With all that The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion money, soon to be Fallout 3 money, Bethesda is stretching its legs a little bit and visiting other countries. While on vacation in Japan, it seemed they liked the country enough to set up residence, effectively coercing ZeniMax Media Inc. to begin directly publishing all of their games in the Asian marketplace.

"Establishing operations in Asia is very important to us as we continue to expand our presence in markets outside of North America," said Robert Altman, CEO of ZeniMax Media Inc. "In addition to ZeniMax Europe Ltd., our direct relationships throughout Asia allow us to bring exciting titles like Fallout 3 to gamers across the globe."

Since Fallout 3 is close to being the holy grail of interactive storytelling featuring role-playing bits, it only makes sense for Bethesda to get itself a nice comfy foothold in Asia. Delivering to such a large marketplace would make the coffers glimmer with unprecedented quantities of gold.

The man heading it all is Tetsu Takahashi, General Manager of ZeniMax Media Inc., a.k.a ZeniMax Asia K.K. "We are happy to be part of the ZeniMax family," said Tetsu. "Extending their direct reach throughout Asia is an exciting, new phase in the Company's expansion and we look forward to building upon their excellent reputation."

Could be a good relationship. We'll see how Besthesda fairs in the marketplace once everything gets rolling.