We know Skyrim came out in 2009,
Just wanted to say Skyrim came out in 2011 (11-11-11).
You all made some very valid points in your preference of Skyrim over all the other E.S games; however I would like to pose a question: have any of you played any of the others? To completion? As in depth as you have Skyrim? DLC's and all?
I would agree heavily that Skyrim is leagues superior to E.S I & II. However I can't agree that it is better than III, and can only really say it is equal to IV. This is only my opinion of course.
I feel like compared to Morrowind and Oblivion, Skyrim has been slightly "dumbed down" or "simplified". The mechanics, leveling system, perks, birthsignes etc. The reason I find Morrowind to be the best and more superior game in my eyes, is the fact that it was far more immersive. Sure the graphics, voice acting and overall scope was lesser in quality, but at the time of it's release it was a huge leap for the genre.
Morrowind didn't have quest markers, and you could only find where to go via word of mouth and landmarks. This made it much more realistic to explore the region and discover new areas. Fighting was much more difficult to do as well, because the successfulness of your attacks and defenses were heavily based on your skill and experience in the type of weaponry you were using. For example, using a bow, at level one marksmanship you had more chance of missing your shots then actually landing them, no matter your cross-hair and direct aim. It depended on your marksmanship to be higher and higher to actually be accurate. Same went with swords, shields and magic.
I will say that indeed Skyrim has mods, and that gives it huge points, but I can argue that all the DLC for Skyrim are it's weakest points and somewhat counteract the modding part of the game. Only slightly however. Oblivion's DLC "The Shivering Isles" will, for me, to this day be the best DLC in all of E.S. This is also to add that there were a ton of DLC items for that game as well, many of which can stand up to the Mods for Skyrim. Armors for Horses, numerous lore building side quests, and class oriented player homes. In oblivion, you also got to pick out what bonuses you had in specific perks based on your class as well. You could pick from one of the many pre-made class options, or you could create your own - whereas in skyrim, you don't get much choice as the bonuses are exclusively tied to each race. This sort of pulls each race in a preferential direction for class; Nords and Orcs = Warriors, Altmer and Breton = Mages, Dunmer and Bosmer =Assassins etc. But in Oblivion, you could play an Orc who starts with bonuses in all Magicka Schools, and with none in armors or weapons. Which for me is true immersion.
These points are all important to take into consideration, as there are a majority of people who only got to play these games via console, so modding wasn't really an option for them.
That's just my two sense, however. I love the discussion guys, great points being made!