The Last Dragonborn, Slayer of Alduin and Savior of Tamriel
Now that Doom Slayer is out of the picture, Dragonborn is the new frontrunner as perceived by the fanbase. The Elder Scrolls is an extremely successful and influential open-world series that inspired other games to take on the style, including the extremely successful Breath of the Wild. The series as sold 52 million copies, with 33 million coming from Skyrim alone. The fact that people still talk about the game despite coming out 8 years ago (for mixed reasons) is a testament to how influential it was. Furthermore, there are some other major points I want to list that work in his favor:
- The first Western game to be given a 40/40 on Famitsu. Dragonborn is also an Avatar character, which Japan has a fondness for.
- Skyrim was used to help advertise the Switch during the initial trailer.
- Todd Howard appears to be a fan of Nintendo, given the Zelda items in the Switch port of Skyrim were his idea. The Switch version got exclusive content such as that and Skyward Sword-style motion controls.
- The recent Doom interview mentioning that higher-ups had done some talking to each other. Given Marty didn't know or say who talked to who, we do know that there was some negotiations going on somewhere, affirming Pete Hines' statement that they had indeed talked to Nintendo about Smash at some point. We just know that it wasn't for Doom Slayer. Which puts The Elder Scrolls as the most likely.
1. Western Characters are now on the table - This applies to a lot of characters, but Banjo-Kazooie opening the doors to Western characters is a major game changer since the Dragonborn's previous rating.
2. Skyrim was one of the first games shown off on the Switch - During the Switch's reveal trailer, Skyrim was the second game shown off after Breath of the Wild, and the first Third Party game shown, showing that Nintendo holds the game in high regard.
3. Breath of the Wild takes inspiration - During an interview, it was stated that the Elder Scrolls series was a major point of inspiration for Breath of the Wild, showing how influential the series has become.
4. Skyrim for Switch has exclusive content - The Switch version of Skyrim further cements the relationship between it and Breath of the Wild. Several Zelda items are available in-game, complete with Amiibo support as well, and even a new eye option for Wood Elves/Bosmer to presumably help create Link look-alikes. There was even a motion-based control scheme added to take advantage of the Joycons, which leads me into my next point...
5. Todd Howard appears to be a fan of or has some kind of interest in Nintendo - Apparently the special Switch version content for Skyrim was suggested and pushed for by Todd himself, showing that he has an interest in Nintendo. If this is indeed the case, then if Sakurai himself or Nintendo executives came to Bethesda for negotiations, then Todd more than likely would've wanted to be at that meeting. People state that the Doom 64 Pete Hines appearence in September's Nintendo Direct is a big point in Doom's favor, but let's not forget that Todd Howard did the same thing a year prior, appearing on a Nintendo Direct himself to talk about Skyrim for Switch. Todd is as big within Bethesda as Pete Hines is, and he would definitely push to get one of his characters into the game.
6. Skyrim was the first western game to receive a 40/40 on Famitsu - Famitsu gave Skyrim a perfect score, and the Elder Scrolls, both in its' games/roleplaying and its' modding, have gained a sizable following in Japan. Even if it's no Dragon Quest, it is doing very well for a Western Game, and even Elder Scrolls online has plenty of Japanese players despite not having a dedicated server. Bethesda's been putting up big advertisements for their games at Tokyo Game Show as well. People, again, try to point this in Doom's favor but they've been advertising ESO there for several years. There's also Elder Scrolls Blades, which Bethesda has been putting up promotions for the Switch version, and on the game's webpage there's even an image with a giant Switch playing the game. Meanwhile Doom, while having a fan project there, is still very niche, and Fallout doesn't seem to be making waves there either. Nintendo cares the most about their home market, and of Bethesda's choices Dragonborn would make the most sense, both sales and cultural-wise.
7. Out of Bethesda's games, The Elder Scrolls series has sold the most, and is their home grown franchise - The Elder Scrolls as a whole has sold 52 million copies, and Skyrim alone has sold 33 million. That alone is four times as much as the entire Doom franchise. Furthrmore The Elder Scrolls' success is what made Bethesda who they are, and without them there likely would've been no revivals for Doom or Fallout.
I'll be realistic in that being a Western character he still has some very intense competition and is fighting an uphill battle, but with many points in his favor to prove to Nintendo that he is worth it, and with Doom Slayer out of the picture for now for Fighter's Pass #5, Dragonborn's chances are looking greater than ever! Say what you want about the game, I think it's definitely stood the test of time!
