Oblivion Delayed Till Next Year Options

[Neela]

I would be most disappointed if it was delayed, however, I also understand that it takes a serious problem in order for them to make a decision like that.

That said.. this situation as I understand it is:

Take 2 (the games international distributor) has listed Oblivions launch in its second quarter projections instead of its first quarter. This would put the release between Feb-April 2006. They made this decision however because bethsoft told them they were still tweaking the game and wouldn't make the original projected launch.


We havent yet heard from Bethsoft if the Holidays '05 release date has been changed, so I am still inclined to think it will make a Holiday release at least here in the states. Holidays combined with being among only a handful of games for the new 360 would make delays really costly.

I just wish Beth would release some sort of statement to settle some of the grumblings and speculations.

edit: actually now that I think about it... perhaps the silence by Bethsoft is a good thing. Perhaps they are all gathered in meetings now to determine whether or not a US or perhaps a split PC/xbox release is feasible(if that is the cause).



This post has been edited by Neela: Nov 2 2005, 07:31 PM

[Wurlon]

Either way, who really cares. When it comes out it comes out.....

[Haw]

Oh pirates. I was hoping to get Oblivion for Christmas, though if it means a better game, I shall have to wait...but wouldn't Bethesda announce it?

^Why do I insist on being optimistic about a statemant being false? I'm mad. X)

This post has been edited by Haw: Nov 2 2005, 11:15 PM

[Elongar]

Well, if Bethesda are releasing Oblivion in the holidays in the States, than surely they'd have finished tweaking the game by then? Why do Take-Two need longer to tweak the game than BethSoft? This leads me to believe it's marketing, and, how exactly is missing the Christmas selling point a good marketing strategy?

Then again, I don't know that much about the video games industry and I'm sure I've missed something...

[RobRendell]

Here are the links of relevance from the ongoing riot of a thread on the official forums:

Take2's official press release which unveiled the delay
Gamespot's write-up of the announcement
ABC news' write-up of the announcement
Audio (mp3) of Oblivion-specific snippets of the Take2 announcement

According to Take2's announcement, it was Bethesda that requested extra time. In the mp3 above, their wording for the decision to move Oblivion to fiscal Q2 2006 was that it was "based on Bethesda Softworks requiring addition development time to ensure the title meets gamers' high expectations for this popular franchise." So, that implies to me that it will be released by Bethesda in the US at the same time as it's released by Take2, because it's not Take2 that's delaying the release, but the folks at the source, Bethesda themselves.

Here's an additional data point for everyone: I pre-ordered Oblivion here in Australia through a place called GamesWarehouse.com.au, and just today I got an email from them which says:

Take 2 Australia, the publishers of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion here in Australia, has let us know today that the release date for Elder Scrolls 4 has slipped to February 2006.

So, they claim they've had direct information from T2 (or at least, their Australian wing) saying February, which is more specific than the current info we have, "Fiscal Q2 2006" (which translates to February-April 2006).

Mind you, the official line both here and on the Bethesda forums is that retailers know nothing, and that any dates they give for Oblivion carry no weight, so take the above with whatever quantity of salt you consider appropriate (and healthy ).

This post has been edited by RobRendell: Nov 3 2005, 12:42 AM

[ShogunSniper]

damn, so close to oblivion and they pushed it back...

[_fool]

this can only mean one thing: SOMEONE MUST DIE.

[Argo]

they want some extra time? no problem with that. there are plenty of other games to play till then.

[Rendelius]

Let me jump right in here and tell you what I know (it's not a lot more than you do, though):

My personal opinion from all evidence I have seen is that, if the game is deleayed, it will be delayed worldwide and released worldwide. I see a slight, but really slight chance that in this case the PC version might be out sooner, but I have to admit that the evidence speaking for it is much slimmer than the evidence speaking against it. It could be out earlier if the problems that led to the alledged delay are Xbox related (framerates), but as they are actively seeking for more intern QA people since October 25th, I think the problems might be more general.

Do I think that the announced delay will be true? Yes. The only thing that bothers me is the silence on Bethesda's side. Nobody really can tell why it is the way it is - for legal reasons, something very trivial? No idea.

Funny thing is that material facts point to a delay: the lack of recent videos or screenshots, the lack of information lately and so on. Their words, however, point to a timely release: 99% done, tweaking and testing since summer, still on track...

For someone outside, it's really hard to tell what is true, what is wrong, what is wishful thinking on ones own side. Even the mail I received from Pete Hines after we published the T2 statement on RPGDot (I asked Pete to comment and correct the newsbit if necessary, and told him that we usually would quote the release date from Bethesda's site, but a statement from their co-publisher, especially in a financial report, had some weight for us) wasn't helpful in clarifying the situation. I don't quote PM's I receive for obvious reasons, but the general tone was that he considered something from T2's financial report as newsworthy as well, and that there would be a statement of some sort from Bethesda soon, but not at the time given.

If I had to speculate, I would consider a disagreement between Bethesda and T2 over the actual timeframe for the release a possibility, but without any proof for that speculation. It could well be that Bethesda needs some more time to finish the game, but not as much as T2 reported. It could be that T2 surprised Bethesda with the release date they announced, at least this COULD be a reason why Bethesda didn't act until now. On the other hand, they are not really known to be fast with news and actually are happy that they didn't have to announce the delay themselves. I just don't know, I am just telling you what I think might have happened.

On the official forums, a moderator stated that we could probably expect a reaction from Bethesda before the 7th of November - and I do not know the significance of that date for a statement. Could be that this is the last day before they have to submit Oblivion to the QA of Microsoft to be a day one release title, could be that there is a contract of some kind that doesn't allow them to announce something before the 7th - no idea. I just wanted to show that there are many unexplained components to this matter, and all we can do in the situation now is maing more or less educated guesses.

You can be sure that we will monitor this development closely at RPGDot, and if there is something to report that is more than just a rumor (that means we can confirm the story from at least one other independent and reliable source), it will be posted in our news as soon as possible.

Thanks for taking the time reading this :-)

[RobRendell]

And thank you for summarizing the musings and information gleaned from the 6000+ posts in the "official release date" thread and descendants.

I've taken to just having Pete's profile in a browser tab, and refreshing it every now and then to see if he's logged on. He hasn't been on since Nov 1st. I figure that if anyone is going to announce anything official, it'll be Pete. Sometimes I poke my nose into the "official release date" thread, but it goes so fast and there's so little actual information or insightful speculation (although there has been some) it's not really worth wading through all of it.

This post has been edited by RobRendell: Nov 4 2005, 02:46 PM

[Salvation]

My Eb games has said that the offical release date for them is December 5, 2005. So I dont know about gamespot and all those other unreliable sources but if the person giving me the game says that I will be receving my game on that date than I am going to believe him.



Victory favors netiher the righteous nor the wicked, it favors the prepared.

[Rane]

Official release date according to the Oblivion FAQ as of now: Early 2006.

Edit: Ok, now they completely removed the release date from the FAQ. Guess we'll just have to wait and see what will happen.

Edit2: Seems like it's back again. "Eearly 2006".

[Argo]

uh oh ... not good. i hope we get a statement from beth soon!

[Channler]

My Eb games has said that the offical release date for them is December 5, 2005. So I dont know about gamespot and all those other unreliable sources but if the person giving me the game says that I will be receving my game on that date than I am going to believe him.
  Victory favors netiher the righteous nor the wicked, it favors the prepared.

Oh lord, how'd you come across this avatar my friend?

Its gonna come out early 2006, I don't think there needs to be more speculation..

[Jonajosa]

Glad for the extra time. They might tune up some of the things I thought were rather... confusing.

[King Death]

I'm kinda gald it's been pushed back. For one It's only pushed back 2-3 months, I've suffered through much worse (for instince, Fable, which was pushed back 2-3 years). Also due to current money situations, I probably wouldn't be able to get it 'til spring any way.

[ShogunSniper]

Fable, which was pushed back 2-3 years). Also due to current money situations,

what happened there? did the design team die?

i guess i can wait a few more months for ob but they better release some news or i'm gonna go crazy!!!

*checks the official site*

[_fool]

i think i might cry..

[Hellwalker]

So Todd and I were talking last night and decided that we, or I, should post something on the forums to try and bring fans up-to-speed on what's up. So here goes.

In short, the game is coming out in early 2006 because it isn't done yet. We still have things that need to be done before the game is released. So we continue to optimize, test, balance, etc. We've already gone way beyond what we did in any game previously in playtesting and balancing this game. Way beyond. But there is work that needs to be done and so development continues to go on pretty much around the clock. We will not put out a more specific date until we are certain we will be ready then. Like system specs, we aren't fans of putting out info that changes later on and only confuses or annoys our fans.

We have a number of site updates planned between now and the game's release that we hope to do on a regular basis each week. We'll do the best we can to make it every week, but understand that sometimes PR/marketing stuff gets in the way of game development and so it has to get set aside sometimes for the good of the game (and the people making it). We'll be updating the Codex in stages, adding new concept art, screens, etc. in the coming weeks and months. We're open to doing another fan interview in the coming weeks as well to let you ask what it is you think we aren't telling you. In short, we aren't holding out on you, we just don't want to be done telling you about the game before it comes out.

We appreciate your patience and continued support and ensure you that your dedication will be rewarded with what we think is the best RPG you've ever played.

Best,

Pete (and Todd)

Ps I'm reading it now
http://www.elderscrolls.com/forums/index.p...howtopic=185378

[Channler]

I hope to god that this will quell the mob that is the TES community.. But it is nice to hear from the people actually at Beth..

Oh yea, isn't Pete the one that had a mini breakdown on the forums? If it was he does need to realize that they(Beth or whoever else) isn't giving away this game for free. So when you say one thing, and someting else happens you shouldn't get pissed at the community for being upset.. Thats what a PR person supposed to be handling..