Playstation 3 version of Skyrim having framerate drops, leaving it unplayable

Skyrim is such an amazing game that we forget who made it. Bethesda has  always been known for a game developer to have tons of glitches and issues that leaves the game close to unplayable on a day one release. It's inevitable with Bethesda games. Remember when you first played Fallout 3? or even Fallout: New Vegas?! Not the smoothest I bet. Well as much as everybody loving the latest Elder Scrolls, the Playstation 3 version of Skyrim is showing some unplayable framerate drops and freezes after the 25 hour mark.

I'm currently playing Skyrim on my Xbox 360 and while I do experience some framerate drops and crashes, the Playstation 3 is experiencing it to a point where it can be unbearable. Arlie is playing the game on the Playstation 3 and is experiencing these broken issues first hand, and we are both midway into the game.

Why only now?

Why was this not addressed on release? well because it only occurs when you're somewhat midway into the game. The problem  could be coming from two sources: The size of each save file or The required installation in your Playstation system. In regards to the save files, we noticed that as you progress into the game, your file size get's bigger and bigger. This is seen in both the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360.

The starting save file during the start of the game starts at a whopping 2mb, that's already big for a save file. Both Arlie and I are past the 60 hour mark and our latest save files are currently at 9mb each save. NINE. I usually have around 5 saves in a game like this, so with all the autosaves and manuals save I have, my saves in total is around 81mb. This could be the source of the frame rate drops, especially the horrible ones experienced on the Playstation 3. Here's an example of what Playstation 3 owners are experiencing.

That's unplayable for me. Another possible reason for these frame drops is the installation done on your PS3. Arlie tried re-installing and noticed improvements by doing this, but after a few hours of playing the issue starts to surface yet again. Another remedy that might help is deactivating the auto saves in the game. By default, the game auto saves each time you travel, rest, and hit the menu screen after 30 minutes(can be specified). Turning it off and reducing the file size might help with the frame drop issues.

Here's another example of the horrible lag in the Playstation 3. Arlie recorded the video himself.

Playstation 3 isn't the way to go when thinking about playing Skyrim... for now. Your best bet will be on the PC if your PC can handle it. The 360 is the next best thing but still has those Frame rate drops and freezes, but is rare not compared to the PS3. The Xbox 360 version also has that installation bug that gives low resolution textures if you install the game in your HDD. Best way around that one is to not install it at all(thank god it's an option).

Is there a patch coming? yes. Bethesda has announced that the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 1.2 patch have been submitted for certification and will be up a week after thanksgiving, meaning the patch is still a week away. Hopefully this patch covers all this issues that prevent us from enjoying this awesome game. Any PS3 owners experiencing this too?