Good news for Xbox and PS3 users. CEO of Zenimax's The Elder Scrolls Online project, Matt Firor, reveals in an interview with GamesIndustry.biz that the highly controversial MMO installment to The Elder Scrolls series could be brought to the console.

In the interview, he said:

"It's the classic desk vs. couch argument, but it is blurring over time. The current-gen and previous-gen MMOs were all about using the keyboard and mouse, and sure, everyone used things like Ventrilo and other voice chat services, but that only works in a small group. A lot of that has been thanks to design problems that people haven't focused on a lot, such as typing and controlling at the same time.

Furthering the statement, he said he was unsure whether possible console versions of The Elder Scrolls Online would be connected with the PC version, as we saw with Final Fantasy XI.

Firor delved into the class structure of ESO, saying that pre-made classes would exist, but options for customization would help make each player special. Characters can choose between specific class archetypes such as Mage or Thief but develop cross-class skills at the same time. For example, Mages with bows or Fighters with Fireball spells.

Old locations that have not been explored in 15 years, from The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall and The Elder Scrolls: Arena, make startling returns. Of these, Hammerfell was included. Firor leaked that new locations never before seen in an Elder Scrolls game are featured in the MMO.

Quests follow an organic structure the way the traditional saga sees. Quests are marked on the compass and map with arrows, but do not need to be completed in linear fashion; see an interesting dungeon or a band of enemies you want to check out? Go ahead, then finish the quests at your leisure.

Timeline-wise, the storyline takes place 1,000 years before the events of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and roughly 800 years before the Oblivion Crisis during a time of political unrest, where no Emperor has been crowned. The main story focuses around three factions, vying for control of the Cyrodilic crown -- The Ebonheart Pact, The Daggerfall Covenant, and The Aldmeri Dominion. Players join the faction based exclusively on the race they choose upon character creation. Despite these assertions, TESWiki does not yet consider the MMO events to be canonical.

Firor said ESO's defining achievement was "combat". Zenimax wants to trim down on the HUD, so players can really "see" what's going on during battles. Things like blocking, sprinting, and weapon swinging are becoming closer and closer to that real-life feel.

Check out the original article here.