Oblivion's Orrery out now

[UPDATE] PC, Xbox 360 Orrery quest now available for download; 150 Marketplace points, $1.89 gets new task, rewards.

For most Xbox 360 Oblivion diehards, the joy over the downloadable horse armor has probably worn out its welcome. Thankfully for them, Bethesda today has released the second download for The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, which adds even more content to the open-ended game.

As previously revealed, the Orrery features a new quest to help the Mages Guild repair a defiled Imperial Orrery. Gamers will attempt to return some valuable parts stolen by bandits when they intercepted an Imperial shipment. The quest also features new powers for characters "based on the phases of the moons."

The download's price comes as a relief to gamers, many of whom were dismayed at the cost of the horse armor download. At 150 Marketplace points ($1.88), the Orrery is 100 points cheaper than the equine protection, which went for $2.50.

According to the official PC Oblivion downloads page, the Orrery quest has not yet been released on that platform. The next announced download for Oblivion, The Wizard's Tower, has not yet been dated.

[UPDATE 4/18] The PC version of the Orrery download is now available for $1.89. Those who wish to get the add-on should head over to the Oblivion's PC Oblivion downloads page.

108 Comments

  • alpha_company

    Posted May 16, 2006 5:17 am PT

    WHYYYYY so expansive....why Bethesda ??? whyy..

  • DarthCheesenuts

    Posted Apr 29, 2006 11:36 am PT

    AWESOME i'm glad it's ceaper than the horse armor

  • Marduk_Tyrant

    Posted Apr 26, 2006 9:50 am PT

    I'm curious about this new development. I guess they try to keep up with games like WoW who enjoys regular revenues. Same with HL2 episode 1 and 2 and 3 and... Everyone tries to screw everyone, its the nature of capitalism. Im gonna be a nice little consumer for now and buy both from valve and betheseda. But if they screw me (i.e. poor quality) i will screw them >;-)

  • darklink676

    Posted Apr 24, 2006 4:30 pm PT

    all the more reason to buy it..........!

  • adamm212

    Posted Apr 19, 2006 9:40 pm PT

    Not worth it. It's about one of the easiest quests in the game. Seriously.... LAME!!!!

  • Hussein_Fatal

    Posted Apr 19, 2006 1:41 pm PT

    Are this guys trying do win some extra money with this paying mods? This mods shod be free, and they shod also support the moders community more. if they showed up some support with the moders i think the game would gain a big improvement on the gaming hours....

  • foofightersrule

    Posted Apr 19, 2006 10:11 am PT

    Well I must say this is a much better $2.00 spent, than for pointless armor for a horse... decoration???

  • dryden555

    Posted Apr 19, 2006 9:58 am PT

    Hope a patch to fix some of the bugs will come before the next 2 buck add-on. great game though.

  • MONTE_BLK

    Posted Apr 19, 2006 9:10 am PT

    You are all cry babies! What is $2.00? Some of you would put that $2.00 to a $4.00 pack of smokes! How did you cheap people afford to buy an Xbox 360?

  • jaycrockett

    Posted Apr 19, 2006 8:56 am PT

    Ok, the quest itself is lame. It does indeed take about 15 minutes to do. But, the orrey itself is amazing! It's visually the coolest thing I've seen in the game, and that's obviously saying a lot for this game. The powers you get may turn out to be not so good, but it will interesting to explore them all.

  • ghsacidman

    Posted Apr 19, 2006 8:43 am PT

    I'm not going to download this, my charector is not a mage and has nothing to do with any moons. When are we gonna get new swords, shields, armor, and stuff like that?

  • SamejGink

    Posted Apr 19, 2006 8:32 am PT

    WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF THE MMORPGer (pay for content & support)

    Guys, do you know many manhours went into building this game? And even if the DL quest is short, how many hours were put into that to create it? how many of you cried foul when Bet. released the 2 Morrowind expansions?

    Quit your whining, its extra content. If you want to play it, pony up the $2. If not, you don't have to. If you want the horse armor, pay the $2.50 to pay the artists that put lots of time into making them.

  • EndersAres

    Posted Apr 19, 2006 8:18 am PT

    Not worth it. Takes less than 15 minutes to do.

  • swizz-the-gamer

    Posted Apr 19, 2006 8:04 am PT

    Done no mage's guild quests, So I'm not getting this! Yet.... Although I already bought horse armour, what a rip. Horse armour sucks...

  • PorkNBeans

    Posted Apr 19, 2006 6:52 am PT

    I'ma PC user and a 360 owner... I'm a gamer first and foremost & would never call anyone an idiot for paying for something they enjoy but when someone who spends over $1,000 on a new PC starts calling someone an idiot for buying $2 content for a console that they spent $300-$400 on it seems to me that the person waving their finger and calling people idiots for paying for content when mods on the PC are free is indeed the idiot themself. End the PC copmparisons, it is null & void when comparing to a console which outperforms any PC in gaming aspects even if they don't have the freedom many pc users get (myself included) we all play games to enjoy the game & big friggin deal if they paid $2.00 on extra content, the big picture here is they got enjoyment out of it & doesn't matter if it is free but for that $2.00 they get something no PC user gets & that's a GUARANTEE the mod will work without a hitch.

  • paradyme777

    Posted Apr 19, 2006 6:46 am PT

    Awesome, will download maybe tonight. Great news, waiting for the expansion pack.

  • skitzocyko

    Posted Apr 19, 2006 5:53 am PT

    NICE!!

  • Eagle2172

    Posted Apr 19, 2006 5:26 am PT

    [This message was deleted at the request of the original poster]

  • Eagle2172

    Posted Apr 19, 2006 5:20 am PT

    Captialism has reached a new pinnacle of lunacy, now were spending our money on buying non-existent items(horse armor) for a world that doesn't even exist. Bethesda must be laughing all the way to the bank.

  • chrisdojo

    Posted Apr 19, 2006 5:03 am PT

    should be free...

  • danmp18

    Posted Apr 19, 2006 4:51 am PT

    Awesome. I need to go download this now.

    Keep the extra content coming Bethesda!!

  • Benny_is_here

    Posted Apr 18, 2006 10:45 pm PT

    Wait... Are people seriously complaining about a new Quest??? Should it be free? Sure! Everything should be free, but it doesn't work that way. They want money for having worked on a quest that adds depth to an already huge game. I think it should be more like 100 points, because it's just a quest and some spells, but it's not like I'll declare bankruptcy. This is nothing new anyway. Downloadable content usually costs money on Xbox Live. Do I mind paying? No. I'd gladly pay them for making my game bigger!
    If you have a PC with high enough specs, it's obvious that you'll be better off with free mods, but this is not a mod. It's content. Nothing is modulated in the game, only added. This'll probably change when the PS3 comes out with it's own marketplace. It'll obviously cause competition between Sony and MS, which means cheaper prices for us!

  • RoboChocobo

    Posted Apr 18, 2006 10:32 pm PT

    I will say I am annoyed by this slippery slope we've fallen down from.

    Yes We've already fallen from it.

    The developers are entirely within their rights to charge people for additions to the game. But there has to be a line to what we pay for. Right now it's being abused.

    Additional Content exists to
    A. Keep people playing their game.
    B. Attract new players
    C.Revitalise the game
    D.Fix the game

    Bungie knew what they were doing with the Halo 2 Multiplayer maps. The maps themselves were easily worth the money spent on them to get them "early". However Bungie wanted everyone to have them. They gave 2 of them away for free at the start, and allowed you to pay for 2 more. Then After the next 5 came out, you were able to download all 4 maps for free, and pay for the next 5. Then finally they were all free. If you were willing to wait you could get 9 new maps all for free. So it balanced out.

    I would have hoped to see small things like horse armor, new weapons, and small quests to have been free on the XBL marketplace. A nice way to thank the people who got the game and small things to get people to get the game.

    Meanwhile Large updates like new Dungeons, new enviroments, and large quest updates to have been pay content(When I say Large I mean either it uses the new enviroment, or it has more than 1 mission in it, like a 5-9 mission quest, or has a expansion to the story)

    However, as it's been stated, alot of this stuff would have been for free even just 2-3 years ago. But it's not longer the past, it's today.

  • dru26

    Posted Apr 18, 2006 10:11 pm PT

    Anyone who thinks this is some sort of new concept should look into MMORPGs where monthly fees are charged. In most instances minute additions are created, adding equipment and quests usually only obtainable by the most hardcore players. I would much rather play a massive single player game with additions purchased at my own leisure, then have to dedicate hundreds of hours of my life to the level grinding, rediculous nature of most MMORPGs while being charged $15-$18 a month.

  • krisr2005

    Posted Apr 18, 2006 9:59 pm PT


    I respect your logic and give you the fact that some points are well met. However, I can't help but think you just got done watching "V for Vendetta". What do you think this is, some kind of statement to corporations around the world? "Aw.. I'm not gonna pay $1.80 for an add-on to a game, disregarding the fact that it adds playable content to a game that I've bought and paid for, thus obviously proving i like the game. Now the reason I'm not going to pay $1.80 is because I'm not gonna support businesses making a buck because they have enough as it is. Yeah? Well I bet its a safe bet that you think downloading songs off the internet for a fee is a dumb idea, cuz hey, I can grab a copy of Limewire and do it for free. I bet those song writers don't care either because they are rolling in cash money to eh? You like Elder Scrolls? Hell I do, like a poster said earlier, if there was a button on my xbox that said "donate 5 bucks" hell, I'd press it weekly. You know why? Not because I dont know the value of a dollar. Not because im a rich rapper from the south. Because I respect the company. I respect Bethesda as a company because they've been true to me for the last 4 Elder Scrolls games I've played. Sure, this download stuff is a gimmick, no doubt about it. But does Bethesda deserve the cash for what they've done and what they're doing? You betcha, in my honest opinion. Just like I'd pay a buck to download a song from a reputable songwriter or artist. Its not about running through the streets screaming ANARCHY AND DOWN WITH BIG BUSINESS OR THEY'LL DESTROY THE WORLD!!!!!!!!! Its about supporting those few businesses that are still for the public, and not supporting the ones who aren't. Now when the day comes that Bethesda becomes TOO engulfed in this gimmicky marketing and business scheme, my outlook may change.

    You're the first person that has actually made an intelligent remark to my comment spydrman5472, thanks for that!

  • spydrman5472

    Posted Apr 18, 2006 8:59 pm PT

    Good one dn3datomiced. Nice logic. Maybe in Elder Scrolls V: Rape the Masses we can pay $2 for every quest because it is so worth it just like this one is! You can be first in line for that ball of $400+ joy, believe me.

  • spydrman5472

    Posted Apr 18, 2006 8:57 pm PT

    Ahhh, krisr2005... You must be so old and so wise. You must be rolling in cash money like a rapper from the dirrty south. You must be amazing at this game. You must never have gotten a decent education. The point of the "uproar" is not that people do not have $2 (actually less) to spend on additional content for a game. It's also not a matter of not having a credit card or being young and juvenile. It's not a matter of making an opinionated post you happen to disagree with on a website that encourages open discussion and debate. It's a matter of principals.

    (Now listen good, this is where the important stuff is!)

    The matter at hand is that many of us can see beyond the length of our own noses. We are not duped by big marketing and big business. We do not nonchalantly toss money into the wind because it happens to be in our pockets. We understand the value of a dollar. We understand that in years past content like this would have been included out of the box or given away for free. And that doesn't just involve old school computer gamers, ask Splinter Cell players on the original XBox. Their maps were free add-ons and it appears these past two add-ons (and it's looking like the next one as well) are little more than trivial as well. And now, before you puff up your chest and tailfeathers stay with me here. The other common argument of "if you don't want it don't buy it" unfortunately does not quite cover the extent of the problem. Because people blindly throw money at company's like this every time it offers them a shiny new toy means that they will continue to do so. The slope is a slippery one and we're still sliding down it. I mean, does anyone truly believe that beyond a small handful of 360 games any of them are truly worth $60? Save Oblivion and Ghost Recon I have seen nothing that truly holds a candle too much further above the head of it's current-gen cousins. And because we as the consumer mass pay these amounts it means that we will continue to pay them, which should be a problem to any true fan that buys a game every month or so (I'm sure there are many here). And don't give me that "development costs more" crap. Who cares? That's not our problem as the consumer until the comanies make it our problem and we lay down before them and let them walk all over us like dogs in the street. Do you honestly care if Microsoft or Sony or whomever doesn't get that nice big fat Christmas bonus this year? Truly? Exactly and you shouldn't. I'm pretty sure Bill Gates sleeps pretty well at night, whether his games sell for $50 or $60. But thanks to the idiocy of the general public that takes part in the gaming passtime we bow down without question. We bow down without the knowledge of the power structure of any commercial industry. The power is in the consumer, not the company. We need to embrace that power and stand up for ourselves in situations like this. Here's to not purchasing any crappy add-ons not worth a lick of salt or even looking at a game that doesn't deserve my dollars. F@!& YOU Full Auto! DIE every EA game released across consoles, save Burnout! GIVE ME TRULY NEXT-GEN GAMES AT CONSIDERATE PRICES OR GIVE ME DEATH!

  • dn3datomiced

    Posted Apr 18, 2006 8:46 pm PT

    It would help if oOsaskOo's post made any sense, but I want to make my two cents known:

    A. I think Bethesda is more than within their right to ask for pocket change for something they put 100+ hours into developing/testing/tuning. If you want to whine about having to pay for something that other people spent their time working on, you are just a flat out ingrate.

    B. I like some of the mods available for PC, but I've only found 3 that have done anything for me, and they have NOTHING to do with the kind of content Bethesda releases. When private developers make the same kind of content, I don't trust it. That's me, but there are others who agree with me, too.

    C. Yes, the pricing is mixed up, but they said themselves that they were trying to figure out what an appropriate pricing point for everything was. This microtransaction business is new, and no one magically knows how to do it right, so CHILL OUT! You're getting an inexpensive quest to make up for the pricy horse armor.

    BOTTOM LINE: QUIT WHINING!

  • holenjd

    Posted Apr 18, 2006 8:27 pm PT

    I have played for over 80 hours and am getting tired of all the side quests, I think I'll just go ahead and finish it now.

  • solidsnake666

    Posted Apr 18, 2006 7:40 pm PT

    i've got an idea how about mods for new quests why don't they make ones to fix the glitches in the ones that they allready have....like mystery at harluns watch i still can't finish the fighters guild cuz of that...

  • krisr2005

    Posted Apr 18, 2006 7:31 pm PT

    Ya know, for the people that are saying this is a ripoff and this is garbage, why bother sharing your opinions here? Do you think anyone gives a damn what you think? In truth, you're probably just mad because you're too broke to fork over 2 bucks because you don't have a job, or you're probably too young to actually own a credit card to pay for the points online, and mommy won't let you borrow hers. Nobody cares about your meaningless garbage opinions, come back when you have some reason to complain, because either your "reasons" for complaining are embarassing or ridiculous, you take your pick.

  • dru26

    Posted Apr 18, 2006 6:51 pm PT

    Sweet, more updates, keep em comin.

  • megaunit

    Posted Apr 18, 2006 6:34 pm PT

    Is it me or is Gamespot usually late with news, this was out yesturday.

  • Destroyeron13

    Posted Apr 18, 2006 6:23 pm PT

    should be free

  • NinjaiOfDeath

    Posted Apr 18, 2006 6:18 pm PT

    It's cool. The powers are spells and you get them until you want to change it according to the cycle of the moon. I find it rather nifty. Worth my 2 bucks

  • PringerOtaku

    Posted Apr 18, 2006 6:06 pm PT

    Got my money!

  • topherstud

    Posted Apr 18, 2006 6:02 pm PT

    Definitely a cool little add-on. Should be fun to do the quest with a second character.

  • bulldog7

    Posted Apr 18, 2006 5:51 pm PT

    yay!

  • Paceydre

    Posted Apr 18, 2006 1:31 pm PT

    Last weekend i played Oblivion together with a friend of mine for 32 hours straight :p

    Even though it's a great game, i already paid a lot of money for it so why pay for more content? It should be free!

  • jaycrockett

    Posted Apr 18, 2006 12:00 pm PT

    Does the Orrery add on include voice acting?

    Personally if my XBOX 360 had a button that said 'send $2 bucks to Bethesda', I'd press it weekly; the game's just that good to me.

  • AlbertWesker316

    Posted Apr 18, 2006 11:47 am PT

    I think people need to figue out the difference between mod, and downloadable content! This download is not a mod, its sort of an add-on,mods are usaully created by fans or by independent game developers to use exsisting software to create a game of their choice, or a completly new game. Dont get this confused with game engines, completly different.Dont the people who have the pc version of this game have to pay for it too, only its a little cheaper? People posting on this topic are getting mod, and add-on confused.

  • Dnom

    Posted Apr 18, 2006 10:51 am PT

    "Have you even seen the sorts of mods that have been done? Or are you just making some assumption that just because its not from Bethesda, it must be junk because people doing community mods dont have any tallent at all.

    So far from what I have seen from the mod community, most of it completely owns what Bethesda is charging for."

    I'd have to agree. According to sources, this add-on doesn't last very long, and from what I've downloaded I've added at least 10+ hours to my game, simply because I want to see these new things I've downloaded, and it didn't cost me a penny and was a simple click, download, click, activate and play (mod manager FTW).

    I think Bethesda are a fantastic company, and I would give them more of my hard-earned cash if need-be, but if this mod only lasts 30 minutes, then whats the point? Might aswell get some custom-made mods for free.

  • superbrett2000

    Posted Apr 18, 2006 10:06 am PT

    [This message was deleted at the request of the original poster]

  • superbrett2000

    Posted Apr 18, 2006 10:05 am PT

    Bethesda add-ons > user created potential crap mod
    ---------

    Have you even seen the sorts of mods that have been done? Or are you just making some assumption that just because its not from Bethesda, it must be junk because people doing community mods dont have any tallent at all.

    So far from what I have seen from the mod community, most of it completely owns what Bethesda is charging for.

  • Supermodified

    Posted Apr 18, 2006 9:40 am PT

    I bought the add-on, and I've been having some fun with it. Not a show-stopper or anything like that, but more stuff is fun.

    Bottom line: if you don't want it, don't pay for it. If you think the content is worth it (after a review or word of mouth), then get it. If you don't think it's worth it, then don't buy it. Or better yet, if you want free mods, get into PC gaming.

    It's all a matter of free choice. I don't understand what the uproar from some people is. No one is forcing anyone to do anything.

  • Thanos_of_MW

    Posted Apr 18, 2006 8:23 am PT

    LOL @ rootATdarkstar. It is usually the other way around, BTW. PC user mods own Bethesda's. The only worthwhile thing to pay (when they come out) are the expansions (with another 50+ hours of gameplay and content)

    I have to agree with oOsaskOo. This is all plain greed. Bethesda never charged for their mods before and just started now that the series has gone to the console market.

    All of you who think it is the $2 just don't get the point. As Osasko said, you must be very young (console) gamers.

  • VolcanoMan001

    Posted Apr 18, 2006 7:34 am PT

    I wonder if eventually there will be updates to the game with these patches? I love the game, that is certain, but I wish they would tweak it a little to reduce the stuttering from loading.

    While we are at it, I sure wish they would make it where you could fire a bow or swing a sword while on horseback.

  • Benny_is_here

    Posted Apr 18, 2006 6:59 am PT

    Now this I don't like: It's not available in Norway. WHY THE HELL NOT???? I've asked Xbox.com (about the RR 6 demo missing), and they said I should speak with the game devs. I didn't bother before, but now I will!

  • spidey008

    Posted Apr 18, 2006 6:52 am PT

    Great news. I will be downloading this additional expansion.

  • rootATdarkstar

    Posted Apr 18, 2006 6:25 am PT

    This sounds like it'll be interesting, and most certainly worth my $2. As for those "PC people" bragging about getting user created mods for free...

    Bethesda add-ons > user created potential crap mod

    And that, as they say, is that.

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