IIRC (and I do because I'm playing it now) morrowind made you use non class skills or minor skills to gain modifiers.
They didn't make you, they rewarded you. So it could be argued that it pushed players towards JOATs, more so for those obsessed with +5s, but that's MW. Many have argued that OB leveling made +5s necessary. It didn't really (for some? many?), but games are being redesigned so that new players cannot possibly feel like they are losing. Not getting the best bonuses and the best loot every single time, etc. If Beth believes that the new classless, attributeless system will placate these players, I think they might be surprised.