United Kingdom, Sept. 10 -- Former Bethesda boss Pete Hines says some people were worried The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim would flop against Call of Duty.

The executive has opened up on the reaction within the gaming industry to 2002's The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind as an Xbox exclusive, and Skyrim dropping on November 11, 2011, three days after COD: Modern Warfare 3.

He told dbltap: "If I had a nickel for every time somebody said Morrowind would never work on an Xbox.

"'Oh, Skyrim can't survive going up against Call of Duty. Same window. Everybody's gonna play Call of Duty. Nobody's gonna buy your game.' "

Hines - who is now retired - remained stubborn and confident in his own work, and he was determined to prove that the critics were ...