No matter who is working on a video game or what franchise they might be dabbling in, success is not guaranteed until the title is launched and its official figures are calculated. In the case of The Elder Scrolls IV Oblivion Remastered, it had one of the more unique “big launches” in recent gaming history, as it had been rumored to be happening for a long time, then Bethesda announced it was real, then decided to shadow drop the whole thing on the same day. That’s not typically how things are done, but that didn’t bother them that much. Nor did it bother gamers, who immediately went to get the title.
Fast forward to now, and IGN reports that not only did The Elder Scrolls IV Oblivion Remastered do so well that it topped the US sales charts in April, but its sales were so big that it engulfed what the game originally did in the US back in 2006. More specifically, it sold more in April than it did in the first 15 months of the game’s original release! That’s mighty impressive.
Some of you might be confused by this revelation, though. After all, the original game is hailed as one of the greatest RPGs ever, so how could its remaster be doing better than the original? The answer has to do with timing and importance.
When Bethesda launched the fourth game in the beloved RPG series, the franchise as a whole wasn’t the most beloved thing ever. The previous entry was praised for certain things, but it hadn’t “resonated” with the fanbase yet. Then, when the fourth one dropped and fans got to see how things looked on “more modern systems” and such, they were ensnared, and word-of-mouth helped carry it to success. After that, the fifth entry, which took place in Skyrim, upped the ante once again, and the two titles became revered, helping Bethesda become one of the most beloved developers in gaming at the time.
Timing is everything in situations like this, and fans revere their trek through Oblivion because of how “groundbreaking” it was at the time. That’s why when the remaster was announced, many who enjoyed the game originally, or “missed out” on it, and wanted to wait for something a bit more “improved,” and then rushed to get it so that they could partake in the newly updated version of the RPG.
No doubt, Bethesda is reveling in this victory, and we don’t blame them.
