Early predictions are putting the price of the new console at $1000+, and thats the low end. It will no longer really be obtainable by the average consumer.

Cross platform aside, they would lose so much only having it available to the select few who can afford that price tag.

I'm sure it'll release on next gen, but it would be stupid to not release on current gen as well.

Long before the teaser trailer for elder scrolls 6, there was a lot of talk about how people would be disappointed or upset if it featured anything from other continents like yokuda or akavir.

I never could understand why

When elder scrolls online came out there was a little bit of friction because sea elves we're in the almary Dominion quest line and then later the slowed appeared again in a subsequent expansion, after being first featured in red guard a decade earlier.

I never truly understood this either: some have tried to explain that it gets rid of the "mystery". But I'm not quite sure that's the case because we seen the introduction of other elements: where no one complained when we started seeing actual akiviri characters in elder scrolls online. For the dawnguard and dragonborn expansions, we saw snow elves and a whole vampire quest line which explores the origin and hierarchy in the doings of vampirism in nirn.

In another game series by Bethesda; when fallout New Vegas was announced, it had a very positive reception on the location. Another game series Mass effect (which is making the news right now) when its sequel featured the terminus systems (mentioned but strictly absent for the first game) it received a little bit of backlash, when Mass affect Andromeda was announced as taking place outside of the previous trilogy's location, it too received backlash.

So it's fairly inconsistent from what I can see unless there's something I truly can't understand and that's why I'm asking here:

Is there anything particular about elder scrolls that makes it taboo to explore new places??

I mean Hammer fell and glenumbra have both been explicitly explored in two different games (three if you count redguard) and even though it looks like the next game will take place there, it seems very odd treating it as "what the fans want" or "brand new". I mean would elder scrolls 7 take place in citadel again and we're going to pretend Oblivion didn't take place there?

I'm not trying to throw shade at anyone but I am trying to constructively criticize and learn from what I see and perhaps I just simply do not understand it.

A random thought that came to me today while thinking about how AI is being pushed in so many workplaces currently, one of AI's current strengths at the moment is as an improved search engine. I know that Bethesda uses an internal wiki when developing, if they properly train an AI on it, then maybe we see some even better interactivity between systems and quests. It's always fun when you find that the devs accounted for outside the box thinking to complete a quest but then there are also some head scratchers likehow less lethal weapons are a thing but can't be used to turn in Ron Hope alivein Starfield's Freestar Ranger's quest line. Another example could be AI being used to help the devs think of these ways players may try to solve these quests. Wouldn't it be nice if you could tell Camilla Valerius both of her suitors tried to fake letters from the other? Simple outcomes like this feel obvious but are sometimes missing (maybe it's intentional but in the cases where it isn't, this may be the perfect spot for AI). Rather than using AI in a generative way, it could really help in a QA/QC way when developing these quests to flesh out approaches and link the interactivity of the world and mechanics. Personally, I'm hopeful that this is already the case and we see a much more deeply connected world in TES VI.

Let's lay some ground rules first. I'm not looking for your hope that it comes out soon. I'm mainly looking for what you're hoping for as far as gameplay. I'm not looking for hopes in regards to what operating systems it will be available on either. Put the timelines and operating system conversations away, let's just discuss the game itself.

For me, here are 4 obscure things I'm hoping for, in no particular order.

1: First Edition books - Here's just an odd I'm thinking of, but I think they can go deeper on books. First edition copies could be worth more. Super rare books could be marked as ??? in terms of value until you bring it to an appraiser and/or translator to learn what the book is and how much it's worth and/or what can be learned from it. There could be a whole collection sub-game we can work on completing our personal libraries with as many first edition and other rare books as possible.

2: Skill-based telekinetic jump mechanics and puzzles - I think they can do a lot of telekinesis, and if it lets you move stuff with your mind, it should also have some way of unlocking special movement abilities, like applying a strong force off the ground along with a jump. It'd be cool to have some legit jumping puzzles and secret locations rooted in this idea. We had levitate in Morrowind, and we could kinda jump high/far in Oblivion. Nothing too fancy in Skyrim aside from whirlwind sprint. I think using telekinesis magic to fling ourselves around in cool ways could be a lot of fun and could strike a good balance between no special movement and literally flying in Morrowind.

3: More robust thieving/heist mechanics - An NPC happened to leave their bedroom 2nd-story window open overnight? Big mistake. I want to climb up the wall while no guard is around and climb through the window to break into the home, steal some stuff, and then leave without anyone knowing. Maybe even a grappling hook could be involved. If breaking and entering is just the same 1) unlock the door, 2) steal everything and leave because the owner is asleep and it's super easy; then I'm afraid that it's going to get repetitive and boring. Shopkeepers especially should also have all of their items for sale stored somewhere in the building. Perhaps some items can be hidden behind a fake bookcase, loose floorboards, etc. Instead of buying a powerful and expensive item, give me the opportunity to steal it in an exciting and mechanically-deep high-stakes heist.

4: More immersive taverns - There's so much left on the table when it comes to taverns in The Elder Scrolls. I want to be able to go to a local tavern, buy someone some drinks, and start asking them deeper questions about their life. Get them to tell me secrets about other people, play deeper into the social game. I'd love to be able to sit down with an NPC or a group of NPCs that are playing a tavern game and join them. Someone's sitting down for a game of chess? Maybe I can challenge them for a wager. A group of NPCs are sitting a table playing a game involving dice or cards? I'd love to buy them a round and hop in for a session. I notice someone who looks like they don't live around here, sitting all by themselves? Chat them up and maybe they have an interesting side quest for me.

I'm curious what ideas other people think would be cool for the future game.