Hasta La Gadget!

Skyrim‘s second serving of DLC, Hearthfire, launched on PC today, meaning that eager homebuilders can get to work constructing their dream house (or at least something resembling their dream house). Hearthfire costs the same on Steam as it does on Xbox 360 – $5 – and for that paltry amount, you get to buy up plots of land, collect raw materials, and then use those materials to build a house, which could potentially include things like a greenhouse or an armory. You can also move your spouse into your freshly-built home and, if you really want your Skyrim experience to mirror real life, adopt children.

That’s all well and good, but while Xbox 360 and PC players are enjoying both Dawnguard and Hearthfire, they’re still nowhere to be seen on PS3. Unfortunately, it looks like that will remain the case for a least a while longer, as Bethesda VP of PR and marketing Pete Hines says that there isn’t anything new to report as far as PS3 DLC is concerned. “I don’t have any info on Hearthfire, Dawnguard, or DLC in general for PS3,” Hines said on Twitter. “We’re still on it. Will share update when I have one.”

Bethesda’s issues with Skyrim on PS3 have been well documented. First, there was that particularly nasty save bug that bloated save files to the point where lag made the game unplayable on PS3, and now, the studio is having some issues porting its Skyrim DLC to the console. Bethesda stays away from specifics when talking about its DLC problems on PS3, so we’re not sure exactly what the studio is dealing with, but we do know that the problems are severe enough that Sony had to step in to lend a helping hand.

Sadly, it’s looking increasingly likely that PS3 players won’t get any Skyrim DLC at all. Bethesda said that it won’t release Dawnguard or Hearthfire on PS3 in a broken state if it can’t solve these issues, and the lack of significant updates suggests that progress is slow-going at best. We’ll be keeping our fingers crossed and watching for more updates from Hines and Bethesda, so keep it tuned to SlashGear for more information.

Skyrim: Hearthfire now on PC, no new updates on Dawnguard PS3 is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

It is an open secret that Bethesda has had issues with the Dawnguard DLC for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, so much so that it has yet to hit the Sony PS3. The issues might even be too large for Bethesda to resolve, but that does not mean the company has stopped working on it. Sony too, would want to help Bethesda out, with Sony VP Adam Boyes informing Kotaku that Sony has dispatched a team to work alongside Bethesda in order to fix the issues that plagued the PS3 version. Adam said, “We have a big, broad dev support team that works closely with Bethesda. Everyone involved is trying their best to get this stuff working.”

Hopefully this synergy would mean whatever issues that plague the PS3 Dawnguard DLC will soon be weeded out, although there is no commitment to any time frame as expected. Xbox 360 owners have been rocking to Hearthfire for a week already with Dawnguard being available for over a month, making me wonder whether some PS3 owners might just decide to make the jump over to the Xbox 360 platform after waiting for so long.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Skyrim Dawnguard DLC arrives on PC but not PS3 as Bethesda is not satisfied with its performance, Hearthfire trademark filed, possible name for next Skyrim DLC?,

Bethesda VP of PR and marketing Pete Hines has been in the news a lot lately. With the current unrest over the lack Dawnguard on PS3, Hines has been tasked with fending off angry gamers on Twitter, and most of what we know about Bethesda’s current struggle has come from him. Today he’s in the news again, but this time its completely unrelated to Dawnguard‘s development woes. Instead, Hines tells MCV that he’s in no rush for the next generation to arrive, as there’s still plenty left to do with current generation machines.

When asked if the industry needs a new round of consoles, Hines started by outlining what’s good with the current generation hardware we’ve been using for years. “I don’t think the current generation of consoles are holding us back,” he said. “There is still plenty that we are able to do visually, technically and from a story-telling standpoint. And there’s this huge built-in audience now.” Hines then went on to outline a couple of problems developers face when manufacturers introduce new consoles.

According to him, the problems are “two-fold.” The first is that it can be hard for developers to make games for new consoles when the dev kits they receive typically aren’t a snapshot of the final product. The internal hardware almost always changes from the time developers receive their first dev kits to the time the consoles actually launch, which results in the developers trying to “hit a moving technical target.” This, obviously, can cause some problems for developers who are trying to have a game out the door at the same time new consoles launch.

The second problem Hines has with new console generations is that “your install base always starts at zero.” It’s true that a lot of people buy new consoles immediately after launch, but many consumers also stick to their old consoles for a while, leaving developers to decide between making games for the new consoles exclusively or for both new and old hardware. That seems like it would complicate things a bit, at least until more people start upgrading to next generation consoles.

To be fair, however, these are problems that every developer faces at the beginning of every generation. To hold off on the next generation because developing for constantly-changing hardware can be a headache or because the split in audience forces a developer to choose who to cater to doesn’t make much sense, as those problems are inevitable regardless of when the next generation arrives. In any case, if the rumors are true, the folks at Bethesda could be facing these issues as soon as next year, so the next generation may be launching sooner than Hines would like. Stay tuned.

Bethesda’s Pete Hines doesn’t think we need new consoles yet is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

We’re getting ready to end a Tuesday that has produced some rather big news, so let’s jump right into it, shall we? By far the biggest story of the day had to do with upcoming the Apple event. Apple started sending out invitations for the event today, using a picture that gives away what to expect at the event (spoiler alert: the iPhone 5 is coming). With an iPhone 5 reveal essentially confirmed, analysts are predicting success for the new handset, saying that it could potentially sell 10 million units this quarter. Not bad, provided the device actually hits those marks.

Speaking of the iPhone 5, Apple has prepared itself for the lawsuit Samsung promised should the iPhone maker release device with LTE functionality. iPhone 5 nano SIM cards were also spotted today, leading us to believe that the next iPhone will be launching shortly after it’s revealed. Apple isn’t the only one with an event incoming though, as HTC also started sending out invitations for a September 19 event of its own today. The Galaxy S III has knocked the iPhone 4S out of the top US sales spot, and we enjoyed a rather colorful Nokia Lumia 920 leak today.

After seeing it pop up a few times, Verizon announced the Samsung Galaxy Stellar today alongside the new LG Intuition, and Nokia has teased that some of its Windows Phone 8 Lumias might come complete with wireless charging. The FBI fell victim to a massive AntiSec hack today, and after the FBI agent targeted in the attack called for hackers to help the FBI fend off these kinds of breaches, the FBI called out AntiSec and said it wasn’t involved in any such attack. The Panasonic Toughbook 19 has been reintroduced with new third-generation Intel Ivy Bridge processors, and we caught a glimpse of the Nokia N9, which will sadly never see the light of day.

JXD has a very familiar-looking Android gaming device on offer, and today the Angry Birds spin-off Bad Piggies was given a release date. The Pantech Flex is heading straight for AT&T with a budget price tag, and Syabas has announced the next iteration of its popular Popcorn Hour media player. Bethesda released Hearthfire on the Xbox 360 earlier today, a spec list for the (hopefully) upcoming Panasonic GH3 was leaked, and Huawei has finally given the Ascend D1 – its new flagship device – a release date. Finally tonight, Square Enix has a new Final Fantasy collection for die-hard fans, but you better be ready to hand over a stack of cash if you want to get your hands on it.

That does it for the SlashGear Evening Wrap-Up for this Tuesday. Now, go out and enjoy the rest of your evening!

SlashGear Evening Wrap-Up: September 4, 2012 is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

We’ve officially entered the final hours of August, and in typical SlashGear fashion, we’re sending thing off with a bang. Today’s IFA adventures didn’t produce as much news as the two days before it, but we still have plenty of hands-on posts for you to check out, just like yesterday. We got to check out a couple of Dell’s upcoming products today, spending some hands-on time with the Dell XPS Duo 12 and the more traditional Dell XPS 10. Dell wasn’t the only one showing off new computers and a tablets today though, as we also have a hands-on with HP ENVY TouchSmart Ultrabook 4, SpectreXT and ENVY x2, along with a hands-on post for the new Toshiba Satellite U920t.

We also got to have a look a bunch of interesting devices and accessories today, ranging from the Lifeproof case for the iPhone4/4S and the Jarba Soulmate to the E-Ink concept phone and the iRobot Scooba 390 and 290. It was definitely an exciting day for new gadgets and devices, so be sure to look through all of those hands-on posts.

The next iPhone made an appearance in some new images today, and in them we get an idea of its measurements. Speaking of rumored iDevices, the iPad Mini has apparently popped in one app developer’s device files, and Apple may eventually face an iPhone 5 stock bottleneck due to a shortage of screens at Sharp. The Nokia Lumia 920 PureView and Lumia 820 Windows Phone 8 handsets suffered a leak today (complete with images of the Lumia 820 Arrow later in the day), and Facebook had to revise its profit forecast by slashing $1 billion from it.

We were introduced to a slew of Windows 8 products today, most of which belong to Lenovo. This includes the Lenovo IdeaCentre A520, the IdeaPad Z series of notebooks, the IdeaPad U510 ultrabook and the Lenovo IdeaCentre B340 and B545 all-in-one PCs. Acer got in on the Windows 8 action as well, introducing the world to the Acer Aspire M3.

It may not be long before your Samsung device can react to your body language, today we seemed to get confirmation that the iPhone 5 is on the way with a new iPhone “recycling” program, and a round of Xbox-branded games have been confirmed for Windows 8 PCs. On the same day that reported images of the next Kindle Fire leaked, we get word that Amazon is planning to announce two new Kindle Fires at its press conference on September 6. The Samsung Galaxy Stellar appears to be hitting Verizon on that same day, and finally tonight, Bethesda has hinted that Skyrim‘s first DLC, Dawnguard, may not make it to the PS3.

That’s all for tonight’s Evening Wrap-Up! Enjoy your weekend folks, and be sure to keep checking back with us here at SlashGear for more news from IFA 2012!

SlashGear Evening Wrap-Up: August 31, 2012 is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.