Skyrim - 3.4M Retail Sales in 48 hours?

biggest selling game ever?

The good thing is, more people might make open world RPGs.
 
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Don't remember many people screaming in joy when Oblivion clones like Two Worlds 1 started popping up.
 
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They did when Two Worlds 2 popped up.
 
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It's doing awesome for an RPG though, and hopefully publishers are taking note.

Someone point out to Bioware that it has no player character voice acting, lets you choose form multiple races, has choices that lock you out of content and lets you turn the guidance systems off.
 
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Someone point out to Bioware that it has no player character voice acting, lets you choose form multiple races, has choices that lock you out of content and lets you turn the guidance systems off.

Not only that, but they actually added complexity and relatively "hardcore" fundamentals that were absent from the previous iteration of Elder Scrolls. It's pretty much the direct opposite approach to what Bioware adamantly insists will grant them these kinds of sales numbers.

Not to be over-dramatic or anything, but Skyrim just might turn out to be the "savior" of triple-AAA RPGs. So many AAA studios - well, mostly publishers and companies like Bioware - have bought into the idea that relatively complex RPGs with a large budget can never achieve the big sales numbers, and Skyrim might finally change that line of thinking. We've been saying this for years of course, but real, tangible proof is finally out there that these types of games can absolutely be a financial success if the quality is really high and the game gets enough visibility. This may even help boost the sales of a game like Risen 2.
 
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I still can't believe that Beth is now a dev I respect and look forward to seeing what they release next. Things change and they change quick. Like now I can hardly care any less when Bioware releases their next game, but I'm looking forward to seeing what Beth releases next…….When did I enter Bizzaro Land?
 
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I still can't believe that Beth is now a dev I respect and look forward to seeing what they release next. Things change and they change quick. Like now I can hardly care any less when Bioware releases their next game, but I'm looking forward to seeing what Beth releases next…….When did I enter Bizzaro Land?

Well I was just like that after Bioware released DA:O and then I played the Demo to DA2...
 
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Well I was just like that after Bioware released DA:O and then I played the Demo to DA2…

That's a good point, but Bethesda doesn't strike me as a company that would attempt such an approach; their biggest "crime" against RPGs was Oblivion, and I would personally say that was a much better game than DA2 and certainly not as bad as some of the overly-dramatic rhetoric from some corners claim it was. Even if one does believe that Oblivion is completely terrible and devoid of any redeeming qualities, it would seem that Bethesda has learned quite well from the mistakes of that game and drastically improved their approach.
 
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That's a good point, but Bethesda doesn't strike me as a company that would attempt such an approach; their biggest "crime" against RPGs was Oblivion, and I would personally say that was a much better game than DA2 and certainly not as bad as some of the overly-dramatic rhetoric from some corners claim it was. Even if one does believe that Oblivion is completely terrible and devoid of any redeeming qualities, it would seem that Bethesda has learned quite well from the mistakes of that game and drastically improved their approach.

Well, while Skyrim is an improvement over Oblivion (and my impression, only based on the demo for DA2, is that O is indeed better) as a (massive open world sandbox) game,
I think the RPG aspects might have actually taken a step back. These are very early impressions though so I might be reading too much in the streamlining I am seeing on the systems...

If you are saying if they would rush a cookie cutter game out of the door in a year's time to capitalize in Skyrim's success ? Well no, naturally (didn't do it after Morrowind or oblivion so why start now. Not to mention that it is impossible with the kind of games they make).

How much of an RPG their next game will be ? Well only time will tell...
 
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Not only that, but they actually added complexity and relatively "hardcore" fundamentals that were absent from the previous iteration of Elder Scrolls. It's pretty much the direct opposite approach to what Bioware adamantly insists will grant them these kinds of sales numbers.

And they allowed Obsidian to add quite a bit of "hardcore" RPG stuff to New Vegas as well.

I think early in this console generation all the developers were focused on the new technology and worried the console audience wouldn't like PC style games. Now that the tech is old news and console gamers are used to Western RPGs we are seeing more depth and complexity added back in. That's a good thing, and I hope it continues. With new consoles coming soon though, one worries the cycle will repeat itself.
 
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Well, while Skyrim is an improvement over Oblivion (and my impression, only based on the demo for DA2, is that O is indeed better) as a (massive open world sandbox) game,
I think the RPG aspects might have actually taken a step back. These are very early impressions though so I might be reading too much in the streamlining I am seeing on the systems…

If you are saying if they would rush a cookie cutter game out of the door in a year's time to capitalize in Skyrim's success ? Well no, naturally (didn't do it after Morrowind or oblivion so why start now. Not to mention that it is impossible with the kind of games they make).

How much of an RPG their next game will be ? Well only time will tell…

I can't say i agree with you that Skyrim has taken a step back in the RPG department. I feel that character development is far more meaningful and ultimately more complex than any previous Elder Scrolls game thanks to a very fleshed-out perk system that leads to great depth in terms of customization/specialization, more involved crafting and loot mechanics, and - perhaps most importantly from a "role-playing" perspective - I have encountered numerous quests that had multiple solutions possible, as well as a decent amount of C&C overall for an open-world game. In comparison to previous Bethesda efforts - in my opinion - Skyrim has a lot more depth in just about every category, save for a few that I always considered quite trivial anyway (such as the clunky attribute system and meaningless classes.) The quest design and character development alone are worth a lot of "RPG points" in my book.
 
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I can't say i agree with you that Skyrim has taken a step back in the RPG department. I feel that character development is far more meaningful and ultimately more complex than any previous Elder Scrolls game thanks to a very fleshed-out perk system that leads to great depth in terms of customization/specialization, more involved crafting and loot mechanics, and - perhaps most importantly from a "role-playing" perspective - I have encountered numerous quests that had multiple solutions possible, as well as a decent amount of C&C overall for an open-world game. In comparison to previous Bethesda efforts - in my opinion - Skyrim has a lot more depth in just about every category, save for a few that I always considered quite trivial anyway (such as the clunky attribute system and meaningless classes.) The quest design and character development alone are worth a lot of "RPG points" in my book.

Agreed.

I would say Morrowind had more depth as far as freedom to do weird shit, like enchant a shirt to make you jump 1,000 feet or whatever. On real roleplaying though Skyrim is almost Bethesda's first "real RPG." You have to choose a role, you can play that role out in the quests, your choices have real consequences sometimes.

It's not an open world Deus Ex or anything, but for Bethesda it's a massive leap forward in roleplaying depth.
 
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In comparison to previous Bethesda efforts - in my opinion - Skyrim has a lot more depth in just about every category, save for a few that I always considered quite trivial anyway (such as the clunky attribute system and meaningless classes.)

I just can't see that at this point and I am not a fan of that action RPG skill Tree progression system really. But maybe I am too early in the game to appreciate its depth. Seems pretty obvious that this is no SPECIAL level of depth though (I also kinda like attributes and you know them being used in the game mechanics but to each his own I guess).

The quest design and character development alone are worth a lot of "RPG points" in my book.

Too early to comment in that also but I haven't seen anything above average yet in those areas and the bland personality less companions are not very encouraging either.
We'll see…
 
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Oblivion was fairly popular when it released as well, but it had nowhere near the marketing that Skyrim had. I've seen more ads for Skyrim than any other game in my entire life, so it's no surprise to me it's been selling so well. Not only that, but I'm certain that word of mouth had a large contribution to the sales as well.
 
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Oblivion was fairly popular when it released as well, but it had nowhere near the marketing that Skyrim had.

I don't know about that. I remember being overwhelmed with Oblivion marketing for months prior to its release. I do agree that that Skyrim probably surpassed that though.
 
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I don't know about that. I remember being overwhelmed with Oblivion marketing for months prior to its release. I do agree that that Skyrim probably surpassed that though.

I don't know if I remember seeing Oblivion ads on skyscrapers, taxi cabs, and every possible gaming website I've ever been to. Well, maybe gaming websites, but never outside my house. :p

Although I'd wager a large percentage of Skyrim's success was a mix of word of mouth, advertisements, and Oblivion's critical acclaim. I don't know Oblivion's overall sales, I suppose I'd have to look at the numbers somewhere, but I'm sure Skyrim will outsell it very soon if 3.4m is accurate.

Concerning Skyrim, however, I haven't even thought about future DLC that Bethesda has planned for it. I'm so deeply immersed to the point where it really feels like a complete game. Sure, some things can use some work, but they really did a complete turnaround from Oblivion, enough to keep me entertained without asking myself "How could this have worked better?" (occasional crashing and UI aside, of course).
 
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*Shiver* just reading "Oblivion" and "critical acclaim" in the same sentence sends a shiver down my spine. :p
 
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*Shiver* just reading "Oblivion" and "critical acclaim" in the same sentence sends a shiver down my spine. :p

I was hesitant to use those words, to be honest. Oblivion is still rated very high, but I don't have to agree with those ratings. :p

Skyrim is averaging a 95 on Metacritic (surpassing Oblivion's 94), and this time I think it's well deserved.
 
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Someone point out to Bioware that it has no player character voice acting, lets you choose form multiple races, has choices that lock you out of content and lets you turn the guidance systems off.

I just wish they'd bother to put in some more detailed text in the journal. The way it is now, it's hard to complete a quest that basically just says "Find sword" or "Kill bandit". It wouldn't take much effort and it would add some flavor even for people who like the quest compass system.
 
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