Shivering Isles dated, priced

By Robert Purchese Published 12 March, 2007

Plus new details.

Bethesda has finally confirmed that Shivering Isles will be released everywhere on 27th March, for PC and Xbox 360.

Console gamers will be able to grab Oblivion's first expansion pack from Xbox Live for 2400 points, whilst PC enthusiasts will have to nab a copy for US$ 30. There's currently no word on a PS3 version.

However, Bethesda has no future plans to release anything other than smaller downloadable additions to the game.

"Perhaps another download or so, but other then that, we don't have any plans to do another expansion after Shivering Isles," said Todd Howard, executive producer for the game, responding to a question about what comes next.

Bruce Nesmith, design director for the game, has also been speaking out, lifting the veil on new features for Shivering Isles on the official Elder Scrolls forums.

For instance, crafting abilities will let you make new weapons and armour. So, for an Amber set of duds (light armour) you'll have to visit the forge located in the Bliss, the mania side of the city of New Sheoth; whilst a heavy armour outfit will take you to Crucible, the dark and brooding side of the city representing dementia.

All in all Nesmith reckoned there are more than 200 new weapons and 80 pieces of armour, including Duskfang/Dawnfang, a blade that increases in power the more people you kill with it. There's also the ultimate prize, the Staff of Sheogorath (not the same one from Cyrodiil), which apparently features a never-seen-before power.

New enemies take the form of Zealots, Heretics and Knights of Order, plus new one-use Matrices found across the land will make random magical equipment.

Nesmith reckons there's about 30-40 hours of new content here, although we won't see any big changes to existing gameplay and mechanics.

Shivering Isles is the first proper expansion pack for the The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. It takes place in the wacky realm of Daedra Prince Sheogorath, who looks to you to become his champion and save his world from invasion.

Pop over to our Shivering Isles first impressions for more information.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (45) Latest comment 5 years ago

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

  • Laserbream #1 5 years ago

    Nothing but horse armour style addons from now on? That's a bit disappointing, but hopefully they are focusing on making Fallout 3 less wooden than Oblivion.

  • the_dudefather #2 5 years ago

    so about 20 bones then, any word on the amount of space it takes up on the hard drive?

  • Beano #3 5 years ago

    Everywhere?.... or just everywhere in the UK like usual for Oblivion add-ons?

  • Moz #4 5 years ago

    2400 points sounds a little pricey that's over £20!

    And given as you spend some 150+ hours playing oblivion is this expansion really going to be that compelling. Espcially as your either going to be playing it through with a maxed out character that will just walk over everything. Or start a fresh character!

    They could have at least increaed the level cap by another ten.

  • RickHard #5 5 years ago

    I am really looking forward to this one : it seems to have a better storyline than the main game had ;-)

  • richardiox #6 5 years ago

    No news on the Shader patch / optimisations?

  • SIDEARM #7 5 years ago

    Moz - if you dont want it dont buy it.

  • DanMW #8 5 years ago

    I paid less for the original game, my suggestion is: don't buy it, or you'll just set the price for future downloadable content at extortionate rates, and the prices will only go up from here.

    Were this way of buying games not supposed to offer better value because of cost reductions, whatever...

  • Moz #9 5 years ago

    How much is 2400 points in dollers? more or less than the PC version at $30?
    Edited by 1 at 12/03/07 @ 11:37

  • SIDEARM #10 5 years ago

    Whats the problem - this isnt horse armour it is a full size expansion. Such things on PC routinely cost £20 or so. This is a major expansion that involved major work from the development team -they have every right to charge 2400 points for it just as you have every right to not pay for it if you dont think its worth it for you. Just because I own the original game doesnt mean I have the right to more content that required further work from the developer for free or for a bargain basement price.

  • Darren #11 5 years ago

    Personally I'm more excited about this expansion pack for the 360 than any other full-priced game on the system at the moment as I got hundreds of hours of gameplay out of the last game and I am still playing it after a year, in fact . I'd imagine this expansion will only get me playing it even more and add further value to what is, in my opinion, one of the best games ever made and by far the finest Xbox 360 game even after a year.

  • Moz #12 5 years ago

    *Ducks for cover*

    My main problem with this expansion is that you can't level up any further. The expansion for WoW gave you extra levels for the characters. A key part of RPGs is character development and as yet I've seen no mention of this offering either extra character levels or new character types. Which is something I expect from a £20 expansion.
    Edited by 1 at 12/03/07 @ 11:54

  • getinthereson #13 5 years ago

    The price difference between the PC version and the 360 seems a bit off to me. There's no packaging or middleman with the 360 version, so how can it end up costing so much more?

    Should be 2000 points absolute max.

  • Azazel #14 5 years ago

    /me gets a sudden urge to play the entire Baldur's Gate trilogy back to back again

  • Inspirius #15 5 years ago

    Isn't 2400 points exactly the same as $30? I don't think there actually is a price difference.

  • richardiox #16 5 years ago

    To spell it out; PC Version of Shivering Isles is £14.99 for a boxed, retail copy with physical media for you to sell on or P/X at a later date. The exact same content on the x360 comes out at well over £20 for something that you will never physically own. So they save money on packaging, distribution and media and yet charge a load more.

  • ZuluHero #17 5 years ago

    @moz

    it doesn't matter - if it follows the rules of the first game, your level dictates the level of the monsters you fight. This way you could access the expansion and still experience a challange if you are lvl 10 or 110. Why and how will a raised lvl cap enhance the experience?

    EDIT: That's one of the pluses for this system, as it means anybody can enjoy this expansion without having to have a high level character to experience it.
    Edited by 2 at 12/03/07 @ 12:06

  • Veldaban #18 5 years ago

    Well, Microsoft would be the middleman in this case.

    As for a points-to-dollars conversion:
    [link url=http://www.mspconverter.com/results.php?MSP=2 400&conversion=Convert
    ]http://ww w.mspconverter.com/results.php?...[/link]

  • TheJanitor #19 5 years ago

    screw this.

    1) the fact that you can only download it on the x360 sucks. it should come on a disc.

    2) wtf is up with the price

    3) im just gonna get the ps3 version and forget about this expansion.

  • bioreit #20 5 years ago

    @ Moz

    “2400 points sounds a little pricey that's over £20!”

    @ Richardiox

    “comes out at well over £20”

    Please re-do your maths, guys. If you buy your MS points at full retail price (2100 points for £17.50), then 2400 points works out at exactly £20. Not “over” or “well over”. If you get your points from Play.com or wherever, then it’s cheaper.

    @ TheJanitor

    So, what you’re saying is, you don’t want to buy this expansion pack because it’s too expensive and you don’t get anything physical to own, so you’re going to buy it on a console which may not ever even get it all? Which, incidentally, will cost you more (both console and game).

    Why not buy Oblivion on 360 and NEVER buy this expansion either? Basically the same game, cheaper console plus you get the OPTION of buying the expansion later if you change your mind?


    EDIT 1: And @ Richardiox (again)

    "PC Version of Shivering Isles is £14.99 "

    On Play.com RRP is listed at £19.99 and they sell it for £17.99. Where is it available for £14.99?

    EDIT 2: Found it - gameplay.co.uk

    Basically, if you go through RRPs, it's the SAME PRICE on both PC and 360.
    Edited by 2 at 12/03/07 @ 12:53

  • Darren #21 5 years ago

    richardiox - "To spell it out; PC Version of Shivering Isles is £14.99 for a boxed, retail copy with physical media for you to sell on or P/X at a later date. The exact same content on the x360 comes out at well over £20 for something that you will never physically own. So they save money on packaging, distribution and media and yet charge a load more."

    Aren't you forgetting that when the Oblivion itself came out it was sold for £49.99 RRP on the 360 and "just" £34.99 RRP on the PC? So is it really suprising to see the Shivering Isles expansion disc, boxed and with a manual, selling for £19.99 RRP on the PC and the 360 version selling for a little more? I've a feeling that if the 360 version of Shivering Isles had come on a disc in a box, etc., that it would have cost nearer £30 RRP.

  • WrongShui #22 5 years ago

    Indeed, why make full blown addons when you can sell donkey tails, which requires little work, to thousands of people!

  • Rushy #23 5 years ago

    So I can get a boxed retail product for £15 (PC) whilst it'll cost me £20 (360) for a game that has been digitally distributed. Somehow that just doesn't seem right, I thought the idea of digital distribution was so the retail chain could be cut out so that the savings would be pass onto the consumer...

  • brooza #24 5 years ago

    2100 points would have been better...

  • bioreit #25 5 years ago

    IT'S THE SAME PRICE!

    IT IS TWENTY POUNDS, 2000 PENCE, 400 BLOODY SHILLINGS!!

    How dare you people make me use two contiguous exclamation marks.

  • Avenger1324 #26 5 years ago

    So after Shivering Isles they will be finished with expansions for Oblivion?

    Great - they can get on with doing Fallout 3 :-)

  • The_Programmer #27 5 years ago

    So how big is it?. Has anyone thought that we don't have a lot of space on our Xbox360 hard disks.

  • Darren #28 5 years ago

    I suspect it'll be around 1.5-2 GB in size but no more than that. The expansion pack is said to be around a quarter of the size of the original game so that would make sense.

    And, yes, with expansions like these taking up lots of HDD space, it does rather highlight how pathetic the 360's 20 GB HDD is really (and we *still* can't buy larger capacity drives!!!). Of course, if you only own/play less than a dozen games at any one time and don't download *any* content at all then it's fine... ;)

  • Calgon #29 5 years ago

    I agree, it's time MS introduced a larger capacity HDD, to be fair to them it has been easily enough space for gamers so far but alot of content MS are planing on suggests that will likely change(I'm fairly certain MS have had plans to introduce larger HDDs for some time now). We have video's on market place(perhaps music is on the cards too?), demos, larger live arcade games, expansion packs, IPTV and Im sure many can think of plenty of uses for extra space on the 360. I hope to see MS open up the HDD to 3rd parties... it's a sensible option for the casual market, many hardcore gamers will still prefer first party so they will still get their sales(some dont mind paying a little extra for better quality/performance and some would rather pay less for something that just does the job).
    Edited by 1 at 12/03/07 @ 15:47

  • kangarootoo #30 5 years ago

    "don't buy it, or you'll just set the price for future downloadable content at extortionate rates"

    Are we suggesting now that £20 for 30-40 hours gameplay should be considered extortionate? The fact it is downloadable content isn't really that relevant, unless you think owning a physical disc is more important that playing a quality game.

    Most 360 games cost twice as much for half the gameplay (obviously quality is a factor, but Oblivion has hardly failed there in the past). Maybe comparing Obilvion to itself is going to distort your perspective, but I suggest that is what is happening.

    The cost did surprise me a bit, but I am still tempted. If not now, then perhaps when I finally finish Oblivion (not that far to go now).

  • Darren #31 5 years ago

    I think most people are complaining more about the game not coming on a disc for £20 than the cost alone. I understand that to a certain extent as anything above £15 and you want to *physically* own something for your money. Personally I'd have preferred this expansion to have been available on a disc even if it meant paying a fiver more and having to install the game off it, never to be used again. That said, I still consider the expansion good value for money (from what I've read and seen of it) and will be buying it regardless because it's for Oblivion. I doubt I'd pay that for any other game though as most games don't last as long.

  • RickHard #32 5 years ago

    @ Calgon

    Noway we'll see 3rd parties HDD but certainly a new revision of the Xbox :

    http://ww w.engadget.com/2007/01/05/the-s...

  • Dynamize #33 5 years ago

    "a blade that increases in power the more people you kill with it."

    Kinda like a levelled thing-a-me, eh. That's a brand new concept brought to Oblivion right there.

  • kangarootoo #34 5 years ago

    @Darren

    Fair enough. I don't really care about physical media, so I have a different perspective that is of course affecting my take on this.

    Personally I prefer downloadable content for some things. If I buy a disc and lose it or it gets damaged, the game is gone. If I download the title it is always safe because it attached to my account. If my 360 drive blows up I simply download it again to the replacement, and if I move house I have one less disc to cart around with me.

    The only thing that differs is resale value I guess, as you can't sell on a download. But then I have mixed feelings about that for obvious reasons :)

  • TheJanitor #35 5 years ago

    "So, what you’re saying is, you don’t want to buy this expansion pack because it’s too expensive and you don’t get anything physical to own, so you’re going to buy it on a console which may not ever even get it all? Which, incidentally, will cost you more (both console and game).

    Why not buy Oblivion on 360 and NEVER buy this expansion either? Basically the same game, cheaper console plus you get the OPTION of buying the expansion later if you change your mind?"


    er..im gonna get a ps3 anyway. so i'll go for a version with more content and better graphics.

  • romelpotter #36 5 years ago

    personally i would get a physical box and disc if available. the reason for this is in case my xbox crapped out (we all now how possible this is!!) and i got replacement box then i would need bloody internet access to get through the security measures built into downloaded content. When i take my box down to my dear old mums, i wouldnt be able to play it as she don't have tinternet!!!!

    if i had a boxed version then i would be happy as larry

    why should i pay more for download content when that may happen.

    ahhh back to ff12

  • DocTep #37 5 years ago

    Have to say i really wanted to see this released on a disc via retailers as well, mainly because i just like to own a boxed copy of something this large and at this price. I'm sure there are going to be plenty of people who are on limited bandwidth connections that this could be an issue for too. And lets be honest here, these days it seems the customer gets a better price when the product goes through retail, as online shops almost always instantly sell below the RRP. We've been told from that start that directly downloading software would result in lower prices due to retail and manufacturing costs being cut out, but the reality is that retail is still cheaper.

  • smelly #38 5 years ago

    >Moz - if you dont want it dont buy it.


    What if he wants it, but doesnt want to pay that kinda money for it.

  • smelly #39 5 years ago

    "the fact that you can only download it on the x360 sucks. it should come on a disc. "


    But then it'd cost even more, as msoft will still take a cut (unlike the pc verison)

  • Ganon_wants_a_360 #40 5 years ago

    I was under the impression that Bethesda wanted this to be on a disc for the 360 as well, but disc based expansions aren't possible at the moment on the 360, due to MS not bothering about it.

    I'm perfectly happy to download it, so doesn't bother me.

  • kangarootoo #41 5 years ago

    @romelpotter

    You don't need contstant internet access to play downloaded content you know. Your profile is enough, whether it can connect to live ir not at the time of play isn't an issue.

    @smelly

    "What if he wants it, but doesnt want to pay that kinda money for it."

    Well... tough. I want the moon on a stick, but I can't always have what I want. Life is like that sometimes. We can't have everything our own way. Voting with your wallet is the best we can do, whining about it is not.

  • bioreit #42 5 years ago

    @ TheJanitor

    "more content" - where?

    "better graphics" - I thought they were supposed to be so close as to be basically the same - least the comparison here on Eurogamer seemed to hint so...

    Plus the 360/PC versions are getting that updated graphics patch at some point too.


    "screw this.

    1) the fact that you can only download it on the x360 sucks. it should come on a disc.

    And yet it isn't even announced as coming for the PS3. It probably will, but right now, more content on 360/pc

    2) wtf is up with the price

    Nothing. It's the same RRP as the PC: £20

    3) im just gonna get the ps3 version and forget about this expansion."

    So, after complaining that it doesn't come on a disc, you say you won't even consider buying it at all (inference of 'forget about' meaning 'ignore completely'). Then, you complain about the price and then say you'll get it on the more expensive console at a higher price.

    o_O

    If all you had said was - "I'm only going to get a PS3, so I'll get it for that instead" - fine. No problem. Good for you. Blah-blah-freedom-ofchoice-
    blah.

    The fact that you made up the list of reasons why it sucked, then turned around and said "I'm going to get it for PS3 instead", making it seem that in comparison to the 360 version, the PS3 version might be on a disc instead and might be cheaper, does mark you out somewhat.

    Classic straw-man argument.

  • kangarootoo #43 5 years ago

    @bioreit

    "And yet it isn't even announced as coming for the PS3."

    I thought it was on the launch list? Its definitely been announced and is definitely being released at any rate.

  • bioreit #44 5 years ago

    The add-on pack.

    Not the full game.

  • SomaticSense #45 5 years ago

    I'm definitely getting this....... if the fuckers have actually got around to fixing the terminal "Ayelid Gates" glitch which they have so far proceeded to ignore in every other update.

    Why dedicate themselves to making an expansion when they can't even be arsed to fix what is already there? Money-grabbing shits.