Oblivion enjoying epic sales

Last year, one of the most anticipated fourth-quarter releases was The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Besides the fact that it was the sequel to the popular and award-winning Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, it was also the sole role-playing game on the Xbox 360 launch roster--and a fixture for most PC gamers' holiday shopping lists. However, many of those lists were shredded--and Christmas vacation plans dashed--when 2K Games announced that Oblivion would be delayed until the spring.

As the swelling population of Tamriel, the game's fictional realm, shows, the lag in Oblivion's release hasn't dampened enthusiasm for the critically acclaimed game, which is currently the top-rated 360 and PC title on both Metacritic.com and GameRankings.com. Today, its developer, Bethesda Softworks, announced that it has shipped more than 1.7 million copies of Oblivion since its release on March 20. Citing figures from industry trade group NPD Funworld, Bethesda boasted that Oblivion has been the fastest-selling 360 game to date. On the PC side, it accounted for 13 percent of all Windows games sold during its first week of release.

For more on Oblivion, read GameSpot's full review of the game.