Do they answer the question next Friday?

We aren't here to talk about news, because we have none. We're here because we need to be. We're here to talk nonsense to strangers with our thumbs up our asses, waiting for the tip of the chum bucket. We'll talk parlor room trash because we want to. This isn't a forum for TESV stirrings, it's a forum for people without places to be!

Well, I'm babysitting my little sister... So I think you can understand why I'm here.

Speak for yourself.

3 years and 10 months separated Morrowind and Oblivion's release. It has now been 4 years since Oblivion's release, but Bethesda hasn't even announced TES V yet.

What game came out in between Oblivion and Morrowind? Or was there one?!

No, there wasn't. Fallout 3 has delayed the release of TES V, though.

That's exactly why that happened... Let me think... If Morrowind came out in 2002 and Oblivion came out in 2006.... That 3 years 10 months or whatever... Fallout 3 had been worked on since 2004 (i think that's what I heard)... took 4 years to come out... work began in 2008 for TES V supposedly.... Crap -.- No TESV til 2012 if this is true...

http://i40.tinypic.com/bj7993.png

Yes, I was thinking about that but didn't know where it was

I've always thought that the 1st book was aimed to reanimate an interest to the TES. And second book to support an upcoming VG. In my opinion book and fifth scrolls will be annouced simultaneously.

Oblivion was released in 2006, and work began on Fallout 3 in 2004. Following that timeline we could just as easily assume that since Fallout 3 was released in 2008, work began on '?' in 2006, not 2008. Made even more likely by the fact that Behesda had to show proof that they were using (developing) the Skyrim trademark every time they renewed it. That's 5 times, all 6 months apart.

Work 'began' a lot earlier than 2008. I promise you that. The question is... how much work?

I think your coming on to something... Do we know when the trademark was first registered?

2006

That's what you think, however we know that they started working on the game after 2008. Everything on the chart is factual. I didn't put that work began in 2006 because we do not know that. What we do know, however, from several sources, is that after Fallout 3 went gold in 2008, they started working on their next game. They said they split the team in two and one side worked on the next game and the other worked on Fallout 3 DLC. So if they were working on it before then, they must have had only a handful of people working on it, if any.

When the game is announced Bethesda will eventually tell us exactly when they started working on it, like they did with all their other games. But for now, I'm going by the facts.

Well if they have to prove that they're working on it every 6 months... They've been working on it from anywhere from early 2006 to early 2007. Right?

Yes, but one must first define "proof." Do they accept concept art as proof? Concept charts? It really depends. If it was game models or something, that would mean they would be deeper into development, but if they were just using concepts that means they could have been very early in development. Even more so, it also depends upon what they were presenting each subsequent renewal. If they wanted to (if it was allowed), they could just present concept art every time.

Well, if they want to renew it again (I don't think they can), they're probably going to need some serious proof.

It's probably better to go off the Notice of Allowance date, which is 8/14/07 and is the date from which they have limited extensions.

However, the game's filing date,11/28/06, provides us the earliest date they began some level of development. They had to know where they were going to file for a trademark.

The level proof, is whatever proves a "bona-fide interest" in using the trademark. So "proof", is probably a subjective criteria determined by the trademark agent.

If it gets announced this year, I'm thinking first quarter 2011 release. We might have to wait until Q4 though

Man, you've posted a lot of good stuff in this discussion, but I have to disagree with you on this one. First, I have a hard time believing Beth waited that long to start working on TESV. Let's see, the Skyrim trademark showed up right around the same time Oblivion was released, well about 6 months after. There obviously was some groundwork being laid if they knew in 2006 that this would be the title of their next game. It is very possible that a team composed mainly of writers, artists, and designers, began laying the rough groundwork, backstory, concept art, etc. It's also worth mentioning, that Bethesda has increased the size of their staff substantially over the last few years. I find this interesting. If that's the case, then they could very easily been hard at work on FO3 "and" TESV. Also, the fact that they've mentioned that after FO3 went gold, they started working on their next game doesn't mean a whole lot. It's all a matter of interpretation. Is that a reference to the team that was working on FO3? Does that mean, that this is where Todd stepped in and become more heavily involved now that FO3 was finished. It's all a lot of speculation. And there very well could and probably was in some degree a team working on this game well before that. Bethesda is going to wait as long as possible to release information. Once FO3 was complete, they had to make some kind of statement.

I am expecting a Q4 2011 release with the possibility of a delayed Q1 2012 date.

Exactamundo! Antibody and I (and others) are just trying to sift the facts from the rumors. What you suggest are all fine possibilities, but speculation without facts will lead us nowhere and in reality we won't know the answers to your questions until after the fact.

Ok, we're all pretty sure that it's going to be announced in 2010, because of the trademark. So lets make a small chart:

2006- Work started on the game
2007- No info released
2008- No info released
2009- No info released
2010- Announcement

Look at http://i40.tinypic.com/bj7993.png. Assuming that's what actually happened, then it throws any pattern right out the window because they've already spent ~5 years on it. And to stick with the pattern, they would have to not only announce it before E3 this year, but show it at E3 then release it later this year. Sure, they could easily not follow the pattern, nothing's stopping them. But it seems rather odd that they would wait this long to announce it then. Fallout 3, a game completely different from TES, only took them 2 years work of "Development with no info released." What could be taking them so long? Ok, maybe they want it to be really really good. But then there's the biggest elephant in the room. The quote in the first post in this topic, from Todd Howard himself. Not only did he say they've been making the new game since Fallout 3 was finished, but that the whole time has been spent re-doing their engine. If they've been working on it since 2006, what on earth was he talking about?

It just doesn't add up for me. It could happen, but like I said, I like using facts for my speculation. And all the facts point to 2008 being the starting date. But sure, it could happen. Nobody here is trying to be right, they're only trying to further speculate when this game we want to bad will be coming out.

Also, one has to consider the fact that Pete Hines said that they're working on multiple projects. Who knows, they could have been working on TESV since 2006, and the game that they started working on in 2008 was actually a completely different game. Maybe Fallout 4?

But luckily we can all agree on one thing. Bethesda has to announce it in the summer or else their trademark will expire. That may be the only thing we know for sure.

Most of the ideas presented in this thread aren't based on hard facts. It's all speculation. I thought that's what this whole thread was about?