In The Elder Scrolls Online one does not see itself as an MMORPG and makes that responsible for its success.
Matt Firor, the head of ESO, gave an interview to the British site Metro. In it, he did a lot to shake off this “MMO term”.
One is not an MMORPG in the “traditional sense,” Firor told the online site. Internally, the term is not used very often. After all, one can play ESO just as solo as the other Elder Scrolls titles. However, if one wants to play “super-grindy” with dungeons, trials, and group bosses, then one can team up with others and maintain that play style within The Elder Scrolls Online.
One does not impose anything on players.
The Elder Scrolls Online runs fantastically even “under the radar”
In fact, one is “super-successful” in turning players who had nothing to do with MMOs into online players. The success of The Elder Scrolls Online may have remained a bit “under the radar,” but it is simply running fantastically.
One sees itself as an “Online RPG.” The term “MMORPG” carries a lot of baggage. The term is associated with numerous prejudices, most of which are outdated and obsolete.
One had to convey to players that one is not a traditional MMORPG as from 2004, but an “expansive Elder Scrolls role-playing game.”
For Firor, MMOs today are not a genre, but much more a technology.
By the way: Firor repeatedly used the term “2004-style MMORPG” in the interview. For anyone who cannot decode that immediately. The MMORPG World of Warcraft was released in November 2004 in the USA – it seems clear that one wants to distance oneself from WoW and the games in its wake.
The term “MMO” or “MMORPG” is probably difficult on consoles
My MMO thinks: This is an exciting topic that currently has a lot at stake. The Elder Scrolls Online is “actually” a MMORPG through and through and has numerous parallels to the “classic MMORPGs,” even those before the time of World of Warcraft. The roots to “Dark Age of Camelot,” an earlier game by Matt Firor, are unmistakable. And of course, MMORPGs could also be played solo back then. A trend that has increased significantly in recent years.
The fact that one rejects the term “MMORPG” probably has to do with the clear target group being “The Elder Scrolls” players. This group has become more console-oriented since Skyrim. The thought of “how World of Warcraft” could rather deter them. Too many “nerd prejudices” come up that are anything but appealing.
These same phenomena cause games like Destiny or The Division to reject the term “MMO” and not even come close to it, although they incorporate many elements from the genre.
However, these games prefer new and unburdened terms like “Action-Online-RPG” or “Shared-World-Shooter.”
