Mr. House Ending: Vegas‘ Best Bet for Rebuilding Civilization?

The infamous autocrat Mr. House seizes control of Hoover Dam and the Strip at the end of Fallout: New Vegas, exiling both Caesar‘s Legion and the NCR from the Mojave Waste in a ruthlessly efficient coup. His Securitron robot army – upgraded with the Platinum Chip – pacifies resistance with barely a broken window on the Strip. Mr. House proceeds to crown himself the President, CEO, and sole proprietor of New Vegas, ready to act on his decades-old vision of revitalizing the city.

How Does House Take Over in His Ending?

To trigger Mr. House‘s ending, the Courier must complete a series of connected quests that cement House‘s domination.

• Initially the Courier retrieves House‘s secret trump card – the Platinum Chip upgrade for his Securitrons – from Benny after tracking down the treacherous Head of Chairmen.

• The Courier then brings the Chip to House. He promptly installs the hardware upgrade, vastly improving the Securitrons‘ weapons, armor and AI. The Courier witnesses a badass missile-launching demo.

• House next directs the Courier to destroy enemy leadership, methodically weakening factions that oppose his rule. The Courier sabotages President Kimball‘s peace treaty, assassinates General Oliver, wipes out the Brotherhood bunker – all paving the way for House‘s takeover.

• Finally, House orders a high-tech surgical strike with his upgraded Securitron army against both Legion and NCR forces at Hoover Dam while also missile striking Legion encampments.

In mere hours, House defeats all rivals to emerge as New Vegas‘ undisputed ruler with his impregnable Securitron force – achieving his life‘s mission to control Vegas at last.

Purported Benefits of House‘s Leadership

"The City‘s debts are paid and its revenue streams assured. People flock to New Vegas in search of fortune, vice… or just a new life." – Endgame Slide

House‘s ending suggests his leadership would stimulate New Vegas‘ economy and prosperity like never before seen. Let‘s analyze why:

Visionary Ruler

• As CEO of RobCo pre-war, House is a genius inventor and industrialist – he built Securitrons, Snowflakes learning systems, planned rockets to space.

• House has charted Vegas‘ future for decades. He uniquely understands governance and business needs after studying archived data for years.

• His ambition? No less than space colonization to save humanity! House is undoubtedly visionary.

Economic Growth

• House pledges to rapidly rebuild casinos, hotels and infrastructure to attract new settlers and tourists to Vegas with luxury, gambling and vice.

• No shortage of cash either – his robot army seized all old world money from ruined vaults like the Sierra Madre.

• With Vegas independent, House can stimulate innovation free of NCR bureaucracy and taxes too.

• Even House‘s detractors admit he excels at calculated, long-term economic planning.

Stability

• Unlike chaotic Yes Man endings where Securitrons might turn on each other without House;s direction, House maintains control to enforce stability.

• His upgraded Securitron army is bills itself as:

  "The finest robotic force ever assembled… and currently the ONLY intact pre-war army in the Mojave."

• Unified command structure and overwhelming firepower ensures order that anarchic Indy Vegas lacks.

Criticisms and Downsides of House‘s Rule

However, House does have his detractors who highlight downsides to his leadership model for Vegas:

Autocracy

• House seizes total control as a CEO-turned-political autocrat. While technically Vegas is an "independent" city-state, House alone makes all decisions.

• He brooks no dissent and swiftly crushes opposition from factions like Kings or Brotherhood with his Securitron army.

• This authoritarian approach risks boiling over into rebellion someday. Even his ally Yes Man remarks that House "hates anything that‘s not orderly."

Self-Interested

• Cynics argue that underneath altruistic rhetoric about saving humanity, House is ultimately driven by megalomania and self-interest.

• Is he any better than other Vegas warlords? Does he really care about improving citizens‘ welfare or only cementing personal power and profit?

Alienating Allies

• Some criticize how House destroys NCR and ignores Followers of Apocalypse who otherwise helped rebuild Vegas – short-sighted just to defeat rivals.

• Burning too many diplomatic bridges risks hurting economic growth and makes enemies long-term.

Speculating the Future Under House

Admittedly we can only hypothesize what happens next under House‘s rule after Hoover Dam.

What new challenges might House face rebuilding an independent New Vegas or handling internal dissent?

I speculate three scenarios House might need to navigate: