Why was Skyrim so successful?

[weso1]

This was a question asked on GAF. I thought it was a great question. We all know what Skyrim is, including those who rarely if at all play video games. What made this game so successful? It wasn't exactly a hand holding game, like Mario, that anyone can easily play. But yet it sold like a Mario game. Why? I feel like there was this internet hype surrounding the game, but I'm not sure why that hype occurred.

[The Chosen One]

The arrows to the knee and stuff.

[weso1]

The arrows to the knee and stuff.

It wasn't the first game that did stuff like that though.

[zitothebrave]

If I had to guess, the combination of an overall poor console generation for RPGs mixed with insanely high reviews.

Also I think people really enjoy games like Elder Scrolls and GTA that let you do whatever you want with little direction.

[TURBO]

The mods have the Skyrim on the PC going. High def ones, nude ones, all kinds of things. So much fun to mess around with them all. Didnt know you read gaf. I read there a bit. Disagree with a ton of ttheir policies though. They are SonyGaf

[Gary82]

Sandbox game. Dragons. Dragon shouts. Endless things to do. Great music and actors. Beautiful scenery. RPG stuff like leveling up and acquiring bad ass equipment that you can create. Hilarious glitches. Arrows to the knee

[Gary82]

This was a question asked on GAF. I thought it was a great question. We all know what Skyrim is, including those who rarely if at all play video games. What made this game so successful? It wasn't exactly a hand holding game, like Mario, that anyone can easily play. But yet it sold like a Mario game. Why? I feel like there was this internet hype surrounding the game, but I'm not sure why that hype occurred.

I don't know the numbers, but oblivion was a great game as well. I don't know how much that played into the hype, but I'll be super hyped if they ever release another fallout or elder scrolls game again.

[CyYoung31]

We all agree that Morrowind was the best, right?

[Gary82]

We all agree that Morrowind was the best, right?

I've never played Morrowind. Yes I know that may be banworthy.

[jpx7]

Bethesda is awesome, plan and simple. Fallout 3 was amazing, as well.

I don't play video games as much as I used to pre-College (or in the months immediately post-College)—and, sometimes, I feel like I'm not playing video games as much as I should be—but I've owned a 360 almost exclusively for the Elder Scrolls and Fallout franchises.

[Dalyn]

Morrowind.

[AerchAngel]

Have them all and they are collecting dust. Do not play games like I used to. WarCrack and Rouge De Noir Solitaire all I play since Yahoo do not have live pinochle any more.

[keithlaw]

Obsidian is awesome, plain and simple. Fallout New Vegas was amazing, as well.


FTFY

[jpx7]

FTFY

Slowly playing through New Vegas right now, and very pleasantly surprised—I was skeptical initially, having read it'd be licensed out, but it's nice that (I'm told) the world of New Vegas really harkens back to what was good about the first two Fallout games from the 1990s. And the "Old World Blues" DLC is great.

Nonetheless, Bethesda > Obsidian. However I am interested to see if The Stick of Truth can be awesome enough to potentially ameliorate some of the circa-sixth-grade anguish I still retain from buying the first South Park video game (N64) with $50 of Christmas money, getting it home from the mall, and realizing it was just Turok with a South Park skin.

[zitothebrave]

Stick of Truth is great but not very long unless you go foe 100. Can play throught the storylines in a handful of hours

[weso1]

Bethesda is a top 5 studio right now, no doubt about it. F' it, I'm going to rank them.

1. Nintendo EAD- They still make great games, sure they are aimed at kids mostly but they've consistently but out a ton of good games. Love playing these games with my kids.
2. Bethesda - Fallout and Elder Scrolls - Elite open world games that somehow resonate to the entire gaming community.
3. Rockstar - Great open world games as well. Intelligent enough to realize that if you're going to make a realistic open world car racing/chasing game you better make the protagonist a bad guy.
4. Retro Studios - I think their lowest rated game is in the high 80's on metacritic. Some variety in gameplay with 2d platforming and first person shooting/platforming. The Metroid Prime Trilogy is a must play for all those who like video games.
5. Naughty Dog - Pretty much own the third person action adventure genre. But I'd like to see them do something other than a third person shooter/survival. I think they are a bit overrated, but still deserve a spot in the top 5.

[Julio3000]

I grew up on Fallout. I played Wasteland as a kid, on a Commodore 64. New Vegas was everything that was right about that experience. As good as Fallout 3 was, New Vegas is the true heir to the throne.

[Gary82]

I grew up on Fallout. I played Wasteland as a kid, on a Commodore 64. New Vegas was everything that was right about that experience. As good as Fallout 3 was, New Vegas is the true heir to the throne.

I enjoyed what I played of New Vegas, but the copy I had had a game breaking bug. I ended up selling it back to gamestop.

If they have the bugs under control, I'd give it another try.

[zitothebrave]

Valve and Blizzard for sure over Retro and Naughty Dog. Naughty Dog has what 1 great franchise and one other great game? Retro is just an arm of Nintendo. Valve has Half Life, Portal, Dota,Counter Strike, Left4Dead, and TF2. Blizzard really only had 3 IPs, but those 3 IPs are 3 of the biggest in the gaming world with Warcraft, Starcraft, and Diablo.

If I had to rank mine I'd go

1. Valve
2. Rockstar
3. Bethesda
4. Nintendo
5. Blizzard

The shame for me is there are 2 that used to be my favorites but have sucked after big acquisitions being Rare and Bioware. Rare was amazing as Nintendo's right arm. Killer Instinct, Donkey Kong everything, Blastcorps, Goldeneye, Banjo and Kazooie, Jet Force Gemini, and Perfect Dark to name a few. Then Microsoft bought them and pretty much nothing happened. They've made a conker game for XBox, a PD game that I think was XBox arcade, the Viva Pinata series and Kinect sports. Shame from a former powerhouse. Bioware was legendary before EA bought them out. Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, KOTOR and Mass Effect. Then EA came in and turned it to a much lesser studio, while still releasing good games, not on that legendary level.

[CyYoung31]

I grew up on Fallout. I played Wasteland as a kid, on a Commodore 64. New Vegas was everything that was right about that experience. As good as Fallout 3 was, New Vegas is the true heir to the throne.

This.