Wait isnt Fable like this too?

In some ways yes in other ways no. Traveling is a bit linear. It's not an open environment like the elderscrolls but the game is open ended. What I mean is there's clear paths and directions. This isn't what people are referring too. On top of that character customization in Fable is limited. You can't really control the looks entirely and you can't really build your character in the same manner. So Fable is close but not quite the same. Still, it is an amazing game and one of my favorites for sure.

The only game I've played recently that gave me the same "feeling" of playing The Elder Scrolls (or a Bethesda-style Fallout game) was oddly enough Red Dead Redemption.

Not many people can pull off the games Bethesda has made. It's like they have the secret ingredient in making a good 1st person RPG.

I always wind up reminding people about Betrayal at Krondor in these threads. When I was a kid I played the bejeezus out of that game. My friends used to recommend the Elder Scrolls because it was 'Like BAK, but without as much backstory." Tes also didn't have the realism of BAK - You had to eat, if you were poisoned, the poison lasted until you cured it or rested long enough (although it would more often just kill you). While the character roles were set for you, and it was team based, you really developped an attachment to the characters. It was, admittedly, more like directing the events of a really good movie or novel than actually becoming a character, although I've always thought that TE S should be a little more cinematic. As far as the world went it felt, for me, more alive than Nirn has yet. Prove me wrong Skyrim. Unfortunately they crapped the bed with the sequel and now the writer of that line has kind of panned out.
Anyway, if you can get past the mid 90's graphics, try it out. It was and is a fantastic game.

This looks better than what I thought TESV would be.

Completely agree with you there but it doesn't answer the question of.. why is there no competing products? You'd really think with the success of TES there'd be a long game series in the same vain as it. Although, I do have to disagree with you on the cinematic feel. I rather like having one character "Save the world" another become the head of the fighter's guild and yet another focus on the mage guild and not having one character do all. That's one of the things that makes TES so great. It increases replayability and you don't have to play the same way each time. It's why I've devoted thousands of hours into both Morrowind and Oblivion.

I love all of Bethesdas games... I really do. However, I think Bethesda fans get a little ahead of themselves when they say things like this. There are a ton of other very talented, and very capable development studios out there that could certainly do just as well, if not better making games then Bethesda. To act like they are the only ones capable of making a game like TES, and making it good, is no offense laughable. The problem is that most studios opt for cheaper, quicker, and smaller projects... so there is little to compare TES to.

There is one very simple reason why other studios do not make games like Oblivion/Fallout. They take several years, and a whole lot of money to make... and with a new IP there is no promise the game will be a hit. Studios generally are not going to put 4 years of work and millions of dollars into a game that has no promise of selling big. Bethesda on the other hand, has a very large and loyal following. Anything they make will sell millions of copies and be a commercial success no matter how good or bad it is (not saying anything they have made has been bad to date). That gives them the freedom to make games like this, that most developers/publishers do not have.

Eventually there will be a TES style game out there. Its only a matter of time to be honest...

I think you've hit the nail on the head. Many companies have crashed and burnt over the failure of one game. That APB MMO drove their company out of business. Some of the other biggest failures come from companies shooting for the moon and missing their mark. Remember Vampire the Masquerade? It was an RPG of sorts made on the source engine by a company called Troika. They managed to make a really good game IMO but it came out when half life 2 did and as a result no one noticed it. Troika is long gone now. A company would have to establish itself slowly before trying something as ambitious as an Elder Scrolls game. I have no intention of even reading a review for TES5, I'll buy it sight-unseen. This is the only series I do that with. I'm sure it will be great, or at least worth my money because of Beth's track record. Even Oblivion just got a new lease on life thanks to that Nehrim TC - how many other games from 2006 are we still playing? Is there any older game (that doesn't rhyme with Floorowind) that you still keep around? Bethesda's games, like Bob Dylan, continue to sell even as they age. There are people who would still buy Daggerfall is they saw it in the store, despite the fact that its now free. That is a loyal fan base, and that is what other companies need to make something comparable to ES.
I haven't played Mass Effect or DA:O but it sounds like they're catching up. I think Valve might have the resources to put something interesting together. I still wish Sierra was still around.

I've considered what it would be like if Rockstar made an RPG. I think it has potential. It wouldn't be as in-depth as MW, fewer weapon and armor choices, but imagine the attention it could draw to the genre.

And as far as that "Reckoning" game goes, here's my two cents. First, I hate R.A. Salvatore. Rather, I hate the ubiquity of his work in all realms of fantasy, particularly games. Secondly, what I like most about Bethesda is they can make a game with cat people, and somehow it still feels plausible and not ridiculous. Games like Reckoning or whatever (despite having an obvious, overused title) can take a human being and make them look catastrophically malformed. Give them something outlandish like an orc, or elf, and you get a travesty which has no semblance to a rational organism.

Mount&Blade is certainly a large open world and the mounted combat is fun, but there is no story whatsoever. It quickly grows old.

I hope you'll buy Mass Effect and Dragon Age someday. I'm currently playing ME 2 and have Dragon Age 2 on preorder, something I rarely do. The writing and characters are interesting and to me, the combat is challenging. It should be noted that these games are like KOTOR, though, in being more linear than Bethesda games; in DA, you have a choice of around four areas to travel to, in any order, to advance the main quest but it's not a sandbox game. Still, they're worth buying. Both the ME and DA series have some of the best writing and voice-acting I've experienced.

I actually have a copy of Mass Effect installed on my computer I just haven't had time to play it yet. I'm glad its good, I got it when it was on Steam for $5 - I'll probably get DA:o when it drops in price as well. I've always loved the RPG's - they svck time though, which I don't havea lot of these days. Not even enough time to correct that type-o back there. Enough time to comment on it though.

Mount and Blade and DM are the only two modern FPS fantasy RPGs. Mount and Blade isn't very free and personally I could not get into it. DM was far too linear as well.

So basically TES has the entire fantasy FPS RPG genre. However, that's far too specific to have any real meaning.

I once spent several months designing an RPG based off Oblivion mainly but which had many unique or at least different features. It was much more complex in it's controls and posssibilities than TES games, and I thought it was pretty good, but I know I will never be able to make it because I am not a trusted designer for a large game company.

It sounds very interesting - would it be possible to turn your concept into a mod for Oblivion?

It's probably for the best that Bethesda has no real competition. If they did, they'd have to further mainstream their games in order to compete, which is a negative influence on them already. As it is, they still have some leeway to make them good rather than popularly digestible.

Totally disagree on that 1. A bit of competition is only a good thing. TES will always be the choice but at the moment it's the ONLY choice. So fans of this type of game have to wait YEARS between releases.

Absolutely agree. And I still don't understand why other devs aren't stepping up.

I can recommend Gothics 2 and 3 but NOT 4, or Risen. Then The Witcher, and it's soontobe sequel. Gothics can be played 1st person, but they're better over the shoulder like The Witcher.

I really liked Gothic 3, but I played it only when the Community Patch had already fixed it. Don't forget that one! You're gonna love the open world with no loading pauses, crafting and alchemy system, and maybe the fighting. It makes a lot of sense but it's hard to learn.