The memories of Vijay Lakshman, the lead designer of “The Elder Scrolls: Arena”: Back then, Bethesda was both a developer and a publisher, and everyone on the team had to “wear many hats.” Not only did they make the game, but they also had to do it themselves by turning the game into a boxed product. At the loading dock, they learned how to assemble the box, insert the inner pages and instructions, and even use a heat gun to shrink-wrap the product. From concept to boxing and putting on the shelf, it was really a one-stop process.
They also had to shrink the film by hand, because at that time there was no platform that could help you.
Lakshman even mentioned that the team took the time to shrink-wrap themselves. This kind of picture is almost like a legend today: modern developers can publish on Steam, console stores, and digital platforms; but there was no such way back then. If you wanted to get the game to the store, you had to move it, pack it, and deliver it yourself.
He also mentioned that the original “Arena” was not intended to be a traditional RPG, but a combat-oriented game where you lead a team of gladiators to gain fame. This direction changed midway through development, which to some extent also affected early market expectations and sales starts.
They also missed the Christmas period, resulting in only about 3,000 copies being shipped in the first batch.
“Arena” writer and designer Ted Peterson recalled in an interview in 2001 that the team missed the Christmas schedule at the end of development and finally released it in the off-season of March. For small developers, this is almost a disaster-level mistake. Because the publisher thought you were going to make an arena combat game, but instead you came out with an RPG, which reduced the first batch of shipments to about 3,000 copies. Peterson also admits that at the time they thought the company might be doomed.
But then it slowly grew through word-of-mouth, selling more and more!
Peterson said that as players really started to play “Arena”, the effect of word of mouth helped sales grow month by month, and eventually even became a niche cult hit. It is estimated that Arena may eventually sell around 120,000 copies! It’s not astonishing today, but for Bethesda back then, it was a number that brought the company back from the brink and paved the way for the growth of subsequent series.
The twist in the timeline is also a coincidence
Lakshman left Bethesda after Arena launched, around the same time Todd Howard joined the company. Later, under the leadership of Howard, “The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind/The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind)”, “The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (The Elder Scrolls 4: Annihilation/The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion)” to “The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim/The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim) has become a hit all the way, turning the series from a small studio shrinking and shipping it into a global RPG masterpiece.