Next-gen systems seem determined to usher in the age of console MMOs, with games like Destiny and The Division at the forefront. Of course, the biggest (or at least most well-known) name in upcoming MMORPGs is the Elder Scrolls Online, the long-awaited online installment in the Elder Scrolls franchise. As such, ESO was initially met with an overwhelmingly positive reception; the concept of “a Skyrim MMO” was finally a reality, at least to some degree. After spending some hands-on time with the game at Bethesda’s Pre-E3 Conference (which yielded this handy-dandy preview, by the way), I can confidently say that the excitement is warranted; The Elder Scrolls Online is shaping up to be a fantastic game on all platforms.

Incidentally, that last part is where things get a bit muddied. ESO was originally slated for a PC-only release, but E3 2013 brought the news that the game will be available on PS4 and Xbox One as well. It also became known that the initial Q4, 2013 release date had been pushed back to “Spring 2014,” presumably as padding for the newly announced versions of the game. The announcement was incredibly abrupt, and, unsurprisingly, many fans and followers were suddenly out in droves, hell-bent on proving the inadequacy of next-gen systems in comically witch-trial fashion.

Laughably, the majority of dissatisfaction is rooted in simple PC elitism, a common enough issue in today’s gaming industry, or sheer ignorance—though the line between those two is blurred, if there at all. There are several glaring fallacies in this way of thinking that, having sat down with members of the development team and played the game myself, I fully intend to highlight. However, let’s first take a look at what actual ESO “fans” had to say in response to the official Facebook announcement (always a reliable breeding ground for coherent, intelligent statements) of the game’s multiplatform status.

“[Explicative]. Why would anyone think an MMO is a good idea on a console?”

It probably has something to do with the immense consumer base which has shown a profound fondness for open-world titles. Oh, and the advanced networking capabilities of next-gen systems may have played a part. Remember that whole Cloud thing?

“Just what we all dreaded. The dumbing down and simplifying of Elder Scrolls even more.”

You do realize that the most successful Elder Scrolls releases, Oblivion and Skyrim, were both available on consoles, right? Not only that, but last I checked, there’s no intricacy quota between systems; console games are in no way innately inferior or less complex than PC games. Maybe if I jammed a GeForce GTX 680 VGA into a PS3, you’d suddenly change your mind? Or should I liquid cool my PS2 memory card to make consoles more reputable?

“I hate the ignorance of console gamers trying to compare a console to a PC by the time the release the new console it will be outdated and will remain that way steadily holding back any real advances in the game.”

Alright, that was almost a sentence. Good effort. Personally, I agree to some extent; I, too, hate the inherent flaws of comparing PCs and consoles, as the two are radically different platforms. However, the pseudo-assumption that consoles are wholly stagnant, while entirely accurate from a strictly hardware standpoint, doesn’t hold water.

“It's going to be for ps4, pc, and Xbox one. It's going to be great that the franchise is making it so u can play with multiple people at once. More realistic, more adventure more fun. Stop hating until it actually comes out an we see how great or not great it is. From someone that has played all the elder scrolls I'm very excited to see how this game will be after skyrim being such a badass game. [Explicative] Xbox one. And [explicative] the haters!”

I’m at no shortage of emphatic comments, but I’ll assume you get the point: Many ESO fans are pissed. Oddly enough, they don’t seem to know exactly why.

The most prominent complaint from the PC player base is that, due to the addition of Xbox One and PS4 versions to the game, The Elder Scrolls Online will somehow be dumbed down. Among other things, this connotes lowered graphical quality, a botched server system, and limited content updates. Coincidentally, every last one of these is easily discredited.

So let’s go down the list.