Question

Does ESO, and Project Destiny for that matter, point to a new era of MMO RPGs? Yes, I know there is Final Fantasy and even Phantasy Star and others before that. I consider these similar to Dark Age of Camelot or Everques still more fringe.

Reasoning

I argue the biggest reason WoW created such a large fan base was because it brought players from outside the MMO RPG crowd. For example both my wife and I played Warcraft 1-3 which brought us to WoW.

Elderscroll games have attracted many non-traditional RPG console players. The first person action game play, and Oblivion's timely release increased ES console fanbase. It was arguably the best game released when selection on the brand new Xbox 360 and PS3 were slim.

Elderscrolls Online can capitalize on both a broad non-MMO RPG fan base and early release in the new consoles life cycle. Project Distiny is in a similar position; early release in console lifespan and though its not in the Halo universe, Bungie is well known by its fans.

Conclusion

Console connectivity is no longer a limiting factor. If ESO and Project Destiny are engaging well built games we could see a number of MMO RPGs this console cycle.

I would hope so.

By itself it won't but its certainly good timing to find out right at the beginning of a new console generation. As consoles get more powerful and MMOs turn more towards real time action based combat it only makes logical sense that MMOs would work better now in the next gen consoles than they have in past cycles.

I would certainly enjoy it if it did. I love being part of my gaming community and interacting with the various guilds they create for various MMOs, but I know none of them in person. I will say it is easier to build a gaming community that makes clans/guilds or what have you on PC games, but that is also because they have had MMOs for much longer. Now with them coming to console, making a dedicated community and various guild/clans and the like could be just as dedicated and I'm looking forward to that.

Still too early to try the merge the two though. My PC gaming community isn't ready to see a console-based guild as a part of their collection.

Maybe it will, it is going to be a test along with the FF14 one to see if this era is ready for MMOs with big IPs backing them. If it doesn't work out i would suspect many companies will pass it up, at least for a few more years and try it again. On a side note, if their is some success it may just help string along more RPGs into the mainstream market. The amount of actual RPG games comapred to racing, sports, FPS, Platformers, Action games are is rather lacking overall.

As ESO isn't even one of the first 5 games to try being an MMO on console, it can't herald anything. To herald something you have to be at the forefront, not just tagging along in the crowd.

I'd actually like to see MMOs take a step back. The new direction MMOs is going is a dark path of laziness and greed, we need to step back to the roots and start fresh with the old ways and a new coat of polish.

Depends on one key factor(s) for both/either.

If eso which is heralded as including a primarily single player experience despite taking place on a massively multiplayer setting will be charged a monthly subscription to play. Free to play isn't an option with the amount of money being svck into it, but buy to play is more than acceptable for the gameplay provided at launch.

Destiny which is being produced in part by activision, (the greediest company in the world) would probably feature a subscription. I haven't heard much if anything about it's single player. If it has no single player campaign and characters are thrust into the massive world on the onset I can see that being quit messy if not handled right. (Can anyone say spawn camping?) Or a dozen other issues that could ruin the experience in a game where you can turn about face and shoot someone in the face. Unless they make the people who share your faction damage immune to you.

----

Now if Destiny can capture the appeal of Halo it will be pretty successful even with a sub. I watched it and thought it was very halo'ish.

ESO appeals to rpg'ers and those that enjoy the fantasy setting. Wow's lost subs and people who play chivalry and want an open world and or magic system. With a built in fan base it could be the next big thing. But subscription based just doesn't work for consoles that already require a membership to even utilize online features. It'll be a financial success on the pc regardless, and mac. Console though depends on the subscription issue. And if this game fails on the console it will unfortunately impact the pc.

So..a new era for MMORPG's can be heralded by an inferior MMO payment model and singleplayer? SCREEEEEEEEE

My honest opinion is that their intention of releasing the game on the consoles means it's going to be trash on the PC.

I believe they will* ruin their own game by over-reaching.

Skyrim was good, but it left a lot to be desired in terms of functionality, npc populations, interface, etc. Almost all of Skyrim's shortcomings are a result of the game having been developed for consoles.

*Obviously I don't know until I play it, but consoles and PCs are so far apart that I hardly think it's possible to make a game that is great on both.