Bethesda: Bundling Oblivion Downloads Together an "Option"

Bethesda respond to fan outcry over content downloads

Some fans aren't pleased that Bethesda Softworks is charging for extra content downloads for its new PC and Xbox 360 RPG, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.

A new download from Bethesda adds extra content to Oblivion for a fee of $1.99 (PC) or $2.50 (Xbox 360, via the Marketplace).

Currently, only one content download is available: an enhancement that adds elaborate new armor to your horse. But two more updates are being teased on the official Oblivion site. One future download will unlock a new home for your magic user, a huge tower called Frostcrag Spire; Another update will allow players to "rebuild the defiled Orrery and unlock the secrets of this Mages Guild Inner Sanctum."

Bethesda has refused to elaborate on specifics of upcoming downloads, but Bethesda representative Pete Hines told us that he felt fans would "be more excited about the next few [downloads]. They're a little more 'exciting' and interesting than horse armor."

We spoke with Hines about the debate over the Oblivion downloads, and how Bethesda was looking at the controversy.

GamePro: Were the pay downloads originally created for the game and later yanked so they could be sold? Or was the content specially created to serve as an extra add-on?

Pete Hines: It was all started when we finished working on the game, so it was specially created to be additional content. We've been done with the game for quite a while now (it's not like we work on it until the day before it's released), so our content folks have had almost two months to think about this and work on some things.

GamePro: Are you currently creating new content that will later be released as a paid download?

Pete Hines: Yes.

GamePro: What are your tenative plans in terms of supporting Oblivion with content downloads? Does Bethesda have any numbers in mind, or will you just release them as you see fit over time?

Pete Hines: We have a handful of them in the works and will see how they do and which ones folks like the most and will do the best we can to create new content that provides what folks most want to see.

GamePro: Are there any plans to group all of the extras together as a value-priced bundle down the road?

Pete Hines: That's certainly an option we'd have available, but I don't know for sure whether we'd do that or not.

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