Elder Scrolls MMO? Way to kill your brand, Bethesda

But here’s the secret, guys: you can’t out World of Warcraft World of Warcraft. It’s silly to even try. That game has a what, 10 year head start on any new MMO? Here’s my ultimate concern with the idea of an Elder Scrolls MMO: The Elder Scrolls games have always been premium quality. The best possible games in the genre that developers can make. The Elder Scrolls MMO will not be that.

[Amazingmrbrock]

His big thing is that betheseda games are buggy and it will kill this.

Sure yeah they're totally buggy, buuuut this games being made by a totally different team. I'm sure they use a few of the same resources, but they also have been working on this for years so far. I'm sure the people involved know they can't put out a buggy game.

And some stuff about there being too many studios making mmos and how everyone should leave it to world of warcraft.

[RedDead]

Yeha bethesda ain't making this even. It's like saying Fallout new vegas is made by Bethesda.

[inveni0]

The problem with this game is that people want Skyrim Mutiplayer. If this game is not Skyrim Multiplayer, it is not what people want. That doesn't mean they won't like it, and that doesn't mean it won't sell well and be profitable for a time. It's just not what people are salivating for.

[MysticStrummer]

If the massive coding problems with every single ES game haven't killed the brand, an MMO won't kill it either. I would love an ES MMO. The premise of this article is just stupid. There's a game at the top of it's genre, which there always is by the way, so no one should bother trying to outdo it??? Holy crap that's insane. For those people below who say those screen shots don't look like a game in the ES universe, you are insane also.

[Sony360]

Because bugs really stopped the games being awesome to begin with.

[Kamikaze135]

Yeah....I love the Elder Scroll series, but this is just a horrible idea. Just release multiplayer DLC for Skyrim and I'll be happy =x

[VanillaBear]

The fact that it looks nothing like an Elder Scrolls game makes it even worse.

You can't even tell they are set in the same universe

[zslash]

Uh... we haven't even seen any screens yet.

[VanillaBear]

...Really

http://n4g.com/news/991748/...

[zslash]

Thanks for the link. I haven't seen those screens anywhere else, so yeah...

Underwhelming graphics aside, I don't agree that it doesn't look at all like an Elder Scrolls game though.

[Spydiggity]

it looks pretty Elder Scrollsy to me.

...but if it ends up being another formulaic, dice-roll mmo, count me out.

also, i don't see how this "ruins the brand." it's a hugely popular series. people don't just give up on a franchise cuz of one potential mistake.

need evidence of this? look at the star wars prequels. and 90% of the star wars games.

[nikrel]

I read that you can not be the master of all, it will follow more traditional mmo style. Where you focus on one tree, this is archaic games like dcuo give you the option to dps or play a role in the same class using the same skills. I see mmos with less restriction the way of the future, not pigeon holing into roles.

[Drake117]

Actually this game breaks out of the traditional mmo class style with no set healers tanks or dps. All the classes in the game can rely on themselves to stay alive and they are also moving away from the aggro mechanic. Actually besides from some of the combat mechanics this game is moving pretty far away from the traditional mmo. Read the pages in the game informer mag it explains it all.

[modesign]

star wars brand was popular with the n64/ps2 era. so far the brand has fizzled out. how many people bought force unleashed 2, not alot.

[MattyG]

It's a little too colorful and Kingdoms of Amalurish for me.

[admiralthrawn87]

you mean it doesn't look like skyrim? have you played morrowind, oblivion, shivering isles? the style of the entire world varies a lot. This games style is believable for the IP.

Not saying i'm looking forward to this game, because i'm really not.

[Genecalypse]

This looks fucken horrible. Hotkey bars and no first person are nails in the coffin. Its like the developers made a completely different game and needed brand recognition so they used The Elder Scrolls series. TES has always been sort of low fantasy, these screenshots look like Everquest or WoW, massive color infusion. At most TES could have co-op with a friend or something.

This whole thing seems so redundant, TES games are supposed to already simulate a real living breathing world, filled with characters that have their own "lives" so to speak. We dont need an MMO that attempts(AND FAILS) to fulfill that aspect.

This game goes against key concepts and mechanics established in all TES games. I expect massive lore rape. Imagine for a second running into the Imperial City and seeing 12 year olds spamming ARROW TO THE KNEE, this shit happens in MMOs and TES Online wont be any different.

--Ebonheart Pact: The Nords, Dunmer, and Argoninans

Did they forget the Dunmer kept Argonians as slaves and after Red Mountain erupted the Argonians raided and slaughtered the Dunmer?

Todd Howard doesnt remember.

IMPERIALS are enemies in this game, does that make sense to anyone? This doesnt look like an Elder Scrolls game, simple as that

more info: http://www.neogaf.com/forum...

[Drake117]

This happens 1000 years b4 Skryim. Read much?

[Skizelli]

"But here’s the secret, guys: you can’t out World of Warcraft World of Warcraft. It’s silly to even try. That game has a what, 10 year head start on any new MMO?"

So, what, no game should even try? Not to mention WoW was released in late 2004, and before WoW there was Ultima Online, EverQuest, Nexus and Lineage, all of which were very popular MMOs at the time. WoW may have defined the genre, but it also proved that anything can be dethroned. Do you know why so many people love WoW? Because it's so fucking easy (that's coming from somebody who played it for 5 years), and they continue to make it even easier.

I've always wanted multiplayer in an Elder Scrolls game. I'm not sure if this is the way I'd go about it, but why even compare it to WoW in the first place? It doesn't have be the next WoW.

[Genecalypse]

They had a chance to make it truly unique, but it looks like standard traditional MMO gameplay. No first person, hotkeys, can't master every discipline, "standard MMO kill and collection quest" blegh. Not to mention taking out things from the series that are awesome ie Vampires/werewolves

[Skizelli]

I don't know too much about it, but I know better than to judge a game before it goes final.

[jrbeerman11]

no they shouldn't try, because every game company doesn't need to make an MMO.

[Skizelli]

"But here’s the secret, guys: you can’t out World of Warcraft World of Warcraft. It’s silly to even try. That game has a what, 10 year head start on any new MMO?"

So, what, no game should even try? Not to mention WoW was released in late 2004, and before WoW there was Ultima Online, EverQuest, Nexus and Lineage, all of which were very popular MMOs at the time. WoW may have defined the genre, but it also proved that anything can be dethroned. Do you know why so many people love WoW? Because it's so fucking easy (that's coming from somebody who played it for 5 years), and they continue to make it even easier.

I've always wanted multiplayer in an Elder Scrolls game. I'm not sure if this is the way I'd go about it, but why even compare it to WoW in the first place? It doesn't have be the next WoW. Just because tens of millions of people play one game doesn't make it better than another. Case in point: Call of Duty.

[Skizelli]

Ugh, didn't mean to double post. Please ignore.

[MorbidPorpoise]

''I've always wanted multiplayer in an Elder Scrolls game.''

Same, really didn't want a MMO, would've rather had it the same as standard Elder Scrolls, but having a bunch of friends to roam around the lands with (just like the Multiplayer mod for Skyrim), so it scales with the amount of people you have in the game.

[Pekolie]

*sighs* classic case of devs giving gamers what they ask for and having gamers unimpressed in what they asked for...

[MattS]

This gamer wanted Elder Scrolls VI and never, ever asked for a MMO.

[Pekolie]

... Elder scrolls multiplayer has been wanted by fans of the franchise for something along the lines of a decade. So sorry if YOU dont want it but the hardcore ES fans do.

[MattS]

I've played all five Elder Scrolls games to completion (even Daggerfall), and would have spent over 100 hours in each of the last three.

Hardcore enough for you?

Just to clarify the point before this inevitably degenrates into silly bickering - you don't speak for the entire gaming population any more than I do. I never asked for an Elder Scrolls MMO and therefore I am fully entitled to question Bethesda's direction in making one.

[MysticStrummer]

You still don't get it MattS. Your opinion is your opinion, not the opinion of all gamers. I've played every ES game also and I would LOVE an MMO set in that universe.

[MattS]

MysticStrummer - I'm not sure you get it. My opinion is my opinion and I'm as entitled to say I think an Elder Scrolls MMO is a terrible idea as you're entitled to look forward to it.

[jrbeerman11]

I wonder how many of the people asking for MMO's are the same people complaining about DLC.

[MacUser1986]

I hope this makes it to consoles in some form, I don't PC game and I own a Mac

[Bladesfist]

How? It uses hotkeys, and they are not going to release a game on console that does not work with the native control method. That is like releasing a game on pc that does not support KB/M

[titans9999]

As long as Bethesda doesn't abandon the single player games (ES6,7, and beyond) then I don't care either way. I WILL NOT buy this game, ESPECIALLY if there is a subscription!!! UNACCEPTABLE BETHESDA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[exsturminator01]

I'm not buying it either (can't get into MMO's; tried a lot, failed a lot), but just fyi, Zenimax Online is developing. Bethesda is doing its own projects (probably Skyrim DLC and Fallout 4 imo), and this is a new dev working on the MMO. It's the same parent company as Bethesda (Zenimax), but Bethesda isn't doing anything for this game as far as they've announced. Hopefully that means this will have nil effect on the single player titles (but I've been wrong before).

[jrbeerman11]

may not have direct effect, but zenimax's resources are not infinite.

[exsturminator01]

@jrbeerman11, this is true, though I'm less worried about that. Zenimax published Rage, Hunted, and Brink in addition to Skyrim in the last year, and they're publishing Dishonored this year alongside plans for an Elder Scrolls MMO. If they run out of funds, they'll probably cut off some of their new IP plans and push that money into Fallout and Elder Scrolls.