In the end, TES just has an identity crisis on its hands.
Want to have a good story and likeable characters, and broken yet deeply consequential gameplay? Morrowind is your choice.
Don't care about weaker story arcs (yet better-written guilds) with dumber and nonsensical characters, or a backwards leveling system? Are you for tougher AI that somewhat levels with you, more generic locales, and better combat? Are you both into LOTR and anime, and wonder how they would mix? Try Oblivion.
Want even better melee combat, good skill handling, and sensible levelling? Wish you could make physical objects of superior qualies then anything else made? Want sensible exploration that doesn't always feel the same? Unmoved by how shallow the ability/story/character pool is, as long as you can dive into it? Check out Skyrim.
Don't care about graphics, but want a story that in general took genius to explain how it all happens, and just want to downright explore? Did the other places run out too early, or felt too small? Do you wish you didn't have to mod in nudity? Daggerfall is right up your alley.
Wish all the people and companions weren't NPCs? You might like TESO then.
It just can't keep consistent. At this point, VI is going to be impossible to make with all the demands of the players from the last four - Five once TESO comes out - games. There are two options I can see that might solve all the problems:
1. Four separate, smaller, specialized games - One for melee, one for magic, one for the shady types, and finally one who wants to be a weak peasant who has to make his or her fame some other way.
2. Bring in multiple studios for VI to do specific parts of the game Bethesda seems to falter on. Some other professional studios would just love to work with Beth on making the game. (i.e. Obsidian wants to write the story for for a TES or Fallout game. GET THE HINT BETHESDA!)
In the end, the "required scope" for TES's next releases is astronomical and just can't be done in one game or by one studio anymore, and Beth just needs to admit that is where it's gone.
Want to have a good story and likeable characters, and broken yet deeply consequential gameplay? Morrowind is your choice.
Don't care about weaker story arcs (yet better-written guilds) with dumber and nonsensical characters, or a backwards leveling system? Are you for tougher AI that somewhat levels with you, more generic locales, and better combat? Are you both into LOTR and anime, and wonder how they would mix? Try Oblivion.
Want even better melee combat, good skill handling, and sensible levelling? Wish you could make physical objects of superior qualies then anything else made? Want sensible exploration that doesn't always feel the same? Unmoved by how shallow the ability/story/character pool is, as long as you can dive into it? Check out Skyrim.
Don't care about graphics, but want a story that in general took genius to explain how it all happens, and just want to downright explore? Did the other places run out too early, or felt too small? Do you wish you didn't have to mod in nudity? Daggerfall is right up your alley.
Wish all the people and companions weren't NPCs? You might like TESO then.
It just can't keep consistent. At this point, VI is going to be impossible to make with all the demands of the players from the last four - Five once TESO comes out - games. There are two options I can see that might solve all the problems:
1. Four separate, smaller, specialized games - One for melee, one for magic, one for the shady types, and finally one who wants to be a weak peasant who has to make his or her fame some other way.
2. Bring in multiple studios for VI to do specific parts of the game Bethesda seems to falter on. Some other professional studios would just love to work with Beth on making the game. (i.e. Obsidian wants to write the story for for a TES or Fallout game. GET THE HINT BETHESDA!)
In the end, the "required scope" for TES's next releases is astronomical and just can't be done in one game or by one studio anymore, and Beth just needs to admit that is where it's gone.