Which Ending is Cannon? (2024)

I guess I'm asking this question WAY too early, but I kinda wonder which ending of the four is cannon. I just got done with the NCR ending and it's almost identical to the Independent New Vegas ending and the Mr.House ending. The order of battle is almost the same between those 3 endings and the end is pretty much the same, face-off against Lanius than a confrontation/congratulations speech with general oliver. The only thing that's really different are the outcomes.

I have my suspicions that the NCR ending is cannon not just because of it's similarities with the others, but also because the bias the game sorta has towards NCR ( I mean they have ten billion camps and the legion just have two, they have more quests than anyone else!) it also seems like an NCR ending might be preferable because it's easier to write.

I however LOVED the Independent New Vegas storyline, Yes Man was funny as hell and nothing gave me more satisfaction than kicking both the legion AND the NCR out.

It really leaves things open at the end of No Gods, No Masters though, General Oliver hints that his superiors won't accept an independent vegas and that the NCR will be back in the mojave soon enough. I liked how the independent vegas storyline really left things open, that's the ending I would prefer to become cannon if given a choice.

Anyway what do you guys think? How do you think Obsidian will manage the New Vegas chapter of the fallout cannon?--Boredintheusa 10:29, June 18, 2011 (UTC)

I too am deeply intrigued as to which of the 3 endings [not Legions] will be declared the canon ending.

Of the 3 endings, I think Mr. Houses is the least likely as the other two require his death [NCR & YesMan]. That leaves the NCR & YesMans endings to choose from.

My suspicion is that its YesMans. Here is why: if you reading the notes on YesMan's page here on the wiki, it states the following:

• After the assault of Hoover Dam, Yes Man informs you that he found pieces of code within Mr. House's mainframe that "change [his] personality" and says he will seem to be offline for a little while until his personality change is complete (he never actually shows his changed personality due to the game ending). Part of the change is that he's going to be more "assertive", hinting that he will no longer be under the Courier's control. It appears that this may have been a fail-safe implemented by House to ensure that the city he loved would be in safe hands in the event of his death (basically making Yes Man able to fill Mr. House's role as he has all of his data on the network).

• • This was likely included to save the pain of creating a "canon" backstory for the Courier in the event of an independent Vegas becoming the canon ending, as well as a way of avoiding the complicated situations that could occur from putting the Courier in total control of Vegas in the post-ending gameplay that was scrapped later in development.

I've said often that House would have left a program [he always planned ahead for anything] and it is most likely a copy of his brain pattern, which was stored deep in his mainframe in case his physical body died and it is that which is intergrating with YesMan's personality.

In addition if the developers didn't want to create more of a story line that follows with the Courier being in charge of Vegas if YesMan's ending IS the canon ending then I suspect that this is. Also, by ending the game after the Battle of Hoover Dam, this lets the developers have a fresh canvas on which to write on in regards to future storylines set in the SouthWest region or Core. If they let game play continue afterwards then it might confuse things somewhat. Its also probably that they need to make cuts during the development of the game as well and post Hoover Dam game play was one of them. They have a ready made storyline, that being newly independant New Vegas under the control of a hybrid YesMan/House which asserts it control over the Mojave. The NCR's eastward imperial ambitions are severly curtailed, while General Oliver probably got thrown off the dam and President Kimball loses his office. In a way, by losing control of NV and the Mojave, this is probably best for the NCR as it allows them to pull back and consolidate their gains and think hard about what they actually want to achieve as a society.

Another hunch of mine is that the in the canon storyline, the Courier helps Mr House right upto the point where he's asked to kill off the BoS. Since Veronica and her quest line are sort of important to the game, although not essential, and since the Courier is probably one of the very few outsiders who are allow to join the BoS, I think he'd be extremely reluctant to betray them despite the BoS being stuck in their ways. By switching alligence to YesMan, the Courier can let the BoS live even though the game is slanted towards them being destroyed.

I also believe that the Courier decieded to make his own bid for real power once he learns what the chip can do and that YesMan is totally under his control after he kills Benny. I don't think the Courier will reappear in any future games though, more likely will disappear into the wastes to be never heard of again. Captain Taipan 00:57, June 20, 2011 (UTC)

Yes Man is indeed Canon[]

I believe that Yes Man's ending is canonical for several reasons:

• The Courier is constantly depicted as wearing a Vault 21 Jumpsuit. Vault 21's backstory mirrors that of an anarchist society, which likely means that the Yes Man ending (which is partially anarchy) is symbolized by this.
  • On the "Yes Man being Skynet" note, J.E. Sawyer, who was actually a developer that contributed at some point to the series, openly states that Yes Man was just changing his personality for the sake of ensuring that ONLY the Courier could control him. After all, if someone found out that Yes Man is exactly as his name implies, many people would likely have ambitious desires to usurp the Courier by taking the reigns.
• In the Lonesome Road DLC, your Courier duster's design and bonuses depend on what faction you're siding with. In the ending slideshow, we see the Courier wearing the "Blackjack" variant, which is obtainable via the Yes Man storyline.
• The NCR has already prosperred plentifully in the events of FO and FO2. I severely doubt that the writers would just keep babying the NCR like that, especially since they openly remark that the NCR is now exactly like the defunct, corrupt version of the U.S. in the real world.
• Arcade's best endings are in the Independant storyline. He activates his quest for you even if you don't get "trust" points with him so long as you do Yes Man's storyline. This has to be the most notable part of all of this, next to the fact that FO writers have a tendency to make the player character an extremely important figure in the events of the wasteland.
• As stated above, the writers like to make the player character a massive savior of the wastes. As a hero of the NCR or House's lieutenant, this just doesn't seem glamorous enough. Keep in mind that the Vault Dweller saved the Core Region from an ARMY of Super Mutants, his grandson/daughter ended up saving it once more by blowing up the Enclave's oil rig, and the Lone Wanderer ended up PURIFYING ALL THE WATER IN WASHINGTON, D.C. The most glamorous ending for the Courier is Yes Man's ending, in which the Courier becomes the ruler of New Vegas and the Mojave.
• Almost all of the small towns prosper (sans for Novac) when Independance from the NCR and Legion is chosen. Both the economies of Primm AND Goodsprings prosper when out of NCR rule.

The House Always Wins[]

The game was rigged before it even begun.

Let's talk about the courier's background. He's a hired employee who was rescued due to his employer's oversight. Then given a chance for revenge, and a better paying contract. Better than one that you the courier liked enough to take the job. I'd find Mr. House to be the best boss ever in Post Apocalptia. One might not like his rhetoric, or philosophy but as a worker you'd appreciate his help. Also the Courier enters the Strip like a VIP being the first person in the Lucky 38, and being the talk of the town. For players we realize this isn't much since we can kill raiders, and shape the world. But for an actual person this is a big deal. Fame, Money, Stardom...

Answer[]

We have absolutely no way of knowing which ending is considered "canon". The creators of F:NV haven't released the relevant information. Sniping is Awesome^{Speak to the Sniper} 21:43, October 16, 2015 (UTC)