as for doubts along the lines of, "i don't want guns because it puts the untrained on equal footing with a veteran soldier" or fears that guns might represent "the end of an era"... have you considered that, perhaps, those are the exact intentions Obsidian has re: firearms and this setting? perhaps their entire goal is to provide the setting of a world in conflict, or a world "moving on"?
an actual, well-crafted and interesting fantasy world doesn't remain stagnant for millions of years. if you want it to feel like a living, breathing world filled with people who are living genuine lives, not just as functions waiting for the character to come around and react to, then we likewise have to assume that those people are doing things. could that include, i don't know, discovering their version of gunpowder and inventing the gun? sure, just as it might include devising an easier way to bring in the harvest, or preserve water for long sea-voyages, or how to use sheep intestines as condoms.
a major issue i'm seeing is people either considering this game an analog for, you know, real life and history or that Obsidian is playing it straight, offering by the books fantasy (which, yes, they did say they were making a fantasy game). you realize, i hope, that they are crafting an entirely new setting based on nothing but their own imaginations, right? they're not operating within the bounds of a license or anything. the fact is... it doesn't have to be anywhere near to any of that. which means they are certainly not bound to play by the rules of what we know from our actual Earth or any of the fantasy we've come across thus far.
the truth is, we don't know nearly enough about the game to say anything one way or another and to be honest i sort of wish they hadn't said anything at all until they were ready for a huge infodump and saved us all the trouble of speculation. and believe me, i understand that maybe some of you feel you were sold a bill of goods and expect a classic, traditional high-fantasy RPG and anything that deviates from the mold is to be vilified. but i don't think there's a problem with waiting to see what Obsidian's got lined up.