Who wouldn’t want Godzilla in their Skyrim?

A reader explains his frustration that mods aren’t available on consoles, and dreams of a remastered Skyrim for Xbox One and PS4.

In the gaming industry, there is a pattern that has emerged with some franchises where before a major release is announced, the licence to the game is offered out to a different developer to produce a game. Most recently this has happened with Fallout: New Vegas before Skyrim, BioShock 2 before BioShock Infinite and Batman: Arkham Origins before Arkham Knight.

It would seem publishers use this to keep a consistent revenue stream for the development of the next instalment from the more established series creator, take Rocksteady for example. This tactic could also be said for games such as Metro Redux, The Last Of Us Remastered, and Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition. A relatively simple graphical upgrade ensures steady revenue stream to the publisher to assist in funding the development and, in the case of these three, the next game in the series.



Anyway, every weekend I fire up YouTube and take to watching the new instalment of Top 5 Skyrim Mods of the week on GameSpot. It should be noted that I played Skyrim on my Xbox 360 to death, numerous new games and hundreds of hours of gameplay. The mods for Skyrim are only on PC, and although many are just simple weapon mods and new abilities it’s the graphical EMBs that really make the game shine. New weather effects, visceral combat mods, lighting, water effects, seasonal effects, trees and foliage, enemy and animal behaviour mods, HD/4K textures, and full town upgrades are only a few of what is showcased. My favourite mod has to be the decapitation mod!


Surely Bethesda could consider allowing another developer some creative freedom to really Jazz up Skyrim for our shiny PlayStation 4’s and Xbox Ones. I am now aware that publishers are not allowed to use mods because of the policies of Microsoft and Sony (thanks GC). However, my point about highlighting some of the mods currently available on PC is to highlight how a small team of developers could use these as inspiration and really bring Skyrim to life.

In a nutshell, officially ‘mod’ and upgrade Skyrim from the ground up so that it fits with the policies of Microsoft and Sony. I am exclusively a console gamer. In a way, I’d love to be a PC gamer but the complexity of not only building a PC and maintaining it along with the technicalities of graphics and mods really does put me off. It may be simple to some, but not getting involved at all and owning a self-contained console seems much easier.

I do fear however that Skyrim is not going to make its way to the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, mainly due to the existence of the Elder Scrolls Online – which I predict will be massively contributing towards the development costs of Fallout 4. As Bethesda has not already made the decision or at least announced that Skyrim will receive a current gen definitive edition, I would assume that they will not do so.

To digress slightly, I was chatting to a friend on the weekend and we were discussing his gaming habits compared to mine. He plays FIFA and Call Of Duty every year, whereas I tend to gravitate towards story-driven single-player role-playing games. To my surprise he had kept it a secret from me that he owns Skyrim and plays it on a regular basis on his PlayStation 3. I started to delve deeper with my questioning and he revealed that Skyrim is one of his favourite games due to its vast believable world and wealth of approaches to gameplay. It has something for everyone.



There is no doubt that Skyrim sold very well on its release and I believe there is no doubt that an enhanced edition entitled ‘The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – Dhovakiin Edition’ would sell extremely well to thirsty current gen gamers. I’m not holding out for it, but it would be a day one purchase for me if they announced it for December 2014.

I’m not usually one for HD remakes, but with the amount of mods out there on PC as inspiration, Skyrim could become the most visceral, beautiful and awe inspiring game on Playstation 4 and Xbox One.

Would you buy it?

Roll on Fallout 4.

By reader ObsoletePaul (PSN ID)

The reader’s feature does not necessary represent the views of GameCentral or Metro.

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