Bethesda's Todd Howard has confirmed that The Elder Scrolls IV: The Shivering Isles will be available on March 27 for PC ($29.99 at retail) and Xbox 360 (downloadable for 2400 points). While not unreasonably priced for an expansion -- especially for one that claims roughly 30 hours of gameplay -- Shivering Isles nevertheless will enter Xbox Live Marketplace with an unprecedented price tag. (Good thing Bethesda is no stranger to testing the limits of consumer practice.) No doubt the expansion's price will be met with skepticism when the content arrives on Xbox Live.Xbox 360 Fanboy reports that Shivering Isles might also be included in a future retail edition of Oblivion, providing Xbox 360 owners without Xbox Live access to the expansion. According to statements made by senior game designer Bruce Nesmith during an interview with Gamertag Radio, if sold at retail, the expansion would have to be included with the full game, forcing many fans to re-purchase Oblivion. This is "not really an ideal situation," admitted Nesmith, explaining that current Microsoft limitations do not offer an alternative. Nesmith also confirmed that at least one more piece of downloadable content is being produced for Oblivion. "A fighter stronghold kind of thing", said Nesmith. "It's the one character class that we haven't really dealt with yet, so it'll be something for those guys who are into the heavy armor and the big, big sticks."
Bethesda has also confirmed that the PS3 version of Oblivion will release March 20 (Shivering Isles not included).
