Game News Oblivion will wait for the next holiday season

[ExMonk]

according to rpgdot bethseda got back to them to say they would be releasing a statement "later" regarding this issue... assuming it will be via beths website

Most certainly so.

One could speculate why it takes them so long. I don't think things are as clear as they may seem.

Its clear what is taking them so long. The poor company is understaffed. For this reason, I've started a collection on the official forums to raise money to hire an additional employee to answer questions. Questions about the possible delay, gameplay mechanics, system requirements, spears, and other matters that inquiring minds are wondering about. Care to contribute?

It might help to approach these questions rational, not emotional - if you are looking for answers. If you are just looking for entertainment, your way is better

Do you reallly think I'm serious? It is for entertainment purposes only.

Of course, if someone does send a contribution or two my way...

 

[Zomg]

You do know that the Elder Scrolls aren't the only games that Bethesda makes... right?

Lately? Not really. They published Sea Dogs/Pirates of the Caribbean for a subdeveloper, same for the Call of Cthulu game. I know they made some Terminator-licensed and sports games in-house pre-Daggerfall that I never played.

...Except, now that I look at their release list that they apparently make an IHRA racing game at least nominally in-house. I have learned something new.

 

[Rendelius]

You can pretty safely predict that the longer they take to answer this, it will pretty much insure that the answer is the same as the other questions they dodged in the past (such as spears, chopped skills, etc)....that they know the answer is one that nobody is going to like.

Let's just pretend for a moment I am not doing advertising and PR for an ad agency, but for Bethesda, ok?

If I approach Take Two Interactive with a delay for a game they are going to co-publish, I will know that this fact will become known with their financial report to their shareholders. My official stance is that the game will be released "holiday 2005", and knowing that the delay will be announced by T2I, I have three options:

a) I announce the delay before them. I won't do that because this will harm their financial interest (stock prices).
b) I prepare a press release that will be published with their report or shortly thereafter. This would have been the option I would have prefered.
c) I do nothing, because T2I has done the job for me. By far my worst option, because I will lose initiative to a co-publisher and credibility with the fan base.

These are pretty simple considerations if facts are as they seem. As Bethesda has - at the time being - chosen option c), I can conclude one of these things:

a) They don't know their job.
b) Facts aren't as they seem.
c) I am wrong with my assumption of options.

Option a) is not in my portfolio - I really don't like to think others are dumbasses. Leaves me with b) and c) - and there I remain undecided.

 

[Soil_Erosion]

from the official forums:

has anyone ever seen a tv show where its the main characters birthday, and all day none of his/her friends say happy birthday, so he gets really pissed, then later on theyre all hiding out at their place, and scream "happy birthday" and then everyones happy?

maybe thats whats going on here, all of this is an elaborate hoax, going all the way up to the government, just so we can all be surprised and happy.
*

yeah... that's probably it!

 

[Zomg]

You do know the difference between a developer completely controlled by a publisher and a developer like Blizzard or Bethesda who has a rich parent?

Yes, I am aware of the Zenimax parent corporation, and I'm not saying that Bethesda is some kind of noble indie concerned solely with art. But they also aren't liable to be release date neck-punched the way Obsidian was by Lucasarts or Troika was by their various publishers (developer culpability aside).

Edit - Oops, called Obsidian Oblivion.

 

[GhanBuriGhan]

My bet is that they did not pass M$'s 360 QA, or didn't think they would. That might of all things be due to framerate issues. Someone mentioned MS requires 60 fps - while that may have been just a rumour, there is no way to get Oblivion there with soft shadows and all that jazz, apparently they were working hard to get a relialbe 30. Funny if all their next gen stuff graphics stuff they hyped so much would ultimately have brought the game down. Question is - how much can you optimize the engine? What else can they do? Strip poly counts? Throw out some of the graphical features?

 

[Soil_Erosion]

how much can you optimize the engine? What else can they do? Strip poly counts? Throw out some of the graphical features?

OMG!! They will be dumbing down the gaphics!

 

[GhanBuriGhan]

You can pretty safely predict that the longer they take to answer this, it will pretty much insure that the answer is the same as the other questions they dodged in the past (such as spears, chopped skills, etc)....that they know the answer is one that nobody is going to like.

Let's just pretend for a moment I am not doing advertising and PR for an ad agency, but for Bethesda, ok?

If I approach Take Two Interactive with a delay for a game they are going to co-publish, I will know that this fact will become known with their financial report to their shareholders. My official stance is that the game will be released "holiday 2005", and knowing that the delay will be announced by T2I, I have three options:

a) I announce the delay before them. I won't do that because this will harm their financial interest (stock prices).
b) I prepare a press release that will be published with their report or shortly thereafter. This would have been the option I would have prefered.
c) I do nothing, because T2I has done the job for me. By far my worst option, because I will lose initiative to a co-publisher and credibility with the fan base.

These are pretty simple considerations if facts are as they seem. As Bethesda has - at the time being - chosen option c), I can conclude one of these things:

a) They don't know their job.
b) Facts aren't as they seem.
c) I am wrong with my assumption of options.

Option a) is not in my portfolio - I really don't like to think others are dumbasses. Leaves me with b) and c) - and there I remain undecided.

Well, option a) may have been something as simple as someone (guy A) forgetting to check when T2's fiscal report would be out, or telling person C to prepare a statement in time, forcing C to contact A again, who is unfortunately out of office for the day golfing... Just the usual communication breakdown

 

[Sol Invictus]

I e-mailed GameStop to check with my order and they told me that the game would only be delayed until the 6th of December. They said that if the game had been delayed any further than that, they'd have been told as such.

I don't know if they've got the right data, but it seems rather unlikely that take2 would screw with their retailer like this.

 

[Micmu]

They should wait for Xboy 720. Or PS3. And toss this garbage. Or add 3200 more pixel shaders and sky erosion.

I e-mailed GameStop to check with my order and they told me that the game would only be delayed until the 6th of December. They said that if the game had been delayed any further than that, they'd have been told as such.

I smell trouble.

 

[Vault Dweller]

Funny if all their next gen stuff graphics stuff they hyped so much would ultimately have brought the game down.

That would be very ironic indeed.

 

[Rendelius]

You can pretty safely predict that the longer they take to answer this, it will pretty much insure that the answer is the same as the other questions they dodged in the past (such as spears, chopped skills, etc)....that they know the answer is one that nobody is going to like.

Let's just pretend for a moment I am not doing advertising and PR for an ad agency, but for Bethesda, ok?

If I approach Take Two Interactive with a delay for a game they are going to co-publish, I will know that this fact will become known with their financial report to their shareholders. My official stance is that the game will be released "holiday 2005", and knowing that the delay will be announced by T2I, I have three options:

a) I announce the delay before them. I won't do that because this will harm their financial interest (stock prices).
b) I prepare a press release that will be published with their report or shortly thereafter. This would have been the option I would have prefered.
c) I do nothing, because T2I has done the job for me. By far my worst option, because I will lose initiative to a co-publisher and credibility with the fan base.

These are pretty simple considerations if facts are as they seem. As Bethesda has - at the time being - chosen option c), I can conclude one of these things:

a) They don't know their job.
b) Facts aren't as they seem.
c) I am wrong with my assumption of options.

Option a) is not in my portfolio - I really don't like to think others are dumbasses. Leaves me with b) and c) - and there I remain undecided.

Well, option a) may have been something as simple as someone (guy A) forgetting to check when T2's fiscal report would be out, or telling person C to prepare a statement in time, forcing C to contact A again, who is unfortunately out of office for the day golfing... Just the usual communication breakdown

OH MY GOD - don't tell me this shit happens in the US as well, in gods own land - NOOOOOOO!!!!
Here in Austria, yes, but not in the world police HQ *g*

 

[Vault Dweller]

I e-mailed GameStop to check with my order and they told me that the game would only be delayed until the 6th of December. They said that if the game had been delayed any further than that, they'd have been told as such.

I don't know if they've got the right data, but it seems rather unlikely that take2 would screw with their retailer like this.

You don't doubt the fiscal report, do you?

 

[Rendelius]

I e-mailed GameStop to check with my order and they told me that the game would only be delayed until the 6th of December. They said that if the game had been delayed any further than that, they'd have been told as such.

I don't know if they've got the right data, but it seems rather unlikely that take2 would screw with their retailer like this.

From all I have heard, Gamestop usually knows shit.

 

[Dreagon]

You can pretty safely predict that the longer they take to answer this, it will pretty much insure that the answer is the same as the other questions they dodged in the past (such as spears, chopped skills, etc)....that they know the answer is one that nobody is going to like.

Let's just pretend for a moment I am not doing advertising and PR for an ad agency, but for Bethesda, ok?

If I approach Take Two Interactive with a delay for a game they are going to co-publish, I will know that this fact will become known with their financial report to their shareholders. My official stance is that the game will be released "holiday 2005", and knowing that the delay will be announced by T2I, I have three options:

a) I announce the delay before them. I won't do that because this will harm their financial interest (stock prices).
b) I prepare a press release that will be published with their report or shortly thereafter. This would have been the option I would have prefered.
c) I do nothing, because T2I has done the job for me. By far my worst option, because I will lose initiative to a co-publisher and credibility with the fan base.

These are pretty simple considerations if facts are as they seem. As Bethesda has - at the time being - chosen option c), I can conclude one of these things:

a) They don't know their job.
b) Facts aren't as they seem.
c) I am wrong with my assumption of options.

Option a) is not in my portfolio - I really don't like to think others are dumbasses. Leaves me with b) and c) - and there I remain undecided.

I don't know, Beths PR decisions lately regarding things that would upset portions of their fanbase (usually the old gaurd) has seemed pretty amatuerish to me, and has usually consisted of pure avoidance of whatever question they find uncomfortable at the moment.

 

[Drakron]

Amazon.uk have yet to update their list (November 25 for PC).

And yes, retailers know shit ... in fact they are not against not updating their release dates so they lure more pre-orders that its pretty much "non-existing money in the bank" ... a nice way to show profits that are not yet profits.

 

[Vault Dweller]

Yep, the "Don't download the illegal video plz" which is now posted at the main site and "them Russian stole the game", followed by "Ok, we gave them the game but they are too stupid to unlock the non-crappy mode", followed by "plz don't post the secret part about quests and dialogues until we release the game" fiascos come to mind.

 

[Rendelius]

I don't know, Beths PR decisions lately regarding things that would upset portions of their fanbase (usually the old gaurd) has seemed pretty amatuerish to me, and has usually consisted of pure avoidance of whatever question they find uncomfortable at the moment.

Hm. Can't really tell, I have been out of touch with the scene for more than a year and jumped back in just recently. My contact with Bethesda (and Pete) didn't differ from the time back when they released Morrowind. But as I said, I have no reason to doubt your statement.

 

[Soil_Erosion]

ai that fucks up the story-line because of unexpected behaviour, characters that lack animation and just snap, low fps, rats that hop like bullet-time rabbits..... (did i miss anything?). why am i surprised?!

 

[Rendelius]

ai that fucks up the story-line because of unexpected behaviour, characters that lack animation and just snap, low fps, rats that hop like bullet-time rabbits..... (did i miss anything?). why am i surprised?!

Yeah, you missed the point.

 

[Mech]

. I hope the publisher doesn't become angry in January and orders the game to be published "as it is" resulting in ToEE II bug-wise.

Uh, so Bethesda is going to get pissed at themselves?
Are you fucking retarded? Go look up what co-publisher means.

 

[Drakron]

That means your 30 silver coins are in danger Rendelius?

 

[Soil_Erosion]

Yeah, you missed the point.

yeah, you're probably right. sorry about that...

 

[Chefe]

Something fishy is going on 'round here.

I say we assemble a crack team to investigate!

 

[Nutcracker]

RAI = Skynet