# Next Elder Scrolls game is an MMO **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [March 31, 2012, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-elder-scrolls-game-is-an-mmo/617358 "2012-03-31T05:50:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Feyrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/fbc32d/32.png) [@Feyrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Feyrat)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2012, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-elder-scrolls-game-is-an-mmo/617358/21 "2012-05-05T03:00:44Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > Cue the inevitable compromises in gameplay so as to satisfy the lowest common denominator in 5 4 3 2 1… > **[First Elder Scrolls Online Details Make it Sound Like Just Another Fantasy MMO](https://kotaku.com/first-elder-scrolls-online-details-make-it-sound-like-j-5907598)** > > The issue of Game Informer packed with info on the newly-announced Elder Scrolls MMO is already in some people's hands and, well, if you were hoping for a game that was basically Skyrim only with real people, you're in for one hell of a... Pretty much yeah, sadly. I guess I’m kinda glad. Played the beta for GW2 last weekend and it was AMAZING, I guess I’m happy this won’t be distracting me from it. > [@Arrogance\_Ex\_Machina](#): > > Just because they are announcing it in May doesn’t mean it’ll be done anytime soon. It might be done in … say, 2014? Most MMOs start the hype quite early. 2013 according to the announcement. ---
**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2012, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-elder-scrolls-game-is-an-mmo/617358/22 "2012-05-05T03:14:35Z")
> [@FinnAgain](#): > > That’s a damned shame, especially since Skyrim proved that you can make a hell of a lot of money off a single player game. and World of Warcraft makes a hell of a lot of money multiplied by every month since its release some 8(!) years ago. there is just no comparison. no one is going to ignore the subscription pie if they think it is within reach. it’s too bad they can’t come up with a single player game in a multiplayer world. where any single player can take down npc bosses, while other players serves as pvp fodder. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2012, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-elder-scrolls-game-is-an-mmo/617358/23 "2012-05-05T06:22:53Z")
> [@](#): > > You can’t own a house because it’s “too hard to implement in an MMO”. I officially hate this man, and Bethesda should too. If the lazy bastard can’t be bothered actually making the goddamn game, what use is he? ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2012, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-elder-scrolls-game-is-an-mmo/617358/24 "2012-05-05T06:53:43Z")
> [@shijinn](#): > > and World of Warcraft makes a hell of a lot of money multiplied by every month since its release some 8(!) years ago. there is just no comparison. no one is going to ignore the subscription pie if they think it is within reach. WoW is a freakish outlier in the MMO market. It managed, partly by luck, to set the right sort of hook at the right time. The publishers of every new MMO that comes along think they’re going to get that kind of subscriber base, and they’re all wrong–by an order of magnitude or more. I don’t expect it to happen again, even if WoW itself goes down. The field is too fragmented. Each new MMO can grab a piece of the pie, if it’s good enough, but no one’s going to make off with the whole plate. I figure an Elder Scrolls MMO will net a pretty good piece at launch, by drawing in fans of the series and discontented players of other fantasy MMOs (who always try the new shiny before returning to the game they complain endlessly about). They’ll post some impressive concurrent session numbers for a few months, then the talk will be all about their subscription numbers, because the sessions will drop off. Then the launch subscriptions will start to run out, and it will drop down to something in the neighborhood of the other non-WoW MMOs. That’s not to say it won’t be successful; you can make decent money at that level, if you play your cards right, but it’s not going to be the kind of income WoW generates. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2012, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-elder-scrolls-game-is-an-mmo/617358/25 "2012-05-05T07:08:14Z")
> [@Balance](#): > > I figure an Elder Scrolls MMO will net a pretty good piece at launch, by drawing in fans of the series… How? What does it possess that TES fans _want_? ---
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2012, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-elder-scrolls-game-is-an-mmo/617358/26 "2012-05-05T07:33:24Z")
> [@Grumman](#): > > How? What does it possess that TES fans _want_? The wabbajack. Turn bitches into chickens. What more does anyone need? ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2012, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-elder-scrolls-game-is-an-mmo/617358/27 "2012-05-05T07:42:32Z")
Unique Daedra artifacts for everyone! ---
**Author:** ![Otara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a88e4f/32.png) [@Otara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otara)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2012, 8:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-elder-scrolls-game-is-an-mmo/617358/28 "2012-05-05T08:36:12Z")
I suspect this is to target all the new players Skyrim brought in to the series. Old grumpy MMO survivors like me arent really who they’re after. They sold over 10 million copies, now they want 5 million subscribers. I would be surprised if they did a single player as well, they’d see them as cannibalising each other, a common fear with MMO sequels. I suspect it will be as stated, big rush, then ‘this is just another MMO and its not WOW’ unless they do something pretty original, and theres no indication they will to date. Otara ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2012, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-elder-scrolls-game-is-an-mmo/617358/29 "2012-05-05T14:57:23Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > Disappointing but not unexpected. I’m honestly loving how damn surprised everybody is considering the fact that Bethesda established an MMO team (and never tried to hide it) back in 2007. > [@Quimby](#): > > I am wondering if single player PC games are going extinct. People wonder this every few months. The answer is always the same… of course not! Singleplayer games still sell a ton (just look at Skyrim) and they don’t require the after-release resources that multiplayer games do. It’s simple math. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2012, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-elder-scrolls-game-is-an-mmo/617358/30 "2012-05-05T17:43:51Z")
> [@](#): > > You can’t own a house because it’s “too hard to implement in an MMO”. > [@Grumman](#): > > I officially hate this man, and Bethesda should too. If the lazy bastard can’t be bothered actually making the goddamn game, what use is he? Yet you can own a house in Runescape. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2012, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-elder-scrolls-game-is-an-mmo/617358/31 "2012-05-05T19:17:44Z")
You could own a house in UO, LOTRO, Anarchy Online. That’s just out of the games i’ve played. I know warhammer and guild wars had guild halls, which are like collective houses. ---
**Author:** ![Headrush042](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a5b964/32.png) [@Headrush042](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Headrush042)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2012, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-elder-scrolls-game-is-an-mmo/617358/32 "2012-05-05T20:28:26Z")
SWG had complete urban sprawl, as well as DAOC (though only in specified areas). EQ2 had instanced guild halls and instanced player homes (my crafter made a killing off of furniture). The tricky part is striking a balance between everyone having a house that could be displayed to everyone (urban sprawl ensues) and giving the player their own instanced space that nobody else cares about (and thus feels a bit pointless, even if you could invite people in). ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2012, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-elder-scrolls-game-is-an-mmo/617358/33 "2012-05-06T00:18:05Z")
As long as you’ve got good urban planning that exploits the non-Euclidean nature of a game world (and don’t give people flying mounts), you should be able to do both. If it was me, I’d suggest at least a two tier approach: major thoroughfares that remain of relatively constant length, which includes most shops and a few exclusive player houses (probably loft and basement apartments as well as inns); and the “suburbs”, which telescope as more houses are added. ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2012, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-elder-scrolls-game-is-an-mmo/617358/34 "2012-05-06T05:08:52Z")
> [@Grumman](#): > > How? What does it possess that TES fans _want_? The name, basically. Some fans of the series–mostly those who haven’t been burned this way before–will see a new TES game and jump on it. “Hey, I loved Skyrim, and this is Skyrim Online, right?” They’ll buy the game, pay for the first month (maybe more, if the company pushes longer subscriptions at discounts). The first few days, they’ll be flailing around, learning the ropes, and–inevitably–getting eaten by rats, but most will stick through the learning curve. Within a month or so, though, many of them will realize, “Hey, this isn’t a damn thing like Skyrim.” Some will stop logging in as soon as that clicks, some will persist in looking for the experience they wanted for a while, and a few will get hooked because MMOs do that. Only that last group will extend their subscriptions when they run out. ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2012, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-elder-scrolls-game-is-an-mmo/617358/35 "2012-05-26T12:56:49Z")
A few more articles: [How combat works in ESO](http://www.pcgamer.com/2012/05/25/how-combat-works-in-the-elder-scrolls-online/) [Some info on the story](http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2012/05/21/creating-the-story-for-the-elder-scrolls-online.aspx#.T7rsM87e0eQ.facebook) [What makes it a modern MMO](http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2012/05/17/what-makes-the-elder-scrolls-online-a-modern-mmo.aspx#.T7WyqO0rwVJ.facebook) ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2012, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-elder-scrolls-game-is-an-mmo/617358/36 "2012-05-26T13:17:29Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > Yet you can own a house in Runescape. > [@DigitalC](#): > > You could own a house in UO, LOTRO, Anarchy Online. That’s just out of the games i’ve played. I know warhammer and guild wars had guild halls, which are like collective houses. And City of Heroes has Superbases, which work fine as work fine as personal housing if the only characters in the supergroup (the CoH version of guilds) are alts of yours. You can also customize the base; add rooms, devices, storage units, various props. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2012, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-elder-scrolls-game-is-an-mmo/617358/37 "2012-05-26T14:34:03Z")
Well, that sucks. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2012, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-elder-scrolls-game-is-an-mmo/617358/38 "2012-05-26T17:23:29Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > Well, that sucks. I almost feel bad for them because it seems like they really want to make something fun but the are stripping out almost everything that makes Elder Scrolls special. Plus what my experience with SWTOR has taught me is that by and large the audience of hardcore MMO players are a bunch of entitled cry babies that burn through content that took 2 years to make in 6 hours and then scream for more. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2012, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-elder-scrolls-game-is-an-mmo/617358/39 "2012-05-26T18:39:01Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > I almost feel bad for them because it seems like they really want to make something fun but the are stripping out almost everything that makes Elder Scrolls special. Plus what my experience with SWTOR has taught me is that by and large the audience of hardcore MMO players are a bunch of entitled cry babies that burn through content that took 2 years to make in 6 hours and then scream for more. I agree, and for me, aside from what everyone else is saying, I really just don’t particularly care to play video games with strangers on the internet. FPS games are pretty fun for online play, but that’s about it for me. A game like Skyrim, or Fallout 3/New Vegas…these games were great because the world was _mine_ and I didn’t have to share it! ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2012, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-elder-scrolls-game-is-an-mmo/617358/40 "2012-05-26T18:59:33Z")
They had no chance to truly do something new and innovative, they started making it in 07 when WoW was at it’s peak. There was no way they were going to get away with doing absolutely anything but “WoW with TES lore”. At this point they must realize that kind of game is never going to be the next big thing. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-elder-scrolls-game-is-an-mmo/617358.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-elder-scrolls-game-is-an-mmo/617358.md?page=3)