Oblivion
According to the EB and Gamestop websites, the release date for Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion has changed from 11/21 to 12/05.Actually, that's not entirely correct. EB doesn't show the PC version slipping yet, but I assume they'll update it shortly.
Oblivion is probably my most-anticipated game for the fall, so seeing the release date moved is both good and bad. It's bad in that I don't want to wait two more weeks, but it's good that it hasn't been moved into 2006.
I think it will be, though--the PC version. With the amount of resources that Bethesda must have committed to get the game out for the 360, I can't imagine releasing the PC version simultaneously, particularly because the 360 launch was a hard date. At some point during development, there would have been tremendous pressure on the developers to to shift PC resources over to the 360 team, particularly when hitting the launch date began to look threatened.
Look, moving the release date by only two weeks essentially announces two things:
1. We're missing the launch.
2. We're damned sure not missing Christmas.
That shipping date looks much more like a management decision than a dev decision, at least on the face of it. And I think management, when forced to choose which version will make it, will choose the 360 version and delay the PC version.
Now if you think the PC version being delayed into 2006 would be a bad thing--well, not necessarily. To get the game out the door for the 360, it's going to be a mad rush to get the game in playable condition. Having a few extra months to polish the PC version would result in a better, more complete game. I would have no complaints about that.
And in terms of a delay for the PC version, I hope I'm wrong.
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