I'm not against Bethesda making a profit. I've played every ES game since Morrowind and loved playing them all. What erks me is that NOBODY wants this MMO format. ES fans want a single player experience but the greedy b'tards in control of the franchise are exploiting the most lucrative business model possible for their next ES installment. I hope they lose their ass so we don't have to go through this again.

@Unfallen_Satan It felt that way to me too. Perhaps the host was conflicted between ripping on the comments and whole-heartedly agreeing with them?

IQ test raw scores have been increasing steadily for about 100 years now. When everyone takes a new test the average raw score is indexed to 100. A generation later the averages are higher than 100 and must be recalibrated. It's called the FLYNN EFFECT (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flynn_effect) and it implies that people are becoming smarter through the generations. Several explanations have been proposed including everything from better nutrition to improved test-taking skills. I tend to think it's the richer visual environment. Think about it. First there were books, then movies, tv, video games, internet, etc. Each technological advance has given us a broader access to the world around us - including learning about the Flynn effect in this paragraph.

@azzathedon @cratecruncher Well I hope there's a team out there somewhere with the guts to stop making these forgettable formula clones and do something memorable. Planescape Torment, Morrowind, Deus Ex, Souls, all sold well and continue to sell through word of mouth years after their first release.

I also continue to read comments of others who are sick of the same old mindless hack-n-slash/run-n-gun clones but these big publishers are afraid to take a risk. I hope that the new Kickstarter Model will create a closer relationship between gamers and the people writing the stuff. Reading supporter feedback from Wasteland 2 one gets the impression the game's getting much better than the original vision.

@pohman "Daddy what do you do at work?" "Um, I record farting noises in an elaborate sound studio son." "Wow, that is SO cool!"

Middle Earth lore is such a rich vein to tap. I hope it's not an AC clone. Frankly, I've jumped, climbed and flailed on everything with a pulse enough (*yawn*). How about developing a game with some difficult quests and some corrupt political/crazy religious/weird-ass cultural meat on it's bones?

@blackace @cratecruncher Last gen hardware was clearly more advanced for the period. This cycle the hardware is equal to a 3 year old pc. With 4k coming this could be the shortest generation yet.

When one of the only two effective console competitors want to kiss and make up it means they're losing.

@fanirama @cratecruncher This Witcher 3 article: http://www.gamespot.com/articles/witcher-3-fairly-close-to-maxing-out-power-of-xbox-one-ps4/1100-6417292/

@fanirama@cratecruncher I was only half serious about consoles going extinct but when you look at the total lifecycle cost of playing games on a console it's far more expensive than pc. All the software/driver updates for pc can be scheduled automatically now. Also, because the consoles are so underpowered pc's don't need upgrades to ram or graphics cards like they used to. My mid-spec 5 year old rig still plays AAA titles maxed and I haven't upgraded anything to date. As far as consoles being designed with years worth of room for increased technical specs I suggest you read the latest Witcher 3 developers comments on this very site. They claim to have wrung out everything they can get from the PS4/XB1 and the generation is only 3 months old. You should hold out for the next gen PS5/XB2. 2024 is just around the corner! (That was humor).