The Elder Scrolls "Perfectly Suited" for MMOs

[StewShearerOld]

The Elder Scrolls "Perfectly Suited" for MMOs

Bethesda hopes The Elder Scrolls' popularity will be enough to interest gamers in The Elder Scrolls Online.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim was <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/114236-Skyrim-is-Bethesdas-Biggest-Game-Ever>Bethesda Softworks' biggest success, propelling the Elder Scrolls name into the center stage of the gaming world as no previous entry in the franchise yet had. With Elder Scrolls Online currently in development, Bethesda is now hoping that the franchise's name will be big enough to draw gamers into the company's <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/117074-Bethesda-Announces-The-Elder-Scrolls-Online>first venture in the MMO space.

"It is a crowded space, but this is Elder Scrolls," said Matt Firor, director of the Elder Scrolls Online. "One of things of having a huge IP like Elder Scrolls is it cuts through the noise. It's safe to say - looking at the lines for people to play - that everyone knows about it. That is the first step to getting a lot of people into the game. Part of the crowded landscape is it's hard to get your message out there. When you say 'Elder Scrolls', we don't have a problem getting the message out, which helps us immensely,"

While Firor is confident the Elder Scrolls brand will be enough to catch the attention of gamers, it may take more than name recognition to keep them hooked. Firor believes it won't be hard for the franchise, one of the early progenitors of open world gaming, to make the jump to online. "Everything it brings with it intrinsically is almost perfectly suited for an MMO," said Firor. "Giant open world, lots of cool classes, lots of history and depth, the cool combat system that you just experienced. That came from Elder Scrolls."

While it's hard to fault Firor for his pride in the Elder Scrolls franchise, it still might be best for Bethesda to be careful not to think The Elder Scrolls Online will market itself. While a recognizable name can definitely help in building up hype and anticipation, arguably bigger properties have made similar attempts <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/117159-EA-Blames-Casuals-For-Falling-Old-Republic-Subscriber-Numbers>only to fall short. That being said, Bethesda has a good track record for RPGs, and <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/editorials/reviews/previews/10239-The-Elder-Scrolls-Online-Preview-Mud-Crabs-Joe-DiMaggio>recent previews of the Elder Scrolls Online suggest the publisher is on its way to building a game that is just as engrossing as Skyrim. If it can manage that feat, it might not have to rely on just the Elder Scrolls name to sell.

Source: <a href=http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2013-03-23-elder-scrolls-ip-first-step-in-online-reaching-consumers>GamesIndustry International



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[GAunderrated]

Sadly I think the same thing will happen with ESO as TOR. Mainly people will get the game, blow through the content in a month, the realize that there isn't much end game content, complain, ESO goes free to play.

 

[Elate]

See, I hear him talking and all I hear is "WE'RE RIDING OFF THE POPULARITY OF A WELL KNOWN IP.".. That doesn't make for a good MMO, that makes for a god damn disaster.

Sadly I think the same thing will happen with ESO as TOR. Mainly people will get the game, blow through the content in a month, the realize that there isn't much end game content, complain, ESO goes free to play.

This is what it looks like, another god damn developer latching onto a big name to produce a half baked product in an effort to rake in cash.

 

[Kazedarkwind]

See, I hear him talking and all I hear is "WE'RE RIDING OFF THE POPULARITY OF A WELL KNOWN IP.".. That doesn't make for a good MMO, that makes for a god damn disaster.

Sadly I think the same thing will happen with ESO as TOR. Mainly people will get the game, blow through the content in a month, the realize that there isn't much end game content, complain, ESO goes free to play.

This is what it looks like, another god damn developer latching onto a big name to produce a half baked product in an effort to rake in cash.

and what? Should we just stop making MMO's even though people enjoy them? Or should we only expect MMO's with original IP's instead of MMO's of franchises we all know and love?

to be honest i really don't care much of MMO's of original IP's, how can i be excited and care for a world that i've never heard of? at least with World of Warcraft i knew exactly what Azeroth was like. At least with Final fantasy Online i knew it would be an adventure with the games i grew up with as a kid.

Bethesda is doing it right (even though this is Zenimax online studios) They built a world that has been bringing in people for years now and people have been wanting multiplayer since Morrowind. They finally are giving us that and we will see how well they accomplish it. I'm not saying that it will be a success or NOT go the way of TOR. but saying that its "just a greedy company latching onto a big name just to rake in cash" is really far from fair when we basically been requesting it all these years.

To clarify im not saying i hate new IP's breaking into the MMO market but very little attempt to absorb you into the world and experiences that come with exploring the worlds they make. Guild wars 2 being the closest but not as much as it could of.

 

[kajinking]

I'm not really into the mmo scene but something seems off about this. I liked Skyrim but that was due to all the crazy stuff you could do with mods. Nothing about the world really grabbed me since it was all just elves dragons and occasional evil god which is found in almost any fantasy world.

The pull of the game was the player and their journey and how you wrote your own story no matter how insane or random that was, kill off the dark brotherhood and run into a talking dog outside the door? Sure! Why not!

I just have no idea how they can capture that magic when some guard is asking you kill 12 mudcraps and bring back their claws.

I really only see this going down the route of DCU or TOR

 

[Paragon Fury]

Which spike do you think do you think Blizzard will mount this game's head on? I'm thinking they'll use the gold w/diamonds one so they can put it right next The Old Republic's head. Because this article is describing EXACTLY TO THE FREAKING WORD WHAT EA TRIED TO DO AND GOT IT ASS HANDED TO IT. And they had a much more viable franchise.

Seriously developers, unless your NCSoft do not bother attempting to make an MMO of any kind. You'll just be slaughtered by World of Warcraft, people will lose their jobs and a crap-ton of money and WoW will just make more money. It's about as good an idea as getting into a naval war with the US; you're basically committing suicide and giving the other side free practice.

 

[Abomination]

I think they've set the series in the wrong era if they want to push it into MMO format. It's an era where everyone knows what is going to eventually happen. Allowing the Dragonborn saga/DLC to be over and setting the game maybe 50-100 years after THAT would be an improvement.

 

[NightHawk21]

I'm really hoping this is an amazing game, but I can't play MMOs anymore

Still I really want this game to do really well since it might lay the groundwork for even bigger Elder Scrolls main games in the future with huge maps

snip

Dude got your shift key check out. You got some of the weirdest capitalization I've ever seen in that post.

 

[Elate]

-Snip

Yeah, people wanted multiplayer, not massive multiplayer. They wanted multiplayer, with the same style of game that already exists.

They haven't delivered that, it's clear as day this is just another cookie cutter MMO, with skills bars and what not. My gripe isn't with established IPs making MMOs. Star Trek Online is frankly one of the best F2Ps I've ever played, and that is well established, my problem is with developers taking existing IPs that they know people will buy just because of the name, an hashing out an MMO because they want to be "THE NEXT WOW".

 

[Cormyre]

They can FOAD along with Blizzard, yet another IP I've spent time through the years learning lore only to put the continuing storyline in something that I will not play. Thanks dicks.

 

[GAunderrated]

They can FOAD along with Blizzard, yet another IP I've spent time through the years learning lore only to put the continuing storyline in something that I will not play. Thanks dicks.

That is one thing that really disturbed me about MMO's. WoW for example: I was the biggest warcraft fan back in the warcraft 1,2, and 3 era. I knew all the lore and loved the story along with the game mechanics. Then WoW came out and I refused to buy subscription and held onto it for nearly 10 years. However, I am no longer involved with the warcraft lore I loved so much because its tied to something that I will never play.

Now that will happen with The Elder Scrolls and hopefully I won't have another fallout like with warcraft

 

[duchaked]

I've definitely wanted the option to play co-op in like Fallout 3 or Skyrim and whatnot, but an MMO is...not exactly what I was thinking about :/

 

[kael013]

They can FOAD along with Blizzard, yet another IP I've spent time through the years learning lore only to put the continuing storyline in something that I will not play. Thanks dicks.

Then read a plot summary a few months after it comes out. [i/]The Elder Scrolls[/i] has it's own wiki, you know. Honestly, I don't see how the lore will be an issue since this is a prequel set in a time no existing lore has talked (in-depth) about. The timeline though, is gonna be a *****.

 

[Soldern]

-Snip

Yeah, people wanted multiplayer, not massive multiplayer. They wanted multiplayer, with the same style of game that already exists.

They haven't delivered that, it's clear as day this is just another cookie cutter MMO, with skills bars and what not. My gripe isn't with established IPs making MMOs. Star Trek Online is frankly one of the best F2Ps I've ever played, and that is well established, my problem is with developers taking existing IPs that they know people will buy just because of the name, an hashing out an MMO because they want to be "THE NEXT WOW".

"They haven't delivered that, it's clear as day this is just another cookie cutter MMO, with skills bars and what not."
1. Make no attempt to look up information on a game in development.
2. Comment on said game.
3. ???
4. Profit.

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7pGJQV-jlzDNBXGWlyGOuIqyMcqYQ9VK Here, watch these and find out more about the game before commenting on it.

 

[Baresark]

Eh.... I have loved TES for a long time, but I'm not jumping on this one. The combat sounds fine enough, but I loved exploring the worlds more than anything and nothing ruins such a personal experience than XxRandomStupidNamexX running up on you and jumping up and down, dancing, or attacking me. And since it most likely will be a game with a monthly fee, that is a turn off for me as well. I played lots of MMO's with monthly fees in the past and I'm kinda done with them. I know how I am as a gamer. A monthly fee is only viable for me if I play that game all the time. Since I know I game jump quite often, any game that charges a monthly fee is big fat no. I honestly would kill myself if I had the free time to devote to an MMO with a monthly fee like other MMO gamers.

Sorry, I can't bite on this one. I also feel that it's a little stupid to think ESO will sell just because TES games are well known at this point. I think I know so many people who have been burned by MMO's that it's only getting harder to sell one to them. Big names have tried to sell games in the past. As others have commented, TOR is about as big as you can get and it made a record change to the F2P. By that time, all my friends had stopped playing it and moved on, so there was no reason for me to play it.

Good luck and I look forward to your next single player game. But seeing as how this all you care about at the moment, I'll just keep playing player created Skyrim content once any good official expansion have stopped coming.

 

[GAunderrated]

Game is doomed to fail as the "internet troll brigade of hate" is already targeting it and unless it shits gold bricks and gives happy endings it has no chance.

Maybe your standards a little low. Why can't we expect a game to shit gold bricks and give me a happy ending?

 

[Smooth Operator]

Yeah TES recognition is perfectly suited to ride the money wave, the rest isn't MMO material at all however.
Best we can hope for is this going free to play within the year so the regular TES program can continue as scheduled.