Skyrim is Bethesda's Biggest Game Ever

[JasonBurnout16]

I'd like to also think that this is down to an amazing marketing campaign. The live action trailer was very well done and surely got me pumped for the game. Infact it was one of the best I've seen.

I'm glad the game is so successful. Now I just wish I was any good at it.

 

[DracoSuave]

So... why again would they think Mojang's Scrolls as a threat?

Trademark law.

'Okay, this game, The Oblivion Scrolls of the Elder is a clear violation of our trademark, make them stop!'
'Is it? Seems there's this game here called 'Scrolls' that you didn't challenge.'
'That's not even close to...'
'So, you can't trademark the name "Scrolls"... and so you don't own that trademark...'
'..what...'
'Which means you can't own Elder Scrolls'
'..what...'
'Which means The Oblivion Scrolls of the Elder can't POSSIBLY be a trademark violation'
'Buh...'
'So that means we own the trade mark 'The Oblivion Scrolls of the Elder''
'Gah...'
'Which means your product, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, is in violation of OUR trademark.'
'ACK...'
'So, you need to pay us for use of that trademark.'
'But it came out years before!'
'Problem, Bethesda?'

And that, sir, is exactly how trademark law works. If you don't defend the small inconsequential stuff, you're gonna be taken by the larger, actually intentional violations.

 

[Syphous]

MW3 only got more sales because they bought out all the advertising. At my local game stores, they've been advertising that non-stop since the 8th, and not a single mention of Skyrim.

Pretty depressing.

I'm sorry to tell you but that's not the only reason MW3 got more sales. The Call of Duty franchise is one of the largest franchises in the world now, and undoubtedly the largest video game franchise to have ever existed and that's not all do to ads. Why is it such a large franchise? Because people love online shooters. And Call of Duty is that one online shooter that you can safely assume that all your shooter friends are going to get.

On a personal note: LOVE SKYRIM! 40+ hours and barely scratched the surface. MW3 can suck my balls.

 

[Jimijab]

Why mention MW3 in this article? totally different type of game... and a shite one at that.

 

[DracoSuave]

Why mention MW3 in this article? totally different type of game... and a shite one at that.

l2comparison it helps with perspective

 

[Da Orky Man]

'tis good too see. I need to get around to getting it, I gave up on Oblivion after 30 minutes due it having no pacing or coherent story. It just sort of dumped you by a river in a enormous world with no indication as to what you were supposed to do next and said "Deal with it."

I really hope Skyrim doesn't do that.

On a side note, File size Skyrim is actually rather small. Only about 6 gigs, which is nice compared to the recent slew of games which have chewed up my Internet connection and my hard-drive space. (Modern Warfare 3(13 gigs), Battlefield 3 (14 gigs) and Rage(20 gigs)

Curse you, overcrowded steam/origin download servers!!

Well, that's kind of the point of Bethesda RPGS; you do what you want, not what the game wants you to. If you don't feel like doing the main quest yet, then don't. Go pillage some dungeons. Join the Mage's Guild. Smuggle some skooma. Punch a mammoth to death. It requires somewhat more imagination than a standard near-rail FPS.

 

[idarkphoenixi]

I think anyone can agree that the Skyrim delevopers put a ton more effort into making their game. Honestly, MW3 cut so many corners it's just embaressing...

Skyrim deserves all the credit coming its way.

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

garrr

misleading title a bit...

but still, good for them, i am enjoying the hell out of skyrim, it is beautiful in many sense of the word.

 

[Warlord211]

MW3, meanwhile, remains a loathsomely uninteractive shooting gallery padded out with pre-scripted and altogether dull cinematic events, reducing the player to the level of mere spectator in a series which started out kind of alright.

You haven't played Battlefield 3's single-player campaign yet, have you? That abuses the un-interactive scripted sections to no end. I didn't actually think Modern Warfare 3 was that bad on that front, although I still hated any bit of the game where you played as the Americans.

Playing as the Brits was far more fun.

Spoiler

As what is funner that telling a International Terrorist in control of a nuclear detonator to "sod off"

I got sick of American patriotism half-way through the first Modern Warfare.

AMERICA! FUCK YEAH! HERE TO SAVE THE MOTHERFUCKIN DAY!

OT: Good, Skyrim deserves it and so does the team at Bethesda. Skyrim is possibly the single best RPG I have ever played.

 

[RandV80]

I am disappointed in Skyrim and have chosen to boycott it, since for the 3rd straight Elder Scrolls game Bethesda has failed to give us cloaks and capes!

...Really though I'm giving it a month for a PC patch or two to come out, though I am seriously disappointed that I can't have a cape. What kind of fantasy setting doesn't have capes? That's just lazy!

 

[The-Epicly-Named-Man]

So... why again would they think Mojang's Scrolls as a threat?

Because it's entirely possible that Mojang would have trademarked the word "scrolls" and attempt to sue Bethesda because of it's use in the TES title. I don't think they ever thought it would detract from sale.

OP: Before anyone mentions Daggerfall, I'd like to point out that the majority of it's map was empty and randomly generated. It's why they set III in Morrowind; it was small and isolated, and let them pay much more attention to detail than in previous titles. Anway, it's good to see Skyrim get the attention it deserves, although I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a tiny bit concerned by it. We should probably remember that MW3, one of the most shameless re-releases I've ever seen, was a sequel to the excellent COD4. I think it's fair to worry about a series as fantastic as TES go the same way, although it's community does seem significantly more intelligent than the adrenaline, sexually repressed, teenage boys COD4's success unfortunately attracted to the series.

 

[Irridium]

Look at that. A game with no multiplayer of any sort or online pass to "protect" it from used sales and it's set to be the second most successful game of the entire year.

In you're face publishers who think you NEED multiplayer to be successful. And yes, it is an entirely different game from Modern Warfare 3 and for a very different market. But that just helps my point. You can be a huge success by selling to markets other than the shooter market.

Doubt any will realize this though. And will just keep adding pointless multiplayer to justify online passes to their games for years to come.

 

[hazabaza1]

It certainly deserves all the positive attention it's getting. It's damn fantastic.

 

[vrbtny]

AMERICA! FUCK YEAH! HERE TO SAVE THE MOTHERFUCKIN DAY!

Indeed.

 

[Buizel91]

I know players from COD that have traded it in JUST to see what Skyrim was all about...and they love it, in fact i'm pretty sure they are not touching another COD game again... (Yeh whatever xD )

But yeh, this game is awesome, first Elder Scrolls game i actually like! (Morrowind made me feel sick and Oblivion got boring after the Prison)

Speaking of Skyrim...time to wake my Argonian up and go treasure hunting.

 

[Sethzard]

From what I played over the weekend it's a bloody marvellous game. I just wish I had more time to play it.

 

[James Gordon]

Let's see 50+ Hours into the game haven't even touched the main quest past initial dragon fight.....and not ONE mudcrab which is weird 'cause I travel next to rivers if possible in case of random dragon attack.

 

[Outright Villainy]

Look at that. A game with no multiplayer of any sort or online pass to "protect" it from used sales and it's set to be the second most successful game of the entire year.

Not to mention mod support. BF3 completely locked out modders, even though like any good multiplayer community, huge amounts of interest came to older games from dedicated fans. Locking out mods just to sell you some DLC is just pretty cheap, to be honest. So it's really nice to see a company who support mods so openly do so well.

 

[GonzoGamer]

No surprises here. If only I still had a working PC at home it would be 3.5 million and one.

And if their games worked at launch, it would be 3.5 million and two.
I hope that they are actually able to fix the crashing and framerate issues (the same ones they were not able to squash with the Fallout games) I've been hearing about (that I was assuming would be there) because I do want to pick this up eventually.
There's just no way I'm buying another $60 Beta from Bethesda.

 

[Andronicus]

Hey, publishers? Over here! Yep, look over here, please! See? Undeniable proof that a game can still be extremely popular even though it doesn't have some stupid deathmatch mode shoehorned into it. Crazy, I know, right?

Let's see 50+ Hours into the game haven't even touched the main quest past initial dragon fight.....and not ONE mudcrab which is weird 'cause I travel next to rivers if possible in case of random dragon attack.

That's weird. There's tons hanging around the smallish lakes and ponds outside Whiterun. Haven't explored everywhere yet (obviously - this place is f**king massive), but I know there's also a few outside of Solitude.