Skyrim console patch goes live…finally

After months of agony for gamers who experienced extreme lags in the console version of Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, a patch has been posted.

However, it’s going live on the Xbox 360 first, where the issues are not as severe. The patch includes more than the lag fix, though, and also optimizes various other key aspects of the game.

Since its release, there have been complaints from users who say playing the game on PS3 results in severe lag that cripples gameplay and results in an annoying experience.

Based on posts on the game’s official forums, it appears the problems begin with players progress through the game far enough that their save file size exceeds 6 MB.

The game has an auto-save feature, so what is most likely happening is that as the file grows in size, the constant re-saving has a draining effect on the performance of the game.

Turning off auto-save (which is on by default) seems to alleviate some of the pain, but gamers have wanted a more permanent solution.

Earlier this month, game maker Bethesda said it believed it found the source of the problem and that a fix was in the works.

Well, a PC patch was recently released and based on reports, it looks like it eliminated the error that was causing the problems on PS3.

However, patches for PS3 games need to undergo a whole certification process so it might still be a little while before the update is made available to the Sony console.

This has lit up a discussion about why PC gaming is better, a discussion that gained even more traction when the Skyrim Creation Kit went live earlier this week. This allows PC gamers to create mods and customize their game experience and is not accessible on the PS3 or Xbox 360.