Oblivion's very popular

By Games Industry.biz Published 12 April, 2006

As in, not just with you.

As Take-Two announces that more than 1.7 million copies of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion have now been shipped, market research firm NPD has reported that it's the fastest-selling Xbox 360 game released so far in North America.

Those figures are specifically for shipments, rather than representing the actual number of copies sold at retail; Take-Two has yet to confirm sell-through figures for the game, which debuted in the UK charts at number one before being knocked off the top spot a week later by EA's The Godfather.

However, according to US market data firm NPD, Oblivion was also the best-selling PC game for March in the region - followed closely by the Collectors' Edition - and accounted for around 13 per cent of all PC game sales in the first week of its release.

"The development team at Bethesda promised and delivered the first true next generation role playing game experience," commented Take-Two president and CEO Paul Eibeler.

"We are very encouraged by the worldwide consumer demand for Oblivion."

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Comments (35) Latest comment 6 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • asphaltcowboy #1 6 years ago

    Ah, so that's a Sony "shipped", then?

  • Dizzy #2 6 years ago

    Good job Bethesda. Since Morrowind did 2M I expect Oblivion to easily reach 3M in a few years. The nice thing about the series is that it continued to sell well for years...

  • optimusprym8 #3 6 years ago

    sold mine on, got bored of it and fed up with the bugs

  • Freylis #4 6 years ago

    Poor you. For the rest of us, yay!

  • gizmo #5 6 years ago

    You'd have thought free horsey clothes would be order of the day.

  • lefizz #6 6 years ago

    I think oblivion will sell significantly more copies than morrowind.
    The thign is have a great engine and stunning reviews and amazing gameplay and being the first true must have on 360 you starts to attract signicficantly more people than just your usual rpg mob. Like me. I have never played a western rpg and only skitted around the very obvious japanese ones like some of the zerldas and mamna games.

    But oblivion is just stunning, stunning.

    Only a related theme go an look at this months edge to see how they keep miising the target with genre redefining games. An 8 for Oblivion, an 8 for Farcry anf i think it was an 8 for the Orginal GTA3. Now i might not be that into the latest GTA but they have created a new genre. Far cry is a similar thign IMHO not so much a new genre but with new game crytech basiclly de-throned id as THE 3d engine team. And in a similar way Oblivion will do and interet thing to RPGs, ok its still general public unfriendly orcs and elf stuff, but just seeing it in motion makes people want to play. Just reading the reviews make people want to play. Oblivion has redefined RPGs, i wasnt even interested in it 2 months ago.

  • Lagto_Soa #7 6 years ago

    I'm just surprised that people put any faith in Edge reviews in the first place.

  • Xerx3s #8 6 years ago

    "but with new game crytech basiclly de-throned id as THE 3d engine team. "

    They where dethroned when Unreal was released. And after that, i can think of atleast one engine/game that looked better than every ID game incarnation of that moment.

  • MyPointIs #9 6 years ago

    If memory serves me right, EDGE gave something like a 6/10 to GTA 3, on the grounds that they were pissed off because they hadn't received a free copy. I'm NOT kidding. But the memory of that sad day in the history of games seems to have been deleted. Now there's no track of EDGE's GTA3 score on any site (GameRankings, Metacritic).

  • Ryuken #10 6 years ago

    'Oblivion has redefined RPGs, i wasnt even interested in it 2 months ago.'

    More like: Oblivion makes rpg's a bit more accessible to newbs because of the hype and the graphics. If you look further than that you won't see anything new at all, just an enjoyable dungeon crawler.

  • Genji #11 6 years ago

    Yeah, gotta agree with that one. It's fun, but certainly not a great, innovative leap forward for the genre.

    Not that it really needs to be.

  • Dizzy #12 6 years ago

    Someone hasn't played Oblivion has he???

  • Nadir #13 6 years ago

    "More like: Oblivion makes rpg's a bit more accessible to newbs because of the hype and the graphics. If you look further than that you won't see anything new at all, just an enjoyable dungeon crawler."


    Agreed. It's good but very far from "stunning, stunning".

  • Genji #14 6 years ago

    @Dizzy

    Were you referring to me?

    I'm 15 hours in, thank you very much. I have a love/hate relationship with it.
    Edited by 1 at 12/04/06 @ 14:08

  • kangarootoo #15 6 years ago

    I'm 30 hours in and still loving it.

    Perhaps now we can all finally learn the meaning of the phrase "horses for courses"? Naaaah, lets just get back to arguing ;)

  • Dizzy #16 6 years ago

    No not you :)

    "If you look further than that you won't see anything new at all, just an enjoyable dungeon crawler. "

    I always wonder why people always use this "nothing new " argument. You know in the 1980s RPGs had monsters, dungeons and swords. Hell even Ultima 6 had detailled houses and people "living" in the world. Oblivion is an evolution (like almost any game) and it *does* do a lot of new things... just not radically different.

    The next step will be an even more realistic world that evolves a bit (seasons, changing landscape, forest fires,...) and maybe (more or realtime) fractal generated assets, quests and even plot. Imagine a game like Oblivion that is almost totally different for every player. Just modify a few sliders in the beginning and you will have an ice world where undead rule the night or a normal world with no magic??? Oblivion obviously (no pun intended) fits squarly into the fantasy world simulator category. A very tricky thing to make (I have been working on stuff like that for the last 10 years) and I am amazed how good the result has been. Next versions will only get better....
    Edited by 5 at 12/04/06 @ 14:24

  • phAge #17 6 years ago

    I just wanna give my utmost respect to the people who have been playing RPGs since Akalabeth for the Apple II, and who are now using that amazing experience to go "meh" at Oblivion, while adjusting their thick, thick spectacles.

    You guys fucking rock.

  • #18 6 years ago

    For me, the largest 'improvement' that Oblivion brings to the table is the way it organises quests and makes it easy for you to see what you want to do, and where to go etc. It's something that Morrowind didn't do so well and Fable was overly focussed towards.
    That little red arrow on the compass is there. You don't have to do anything about it, but it's there.

    Of course, a beautiful view always helps.
    I love the way all the towns have their own identity/architectural styes and 'sense' of history. Like the street in Skingrad (I think) that used to be a river and as such has an old brige over it, but has since dried up, and then the city grown around it. Or the snow details in Bravil and how some slopes have more snow than others due to their steepness and direction. God there are so many touches.

    There are only so many 'types' of game or gameplay mechanic, but when one is implemented with such passion and prowess, it's hard not to tip your hat.

  • Genji #19 6 years ago

    Forget having different seasons and stuff... just MAKE THE NPCS TALK LIKE REAL PEOPLE TALK. That'd do more to immserse me than having leaves fall from trees in autumn.

  • Lukus #20 6 years ago

    Actually Mypointis, the infamous GTA 6 out of 10 in Edge was revealed to be a typo in the next issue and corrected to an 8.

  • SeesThroughAll #21 6 years ago

    Money perverts art, once more.

    We are very encouraged by the worldwide consumer demand for Oblivion.

    Translation: We are going to turn oblivion into a cult movement, and suck consumer wallets as much as possible, by selling a neverending array of useless add-ons online.

    Expect a MMORPG in the Elder Scrolls setting with ridiculously expensive monthly quotas, anytime soon...

  • SeesThroughAll #22 6 years ago

    "More like: Oblivion makes rpg's a bit more accessible to newbs because of the hype and the graphics. If you look further than that you won't see anything new at all, just an enjoyable dungeon crawler."

    Baldur's Gate 2 not only introduced A LOT of newbs to RPG, but also taught them 2nd Edition D&D rules. That alone proved it to be a phenomenal game.

    Why flame Oblivion for doing a bit of the same now?

  • miiiguel #23 6 years ago

    Meeting Oblivion was one of the greatest ludic moments of my life. I can somewhat understand the harcore RPG fans (the ones that do paint those small and cute scenarios, I guess), that brag about "those were the days", the days of text adventures and so..., but the thing is..., we've got graphic power now, why be ashame of that ?
    Edited by 1 at 12/04/06 @ 16:07

  • MrChuckles #24 6 years ago

    I've been into RPG's since Baldur's Gate on my friend's speccy, and Twin Kingdom Valley on my BBC B (Yeah, i didn't have many games to choose from). Daggerfall was an awesome game, but for me Morrowind dropped the baton, terrible travel interface, awful journal, everyone had the same voice etc.

    Now Oblivion is awesome, travelling around dusty ruins with invisible, life draining, weapon immune Wisps ready to jump out is genuinely immersive. 'Oh crap, what was that?'

    Other RPG highlights over the years, Baldur's Gate, Moria/Angband, Gold Box Adventures. Then again, i am a sucker for a game with strategy, the Elder Scrolls series (barring Morrowind) are the only real time RPGs i actually like..

  • Ryuken #25 6 years ago

    "I always wonder why people always use this "nothing new " argument. You know in the 1980s RPGs had monsters, dungeons and swords. Hell even Ultima 6 had detailled houses and people "living" in the world. Oblivion is an evolution (like almost any game) and it *does* do a lot of new things... just not radically different. "

    Don't get me wrong, it has been since Vampire Bloodlines that I could play a game for hours and hours on straight (although the experience is a lot different) but one has to admit that the only 'revolutionary' steps here are the graphics/atmosphere. Alongside with the huge sandboxfeeling and some logical improvements over Morrowind, is that the main reason why everyone is loving it. Not because of a great story, dialogues that actually mean something or real memorable npc's: the kind of stuff I still think that keeps the holy trinity (Fallout, Planescape: Torment and BGII) going. So, more a great dungeon crawler than anything else, I can't even count the moments anymore that reminded me of Might&Magic VII (which is a good thing you know :) ). If only Bethesda had the wits to replace those useless dialogue/lockpick minigames with something like Arcomage.:)

    Those prospects you suggest Dizzy, sound cool for sure.

    @SeesThroughAll: that's the point, Oblivion improves on graphics for the most part, and entering a dungeon has never been so atmospheric until now. BGII did that too partially, but there were a lot more other things that made me play it, none of which had to do with a graphical presentation.

  • tengu #26 6 years ago

    I really like Oblivion, but the bugs and glitches are annoying as hell, especially the level of slowdown and pop up when you're riding a horse across the overworld(It's even worse with faster horses).

    Great game, but it has a lot of flaws that spoiled it a bit for me.

  • admir #27 6 years ago

    this game is overrated. when you ask people why that game is good all they say is how good it looks.

  • BartonFink #28 6 years ago

    You obviously don't talk to people who have played the game much eh admir?

  • Talha #29 6 years ago

    Hey I don't understand. All those RPG fans out there, you surely realize that there are some ordinary mortals roaming the Earth, who have yet to dabble their fragile talons in the world of RPGs? Like myself - Oblivion is the first RPG I have ever pickd up and I am thoroughly impressed by it.

    Now you all tell me that I am not SUPPOSED to be impressed because Valiadivin's Spoon of 1992 did the left-turning horse animation better, or Lurid Fantasy from 1988 did the whole dialog-tree/levelling up system better? What's more, we are being CRITICIZED for being impressed for being easy sells and newbies.

    All I can say is that stop being so patronizing, understand that many gamers have NOT been playing RPGs since 1965, so they are deriving a good experience from Oblivion. Fine, you are free to ride your high horses (literally and figuratively) but please stop trying to trample us noobs. Let us be happy for a while before it slowly dawns on us how horribly broken/overrated/overhyped/over everything Oblivion is.

    End of rant.

  • BartonFink #30 6 years ago

    @tengu - yup the glitches can be a little annoying but they really don't detract from the enjoyment of the game. My really big problem with it is the freedom it gives you (yea weird I know) there is so much to do it's hard at times to pick a quest and just stick to it or go exploring some dungeons or build up stats. Been faffing about in the game for a good 10 hrs and still haven't begun the main quest. Loving it though and it should keep me entertained for months.

  • BartonFink #31 6 years ago

    @Talha - well ranted.

  • smelly #32 6 years ago

    I got my copy today, i'll be playing over easter (4 days well spent i hope.. lol).

    Cant help but feel that 1.7 million sales wont come close to covering the development costs though.

    When something as huge and vast and costly to develop as this sells 2 million copies, you can see why EA keep pushing out yearly updates of fifa (sells jsut as much, if not more - and hardly is gonna cost a fortune to keep updated year in year out).

  • TheDogsDinner #33 6 years ago

    All I know is Im a right cynical whinging old git these days who thinks most games over the past 5 years have been shite. But I've notched up 40 hours of gameplay and I cant remember a game that made me fo that for a while

  • Ryuken #34 6 years ago

    "Hey I don't understand. All those RPG fans out there, you surely realize that there are some ordinary mortals roaming the Earth, who have yet to dabble their fragile talons in the world of RPGs? Like myself - Oblivion is the first RPG I have ever pickd up and I am thoroughly impressed by it.

    Now you all tell me that I am not SUPPOSED to be impressed because Valiadivin's Spoon of 1992 did the left-turning horse animation better, or Lurid Fantasy from 1988 did the whole dialog-tree/levelling up system better? What's more, we are being CRITICIZED for being impressed for being easy sells and newbies.

    All I can say is that stop being so patronizing, understand that many gamers have NOT been playing RPGs since 1965, so they are deriving a good experience from Oblivion. Fine, you are free to ride your high horses (literally and figuratively) but please stop trying to trample us noobs. Let us be happy for a while before it slowly dawns on us how horribly broken/overrated/overhyped/over everything Oblivion is.

    End of rant. "

    Who is criticising people for buying the game or saying 'they should know better because yeah, the roleplaying parts were better back in the day'? It's a great game overall and the best value for money in years, so there is nothing wrong with buying it right now. It's only that in this whole feelgood/hype atmosphere some opinions lean toward calling it the best rpg ever. Now that's just plain rubbish. It's nice to see you are impressed with Oblivion but what's wrong with saying that there is nothing new to it or that the graphics were a bit more important to Bethesda than innovation in the gameplay-department? You should see my words more like 'Enjoy it dude, but maybe try some of the old stuff later too if you really want to get a hard-on.'.

    You could just 'discover' the rts-genre too with a game like The Battle for Middle-Earth II and you could very well enjoy it also but does that mean that others just have to shut up completely about games like StarCraft, Dark Reign or Total Annihilation which are still reigning supreme in their genre?
    Edited by 2 at 13/04/06 @ 14:16

  • Nomgle #35 6 years ago

    > If memory serves me right, EDGE gave something like a 6/10 to GTA 3
    > on the grounds that they were pissed off because they hadn't received
    > a free copy. I'm NOT kidding. But the memory of that sad day in the
    > history of games seems to have been deleted. Now there's no track of
    > EDGE's GTA3 score on any site (GameRankings, Metacritic).

    What on earth are you wibbling on about ! EDGE gave an 8 to the original GTA III, as you can see if you trot over to their review archive
    http://www.edge-online.co.uk/edgedb/sear ch.php?gamename=grand+theft+auto

    The 6 given in the original printed issue was a typo, as has already been pointed out...