E3, the video game industry's yearly tradeshow, is still a week or so away, but this summer's biggest news might've already hit: Fallout 4 is on the way. That's right; five years after the spin-off Fallout: New Vegas hit stands, Bethesda's first-person post-apocalyptic RPG series is back, bringing its unique brand of open-world gameplay to the city of Boston, as well as the latest generation of consoles.
But not everybody's happy. While Fallout is one of the most popular gaming franchises of all time, there are some fans who expected a little more from Fallout 4, at least as far as the game's graphics are concerned. Bethesda's first trailer for the game looked good, but not that good. Could it be that Bethesda's prepping Fallout 4 for last-generation consoles as well as newer machines, and that the Xbox One, PC, and PlayStation 4 versions are suffering as a result?
Short answer: absolutely not. While code buried in the Fallout 4 website implied that Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 editions of Fallout 4 were on the way, Bethesda Softworks community manager Matt Grandstaff shut down any rumors about a last-generation release. On a NeoGAF comment thread, Grandstaff put things as bluntly as possible:
It is not coming to 360 and PS3, the stuff we’re doing will never work there.
That should be the end of that. While Bethesda will be revealing tons of information about Fallout 4 at E3, starting at the company's first-ever press conference, and continuing throughout the week at a series of panel discussions related to the game, don't wait for an Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 announcement. That way lies only disappointment.
And let's be honest: even if the Fallout 4 trailer didn't look as good as other modern titles (Uncharted 4, for example), it's not exactly ugly. Fallout 4's first 4k screenshot looks just fine (even if that's a prepped PR shot which, as The Witcher fans know, isn't always indicative of the final product), and the engine is clearly capable of great things.
Besides all that, Bethesda still has plenty of time to work on the game. While some outlets - including this one - report that Fallout 4 might be out before the end of the year, for now, that rumor is just that: a rumor. It wouldn't be surprising if Bethesda announced some kind of release timeframe at E3. For now? Nothing's confirmed.
Let's just hope that the developer doesn't rush things. Fans are used to waiting for more Fallout, and they'll gladly tough it out for a few extra months if it gives Bethesda time to get Fallout 4 right.