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Bethesda's Hines on ESO console delay
Bethesda VP of PR Pete Hines spoke to CVG recently, and while the thrust of the interview focused on the company's interests outside of MMORPGs, there were some tidbits relating to The Elder Scrolls Online's console delay. It's a closed system. It's not just an ESO thing -- they have rules and regulations that govern all games, if you're going to do something it has to work a certain way. It doesn't matter the way that we want to do it -- it has to fit their requirements. I'll give you an easy example; payments. When we do stuff on PC, we manage it ourselves, it goes through our store, we manage the whole thing. When it goes through somebody else, that someone is doing all of that; taking your money, charging your PayPal, and then transferring that information to us. This is just inherently a different process than the one that we have, where it's our store and we just have to make sure our system works. It's the same thing on PSN -- you have to just make sure that all of that stuff communicates. When you start adding up the pile of things and everything that we learned from launch, it was clear that we needed to take the time to do this right, because it has massive ramifications if it doesn't work right for the consumer experience.
ESO's sub model was a 'mutual decision' between Bethesda and ZeniMax
Elder Scrolls Online's subscription model wasn't handed down from on high by parent company ZeniMax. It was instead a "mutual decision" between ZeniMax and Bethesda, according to company PR guru Pete Hines. "It wasn't like they decided it, and we didn't mandate it. There was a lot of conversation around it," he told Games.On.Net. Hines also explained that the future of ESO's business model will depend entirely on whether customers see the game as a fair value, and not on prevailing industry trends. "What's going to determine whether or not it succeeds or fails is not really tied to what anyone else has done, it's tied to 'do we make a strong enough argument for the value that you get for your fifteen dollars,'" Hines said. "If we're providing the kind of content people want to see where they're like 'this is awesome, I'm having a blast, this new stuff is totally worth it and I'm having fun,' then the subscription totally works."
Elder Scrolls monthly content will go beyond 'a new sword or a funny hat'
In a recent interview with Gamespot, Bethesda's VP of PR, Pete Hines, described what the publisher sees as a value proposition for The Elder Scrolls Online's $14.99-a-month sub fee. "We're also very confident in our ability to support [the sub fee] with content. And not content of the magnitude of, it's a new month, here's a new sword or here's a funny hat -- but content that is real and significant and it feels like regular and consistent DLC releases." Hines went on to describe what he sees as the major factor that will separate TESO from the sea of games launching as F2P: "We're not trying to make a game that everybody who plays games will automatically buy. It is a certain kind of game. There [are] no shooter elements. There [are] no aliens. It is a massive 'go where you want, do what you want' game that we think offers the kind of experience that's worthy of a subscription."
Elder Scrolls Online inviting 'millions' for stress test while fretting over sub model
This looks to be a big weekend for The Elder Scrolls Online's beta program, as ZeniMax is "inviting millions" for a scale test. ESO invitees will also receive an extra code for a friend and an exclusive monkey vanity pet for launch. The studio noted that the NDA will not be in effect for this weekend's test, meaning that any public discussion, screenshots, or videos are fair game. In a conversation with CVG, Bethesda VP of PR Pete Hines said that there is some anxiety in the company over the subscription model not taking hold for ESO but hopes that players will find the value of the game worth the monthly payment. "We feel like this approach is going to give people who want to play the best value, and reason to look forward to the next new thing that's coming out," Hines explained. "The Elder Scrolls is our crown jewel and it's the series that made everything we do possible, so it's a big triple-A title that demands huge, ongoing triple-A support."
Bethesda pushing for Elder Scrolls Online without Xbox Live Gold fees
If you want to play online games on Microsoft's Xbox One console, you'll need to pony up the cash required for an Xbox Live Gold subscription. This small sticking point means that free-to-play games aren't necessarily free-to-play (a point lamented by Wargaming.net CEO Victor Kislyi) and that subscription-based games like The Elder Scrolls Online will have their sub cost increased by the monthly cost of Gold. Bethesda's Pete Hines is aware that Xbox One players may not necessarily want to eat a $14.99 per-month subscription fee in addition to the fees associated with Xbox Live Gold, revealing that work is going on behind the scenes to make TESO exempt from the Gold requirement. We have been in talks with Microsoft about that very thing, and seeing whether or not there's any room to change their minds about that for folks who are only playing The Elder Scrolls Online and don't want to pay for an Xbox Live Gold subscription just to play The Elder Scrolls Online. The answer right now is that's the way it works, but it's something that we're aware of and we keep pushing on to see if there's something that can be done. Though we've seen no explicit information on whether a PS Plus subscription will be required for PS4 Elder Scrolls Online players, Sony has previously mentioned that Plus requirements will be "the publisher's decision."
Report: Prey 2 reboot in development at Arkane Austin
The Austin, TX branch of Dishonored developer Arkane Studios has begun pre-production on a reboot of Prey 2, according to a Kotaku report citing supposedly leaked internal emails written by Arkane Studios' creative director, Raphael Colantonio. "Austin has officially been green lit for its own project," one of the emails reads. "Doing a new IP was not a possibility because it's adding risk to the challenge of growth, so after going back and forth with Todd, Harvey, Ricardo, we decided that Prey 2 presented an interesting opportunity if we could reboot it. Zenimax accepted our pitch which was 'the spiritual successor to System Shock 3.'" According to the report, this project is a new attempt at developing Prey 2, completely unrelated to the troubled efforts underway at Human Head Studios. Bethesda VP of PR and marketing Pete Hines had previously said that Human Head's work on the game was "not up to our quality standards." We've contacted Arkane for comment. [Image: Human Head Studios' Prey 2]
Bethesda's publishing model based on quality, not quantity, says Hines
Bethesda has no ambitions to become a volume-driven publisher, VP of PR and Marketing Pete Hines told us during last weekend's QuakeCon festivities in Dallas, TX. "It's not a situation where we set out to say 'Well, we need to be acquiring studios at this level,' or 'We need to be a 10,"' Hines said with regards to Bethesda's growth philosophies as a publisher. "We know for sure that we don't want to be a publisher that is publishing 20 to 30 games a year, that's not who we are." "We're more about fewer premium titles and putting our full attention behind those," Hines continued, "and if it's one a year, or two a year, or three a year or four a year, what's most important is backing the best bets, putting our full support behind those and making them great. And then, do it again." That whole "making them great" thing seems to be an integral part of Bethesda's operating procedure, as Wolfenstein: The New Order was recently delayed into 2014 for polishing. Likewise, Hines has said previously that Prey 2 has yet to meet Bethesda's quality standards, despite years in development and millions of dollars spent.
Wii U not on Bethesda's short-term radar
Wii U owners hoping for a little Bethesda-brand steampunk/open world/pseudo-historical/massively multiplayer whatever may want to start grazing other pastures, as Nintendo's console is nowhere to be seen on the publisher's horizon. "None of the game's we've announced are being developed for the Wii U, so it's guaranteed that none of those games are coming to Wii U," Bethesda VP of PR and marketing Pete Hines told us at QuakeCon, with regards to The Elder Scrolls Online, Wolfenstein: The New Order and The Evil Within. "Will any future ones come out? I can't say for sure, in our near-term focus it's not on our radar." "It's largely a hardware thing," Hines said, explaining that Bethesda's mantra is to "make the games that we want to make, on whatever platforms will support them as developed." Giving an example, he said that The Elder Scrolls Online "likely would have" been released on Xbox 360, but that it "just wasn't possible" due to hardware limitations. Specifically referencing future announcements for the Wii U, Hines said that "it remains to be seen what the future holds." This differs from the Wii U publishing reservations we've heard of from other companies, in that Bethesda's decision is based on hardware limitations, rather than the Wii U's lackluster performance at retail. EA, for instance, isn't bringing this year's installments of FIFA or Madden to Nintendo's platform due to the limited size of the console's installed user base. Similarly, Ubisoft was so confident that the Wii U would be unable to support the kind of sales it needed for Rayman Legends, that it delayed the game's release and extended its availability to other platforms.
Bethesda undecided on Wii U, cautious on next-gen consoles
Though the WiiPad might seem like an excellent instrument for managing your inventory of cheese wheels and soul gems in Skyrim, Bethesda doesn't have plans for Nintendo's upcoming console just yet. Bethesda marketing VP Pete Hines says the studio's "approach has been to put our games out on all of the platforms that will support them," but that "so far the Wii hasn't fitted into that. Whether Wii U does down the road is TBD."Hines tells Videogamer that Bethesda is, in general, cautious of the next round of consoles. "For me the problems with new consoles are two-fold. The developers are trying to hit a moving technical target, because the platforms are being built. A new console doesn't just show up a year before launch and is exactly what it will be when it comes out. It moves and iterates along the way. And introducing something like that to games that are in development is always a bit tricky. And that is obviously an element of risk."New systems also split the active audience, Hines says, though it goes without saying that Bethesda's pragmatic approach doesn't preclude support for upcoming systems. If there's a big enough audience, it won't be left wanting for dragons and cheese wheels.
Skyrim's voice-enabled Dragon Shouts arrive 'the week of April 23'
When Skyrim's Kinect functionality arrives some time during "the week of April 23," it'll come in five different languages (English, Italian, Spanish, German, and French). Bethesda revealed said details to CNN in an exclusive interview, wherein the concept was referred to as "Project Adam" and outed as having begun "shortly after the game's release in November."Despite the addition of Kinect to Skyrim in a voice-based way, Bethesda VP of marketing and PR Pete Hines said replacing any combat with physical actions in front of a Kinect sensor wouldn't make a lot of sense. "Doing combat and swinging your sword and all that stuff without a controller would dramatically change the game. We're trying to enhance the experience as we designed it with some additional functionality." We can't help but agree, Mr. Hines.Take a look at the upcoming Kinect support for Skyrim in the video just above.
Bethesda's Pete Hines on Skyrim, sports, and specialization
With the video game industry seemingly headed toward smaller, cheaper, more casual and less complex game experiences, it's somewhat of an anomaly to see Bethesda Game Studios continuing to hit the ball out of the park with games that are the exact opposite: long, expensive and incredibly dense. Starting with the 2002 release of The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, Bethesda has focused almost exclusively on lavish RPG experiences. Ten years later, Skyrim looks to continue that trend to a round decade and beyond. I recently spoke with Bethesda VP of Marketing Pete Hines about what makes the developer's RPGs "bulletproof" against gaming's current "less is more" trend. "We do what we do best," said Hines. "We make big, crazy RPGs, and fortunately for us the previous ones have done really well so there's no reason for us not to keep making them. If that's what we loved doing and nobody wanted to play them, we'd have a problem on our hands."
Bethesda shoots down Doom 4 postponement rumors
In a refreshing act of commenting on rumors and speculation, Bethesda has shot down the assertion that id Software's work on Doom 4 had been "indefinitely postponed." Kotaku relayed the story from a source "claiming" to be close to the publisher, and suggesting that Doom 4 development had been jettisoned in response to Rage's rough landing. Pete Hines, VP of PR and Marketing at Bethesda Softworks, tweeted: "Re: DOOM 4 rumor, games are done when they are done and no title under development at id has been postponed --indefinitely or otherwise." In response to another journalist, Hines described the rumor as "complete bollocks." Hey, PR folks? More of this, please. Though it may not be officially postponed -- strangled in its bed because a sibling brought home a mixed report card -- Doom 4 (working title) isn't likely to arrive any time soon. This is id Software, and the game was only announced in 2008, roughly a year after we first heard about Rage.
Bethesda: Nobody enjoys being 'forced' to sue Mojang
Bethesda VP of marketing Pete Hines is providing some context for its case against Minecraft-dev Mojang's coming title, Scrolls, saying Mojang hasn't fairly presented Bethesda's side of the fight (probably because it's on the side against Bethesda). "Mojang's public comments have not given a complete picture as it relates to their filings, our trademarks, or events that have taken place," Hines said. Bethesda has an obligation to protect its trademark -- Elder Scrolls -- at the risk of diluting or losing it entirely. In that regard, this isn't something Bethesda wants to do, but it is something it has to do: "Nobody here enjoys being forced into this," Hines said. "Hopefully it will all be resolved soon." I bet that Quake 3 duel is looking pretty good to both sides right now.
Bethesda: Wii U Skyrim 'definitely a possibility'
Now, we don't want you to get your adorable little hopes up, so keep the indefinite nature of the universe in mind when we say that Bethesda's VP of Marketing Pete Hines has told Official Nintendo Magazine UK that a Wii U port of The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim is "definitely a possibility." Hines said that Bethesda will "look at any platform" that can support the studio's games as they are designed, meaning that Nintendo's latest would have to be able to support the weight of a full port, rather than a system-exclusive approximation. In related news, the world record for simultaneous Skyrim boners was shattered 24 seconds ago as the entire Wii U community joined the tally.
Rage preview: On the road again
There are some very important things I want you to know right away about id Software's long-in-development id Tech 5 showcase, Rage. It is, unequivocally, a first-person shooter first, everything else second. The car handling is fine, as is the RPG-esque quest delivery. But it's clear that the shooting is top priority. It's absolutely gorgeous, but not in the Sherilyn Fenn kinda way. The destroyed landscape is rich with detail, strewn with settlements and towns that look appropriately lived in, full of weather-beaten characters that show more life than those found in other Bethesda-published games. The combat and RPG elements come across in an engaging mixture. I was excited to explore each "dungeon" for loot, carefully making sure not to alert any dangerous gangs while killing strays with my silent blade. In short, despite being another first-person shooter -- named "Rage," no less -- and despite the post-apocalyptic setting, I'd describe the three hours I spent venturing through this version of "The Wasteland" as a breath of fresh air.%Gallery-129768%
"Fallout belongs to us": Bethesda lays claim to Fallout MMO
We may as well call it The NeverEnding Story 4: The Battle for Fallout. The ongoing legal struggle and corporate posturing between Bethesda and Interplay took a new turn today as Bethesda declared its biggest claim yet to the entire franchise -- including a Fallout MMO. According to Gamesindustry.biz, vg247, and Eurogamer, Bethesda's Pete Hines couldn't make it clearer: "We own the rights to the MMO. We own the rights to everything Fallout. The license is ours. Fallout belongs to us." Earlier this month, Interplay called such claims "absurd." This is troublesome for Interplay, as the studio has been hard at work on a Fallout MMO of its own, scheduled for a 2012 release. Both companies claim that they have the right to develop an online version of the hit franchise: Interplay because it retained the rights to do so when it sold the franchise to Bethesda, and Bethesda because the company claims Interplay failed to live up to the contract and forfeited its claim. While the lawyers continue to plow through this legal morass, this statement by Bethesda shows that the studio has no intention of giving up the rights to a Fallout MMO without a fight. [Update: We've clarified Gamesindustry's sources.]
Interview: Bethesda's Pete Hines
Two years ago, our discussions with Bethesda were dominated by Fallout 3. Now, the publisher has four new titles in the pipeline: Fallout: New Vegas, Brink, Hunted: The Demon's Forge, and RAGE. Oh, and it also recently announced plans to dominate the world. At a press event each of those four upcoming games, we spoke with company vice president Pete Hines about future plans and, of course, Fallout: New Vegas. Read on for the full interview.
Fallout: New Vegas plot details surface from USA Today
Aside from a cursory description of the game's premise on its official website, we've heard very little about Fallout: New Vegas. Today, friends, that changes, with a USA Today feature that reveals the game's protagonist as a shot and left-to-die package delivery boy who finds himself in Sin City "and the surrounding area" in 2280. "You were a courier, and you were obviously carrying something that somebody wanted," Bethesda Softworks' Pete Hines says of the player's character. "Part of the story is finding out what you had and what they took." Hines additionally insists New Vegas will "feel" far different from 2008's Fallout 3 through one key aspect: the setting. "Vegas is up and running. It is not a ghost town. It still exists and thrives. There are casinos, and you can go down onto the Strip. It will have a very different feel from that standpoint." Perhaps unsurprisingly, Hines also notes that the New Vegas will "take you hundreds of hours to explore every nook and cranny" -- not unlike the 2008 iteration of the Fallout franchise. We'd be straight lying if we said we weren't unbelievably ready to invest that time in more of the Fallout universe this fall, even after all of last year's DLC.
Video interview: Bethesda's Pete Hines on WET
We're calling it "this year's Mirror's Edge" -- WET is dripping with style, but will its unconventional controls and arcade-inspired combo system jive with mainstream gamers? We chatted with Bethesda's Pete Hines to talk about the publisher's late involvement with the A2M project. Below is a text excerpt of the entire video interview:What does WET stand for?WET is short for wetworks, which is a CIA term for operations where your hands are literally going to get wet with blood. We want you, as the player, to always be shooting, always be taking people out, whether it's with your guns or your sword. You're running around walls, jumping, spinning, sliding. It's about comboing together cool moves to take out your enemies and doing in this cool 70s Grindhouse look.What gives WET its Grindhouse feel?You really get that Grindhouse feel from the VO work from folks like Eliza Dushku, voice of Ruby (the character you play), Malcolm McDowell. There is a lot of music in the game, both from Brian LeBarton, who works with Beck, created an original soundtrack for the game that's kind of really cool and hip and funky; and then layered on top of that are all these tracks we got from indie bands that have this cool rockabilly type sound that fit really well with both the original soundtrack and with the game.%Gallery-40639%
Bethesda clarifies MMO claims, Elder Scrolls V statements
Rather than let the statements made at QuakeCon 2009 by Elder Scrolls executive producer Todd Howard rest as they are, Bethesda's Pete Hines has clarified a few things on the company's blog. First and foremost, he wants to make sure that people know that another Elder Scrolls game will eventually be released. "Both Todd and I have said repeatedly that, of course, we're going to do another Elder Scrolls game," Hines outright states. Rather than comment directly on what Bethesda is currently working on, he instead notes that, "We aren't going to confirm or deny or comment on speculation, nor are we going to give hints about anything ... if you know us by now, you know we don't really do that." Hines additionally points out that Bethesda Softworks (the game studio) isn't working on an MMO at the moment, per the speculation surrounding a possible Elder Scrolls MMO. ZeniMax Online Studios, however, is working on an MMO, though "they have not said anything about what game they are making." It looks as though an upcoming Elder Scrolls MMO may be more likely than seeing numero cinco anytime soon, folks. What happened to that "possible 2010 release," eh, Bethesda?
