*** The Official Diablo III Thread ***

[tuftyfella]

theres a lot to say about it. its disappointing for sure considering everyone was expecting something regarding Diablo 4 or Diablo 2 HD/ remastered, however, nothing specific was hinted at in the lead up, even blizzard put out a statement telling people to calm down on the hype after hyping things up themselves with a 'we got plenty going on' video. it didnt help that some content creators would hype things up looking at the tiniest of things and somehow linking it to a D2 HD/ D4 potential announcement also.

then they announce a mobile game to a PC gaming audience as the last announcement of the opening ceremony, the announcement that should be the most exciting thing they announce. it boggles the mind how out of touch they are with their audience that they thought it would be received well. Then when everyone vents that disappointment blizzard start moderating it, deleting dislikes (assuming its not a youtube bot thing messing it up) and removing top comments etc on their videos.

and then with a bit of research it seems the chinese(?) company they have partnered with for this mobile game has several other games that look and play exactly the same, which isnt a surprise as most mobile games are copy + paste mechanics with art style changes and some extra mechanics added/ removed. on top of that this company is considered a 'pig farm' by the chinese players due to micro-transaction stuff (and apparently the company actually owns pig farms).

to say they messed things up on this occasion would be an understatement. the game may be the best ever mobile game, it may be the worst, who knows at this point, but i can say im not bothering with it, i dont find these games enjoyable on mobile devices. i also hope it doesnt have any impact on future diablo projects as i dont want a dumbed down game that they can easily port to console / mobile devices for cost saving purposes.

edit: i thought the cinematic looked bloody great though

 

[Tombstone]

And added to all of that, its now been shown that some of the "members of the public" who asked "positive" questions during the Q and A , were actually paid actors who have been in Blizzard promotional videos in the past. So yet more manipulation and attempts to subvert the real public impression of it.

 

[HungryHippos]

Yeah it's a real shame, but clearly a new Diablo experience for the PC is not high on the list of Blizzard priorities.

Wouldn't be so bad if they gave an update on an upcoming Diablo project, but added a side note of "we are also working on this mobile game" in the meantime. I don't know what kind of reaction they were expecting to get, especially as they were treating it like it was exciting news.

 

[Trig]

TBH there are a lot of mobile phones out there, so if they're charging for the game, or some sort of coins/DLC then it'll make them money, and thats what the shareholders will want..

 

[SiDeards73]

Oh this game will make them a ton of Bank, there is millions of mobile gamers in Asia and pretty much most of the world.. It was just sad that they hyped up a Diablo Announcement prior to Blizzcon then as it got closer started to temper peoples excitement..

The problem is D3 has been in maintenance mode for a long time and has been stale, recycled seasons are boring after a while, the last decent bit of content was the Necro pack..

But their sheer attitude towards people who were less than enthusiastic about some mobile version of the game speaks volumes, mobile gamers dont go to Blizzcon to find out about mobile games, most attendees are usually WoW fans and then PC players of pretty much their other titles. Anyone going there for Diablo news was arguably 100% a PC gamer waiting on news of something new for their chosen platform, PC..

To dump some reskinned chinese mobile game on them is just insulting really.

 

[Tombstone]

Its also their whole "dont you have mobile phones" attitude, thats an utterly disgusting way to speak to your userbase. Especially to people who have paid you money to be there. Its awful public relations, like they are suggesting that there is something wrong with you the audience for wanting to play on PC rather than anything they are doing. To then manipulate dislikes, plant actors in the public Q and A and delete comments simply compounds that disgusting way of treating the userbase. To be perfectly frank, its not even so much the mobile game which irks me, its far more the way they have handled it and the sheer disdain they have shown to the public. Seems to me that Blizzard have gotten too big for their boots and could do with being brought down a peg or two.

 

[Kyo]

Can you imagine similar reactions if Red Dead Redemption 2 was released after all the wait as a watered down mobile game of the first one. So I think the negative backlash to a degree was justified and highlighted just how out of touch Blizzard were. Surely they would have expected this and couldnt realistically think they could get away with a game that no pc gamer wanted and geared for a entirely new market.

 

[tuftyfella]

the memes have been fun though, this one got a hearty LOL from me.

 

[Kyo]

LoL

 

[L0new0lf]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0l4eCj_XZI

 

[Tibbz2]

All of this has made me want to pick up Diablo 3. I enjoyed the gameplay of PoE but I just got overwhelmed with some of the systems in that game - would diablo be a better bet for me? I don't think I want to shell out 40 quid for the switch version, so I might wait for a battle net sale.

 

[Tombstone]

All of this has made me want to pick up Diablo 3. I enjoyed the gameplay of PoE but I just got overwhelmed with some of the systems in that game - would diablo be a better bet for me? I don't think I want to shell out 40 quid for the switch version, so I might wait for a battle net sale.

D3 is certainly easier to get into and pick up and play than PoE. PoE is the better game with more content but not as easy to get into.

What I am going to do though, is get around to playing Grim Dawn. I bought it ages ago back when it was in early access and never really gave it a fair crack of the whip, I often read about how good it has gone on to become with 2 very good DLCs too and I believe another expansion due in Q1 of 2019, so I will finally give it a proper go now.

 

[Steampunk]

Jim Sterling sums it up and tears it apart. There's a few swearies.

 

[Malevolence]

The day Diablo died.

 

[Darujhistan]

I've only just caught up with this, they must have known this wouldn't go down well with the userbase, but they're prepared to ride out the storm and make a fortune from it no doubt. Not surprised they're manipulating various media to misrepresent the reaction. Mobile gaming is not for me and never will be, as far as I go is Tetris on a phone, there's no way i'd ever play a watered down version of a AAA title on a phone, what's next Bethesda announce Elder Scrolls VI for mobile only?

Another nail in the coffin of PC gaming.

 

[Malevolence]

Oh dear.

 

[Tombstone]

A 6% drop in 7 hours is pretty hefty, will be interesting to see if that sort of drop continues over the coming days.

 

[Steampunk]

Activision seem to have kept it pretty quiet, because unless you were interested in Blizzcon or are a WoW/Diablo player, it would have flown under the radar... until the memes started appearing. Now the youtubes are out, word is spreading, and people otherwise uninterested are getting word of the crash & burn at Blizzard. The hubris and comeuppance of a big company who mistreat their fanbase are (as always) fun to watch.

As word spreads, I expect the financials to drop, but the serious people will know that the US PC player base doesn't matter when you're targeting the Chinese mobile market for a cash grab. Money will be made, share prices will rise.

 

[Soya]

It IS an April Fools Joke, just 4 years delayed! Oh the Irony!
https://us.diablo3.com/en/blog/13607363/ascend-to-victory-with-happy-reaper™-4-1-2014

 

[Smokey Deza]

Its also their whole "dont you have mobile phones" attitude, thats an utterly disgusting way to speak to your userbase. Especially to people who have paid you money to be there. Its awful public relations, like they are suggesting that there is something wrong with you the audience for wanting to play on PC rather than anything they are doing. To then manipulate dislikes, plant actors in the public Q and A and delete comments simply compounds that disgusting way of treating the userbase. To be perfectly frank, its not even so much the mobile game which irks me, its far more the way they have handled it and the sheer disdain they have shown to the public. Seems to me that Blizzard have gotten too big for their boots and could do with being brought down a peg or two.

Well put.

Couldn't believe it when he said "We' don't have any plans to do errr.....(what's that thing called again, ah yes) PC". Really, who the **** put that monkey up there? He basically just told the whole PC community to do one because we're so excited about our new mobile venture.

Anyway, I think Diablo fans were extremely naive in thinking this was ever going to be Diablo 4. I did point out like 3 years ago in this thread that rumours of D4 emerging won't start circulating until like S14/15, and even then I felt I was being very, very optimistic.

It took 12 years for D3. 12 freaking years! Half that time has passed since D3, and in that time all Blizzard have done is port it to as many mediums that can support it. So, with that being said, why on Earth would they release Diablo 4 now? It's pretty evident they feel there is still a lot of life left in D3.