Oblivion Sequel, Wii Sims, No Bully 2

Not many new releases slated for this early in the year, but news of what we expect later on is starting to come in. Excitingly (for me anyway), the first real expansion to Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion is expected to be release in Q2 of 2007. It will offer an all-new landmass, multiple-branching quest lines, and the power to change the landscape. There are more details available on The Sims for Wii, as well. The Kotaku post wonders out loud what the point is, as (with its cute graphics and Mii-style characters) it looks a lot like a poor man's Animal Crossing. FiringSquad is excited about PC games this year, with a lot of commentators saying this will be 'the year PC games make a comeback'. With titles like Spore, Crysis, and Bioshock on the horizon, it's hard to argue with that. There's some 'negative' news on new games as well: despite a great reception by reviewers, a sequel to Bully may be hard for Take-Two to justify, due to lackluster sales. Finally, Vivendi has tried to deny the existence of a Batttlestar MMOG. Commentators at 1up are skeptical.

4 pages of article....

[dyslexicbunny]

for twenty games. I wish I knew more about some on the list.

20: Left 4 Dead (Turtle Rock Studios: Sometime In 2007)
19. Pirates of the Burning Sea (Flying Lab Software: Mid 2007)
18. Medal of Honor: Airborne (Electronic Arts: Mid 2007)
17. Age of Conan (Funcom-Eidos: First Half of 2007)
16. Frontlines: Fuel of War: (Kaos Studios-THQ: Summer 2007)
15. Shadowrun (FASA Studios-Microsoft: Sometime in 2007)
14. Vanguard: Saga of Heroes (Sigil Games: First Quarter of 2007)
13. Command and Conquer 3 (Electronic Arts: March 2007)
12. Lord of the Rings Online (Turbine-Midway: First Half Of 2007)
11. Hellgate London (Flagship Studios-Namco: Late 2007)
10. Warhammer Online (Mythic-EA: Late 2007)
9. Bioshock (Irrational Games-2K Games: First Half of 2007)
8. S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow Of Chernobyl (GSC GameWorld-THQ: March 2007)
7. Half-Life 2: Episode 2/Portal/Team Fortress 2 (Valve: Summer 2007)
6. Unreal Tournament 2007: (Epic-Midway: Sometime in 2007)
5. Supreme Commander (Gas Powered Games-THQ: March 2007)
4. Enemy Territory: Quake Wars (Splash Damage-id Software-Activision: First Half of 2007)
3. World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade (Blizzard: January 2007)
2. Spore (Maxis-EA: Second Half Of 2007)
1. Crysis: (Crytek-EA: Sometime in 2007)

Vanguard, 1Q 2007

[everphilski]

Vanguard will be coming out first quarter 2007. Still in closed beta, open beta coming soon. Looks very promising ...

Re:Vanguard, 1Q 2007

[Bieeanda]

That's what they said about Star Wars Galaxies, too. Word from NDA-dodgers is that it runs like a pig even on high-end systems, and is missing little things like end-game content. Given that they're going public beta in less than a month, with plans for release shortly thereafter, we have a problem.

And before anyone tries to counter with something like 'They can patch it in!' or 'It'll be ready before anyone gets that high!', bear in mind how fast "uberguilds" and concerted efforts by shut-ins and power-gamers have hit maximum level in other titles. Also recall McQuaid's last big project, Everquest: the poster child for intentionally broken and incomplete content that somehow nonetheless was always "Working as intended."

Expansion Pack != Sequel

[sglider]

An Expansion pack is not a Sequel. Example:

Oblivion is the Sequel to Morrowind. Nights of the Nine is an expansion pack for Oblivion. The next Expansion pack, named "Shivering Isles", is not a Sequel to Oblivion.

The Elder Scrolls V: "Taking The Customers for a Ride" - would be a Sequel to Oblivion.