doesn't list dozens of game breaking bugs, 10 years from now when VR headsets reache the point they're worth buying, Bethesda will have enough community-patches and high-resolution mods for Skyrim VR to be playable.
compiling...