Bethesda Announces The Elder Scrolls Online

[Azuaron]

OT:Mike please edit it and say Zenimax online is making this and not bethesda games studio
That means there will still be more single player games.

This game isn't being made by Bethesda; it's being made by Zenimax Online. TES VI will come out just fine in 4-5 years like they normally do, and TES Online can suck as hard as it wants without really affecting anything. Think of it as a the next TES Legend or Adventure game. Hmm... Come to think of it, an updated Battlespire type game would be pretty fun...

That's very important information.

I find myself less grumpy. Only a little.

(I've been a "grumpy old man" since high school.)

 

[Tiamat666]

Gee, this will put me in quite a predicament.

I have been rather proud of my MMO-free tradition.

 

[Meight08]

All this means is that it will take ages for the next proper TES game and even that might not happen cause I can see this being a massive drain on resources that may kill-off the studio(mmo have a habit of doing this).

Also the last time Bethesda tried to make a multiplayer game it was awful. Mabye they could have at least tested the water with a co-op feature for a feature TES game?

Zenimax Online Studio... Not Bethesda Softworks. It's in the damn article.

Still doesn't change anything. If BS ain't involved at all then it could easily crap over the canon.

Also my point about resources is still valid as ZOS is money sink of Zenimax who in turn act as the parent company for BS and thus a major source of BS funding. Thus if Zenimax make a massive loss (which they easily could) then BS could be affected.

For example look at how THQ had to drop the W40K MMO due to the costs it have induced upon them.


Off-Topic: captcha was weyland-yutani...is Mr.Scott trying to remind me about his upcoming film; I think so.

They have been working on this for over 7 years if this would have cost alot of money it will already have costed this much.

 

[Lethos]

I couldn't care less about MMO's, but I guess more competition is a good thing?

 

[Mike Fang]

Hmm, I smell a cash-in.

 

[Oroboros]

This is the worst possibel thing that could happen to the Elder Scrolls. I definately will not be buying any further Elder Scrolls games, which is a pity I have enjoyed all of the ES games I have played, even if Oblivion and Skyrim never lived up to the high standards of Morrowind.

 

[DeMorquist]

I can finally live in a world where something Ive wanted is within my grasp....

Are you a millionaire...No

Elder Scrolls is getting an MMO...

 

[PrototypeC]

Uuuuuh, what?

OK, right now I'm imagining Skyrim and Oblivion with people running around in their loincloths teabagging corpses and calling everyone "fags". Besides, MMORPGs have been notorious for not allowing any Role-Playing in the Massive Multiplayer Online world since the fall of giants like Everquest and the rise of that World of Warcraft thing.

I enter a world like Cyrodiil to be a male orcish barbarian, a female dark elf monk/knight, a male Khajiit thief lord (no racism)... not level up and kill progressively harder foes for slightly better equipment. It'd be a hard adjustment to make, and an even harder sell. Besides, there's no evidence thus far that this will be anything different to the mob-grinding golden "!" useless NPC nightmare we're living in now.

 

[alrekr]

All this means is that it will take ages for the next proper TES game and even that might not happen cause I can see this being a massive drain on resources that may kill-off the studio(mmo have a habit of doing this).

Also the last time Bethesda tried to make a multiplayer game it was awful. Mabye they could have at least tested the water with a co-op feature for a feature TES game?

Zenimax Online Studio... Not Bethesda Softworks. It's in the damn article.

Still doesn't change anything. If BS ain't involved at all then it could easily crap over the canon.

Also my point about resources is still valid as ZOS is money sink of Zenimax who in turn act as the parent company for BS and thus a major source of BS funding. Thus if Zenimax make a massive loss (which they easily could) then BS could be affected.

For example look at how THQ had to drop the W40K MMO due to the costs it have induced upon them.


Off-Topic: captcha was weyland-yutani...is Mr.Scott trying to remind me about his upcoming film; I think so.

They have been working on this for over 7 years if this would have cost alot of money it will already have costed this much.

Development isn't the costly part of MMO's it's keeping the servers running in the early days while you wait for the player base to build up in time for you to make a return. Thats what costly about MMOs the long wait.

 

[Ragsnstitches]

This is the worst possibel thing that could happen to the Elder Scrolls. I definately will not be buying any further Elder Scrolls games, which is a pity I have enjoyed all of the ES games I have played, even if Oblivion and Skyrim never lived up to the high standards of Morrowind.

HA... this post is hilarious.

 

[Kahunaburger]

Bethesda is going to try to program a functional MMO with balanced PVP? Yeah, that's gonna turn out well.

Its being made by another studio.

That's certainly good news (unless Bethesda is doing QA.)

 

[Meight08]

All this means is that it will take ages for the next proper TES game and even that might not happen cause I can see this being a massive drain on resources that may kill-off the studio(mmo have a habit of doing this).

Also the last time Bethesda tried to make a multiplayer game it was awful. Mabye they could have at least tested the water with a co-op feature for a feature TES game?

Zenimax Online Studio... Not Bethesda Softworks. It's in the damn article.

Still doesn't change anything. If BS ain't involved at all then it could easily crap over the canon.

Also my point about resources is still valid as ZOS is money sink of Zenimax who in turn act as the parent company for BS and thus a major source of BS funding. Thus if Zenimax make a massive loss (which they easily could) then BS could be affected.

For example look at how THQ had to drop the W40K MMO due to the costs it have induced upon them.


Off-Topic: captcha was weyland-yutani...is Mr.Scott trying to remind me about his upcoming film; I think so.

They have been working on this for over 7 years if this would have cost alot of money it will already have costed this much.

Development isn't the costly part of MMO's it's keeping the servers running in the early days while you wait for the player base to build up in time for you to make a return. Thats what costly about MMOs the long wait.

They have been publishing failure after failure for 5 years they can afford an mmo that performs badly.

 

[Proverbial Jon]

"We have been working hard to create an online world in which players will be able to experience the epic Elder Scrolls universe with their friends, something fans have long said they wanted."

Really? People WANT this sort of thing? I can think of nothing worse than having a view on the Elder Scrolls world with a million billion other idiot users jumping around in front of it.

No, just NO.

Just make The Elder Scrolls VI: Elsweyr and I'll forget all about this little transgression.

 

[Khravv]

Not likely to play it, because I'm not really fond of MMOs, especially subscription MMOs....
I just have one thought bugging me: will it be first person?
I think the thing that I have always loved most about the Elderscrolls games is that they are first person perspective. Probably the singular thing I love most about their games actually.
I'm not sure it'd feel like Elderscrolls to me if it didn't have that.
That, and it'd be neat to see a MMO done first person.

 

[VonKlaw]

Personally I've always thought that WoWs playerbase is so entrenched that even if you released a better game the amount of time people have invested in their characters from WoW would end up keeping them right where they are. You wouldn't just need to be better than WoW you'd have to offer something undeniably superior in almost all areas and even then there is still a portion of WoWs playerbase that would stay again due to their investment.

This so badly. Having also played WoW for years (but managing to quit just before Cata through sheer iron will), the closest analogy I can think of is being stuck with a girlfriend that you know "will do" but you don't actually love or want to be with, purely because you can't be assed to go through the hassle of moving out, splitting up your stuff.etc

 

[fwiffo]

Hmm, I smell a cash-in.

imo this is more like a money pit. I guess it could be good, but really not excited for a mmo.

 

[alrekr]

All this means is that it will take ages for the next proper TES game and even that might not happen cause I can see this being a massive drain on resources that may kill-off the studio(mmo have a habit of doing this).

Also the last time Bethesda tried to make a multiplayer game it was awful. Mabye they could have at least tested the water with a co-op feature for a feature TES game?

Zenimax Online Studio... Not Bethesda Softworks. It's in the damn article.

Still doesn't change anything. If BS ain't involved at all then it could easily crap over the canon.

Also my point about resources is still valid as ZOS is money sink of Zenimax who in turn act as the parent company for BS and thus a major source of BS funding. Thus if Zenimax make a massive loss (which they easily could) then BS could be affected.

For example look at how THQ had to drop the W40K MMO due to the costs it have induced upon them.


Off-Topic: captcha was weyland-yutani...is Mr.Scott trying to remind me about his upcoming film; I think so.

They have been working on this for over 7 years if this would have cost alot of money it will already have costed this much.

Development isn't the costly part of MMO's it's keeping the servers running in the early days while you wait for the player base to build up in time for you to make a return. Thats what costly about MMOs the long wait.

They have been publishing failure after failure for 5 years they can afford an mmo that performs badly.

I'd like some sources on that please. You know like actual losses; cause I suspect even those crappy games they put out don't inncur massive the losses MMOs can result in.

Look lets wait and see what extra info they release but I doubt they've done anything groundbreaking.

 

[SnakeoilSage]

Awesome. I'm in.

 

[GonzoGamer]

I'll be watching with interest to see if Bethesda can manufacture the fabled WoW killer the peasantry has spoken of in whispered legends for the last 8 years.

Short answer: No.

Long answer: No, because while this is a fantasy property beloved by gamers (an excellent seeding ground for an MMO, to be sure), TES Online is up against WoW with 8 years of content upgrades, streamlining, and development under its belt. That is quite literally an impossible hurdle to surmount. If *Star Wars* couldn't kill WoW, what chance does TES have?

WoW will slowly decline on its own over time. At this point, I remain skeptical that any game could ever dethrone it via force - maybe not even Blizzard's own "Titan" project.

It would take a whole re-working of the genre.
If the next generation of MMOs can make things more like the old fashioned sitting around the table RPG (imagine if it was more like a toolset for "dungeon masters" to make up their own adventures/campaigns they host for other players) then we can see something new not only take over but attract new MMO players.

As for TES-MMO, I don't think a lot of people will leave WoW to play a WoW clone that crashes constantly.

 

[TheDrunkNinja]

"We have been working hard to create an online world in which players will be able to experience the epic Elder Scrolls universe with their friends, something fans have long said they wanted," said Matt Firor

Apparently, I was out sick the day they asked.

While the prospect of playing online in Tamriel sounds fun... Dammit! This isn't what I wanted!!!

Come on, guys! Skyrim was a huge success but try not to get so ambitious! I want the series to continue gaining success, and going the MMO route hasn't panned out well in the past. So far, The Old Republic has been able to barely compete with WoW, and I keep hearing its in steady decline as well. Don't do this... I'm begging you...