Bethesda is one of only a limited number of companies that have been at the forefront of hardcore gaming for more than a decade. With the casual market spurring a surprising change of trend in the past few years, other companies have felt the pressure to take advantage of opportunity. The question is, will Bethesda follow this trend, or show further loyalty to the hardcore crowd?
When being interviewed by IndustryGamers, Todd Howard from Bethesda displayed committal to making hardcore games on powerful hardware. When asked about the Wii and if Bethesda will take advantage of the multi-million consumer install base that the console has successfully gathered, Howard replied:
“From my group, which is the internal Bethesda development team, probably not. The stuff we’re doing is a better fit on the other platforms. You can never say never, but I think for the kind of games that we like to play and make, it fits the other platforms.”
Following up, Todd Howard was asked about how he felt about Facebook social games and other casual online gaming media, to which he replied:
“I’ve got to be honest: I don’t get it. I look at it and try to understand but for now I’ve just decided to ignore it (laughter). I think, one day, maybe I’ll figure it out, but until then, I don’t see the allure of those kinds of games.”
Bethesda has been incredibly successful with hardcore games ranging from DOS in the 90s to recent blockbuster titles such as Fallout 3 and Oblivion on the PlayStation 3. The team is currently working on an unannounced title and will be publishing three future titles for the PS3 including Rage, Fallout: New Vegas, and Brink. While many development teams are forsaking their hardcore philosophies to seek larger profits, Bethesda is not one of them, and that’s just one reason the company deserves the respect of the hardcore gaming crowd.
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