...but CONTINUAL sales of the game long after launch and a VERY high support of the DLC/mod player community does indicate a VERY well received and healthy game.

I mean, compare it with Diablo 3. D3 broke massive records the first week. But 3 weeks later? BLAM! sales were dead and players were leaving D3 in droves... Skyrim is NOT having that problem clearly right now.

Keep in mind how close to Vaarenfell the bloody island is........and what happened a couple centuries past. Big volcano go boom? A magically suspended cometary body suddenly resuming its fall, at its original velocity, and turning Vivec city into a crater known as the Scathing Bay? (that would put the blast effects up into the multi-megaton range, btw). Both of those events probably ensured the abandonment of the island....assuming the blast didn't simply flatten anything standing. The Nords might have given the Dunmer the island because there was nothing left, and they didn't want to bother with it....

I cant wait to see a Netch with the new fangled Skyrim graphics and animations.

Give me a province a year, and I'll be happy

But they need to look into balance and flexibility
Most peoples find that
(1) they are overpowered
(2) they want more perks, skills, spells, etc

It seem contradictory but isn't
a game become dull without enought variety
It's fun to be able to do many different things without restarting a new character

likewise I'm proving with my current character that 'overpowering' come from multiperks
right now I limit all perks to 1 level and challenge increased a lot (at master difficulty)
which makes the game way more fun

try taking down a giant with no more than 1 point in each perk - it's nasty
I was using a full stock of potions, poisons, conjuration spells, and what not, on top of my bow

my old archer, at the same level, would chew a giant in just a few arrows - boring - and same for dragons - at master difficulty

revamp of skill systems are not new, diablo II did it on it's expansion, just need to be carefull

as we don't have seasonal changes, i believe the game have started in the summer/spring just for the diferences in the holds climates be evident, i mean,
i don't live in canada, but i believe that in winter that country is covered with snow, while in other seasons it is not, i am right?

I don't see how that's relevant in the slightest ...
But to a degree it does. More sales = more cash. More cash = more to pour into DLC/expansions/patches.

Besides, I'd say the good product led to the good sales. No one would buy any DLC if the product wasn't any good.

Not quite, according to the uesp(MW wiki), " Most of the island(Vvardenfell) was covered in ash, forcing much of the population to leave for the island of Solstheim."

So this means that, apparently, Solstheim was the only safe habitable place to find shelter. Further more, Vvanderfell wasn't completely obliterated since some still decided to stay in Vvardenfell, which one can logically assume that there was still life there to be made.

I thought the climate/landscape of Skyrim was supposed to be based on Norway. If that's the case I'd say they got it pretty bob on.