Some media are now reporting that The Elder Scrolls Online may potentially head towards eSport. Our author Schuhmann shares his thoughts on this.
Strange things are happening in TESO, but for now, perhaps not enough. At MMORPG.com, a major English MMO site, columns about the game are regularly published. However, at the moment, everything that can be said about The Elder Scrolls Online has already been said: The fourth content patch is coming next week. What’s next on the agenda is already known. The game is slowly recovering from a rough launch, waiting for the next patches, and there is little to report.
In The Elder Scrolls Online, assumptions quickly turn into rumors
The columnist at mmorpg.com is quite legitimately speculating: The new arenas, which are supposed to be introduced into the game, might potentially attract eSports players to The Elder Scrolls Online. Perhaps this is a way for Zenimax to win over new groups.
A German news site is now turning this into the information: There are rumors that Bethesda and Zenimax are considering opening The Elder Scrolls Online towards eSport.
Um, no? A colleague was merely contemplating and speculating. And just because you don’t feel like naming that as the source, you turn it into a “rumor” that is already semi-official and imply that an MMO company has some strategic considerations. As if the whole internet and the community were talking about nothing else, as if the sparrows on the rooftops of Tamriel were already tweeting it. As if there were numerous forum threads and discussions solely on this topic.
By the way, this is the same site that periodically claims that The Elder Scrolls Online is about to switch to F2P. Because… fans demanded it. If that were the case, cannabis would have been on the verge of legalization for 15 years now. Fans are demanding that too.
MMORPGs have a hard time with eSports
Of course, eSport is an interesting idea for many MMO companies, simply because they want the x gamers who play League of Legends and DOTA 2. And since MMOs are currently lagging behind a bit compared to MOBAs, such a new influx of players would be highly welcome. But they are not coming.
How difficult it is to steer an MMORPG towards eSport, was recently seen with WildStar and Guild Wars 2. In WildStar, the war bases, one can say quite harshly, have failed, because not enough people were there. And one hears horrifyingly little about the arenas. Only stories about an exploit are circulating.
And in Guild Wars 2, which would actually be more suited for eSport in substance, much work and energy is being put into this idea. However, it does not seem to take off.
The arenas in The Elder Scrolls Online are, this has been clearly communicated, created because we wanted to give visitors at conventions the opportunity to quickly glance at the game. And since it was well received, they will likely be firmly implemented. But just because something is “instanced PvP” does not mean it will automatically become an eSport hit. MMORPG companies have had to learn this again and again in recent months and years. It is not so easy to jump on the eSports MOBA bandwagon. And whether Zenimax is seriously considering this, is highly doubtful.
In our own matter
How quickly something turns into a rumor, we experienced on our site just last week. Our speculation that H1Z1 might announce its early access date at a Nvidia event landed on four German gaming sites. But our article did not appear there as: A colleague reported on this and he has his ideas about it and restricts it. No, no, it became a rumor and steadily grew. With each time, the message became a little bigger, and the restrictions found in our article faded. A rumor was born, and everyone can do whatever they want with it.
How boring are any articles that speculate, see things from one side and the other, and make it clear that they are merely expressing their own opinions. All concerns are set aside, and the label “rumor” is placed on it, making it much more appealing.
