Why did Morrowind sell so well?

[Callaxes]

I can't figure it out how Morrowind could've sold so well both on Xbox and PC. It's a good game in my opinion, but a good game doesn't allwais end up with record sells. Let's review Morrowind from a comercial point of view:

1. The last Elder Scrolls game was Daggerfall in 1996. Since then the series only received small time spin-offs of little value. The series wasn't well known outside of the elite public.

2. This game was too simple for PC gamers even for that time. There's not alot of interaction if you eliminate combat, just free-form exploration by jumping arround. There were plenty of RPGs looked better adapted to sell, but in the end didn't (i.e. Gothic).

3. This isn't the type of game that the Xbox crowd can chew and it's way to complex to be compared to any of their games. Not to mention the lack of the CS, that it's slow paced and fustrating at times. Morrowind was a PC port, so the Xboxers should've known what they were buying after the console version was published.

4. There was very little voice acting. Every race had 2 voices and the were only 5 special voices that weren't made for the races (Azura, Sheogorath, Mehrunes, Malacath, Dagoth Ur). Other then that, dialog was 100% voiced with very little interaction.

5. The game was the anti-thesis of hand-holding. Everything in the game was handled through the "find-it-yourself" path, even the very small things had tobe dugged out by the player. Sure, it was fun, but I don't see how a casual gamer would enjoy it or a Xbox gamer.

6. The art design was original and beautifull, but at first glance it seems very unatractive for anyone used to the classic medieval fantasy. I don't know, maybe the mainstream crowd actualy wanted a change?

7. The CS was a good tool. But Neverwinter Nights's CS was even better, yet NWN ended up with only half the sells that Morrowind gained on the PC.

8. As far as the PC goes, the best selling RPGs since 2002 were Baldur's Gate 2 and Diablo 2. Morrowind is anything but Diablo and almost nothing compared to Baldur's Gate which at that time was 2 years old, so its public audience definately didn't die off then.


I realy liked Morrowind, but I can't understand how it sold up to 4 million copies! I refuse to believe that Pete alone could've done this...

 

[Kraszu]

Exploring aspect? You don't have to know much to explore world and make some quest. Fighting system is boring, and easy to use, you can explore advance in levels from start kinda like mmorpg.

Gothic had no hype in USA, it was popular in some European countries not only Germany. It had much smaller exploring aspect, it is easier to die. It has diferent control/fight system that apparently many people were unable/not able to understand.

 

[JarlFrank]

I simply loved Morrowind because of the athmosphere, because of the exploration, because of the wacky world it took place in, because of the interesting lore, because of the beautiful landscape, and also because of the character customization in skills and in clothing. I also liked to play around with making spells and enchanting items, play around with the CS and try out the many great mods out there. I had even more fun with it when I got myself the two expansions. It was a deep game in lore and athmosphere, and with countless fun mods adding anything from nice new clothing to new gameplay mechanisms.

Well, it was great, but definitely not for the mass-market. Dunno why it sold so well, but many of my friends who usually prefer FPS liked it a lot because of the freedom and the fun things they could do with the CS. The big world was also a plus. Two of my friends who love RPGs like Baldur's Gate also loved Morrowind for the freedom, the mods and the great athmosphere, one of them is even a D&D player. Somehow it managed to be attractive for many different types of gamers.

 

[OSK]

The graphics. Seriously.

Xbox fanboys in particular used the game's graphics to rub it into the faces of other console fanboys that their console was superior.

 

[Deleted member 7219]

Uh... seriously, Morrowind was NOT praised for its graphics.

 

[AZ]

It is easy - for the casual player Morrowind showed a lot of possibility. The game had pretty gfx, ultra simple fps like combat, sims like charter dressing, easy levelling. And the story was enough interesting. In my opinion what casual gamer really liked was the lack of limits, players could become uber mages whit perfect warrior skills, member of all guilds, and so on. The world of Gothic was big, but you had to choose a camp, a weapon type and you had still certain limitations about who you were in the game world.

 

[Koby]

The graphics. Seriously.

I agree, but I think the thing that gave it the edge is the outdoor_graphics. Having, on a console, a game that allow you both free form exploring and the graphics that Morrowind had at the same time is something that IIRC (and there is a good chance I'm wrong here) console just didnt have.

 

[Futile Rhetoric]

In my opinion what casual gamer really liked was the lack of limits, players could become uber mages whit perfect warrior skills, member of all guilds, and so on.

It's the gotta-catch-em-all syndrome; the console kids love collecting all the Pokeymans, golden stars, silver turds, etcetera, and so forth. Can you imagine having to pick Pikachu over Squirtle? Yeah, neither can I.

 

[Callaxes]

How can you "proove" freedom without words and promises. You need to play the game atleast 10 hours to realise just how free form it is and there isn't any demo to my knowledge.

 

[OSK]

Uh... seriously, Morrowind was NOT praised for its graphics.

"First, a simple statement: In my opinion, Morrowind's graphics are the best thing I've seen in the PC gaming world to date."

"A fantastic 3D world, huge and beautifully designed, with a great deal of detail. Animations are excellent."

http://pc.ign.com/articles/359/359554p1.html

"Morrowind raises the bar on what can and should be expected of a computer role-playing game's graphics…"

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/elderscr ... iew&page=1

"Visually, Morrowind has no equal in the role-playing genre. It's stunning, especially when running a high-end video card. Even on a first generation GeForce 256 it looks very, very good. Monsters, even when viewed up close, look crisp and clean. There's a wide variety of backdrops: desert cities, murky swamps, frost covered mountains, riverbeds, deep dungeon caverns, desolate ruins -- and all of it looks spectacular. You can play the game in either first- or third-person, both of which look equally impressive. Morrowind does an incredible job of slapping you right in the middle of this fantasy world, and while great graphics alone never make great games, Morrowind just wouldn't be the same without the vivid, picturesque canvas on which you play."

http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/the-elder-scro ... 815p1.html

 

[Section8]

Morrowind, like Oblivion is more saleable as a concept then the execution would indicate. People are enamoured with the idea of a huge world, firstperson, go anywhere, be whatever you want to be style of RPG. As long as the graphics are up to speed and the gameplay isn't too complex, then you're onto a winner.

Also, you need to take into account that when Bethesda talk "sales" they really mean units shipped. And I know at my local mall alone there would probably be between 20-50 unsold copies of Morrowind.

Not to mention, those copies are bundled as a budget "game of the year" repackage with the two expansion packs. Percentually, it's selling at about 10% of the original price of the three items separately, and has been for a couple of years now.

I can see how it would have "sold" as many copies as it has.

 

[Zomg]

I remember my friends talking about Everquest when it first came out and going on about how many virtual square miles it was with real excitement in their voices, and I later heard other people saying the same shit again about WoW. There's something really salable about open, first person (or over-the-shoulder cam) worlds.

Morrowind also seems like a much better game than it is if you just take a naive sample of the beginning - it's that time when your brain malfunctions and you read more into the gameworld than is there. Then you slowly lose interest as nonsensical and bad shit accumulates on your experience. A good beginning means a lot for word of mouth and the impromptu "demo" of playing the shit at a friend's place.

It was also an Xbox launch title and reaped a lot of lasting hype from that.

Lastly, the volume of sales as a $10 GOTY should also be considered, but I don't know where you could get those figures. I'd like to see the Fallout sales figures if you agglomerate its extended existence as a budget title.

Edit - Hey I just repeated Section8's post before reading it.

 

[kingcomrade]

I have a colored version but couldn't find it...

 

[Naked Ninja]

Except for the crappy use-to-increase skills system, the time it took to walk places and the slightly too slow main plot I loved Morrowind. It oozed style and atmosphere, the game world was believable and interesting to explore, the lore and backstory fantastic (I loved how you never really knew which version of events surrounding Nerevar was correct), the little touches of humor like the guy falling out of the sky or that one Telvanni slaver who has an imperial in a cage because they consider humans as lesser animals...awesome. Combined with the editor and the possibilities that allowed...I remember a mod which added this crazy twisted dimension, like one of those M.C.Escher paintings.

You guys might not agree, and I foresee another round of name calling, but I believe it won that title simply because it was good. Flawed but still good. I was initially hugely excited about Oblivion, mainly because I was hoping it would be Morrowind++, but the Elder Scrolls seems to have taken 1 step back. Pity really.

And that crap about "it was too complex for console gamers!" is just lame. Picard covering eyes pic lame. I don't like console games myself because their design is constrained by the form of input but believing they simply haven't got the capability to enjoy something like this while PC gamers do is altogether too "head lodged up own ass" a philosophy for me. You guys really believe they are like this giant homogenous mass of retards, don't you? The irony there is only an idiot could actually believe that millions of people could all be so easily lumped together like that.

 

[denizsi]

Weren't there too few games on x-Box when Morrowind came out, too few in first-person types at least? I looked at the X-Box games listed at Moby Games, released in 2001 & 2002, and if I didn't miss something, Morrowind is the only sand box game, with only a handful of first-person types up until 2003. All the other games, almost without exception, are ADHD oriented action and racing/sports games. So, the slow pace and the sandbox nature of the game, one of a kind at the console at its time, must have easily secured it a distinguishable spot among other games.

 

[Futile Rhetoric]

I foresee another round of name calling

You Sir, are a turd sandwich.

And that crap about "it was too complex for console gamers!" is just lame.

Who here said anything of this sort? Isn't the general consensus here that it was just about dumbed down enough for console gamers?

 

[Blacklung]

I'm very much the same way about morrowind as most of the fans here. Atmosphere, plenty of text and lore, sandbox, open-ended, easily customized. The game also had this relaxing effect. Some people hated it for the sepia tone, slow pace, and Seoul music, but that stuff kept me in a perfect state for playing an exploration game. Unlike Oblivion, the game doesn't try and hit you in the face with uber graphics and over the top 'THIS IS THE F'ING GREATEST SHIT EVAR! EAT THIS SHIT! ITS MORROWIND 50X BITCH!'

I remember the first time I saw it, I was in this XBOX game store (it had a bunch of tv's all set up and had late night gaming sessions and such where you could pay for a few hours and order in pizza. Very laid back). Some kid was playing it while my buddy and I were playing against several other people in Halo. It was first person, but had swords and stats, and I vaguely remembered reading an article about it in PC gamer. So I stopped playing Halo after our CTF match, and tried starting and new Morrowind game. The ship scene and the drop into places unknown were what grabbed me. I like that kind of stuff. Drop me in a room with some strange things and I will eventually try and figure them all out. Curiousity is a grab for me. The less I know, sometimes, the more I'll enjoy the game.

I think I bought the game about a few days later and spent a whole summer just playing it on the Xbox until I bought my new computer that could handle the PC version...which I then spent 3x as many hours playing. Oblivion, however...too hyped, too familiar, less mystery, less lore, no reward for exploring, less everything except graphics. It was simply UNINSPIRED. It was like some other company decided to copy another companies successful game, but failed to include everything that made the original great.

 

[rpgcodexusername]

The combat was very difficult for me, I chose a mage, I didnt want to just walk about doing 'el kabong' on everything as a warrior.
The exploration is cool at first I suppose.

Like many best-selling games, it was simply the only game of its kind for Xbox.
There have only been about 5 or 6 rpgs for xbox altogether I think, and for a long time morrowind was the ONLY ONE.

For PC Morrowind was hyped for its graphics and exploration.

 

[hakuroshi]

Honestly. MW was a disappointment back then no less then Oblivion recently. Probably more as expectations were higher. It turned out to be a decent game after all, but in that relaxing exploring, lore-digging athmospheric way and not as rpg. But I still had bought it. My friend had bought it too, on X-box, and played for total 10-15 hours and got bored. But
The innate idea of sandbox graphically rich MW is somewhat alluring, I suppose, even for casual player (they are not all dumb as we picture them here), especially with good PR, but it does not mean that all 4000000 were happy with actual product.
And how many codexers have bought Oblivion even knowing it going to be shit, eh? What is then to say about those who had only Pete as information source.

 

[Raapys]

Morrowind was good, but with the tons of player-made mods it became great.

I too remember the game being hyped for the graphics. It was among the first games to use pixel shader I believe?

 

[Frankie]

Morrowind sold so well because it was a great RPG. I know it's not very popular on these forums, but I'm thinking about installing Morrowind and playing it some more. Even today it's so much more an RPG than Oblivion ever will be. You could actually Role Play in Morrowind.

 

[Callaxes]

First of all: Ok I get it now! Thanks for th feedback

Secondly:

Frankie@ Not popular? Did you even read the posts above?

 

[Frankie]

First of all: Ok I get it now! Thanks for th feedback

Secondly:

Frankie@ Not popular? Did you even read the posts above?

There are some here who hate the game with a passion. They have just avoided posting in this topic.

I havne't been here long enough to know how many don't like Morrowind, but I know that there are some who dispise it.

 

[Koby]

Why "sex" is the most searched single word in Google?

http://www.googlefight.com/index.php?la ... &word2=sex

 

[Globbi]

Why "sex" is the most searched single word in Google?

http://www.googlefight.com/index.php?la ... &word2=sex

http://www.googlefight.com/index.php?la ... &word2=sex