Oblivion fans. And I agree. They are different. Tes fans prefer morriwind. Which I wasn't that much a fan of. =D

If all this turns out to be true, then I'll wait for the inevitable mods that will allow some of these features. Vanilla Oblivion had also tons of content removed in comparison to Morrowind, yet a lot of it has been restored via mods such as FCOM, Warcry, Midas and so on.

From what I have seen this game will still be very good. There were obviously changes that were made to make it a bit easier for newcomers. I will admit I like the in depth gameplay more since I am hardcore into games such as Fallout, Elderscrolls series, and Mass Effect. I love the adventure, exploration, and customization. Some games work better when cutting out some things and making it more easy to learn the ropes, and some don't. Here are some examples:
Example 1:
the changes from Mass Effect 1 to Mass Effect 2. Mass Effect 1 had a lot more customization options for weapons and armour. Plus it had more class options. Mass Effect 2 reduced this some, but it was more successful, because the game play was much smoother and the story line flowed much better. I like the customization of Mass Effect 1 more, but overall I like Mass Effect 2 better for its flow and smoothness.

Example 2:
Dragon Age: origins to Dragon Age 2. This is an example where dumbing down the game had serious consequences. But I think the main issues with Dagon Age 2 is that the game was rushed and it had a much more drastic dumbing down then Mass Effect 2 had from Mass Effect 1. Also the gameplay just did not flow well, and I think that was a result of not planning out the game well, and rushed development. In this case it failed.


So overall from the looks of it I think the changes from Oblivion to Skyrim will be more similar to the changes from Mass Effect 1 to Mass Effect 2. Skyrim seems like it has much better game mechanics and game play will flow much smoother. In light of this I think Skyrim will be extremely successful and has a good shot of being the game of the year. Like you I dont like to see the options and customization in a game get less. But if it provides better game mechanics and more enjoyable game play then I fine with it.

I prefer the game to be more like fallout rather than oblivion. Like someone stated earlier Oblivion felt like a cluttered mess that I just couldn't get into. If they streamline it a little bit more I am okay with it. However, some of the stuff they are removing like huge cities is a downer

I agree with allfreedom!

This is going to be no abomination like Dragon Age 2

It'll be like ME1 to ME2....so more fun but less deep maybe.

@spartanomega

How was it a cluttered mess while Fallout 3 was not?

Morrowind was a great game and the first in the series I played full of neat and interesting things with a wonderfully weired game world. It's combat wasn't great and writing and dialog was mostly bad it was also ver noob unfreindly and slow to start, and the xbox version knda sucked. Oblivion on the other hand was more console focused had slightly better combat but lacked some depth of RPG elements, slightly better writing in parts but had a largely uninteresting game world and the PC UI sucked. 

Personally I would like a mix of 2 and 3 with modern combat systems but that will never happen. I just hope that some of the early talk of skyrim's world being more like Morrowind is true because most of the mechanics can be modded back.

But will their be horse armor DLC?

Well, good news for me, since I have both Fallout 3 and Oblivion already installed on my PC eagerly awaiting for me!!

GOTY right there

Why do modders have to do the work? =( Ah well, better than nothing, I suppose.