It is true though, that an MMORPG is very likely to destroy an RPG franchise. Anybody still waiting for Warcraft 4. How about a new Elder Scrolls game?
That's because Blizzard is a very slow developer, which is not unheard in the industry. People were(are) also waiting for HL3, Prey 1 and 2 or Duke Nukem: Forever.
> How about a new Elder Scrolls game?
Skyrim came out in 2011, it's unlikely there'll be another one before 2015-2016, Morrowind came out in 2002 and Oblivion in 2006.
Fair enough. My sense of time is gone since having kids.
Though I'm fairly confident with my prediction about Warcraft 4. There are probably a lot of people at Blizzard, right now, thinking about how to make "the next WOW" work. A Warcraft strategy title just feels like small fry compared to that.
Also, there might actually be brand dilution, since it is quite likely that many WOW players don't know about the old RTS games.
It's not just that it's "small fry". It's that the Warcraft lore is irreparably broken at this point. A Warcraft 4 would need to be a reboot, after WoW faded.
Working on two RTS games at the same time would be a very odd decision, and Blizzard's been working on Starcraft 2 since 2007 and the third part is still at least a year out. Even if WoW never existed and Starcraft 2 was started earlier, Warcraft 4 would probably not be out yet.
Not sure if you're joking there -- Elder Scrolls Online comes out in June. There is some controversy because you can pay ~$10 extra for the "imperial edition" that is the only way to play the imperial race ...
