Bethesda: Sony Won't Approve Mods for Fallout 4 or Skyrim on PS4

[Lizzy Finnegan]

Bethesda: Sony Won't Approve Mods for Fallout 4 or Skyrim on PS4

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"Sony has informed us they will not approve user mods the way they should work: where users can do anything they want for either Fallout 4 or Skyrim Special Edition."

Fallout 4 mods Earlier this week [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/167573-Fallout-4-Mods-Now-Live-on-Xbox-One], Bethesda VP Pete Hines said that the PlayStation 4 mod program for Fallout 4 was still "under evaluation," saying that he wanted to make mods available on the console "as fast as humanly possible."

In a post on Bethesda.net [https://bethesda.net/#en/events/game/ps4-mod-update/2016/09/09/199] today, however, Bethesda claimed that mods for Fallout 4 and Skyrim Special Edition will not be available on PlayStation 4, because Sony "will not approve user mods the way they should work."

You can read the full statement from Bethesda below:

"After months of discussion with Sony, we regret to say that while we have long been ready to offer mod support on PlayStation 4, Sony has informed us they will not approve user mods the way they should work: where users can do anything they want for either Fallout 4 or Skyrim Special Edition.

Like you, we are disappointed by Sony's decision given the considerable time and effort we have put into this project, and the amount of time our fans have waited for mod support to arrive. We consider this an important initiative and we hope to find other ways user mods can be available for our PlayStation audience. However, until Sony will allow us to offer proper mod support for PS4, that content for Fallout 4 and Skyrim on PlayStation 4 will not be available.

We will provide an update if and when this situation changes."

We will update you with any additional information as it becomes available.


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[Tanis]

Wow...huh.

Guess this will determine which console I buy this game on.

 

[NLS]

Wow. Turn down your dick-o-meter a few notches, Sony. First their silent treatment of cross-console multiplayer, the issues with proprietary sound for mods, and then they just say "fuckit, we're not even gonna approve the mods anyway".
Looks like they're craving that pre-PS4 image they had.

 

[loa]

Of course they would want to police it on their closed system.
It's more surprising that apparently microsoft just allows all the copyright infringing and porn mods on theirs?

 

[Fox12]

Sony. Sony, listen to me. Fuck you Sony. Fuck you.

 

[Darth Rosenberg]

I find it hard to believe this won't be resolved somehow. Modding isn't really 'on consoles now', given only Bethesda has the infrastructure/budget and experience to really deal with them, but modding for Bethesda games is pretty damn huge and important, so it seems self-defeating to not somehow include them if Bethesda is supporting them on other consoles.

edit - if it does stay like this, then I'll definitely add a hearty 'fuck you' to Sony as well: modding culture needs to spread to consoles as well, not just for Bethesda IP's but all kinds of others. It is one of the few real benefits to PC gaming, and Fallout 4's shown just how well mods can really work on consoles.

Fallout 4 ideally needs to be a pivotal change in gaming culture, but it can't be that without Sony pulling their special-snowflake thumbs out, given the units the PS4's shifted.

It's more surprising that apparently microsoft just allows all the copyright infringing and porn mods on theirs?

Erm, "porn" mods on Xbox? There are none... Hell, there aren't even nude mods.

 

[loa]

Erm, "porn" mods on Xbox? There are none... Hell, there aren't even nude mods.

So it's the exact same issue with microsoft then and we're just highlighting sony because reasons?

 

[Darth Rosenberg]

So it's the exact same issue with microsoft then and we're just highlighting sony because reasons?

Eh? You do realise mods are on Xbox? Only on PC are people truly completely free to do whatever they like, picking from Nexus, Bethesda.net, as well as other more 'mature' networks.

If Sony really can't be arsed to match MS's approach to supporting mods on Fallout, then they clearly do deserve a thorough cussing, given they are making an actively anti-consumer decision for a major triple-A title.

 

[The Enquirer]

Erm, "porn" mods on Xbox? There are none... Hell, there aren't even nude mods.

So it's the exact same issue with microsoft then and we're just highlighting sony because reasons?

Because Sony excluded all mods? They're entirely different things.

 

[flying_whimsy]

Reminds me of how we used to be able to put linux on the ps3: Sony talks a big game but they either fail to deliver or they take it away later. (Remember their marketing for the ps3 'it only does everything'? That was after they removed backwards compatibility and linux installation.)

I wonder if they just don't want to bother with the hassle of the mod scene or if they are worried people will use mods to somehow exploit the system, either by changing other games or hacking the console itself. I don't blame them for being weary: it was a modded ps3 that was used to do that giant psn hack a few years back.

I do blame them for promising it in the first place. Dick move, guys.

 

[Bindal]

Okay, that's surprising. And sad, too. Really, why doesn't want Sony that to happen?

Wow...huh.

Guess this will determine which console I buy this game on.

PC?

 

[Fox12]

Reminds me of how we used to be able to put linux on the ps3: Sony talks a big game but they either fail to deliver or they take it away later. (Remember their marketing for the ps3 'it only does everything'? That was after they removed backwards compatibility and linux installation.)

I wonder if they just don't want to bother with the hassle of the mod scene or if they are worried people will use mods to somehow exploit the system, either by changing other games or hacking the console itself. I don't blame them for being weary: it was a modded ps3 that was used to do that giant psn hack a few years back.

I do blame them for promising it in the first place. Dick move, guys.

I do wonder if Sony was just hung up on one particular issue or another, and Bethesda just doesn't want to budge. It sounds to me like negotiations broke down, and now Bethesda doesn't want to take any blame. Maybe they'll work something out.

 

[weirdee]

Has humanity met its match??? Will Hines have to trigger the Third Impact in order for Sony to complete its task???

 

[loa]

Eh? You do realise mods are on Xbox? Only on PC are people truly completely free to do whatever they like, picking from Nexus, Bethesda.net, as well as other more 'mature' networks.

If Sony really can't be arsed to match MS's approach to supporting mods on Fallout, then they clearly do deserve a thorough cussing, given they are making an actively anti-consumer decision for a major triple-A title.

They say "they [sony] will not approve user mods the way they should work: where users can do anything they want", so that means microsoft allows users to do "anything they want", right?
Do they not or what?
If not, how come mods are on xbox anyway but sony is somehow special even though they have the same standards of not actually allowing "anything they want"?

 

[RedDeadFred]

Eh? You do realise mods are on Xbox? Only on PC are people truly completely free to do whatever they like, picking from Nexus, Bethesda.net, as well as other more 'mature' networks.

If Sony really can't be arsed to match MS's approach to supporting mods on Fallout, then they clearly do deserve a thorough cussing, given they are making an actively anti-consumer decision for a major triple-A title.

They say "they [sony] will not approve user mods the way they should work: where users can do anything they want", so that means microsoft allows users to do "anything they want", right?
Do they not or what?
If not, how come mods are on xbox anyway but sony is somehow special even though they have the same standards of not actually allowing "anything they want"?

Probably a bit of miscommunication. There's no way MS would allow everything to go onto their systems. Sounds like Sony must have even more rigid standards than MS. Maybe they want people to pay for the mods as an additional service (pure speculation there).

 

[flying_whimsy]

I do wonder if Sony was just hung up on one particular issue or another, and Bethesda just doesn't want to budge. It sounds to me like negotiations broke down, and now Bethesda doesn't want to take any blame. Maybe they'll work something out.

That thought crossed my mind, but Japanese corporate culture (especially video game companies) being what it is, I suspect most of the blame lies with Sony anyways. Japanese companies will often delay endlessly rather than outright deny anything: this has that vibe to it (and is the same reason why mario wasn't in Wreck-it Ralph). Also, I doubt Bethesda wouldn't have wasted so much time, money, effort, and publicity on something that was still in negotiation.

But then again, I couldn't guarantee that. It could just be Bethesday passing the buck rather than admitting to an inability to overcome a technical issue or something.

Regardless, still sucks that they couldn't make it work. I wonder if Sony will answer with their own press release blaming Bethesda. We'll probably never know the truth, or at least not until Sony gets hacked again and all of their emails end up on the internet.

 

[sXeth]

I do blame them for promising it in the first place. Dick move, guys.

Bethesda were the ones that promised it, apparently without locking down the actual technicals of it or any sort of contract. Which is par for the course with Bethesda, promising the cart before the horse.

I'm guessing that Sony wanted more rigorous policing of the mods. Most likely for IP infringements. Sony being a big IP holder in terms of movies and music, that'd be a much more prevalent concern over MS who don't do anything that way outside of maybe a few game series. Bugginess is also of course a potential issue. While Bethesda has put out bugfests on both consoles, they're usually dramatically worse on the Playstation side.

As of now, its kind of a one-sided argument. There's probably issues on both sides, but Bethesda sounds like they're trying to play up their side a bit with grandiose statements like "Let the users do anything".

People have posted on the article on other sites mentioning Xbox's Fallout 4 having comic book skins and other copyrighted stuff. And even a few stealth nude mods. So thats not an entirely unfounded concern.

 

[Darth Rosenberg]

They say "they [sony] will not approve user mods the way they should work: where users can do anything they want", so that means microsoft allows users to do "anything they want", right?
Do they not or what?
If not, how come mods are on xbox anyway but sony is somehow special even though they have the same standards of not actually allowing "anything they want"?

Some mods won't be on Xbox or their own PC supporting Bethesda.net site for content/tone reasons courtesy of Bethesda's own wishes, and others won't due to certain scripting limitations (and if any modding team brings out an expansion one Kb over 2Gb - the total limit - then that's a no-no). However, apparently Sony do not "have the same standards" as even MS. That's kinda the point...

So if that post's legit, and Sony haven't matched the criteria MS have with the Xbox? Then clearly Sony are the dumbest of all three companies on this specific issue.

Again, I find it hard to believe this won't eventually be resolved, at least for nu-Skyrim, as it'll only look like Sony shooting themselves - and their Bethesda playing punters - in the foot.

 

[Callate]

A small part of me is wondering if Sony actually said no or imposed requirements Bethesda found so onerous that the result was effectively "no". I mean, this is Bethesda's version of things, here.

In either case, probably not a good call on Sony's part, but I wonder if we'll ever hear their take on the situation. It could be anything from their deciding that they would need a permanent presence to oversee mods to make sure "inappropriate" content didn't make it on to their console to a concern that mods might expose some sort of security vulnerability in their code. What I doubt is that they just decided to dump on people who enjoy mods for no reason or out of spite. They've been doing too much work on the PR side of things for me to think they'd make this decision lightly.

Their reasons may well be stupid, but I'd like a better idea what they are.