Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Interview

Introduction

It's been one of the highest rated games in recent memory and early sales figures are showing that it's a popular game as well. Now that Bethesda Softwork's landmark PC-Xbox 360 RPG Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion is out, FiringSquad decided to contact it's PR head Pete Hines to get their reactions and get some hints about what the future of Oblivion might be.

FiringSquad: First, the critical notices for Oblivion are by far the best for any Elder Scrolls game and indeed for any game over the past few years. While you must have known the game would be good were you surprised by the amount of praise that's being given to Oblivion?

Pete Hines: I'm not sure we're surprised. I can tell you we're definitely relieved and pleased that so many people are playing it and enjoying it. Certainly we all thought the game was really good, but until it's out there and lots of folks start playing it "for real," you never really know.

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FiringSquad: The game was released the same week as EA's The Godfather game which got a lot of mainstream publicity. Was BethSoft afraid at first about going up against such a game and in a related question, can you comment about the inital sales of the game and how they compare to sales of Morrowind?

Pete Hines: No, we weren't really worried about what anybody else was doing. We tend to focus on what we can control and not worry about what we can't control. Given the level of interest and the number of pre-orders and so forth, we had a pretty good idea we'd be just fine no matter what else was happening that week.

FiringSquad: Some people have wondered about some of the stuttering in the Xbox 360 version of the game. Can you comment about some of the frame rate issues and how they might be fixed?

Pete Hines: That’s usually caused by the game loading something it does not expect, which depending on how you play, can happen from time to time. In this kind of game, I’m not sure there’s much we can do about it except not let the player do as many things at once.

FiringSquad: The game's construction kit was released alongside the PC version. So far have there been any interesting mods released for the game that have come to Bethesda's attention?

Pete Hines: My favorite one so far is a very simple, very cool mod that allows you to cast a spell on a target and see how hostile (or friendly) they are towards you based on the color of the magic effect that will appear around them. Between the number of established modders we have who did some great stuff with Morrowind, and our new Wiki that allows folks to better share and contribute information with the rest of the community, I think the Oblivion mod scene is going to crush the fairly substantial one that we had for Morrowind.

FiringSquad: Oblivion was released online in the PC version via IGN's Direct2Drive service. How have sales of that version of the game been compared to the retail boxed version of the game?

Pete Hines: I think the sales there have been fantastic, but given the enormous sales of the boxed version, worldwide, the two don't really compare.

FiringSquad: What plans, if any, does Bethesda Softworks have for any patches for the PC and Xbox 360 versions of the game?

Pete Hines: We’re planning on doing an update for both eventually, but don’t know exactly when yet.

FiringSquad: The last Elder Scrolls game, Morrowind, had two expansion packs released for the PC version. What plans if any can you tell us about any commercial expansion packs for the PC and Xbox 360 version?

Pete Hines: We're going to enjoy the game being out there for right now. It's only been a little over a week. We'll talk about what's next at a later date.

FiringSquad: Will there be any extra content released for free on the Internet for the PC and for the Xbox 360 version via Xbox Live?

Pete Hines: At present we don't have any plans

FiringSquad: Are there any plans for a Revolution or PS3 version of the game in the works?

Pete Hines: Anything is possible but right now it is just for PC and Xbox 360.

FiringSquad: Everyone is wondering about the status of Fallout 3. With the completion of Oblivion is that game on the front burner of development at BethSoft?

Pete Hines: It has been, and will continue to be, under development. We still aren't talking about what we're up to and won't be for a while. We'll let people know when we're ready.

FiringSquad: Finally is there anything else you wish to say about the reactions BethSoft has gotten about Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion?

Pete Hines: Not really. Just thanks to everyone who bought Oblivion.

We’d like to thank Bethesda’s Pete Hines for answering our questions about Oblivion for this interview. Be on the lookout for our full review coming up shortly!