All I can think in this Western RPG discussion is that it's clear that none of you have played Fallout 2 or Gothic 2. They represent the current peaks of the genre, not Oblivion, even though they're a little old now. Oblivion is good for what it is, but it's also got a very generic/empty/goalless feel to it. You just charge through the same dungeons over and over and "persuade" the same shopkeepers over and over. It's graphically beautiful, there's no way to really deny that, but graphics are not the most important feature in a game. Obviously the D&D world of NWN/Baldur's Gate/Elder Scrolls is going to keep selling because it's popular, but there really are other games out there in the genre, you just have to find them.

Hopefully Gothic 4 will demonstrate this because it's set for console release as well, but we'll see if they're true enough to the series to make a good show of it.