New Blizzard Game to be unveiled at WWI [June 29?] -- DIABLO III?!

[Gukumatz]

The last three days, Blizzard have been updating a splash picture at it's homepage www.blizzard.com once a day. If you check the page, you'll note that the ice in the middle is cracking, something which has happened gradually.

If you download the pic, and zoom in, you will also see three "runes" from the three different Blizzard franchises: a rune from Arthas' sword, Frostmourne, in WC3/WoW, a Protoss writing rune from Starcraft and a Magic rune from Diablo.

A lot of fans think this means that Diablo III will be unveiled at World Wide Invitational, Blizzard's private mini-E3. This is backed up by the fact that Blizzard has said they will be unveiling a new game. <source (http://www.blizzplanet.com/content/diablo3/xfire-wwi-2008.jpg)>

Speculation is rampant on Blizzard forums as well as other fan forums. Many anticipate this is related to the Wrath of the Lich King expansion for World of Warcraft, but tradition declares that when Blizzard uses the front page to tease, it's always a new game. (The exception was the new battle.net system)

That this pertains to Wrath of the Lich King is seeminly obvious, as the ice-based theme correlate to the expansion-pack's Northrend-themed content, but many fans feel this is a red herring thrown out by the sleazy Blizzard to throw us off our mark. A lot of this belief is borne from the fact that Blizzard threw the numbers 232309 out there as one of the picture's names, as well as 0415 in another one. Numerically speaking, the cypher 232309 could translate to WWI and it follows that 0415 then would translate to DO. As in D-iabl-O. Many fans on wcreplays.com anticipate that the new pictures thrown up around midnight Irvine-time will be named 01, 02, 09 or 12, to complement this theory.

It goes without saying that the naming convention with Blizzard is not accidental. It never is. They're right bastards about this stuff.

Two last things lets the fans feel good about jumping on the Diablo III bandwagon: the World Wide Invitational is being held on June 28th and 29th. June 29th would be the 8th Anniversary for Diablo II and Diablo II: Lord of Destruction was released on June 27th, one year later. As a last thing, argent fans have tried to hunt down the activity of the team known as "Blizzard North", responsible for Diablo franchise (those that did not leave to form Flagship Studios) and they are currently believed to be the team that is not currently making Starcraft II or working on WoW: Wrath of the Lich King.

[Blizzard has 3 teams for development: 40 men working on SCII,, 135 working on WoW and "Team 3", currently unassigned]

Many fans now fear that Diablo III will go the way of WoW; straight in a handbasket to, appropriately enough, Hell.

More conspiracy information can be found at gosugamers.net (http://www.gosugamers.net/warcraft/news/8596-new-blizzard-announcement). (SFW, unless your boss hates conspiracy theories)

Since I just hastily compiled this information for the Doper sofa-bound gaming masses, please allow me some slack in the veracity of the information for now. I'll be back to fact check when I get off work.(in around three hours)

It's an exciting day to be a gamer.

- Guku

[Justin_Bailey]

A lot of this belief is borne from the fact that Blizzard threw the numbers 232309 out there as one of the picture's names, as well as 0415 in another one. Numerically speaking, the cypher 232309 could translate to WWI and it follows that 0415 then would translate to DO. As in D-iabl-O. Many fans on wcreplays.com anticipate that the new pictures thrown up around midnight Irvine-time will be named 01, 02, 09 or 12, to complement this theory.

I think you're looking too deep into the numbers thing. Blizzard screwed themselves with last year's announcement of Starcraft 2 when Starcraft2.com redirected to Blizzard's homepage with the same images (and a naming scheme that revealed each day's images right from the start). The numbers are likely just a blowoff to keep snoopers out.

However, Blizzard is now the proud owner of Diablo3.com (which does not redirect to Blizzard's homepage), when last year it was owned by an unaffiliated third party. So there you go.

[Yorikke]

I've always thought of WoW as a spiritual Diablo 3. But I would LOVE a Diablo MMO. I'd have to assume that any Diablo 3 would be an MMO, right?

Joe

[Demo]

World of Starcraft FTW.

[Gukumatz]

I don't believe they would make Diablo III into an MMO; half because I want them not to, half because I don't think Blizzard would compete with themselves in the MMO market. NPD data suggests the MMO market is highly saturated as it is, and the only way Diablo III would gain a following would be to tap the WoW franchise's fans. Which would mean shutting down, or funneling fans from, WoW. And I don't believe that is likely.

Further, that would mean 2 of Blizzards' 3 Big IPs are MMOs, and I don't think that would benefit them storytelling-wise.

That's at least looking at the word MMO in a traditional light. I'm of course open to believing that Diablo III will (would) use online play in new ways. The same way Battle.net's WCIII and SC matchmaking revolutionized online play, I believe they could make a decent profit in the Diablo III online market. Micro-transactions and online advertising are a trope in current games, like the new Battlefield: Heroes game in which you buy widgets and weapons with real-life money, or Battlefield: 2142 which featured real-world advertising on its' billboards. Not that I'm saying you'll have Nikes thrown after you as a choice in footwear; just that there's far more options in online play than the paid subscription model.

I do hope that with whatever new game they're making, they make something not designed to appeal to the lowest common denominator in hardware. I'd like a Diablo with some gameplay refinements, or a brand new IP alltogether. The clickfest that is Diablo II doesn't hold too well in 2008 gaming. (As Titan Quest found out, despite being arguably a better clone than Diablo II was a game)

[fluiddruid]

Is it me, or does DO make more sense not as D-iabl-O but rather as "Diablo Online", e.g. World of Diablo?

[fluiddruid]

Hmm, I take that back. Seems that they expect it to spell out DIABLO after a few days.

I think this about cinches it for me:

http://blizzplanet.com/news/2474/

[Stringer]

I hope they keep the core Diablo gameplay the same, but fix all the problems with Diablo 2.

Stuff to Keep

Isometric view (Please no FPS)
Hack and slash
Lots of shiny items
Runewords
PvP Balance
Ladder/Non-Ladder play and Ladder-only items


Stuff to Fix

Horrible stash management (do away with mules please, just give us an infinite stash)
No decent in-game currency
More than 3 or 4 runs worth doing
In-game trading, where you can manage items for sale in your store and people can search and purchase them with currency.

[Gukumatz]

The letters now spell D - O -W - P. Speculation has turned in an ugly direction, and people are wondering if it will end up spelling out "POWNED", which will then be featured on the shiny box-set of Wrath of the Lich King, which is what Blizzard was unveiling.

Damn them.

[fluiddruid]

If that's the case, the press that indicates it's a new *game* was wrong.

Besides, everyone knows that it's "pwned", not "powned". I'd be deeply disappointed in Blizzard if they couldn't spell "pwned"!

I'd be surprised if Blizzard was jerking us around this hard. We know that there's a third development team (other than WoW and SC2) working on a 'secret project'. We know that several gaming magazines are squealing about a super-secret, highly anticipated game from a major developer, and one of the reviews referred to both 'hell' and 'cows'.

[smiling bandit]

highly anticipated game from a major developer, and one of the reviews referred to both 'hell' and 'cows'.

Cowablo!

Play as one of three lethal characters as you halt the Bull of Terror, Cowablo, from emerging into the farm!


The mighty Burro! His Stubborn tree resist enemy attacks as his Kick tree takes out groups all at once! Or, sink up top your easrs and regenerate with Sunk Mule!

The sinister Sheep! Chew through enemies' lawns and leave a swath of destruction across the forces of Bovine Evil!

The unstoppable Horse! Race past enemies at high speed, and carry a Human Rider minion who slashes at them while you charge!

[Mosier]

I've always thought of WoW as a spiritual Diablo 3. But I would LOVE a Diablo MMO. I'd have to assume that any Diablo 3 would be an MMO, right?

Joe

NO! NO! NO! DO NOT RUIN MY FANTASY!!!!!

[Kinthalis]

Cowablo!


Tea. all. over. keyboard. Must clean. Before boss comes in.

[Kinthalis]

I thought it would just be an official release date for Star Craft II.

[fluiddruid]

From Digg:

http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/53312

[Crowbar of Irony +3]

Hey, 29th June happens to be my birthday!

It's about time for Diablo III, given the dismal performance of Hellgate London.

[Lute Skywatcher]

I've always thought of WoW as a spiritual Diablo 3. But I would LOVE a Diablo MMO. I'd have to assume that any Diablo 3 would be an MMO, right?Seems to me that the best way a Diablo MMO would work is to make it a prequel. D3 is reportedly set 10 years after the destruction of the worldstone, with the two remaining Lesser Evils wreaking havoc on the Druids.

[Crowbar of Irony +3]

Seems to me that the best way a Diablo MMO would work is to make it a prequel. D3 is reportedly set 10 years after the destruction of the worldstone, with the two remaining Lesser Evils wreaking havoc on the Druids.

Please, dear Og, don't let Diablo III be a MMO.

I hate to differ here, but I think a lot of people is going to be disappointed if D3 is a MMO, for what they want (me including) is a graphics update, storyline update and mechanics update of good old D2. You know, dungeon crawls, clickfest, no grievers, no PvP, no guild raids etc. Something simple, something that captures the essence of the clickfest RPG - epic boss fights, memorable instances, storyline and quests that make sense (no "0/10 Fallen Shamans Killed" please!), classes, skills, item drops and all that without all the hassle of subscription, servers downtime and etc.

(Worst, if it is going to be a MMO, most likely for people in Southeast Asia like me, it is going to be distrubuted through Hanbitsoft, and they totally treat people in the SEA like dust. Take Hellgate London for example).

This is counter-current to recent computer gaming trends I know, but I would hate it if D3 is online only.

[Lute Skywatcher]

dungeon crawls, clickfest, no grievers, no PvP, no guild raids etc. Something simple, something that captures the essence of the clickfest RPG - epic boss fights, memorable instances, storyline and quests that make sense (no "0/10 Fallen Shamans Killed" please!), classes, skills, item drops and all that without all the hassle of subscription, servers downtime and etc. Right here is why I think a prequel would work best for a MMO: it would essentially be a clean slate. It should also be sufficiently different from WoW, imagine being able to play a Horadrim! Or a pirate off Kurast's coast, or one of Diablo's minions, etc.

[Crowbar of Irony +3]

Right here is why I think a prequel would work best for a MMO: it would essentially be a clean slate. It should also be sufficiently different from WoW, imagine being able to play a Horadrim! Or a pirate off Kurast's coast, or one of Diablo's minions, etc.

People would draw comparisons, definitely, if D3 is a MMO. At any rate, if it is a third person view, I expect it to look different from WoW style. Horror is one of the best themes about the Diablo series and the new game should reflect that. (Well, Diablo I did it so much better than Diablo II...). It should definitely feel different from WoW.

[Jragon]

The letters now spell D - O -W - P. Speculation has turned in an ugly direction, and people are wondering if it will end up spelling out "POWNED", which will then be featured on the shiny box-set of Wrath of the Lich King, which is what Blizzard was unveiling.

Damn them.
Rob Pardo, Blizz's VP of Design has confirmed it's a new game.
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/blizzard-to-unveil-new-title-at-worldwide-invitational

Possibilities:
Diablo 3
Warcraft 4
World of Starcraft
World of Diablo
Project "Hydra" (Next-gen MMO or Diablo 3)
Their new handheld game (they're looking for senior handheld UI designers)

ETA: A little while ago they did have openings for a senior graphic artist "experienced in Massively Multiplayer Online Games" who wanted to work on a brand new project, so they are in fact working on SOME MMO.

[Johnny Ecks]

I'll be disappointed if this is Diablo 3. Blizzard has three franchises that it could live on forever, but I'm hoping they will take a risk and try something new.

[Demo]

It doesn't matter what it is, the Diablo fanbois will weep regardless.

[Left Hand of Dorkness]

The only thing I'm hoping for is that it's something I can play on my PC. I'm a one-platform man, and if they do some Starcraft:Ghost bullshit, I'll be a very sad man.

Daniel

[mlees]

The letters now spell D - O -W - P.

"Diablo III: Warlord of Pain"?

"Diablo: World Police"? :D

"Diablo: World PvP Playoffs"? (AS in a tournament)

Here is a link to a job opening annoucment:

http://www.blizzard.com/us/jobopp/senior-3d-environment-artist2.html

Can someone tell from reading this, on whether or not it is for a MMO or a single player game?

For example, there is experience with "Maya" preferred. Is Maya more likely to be used for a MMO like WoW, or no?

Also, how much 3d modeling is needed in a top down game like Diablo II? (Some, I realise, but not as much as WoW. In WoW, the players viewpoint is from amongst the objects, thus the player must be able to look at objects from different angles. In Diablo, other than moving objects, the static enviornment, like trees, only present a single "side" to the player.)

[ArizonaTeach]

The letters now spell D - O -W - P. Speculation has turned in an ugly direction, and people are wondering if it will end up spelling out "POWNED", which will then be featured on the shiny box-set of Wrath of the Lich King, which is what Blizzard was unveiling.

Damn them.Wait now...D=4, O=15, P=16, W=23...those are the Lost numbers.

[jayjay]

Wait now...D=4, O=15, P=16, W=23...those are the Lost numbers.

They're missing 8. If it's in sequence, someone messed up, or it's not meant to be those and it's a huge coincidence.

[BlackKnight]

It was just announced ... Diablo 3!

I was watching the streaming video online, live from Paris. It kept kicking me and / or crashing, but I saw about half the demonstration video of Diablo 3. It doesn't appear that the http://www.blizzard.com/diablo3/ site is up yet, but that's the URL the splash image tries to link to currently.

They demo'ed a Barbarian and a Witch Doctor, from what I saw. Looks like lots of great hack-n-slash action. The perspective looks like that used in WarCraft 3. It's 3D in a rendering sense, but not 3D in an arbitrary camera-angle sense. Looks spiffy.

I'm sure high resolution videos of the gameplay demo will be on YouTube before many of you even wake up today. :)

[BlackKnight]

UPDATE: Gameplay and teaser trailer videos are now available on the official site.

http://www.blizzard.com/diablo3/

[anamnesis]

I went to bed early last night (not related to waking up early for this occasion) and woke up at 6AM CST today and decided to check and see if the site would be updated as promised and sure enough, it was. And ... wow.

The servers are mobbed. It's taking forever to even load up screen shots, and the trailers are downloading very slowly, but damn if this doesn't look beautiful. The quantity and variety of conceptual artwork they generated for the game's environments (and the degree to which they realized the quality of those concepts in the actual game) is incredible. The environments have the look of hand-painted backdrops from a point-and-click adventure game. They exhibit incredible perspective and blending, with an almost watercolor quality about them. They've taken the same level of detail being put into StarCraft 2 and injected it into the Diablo universe. There's even a creature in the trailer (Diablo himself?) that looks like a big Ultralisk, almost as alien and otherworldly as it is supernatural. Amazing.

I know there are still many who play Diablo, though I haven't played it in ages. I'm still definitely on board for this one. It's a great time to be a bigger fan of StarCraft and Diablo than of WarCraft, and I am so glad they're finally reembracing their other franchises. The WarCraft MMO obsession has turned me off of Blizzard for several years now.

[Crowbar of Irony +3]

UPDATE: Gameplay and teaser trailer videos are now available on the official site.

http://www.blizzard.com/diablo3/

I am not very sure if I like what I am seeing. It's like an arcade game. Maybe the videos aren't the final gameplay, but...

It looks look much like Titan Quest, and the over the top physics, almost cartoon-like WoW-ish effects, seem to me that the designers had forgot about the horror element in Diablo I. Of course, so far they are only showing zombies and skeletons, but the death animations are too...exaggerated...to believe that this is a game set in a dark fantasy world. I wished they had tuned down the special effects; it seems with each incarnation of Diablo, the heroes are getting more and more powerful to the point of almost ridiculous.

The backstory sounds intriguing, but somehow something from WoW seems to have slipped in Diablo 3. And what is that I see? Floating hearts from Devil May Cry series?

Other than that, the site, gameplay and so on, doesn't seem to make it any more different or exciting than Titan Quest. Let's hope the "random, dynamic scripted quests" worked out fine. Another disappointment are that there will be only five classes; though they promise much customisations, I am really taking it with a pillar of salt. Titan Quest and Guild War has set a precedent for multi-classing/class-combos -- but LOTRO's trait systems also managed customisations while providing fixed classes -- so we should see.

I am really lowering my expectations after the fuck-up that is Hellgate London, anyway.

[Cubsfan]

I think it looks badass. That witch doctor is very cool and they did some very cool stuff with him like the locusts and the zombie wall.

All in all it looks like diablo, it's not an MMO and they kept the mousecentric controls. Blizzard has NEVER let me down so I have faith the this game is gonna kick some ass.

Oh and FTR I thought Titans Quest was a fantastic game. It definitely raised the gameplay bar when compared to Diablo thats for sure, though the atmosphere and storyline of Diablo is better.

I do want to add though that I'd bet you $$ that Battle.net isn't going to be free any more. At best they will have a free and pay version. Mark my words folks.

[Crowbar of Irony +3]

I do want to add though that I'd bet you $$ that Battle.net isn't going to be free any more. At best they will have a free and pay version. Mark my words folks.

Noooo! Then it will be like the Hellgate London's "freebooters vs. subscribers" war all over again.

Actually, for public online play, paying is fine if there are perks. However, please give me TCP/IP and LAN for private gaming or else I am going to crack some demon's soulstone.

[Kiros]

I know there are still many who play Diablo, though I haven't played it in ages. I'm still definitely on board for this one. It's a great time to be a bigger fan of StarCraft and Diablo than of WarCraft, and I am so glad they're finally reembracing their other franchises. The WarCraft MMO obsession has turned me off of Blizzard for several years now.

This. I have been a HUGE Blizzard fan since, oh, WC1 and 2 were formative experiences of my (very young) gaming years. Diablo and Starcraft in high school, Warcraft 3 in college... I LOVE Blizzard games.

Except I don't really like WoW. Actually, that's not really true - I like it as a GAME, as what's there, but I strongly dislike it as a MMO. I've tried it a few times, and for all the polish and perfection, I've just never found it to be as much FUN as half a dozen other MMOs, never mind Blizzard's other offerings.

So basically I have been deprived of new games by my favorite game-maker for the past several years. And now, with SC2 and especially Diablo 3 -- and frankly I'd have been even MORE thrilled with a new IP, as long as it wasn't MMO -- I am especially excited about PC gaming for the forseeable future. Not to mention that Blizzard is back on my map in a HUGE way.

[Crowbar of Irony +3]

So basically I have been deprived of new games by my favorite game-maker for the past several years. And now, with SC2 and especially Diablo 3 -- and frankly I'd have been even MORE thrilled with a new IP, as long as it wasn't MMO -- I am especially excited about PC gaming for the forseeable future. Not to mention that Blizzard is back on my map in a HUGE way.

Wow, yes, I agree with you on this one. I was half expecting D3 to be a MMO.

Anyway, from the website's tone and so on, it seems so far they had the engine done and some snippets. I daresay we won't see the light of Diablo III for a couple of years, so there's plenty of time for refinement and so on.

But at least it is official. Just hope that D3 won't suffer the fate of SC:Ghost...

[Cubsfan]

Wow, yes, I agree with you on this one. I was half expecting D3 to be a MMO.

Anyway, from the website's tone and so on, it seems so far they had the engine done and some snippets. I daresay we won't see the light of Diablo III for a couple of years, so there's plenty of time for refinement and so on.

But at least it is official. Just hope that D3 won't suffer the fate of SC:Ghost...

There's no way D3 will go the way of Ghost. It's a guarunteed 1M+ seller in it's first month, no doubt about it. D3 is what is going to bring people back to their PCs to play games instead of on consoles. This is PC gamings chance to come back so they better not blow it.

I can't say I'm a huge fan of BLizzards method of releasing game info and screens that look playable years before the games actually come out. It leaves too much time to get saturated with exposure so when the game actually comes out you've seen it all.

[Justin_Bailey]

I love that after all this detective work, the end result was that all the pictures and all the numbers and everything in this "countdown" had nothing to do with Diablo III.

Blizzard learned their lesson last year and everybody still knew what they were announcing.

[anamnesis]

Is anyone else having zero success downloading the 800mb gameplay trailer? I've been trying to run the Blizzard downloader on and off for the last six hours and despite seeing many peers being discovered under the connection info list, it hasn't downloaded a single kilobyte. One would assume it's due to a flood of download traffic, but I didn't have any problems downloading the other two trailers ...

:(

[Least Original User Name Ever]

I'm hoping they wise up and hit the consoles with this as well.

[Kinthalis]

I'm hoping they wise up and hit the consoles with this as well.

I don't see why they would have to. There are more PC gamers than there are purely console gamers. At the same time there ARE purely console gamers, and Diablo's control scheme tends to be simplistic so they just might.

[Justin_Bailey]

I don't see why they would have to. There are more PC gamers than there are purely console gamers.

That is bullshit plain and simple. There are a lot more consoles than there are PCs capable of playing newly released games (which is what you're really saying).

I don't mean to hijack, but that kind of statement hasn't been true since the late 90s and will likely never be true again.

[Kinthalis]

As for the game itself, I hated Diablo II and liked Diablo I. Based on the gameplay trailer alone, I'm definitely getting this.

[Kinthalis]

That is bullshit plain and simple. There are a lot more consoles than there are PCs capable of playing newly released games (which is what you're really saying).

I don't mean to hijack, but that kind of statement hasn't been true since the late 90s and will likely never be true again.

What the hell are you talking about? Numerous surveys have shown that the average gamer plays more PC games than console games. The number of sales for PC games as reported by the major publishers have the PC beating out the next gen consoles by a considerable margin.

The install base for PC's that will likely be able to play Diablo III is absolutely larger than the PS3 and XBOX 360 combined.

Really, where the hell are you getting your informaiton from?

[Justin_Bailey]

Really, where the hell are you getting your informaiton from?


Reality. Let's take Call of Duty 4, a game released for the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360. It was also originally a PC-exclusive series, so the game has a lot of fans that own a gaming capable PC.

Here's an article from a few weeks ago that details CoD4 passing 10 million in sales.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13772_3-9959146-52.html?tag=nefd.top

The head of Infinity Ward even confirms that the Xbox 360 is the bestselling version. A quick trip to VGChartz shows 6 million for the Xbox 360 version and 3 million for the PS3 version. That only leaves 1 million for the PC version.

The article goes on to say that 10 million sellers are rare, with only "less than 10" games to do it since 2000. And what are some of those games? Why Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (17 mil just on the PS2), Gran Turismo 3 (14 mil just on the PS2), Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (14 mil just on the PS2) and Grand Theft Auto III (11 mil just on the PS2) are a good start. The GTA games came out on PC as well, but no way could PC game sales reach anywhere close to those numbers.

And just for icing, this article

http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/50939

shows that PC game sales only account for 14% of all retail game sales in 2007. Sure digital distribution isn't included, but come on, there's no way the math can be massaged to put PC games ahead of console games "by a considerable margin."

[Least Original User Name Ever]

I don't see why they would have to. There are more PC gamers than there are purely console gamers. At the same time there ARE purely console gamers, and Diablo's control scheme tends to be simplistic so they just might.

Um. Money?

[burundi]

Um. Money?
Maybe I should log my wife out before posting.

Daniel

[Left Hand of Dorkness]

Um. Money?
There's still room in the world for niche markets: just because more people eat burgers than burritos in the US doesn't mean that Taco Bell needs to add all-beef patties to their menu. If Blizzard decides that they're better off spending their energy making a game that functions perfectly on PCs and Macs than on making a game that functions pretty well on PCs, Macs, and consoles, I expect they'll do just that. They're known for being perfectionists, and that's not a reputation they'll want to lose.

Daniel

[Kinthalis]

There has beena HUGE shift from retail PC to donwloadable games. It account for millions of dollars. Just thinking about WOW, as many people play that game as there are PS3 consoles out there.

I'm sorry but PC gaming is still incredibly huge. Granted as I mentioned above, Diablo's play style defnitely complements console style gaming. So I wouldn't be suprised if they do release it for the consoles as well.

[Justin_Bailey]

There has beena HUGE shift from retail PC to donwloadable games. It account for millions of dollars. Just thinking about WOW, as many people play that game as there are PS3 consoles out there.

That's all well and good, but console games sales accounts for several billions of dollars. And while there as many WoW accounts (not players, accounts) out there as there are PS3 systems, there is also the Xbox 360 and the Wii, which both blow WoW out of the water.

There's still room in the world for niche markets: just because more people eat burgers than burritos in the US doesn't mean that Taco Bell needs to add all-beef patties to their menu. If Blizzard decides that they're better off spending their energy making a game that functions perfectly on PCs and Macs than on making a game that functions pretty well on PCs, Macs, and consoles, I expect they'll do just that. They're known for being perfectionists, and that's not a reputation they'll want to lose.

Completely understood, I was replying to the notion that Blizzard would never want to put the game on consoles because the PC audience is so much larger, which is ridiculous.

[Kinthalis]

Well Apparently Bliz doesn't see it your way necessarily. They just confirmed Diablo III as a PC/Mac Exclusive.

Some more details:

- It will feature dynamic coopertive play. So you can play the single player campaign, and whenever you want bring in friends to help you out. Sweet.

[Justin_Bailey]

Well Apparently Bliz doesn't see it your way necessarily. They just confirmed Diablo III as a PC/Mac Exclusive.

What my way? I am merely pointing out that PC gaming is no longer the top platform and hasn't been for sometime.

While I am a Blizzard stockholder (or will be as soon as the Activision-Blizzard merger goes through), I am not their mommy and I cannot tell them to share their games with their console brothers. They can do what they want and if they want to turn down the easy money that is a popular game on the most popular platform, then more power to them. But my wallet weeps.

[Least Original User Name Ever]

I dunno. I think they could reach out and get more people that will end up loving Blizzard's work if they put it out on the conosles too.

[Cubsfan]

I don't see why they would have to. There are more PC gamers than there are purely console gamers.

Sorry, I'm not buying this at all. Unless you are including the minesweeper/solitaire/online-poker people in there, and even then I don't think you will reach the number of people playing consoles today.

Maybe in the 90's but not now. The days of the PC as a mega game machine, outside of MMORPGs, are gone and won't come back.

[anamnesis]

One would think, reading this thread, that the topic would be akin to something on the subject of the pointless pissing match commonly known as PC vs. consoles. Imagine my surprise when I realized I was still in the Diablo 3 thread ...

Can we stop the fucking hijack and attempt to discuss the game now?

[Gukumatz]

There are a grand total of 65 million consoles out there. I doubt the Wii hardware can handle D3 and even if it could, the online service is so shitty I doubt Blizzard would even consider porting it. So that leaves us with aproximately 30 million 360/PS3 owners. And it could work for those consoles and I kind of want to see Blizzard try. Keep in mind, Diablo was on the PS1. (It got an inferior score due to a choppy framerate, long loading and saving times, but was still considered a successful port)

I suspect one of the biggest reasons D3 is PC/Mac exclusive is because they want Battle.net to be an operative feature. XBox Live and PS Network are great, but not that great. Further, I have a hard time imagining how the control scheme on a console pad would work out with dozens of combos at your fingertips, quick-heal and quick-mana buttons, directional control (keep in mind you actually have to aim a lot and not just in a general direction, for spells like the fireball), jumping and so on and so forth.

Lastly, Blizzard aims at longevity and replay value in all their games. Warcraft 3? Starcraft? Still the biggest strategy games around. Diablo 2? Still thousands playing online. And I've never heard of that kind of longevity in a console game.What console game older than two years is still being played extensively? Competetively?

I'm glad they didn't decide to cross-release unto the consoles, personally, because I'd hate for them to have to dumb it down.

[Yorikke]

Shit. This has me all ready to play D2 again, and the disks are somewhere buried deep in my closet...

-sigh-

Joe

[Autolycus]

What console game older than two years is still being played extensively? Competetively?

I can think of a few. Before Brawl came out, there was Smash Brothers Melee. Also, Halo3 might last that long.

[Jragon]

I can think of a few. Before Brawl came out, there was Smash Brothers Melee. Also, Halo3 might last that long.

Also I'm pretty sure there are still tournaments for old-as-the-hills original Street Fighter II (and/or turbo).

[Justin_Bailey]

What console game older than two years is still being played extensively? Competetively?

Virtual Console anyone?

[Carnick]

The stars must be aligned. I literally just finished installing Diablo II again when the announcement came. However, I'm reserving my nerd hype until I see it for myself. What was Blizzard's last non-WOW game? The Diablo II expansion in 2001? Since then, many of the creative minds responsible for the original games have left. Sure, the gameplay video looks great, but I'm wary that Blizzard has jumped the bloated overfed shark that is World of Warcraft.

Time vill tell. Sooner or later, time vill tell.

Wait, wrong franchise.

[Carnick]

Sure digital distribution isn't included, but come on, there's no way the math can be massaged to put PC games ahead of console games "by a considerable margin."
That's like counting all the console games except for the ones sold at stores. I don't have a cite to back myself up, but I would imagine that digital distribution accounts for a most of PC game sales these days. All of the "big" games are on Steam and/or Direct2Drive, including:

Call of Duty 4
Company of Heroes
Spore
The Sims
World of Warcraft
Half-Life 2
Bioshock
Civilization 4

In fact, I don't even remember the last time I bought a PC game in stores. I even buy Steam editions of games I already own just so I don't have to fumble with discs. Sure, PC games only take up a sliver of shelf space at Gamestop nowadays, but that's because hard copies are inferior. You have to deal with annoying copy protection and worry about scratching or losing discs. And we're not even counting places like Korea where StarCraft is bigger than Jesus. They also have a huge market for free-to-play MMO's over there.

Not that I mind, either way. I have consoles and a gaming computer. I don't see why people get so passionate either way. I guess you gotta believe in something.

[Kinthalis]

I even buy Steam editions of games I already own just so I don't have to fumble with discs.

Carnick, I believe for some games offered On Valve, you can just enter their serial number on their service and have access to the games on Steam, you don't have to re-purchase them.

As I mentioned before PC games have sold MORE in totla than any ONE next gen console.

The only thing that beats it and just about everythign else is PS2. The damn thing is apparently being played even by forgotten amazon tribes.


BAck to D3: Did you guys see the final fight on the demo video? Did that thing EAT the barbarian?! Sweetness.

[Justin_Bailey]

That's like counting all the console games except for the ones sold at stores. I don't have a cite to back myself up, but I would imagine that digital distribution accounts for a most of PC game sales these days. All of the "big" games are on Steam and/or Direct2Drive

But still. Retail console sales were a little under $18 billion last year. PC game sales were a little under $1 billion. That would have to be a lot of downloaded games to even come close.

I'm sorry, I've just been seeing a lot of articles and message board posts talking about how PC gaming is finally going to make a comeback and overtake console gaming again from people who long ago drowned in the Flavor Aid.

Some people just refuse to believe in the face of all logic (and citable articles) and it drives me insane.

EDIT:

As I mentioned before PC games have sold MORE in total than any ONE next gen console.

Which is basically cheating so you can say na-na na-na, I won. Ignoring the games that make your choice lose is just so... fanboyish

[anamnesis]

Back to D3: Did you guys see the final fight on the demo video? Did that thing EAT the barbarian?! Sweetness.That Siegebreaker Assault Beast pulled him apart with little hesitation. I was impressed. Little known fact: Barbarians are filled with cherry colored Laffy Taffy! Doesn't look like a terribly fair way to go ... it happened instantly without much chance to avoid it, if any.

I was also quite enamored with the opening demonstration of ghouls being slaughtered off the edge of a narrow catwalk and falling, weapons, bloody gibs and all, off the precipice with entertaining ragdoll effects.

[Kinthalis]

And the wall of zombies! Muahahahaha! Just f'ing Brilliant.

I never really liked D2... but I'm thinking of picking it up now... Does Direct2Drive or steam have it available?

@ Justin: Thanks for resorting to name calling. PC is just another platform. Next gen is what matters anyhow as it is likely to determine the future of consoles. Can we lay this disagreement to rest already though before you start questioning my parentage? Peoeple are getting upset that we're getting off track.

[Carnick]

That Siegebreaker Assault Beast pulled him apart with little hesitation. I was impressed. Little known fact: Barbarians are filled with cherry colored Laffy Taffy! Doesn't look like a terribly fair way to go ... it happened instantly without much chance to avoid it, if any.
I was thinking that they have custom death animations for that particular boss. If your HP reaches zero you're treated to a cool animation of your hero being torn to bits like a Starship Troopers infantryman. If that is indeed the case, it's a very nice attention to detail.

Looks like the witch doctor will replace the necromancer in utility. I hope my favorite class from D2, the Druid, makes a return. Nothing beats turning into a bear.

[anamnesis]

I hope my favorite class from D2, the Druid, makes a return. Nothing beats turning into a bear.I can see it now. The new #1 on Stephen Colbert's Threatdown ... ?

Druids.

[Crowbar of Irony +3]

The stars must be aligned. I literally just finished installing Diablo II again when the announcement came. However, I'm reserving my nerd hype until I see it for myself. What was Blizzard's last non-WOW game? The Diablo II expansion in 2001? Since then, many of the creative minds responsible for the original games have left. Sure, the gameplay video looks great, but I'm wary that Blizzard has jumped the bloated overfed shark that is World of Warcraft.

Time vill tell. Sooner or later, time vill tell.

Wait, wrong franchise.

Well, the original team that has left over the years didn't fare very well. The studio behind Titan Quest has been shut down due to lack of funding; Flagship Studios is a sinking ship and I have to say I have lost respect for Bill Roper due to Hellgate London.

I just hope the mechanics of the game improved and keeps up with innovations introduced by recent RPGs and MMOs. Such as re-specing (in some way), less filler skills, customisation of avatar's appearance (the game's 3D, for heaven sake), new loot system (Titan Quest's system of monsters dropping what they are wielding makes some much sense), really branching storylines and quests as they wanted for Diablo II. And please, play-test!

For example, for the Blademaster in HG:L, half the skills need to be revamped, despite fans pointing out at the beginning those skills are impractical at all (surges only activating upon kill and etc.)

RE: Console vs. PC - this is off topic, but for the PC, casual games takes up the pie, and for console, it is more of hardcore gamers, but the introduction of the Wii is changing this. Besides, a hack/slash RPG like Diablo III is not very playable on the console (just imagine the design issues behind creating a drag/drop inventory system with the console).

So I think the discussion is on different frequencies - a large bulk of games which are popular and sustain the PC as a gaming platforms are the casual games (Diner's Dash, Bejeweled, Shanghai, Portal, Zuma) while consoles are more for hardcore gamers (MGS 4, DMC 4, Ninja's Gaiden 2) -- though with Xbox360 live and Wii being a casual console may change things. IMHO, considering that most homes (and offices!) have a average PC and most causal games are geared to that spec, that is one reason why PC has the appearance of being a good gaming platform.

I could dig up the IGDA's White Paper on casual games, but I would rather take this to somewhere else.

[Carnick]

Well, the original team that has left over the years didn't fare very well. The studio behind Titan Quest has been shut down due to lack of funding; Flagship Studios is a sinking ship and I have to say I have lost respect for Bill Roper due to Hellgate London.
True, Hellgate London is pretty ass. I had thankfully forgotten about that game.

I just hope the mechanics of the game improved and keeps up with innovations introduced by recent RPGs and MMOs. Such as re-specing (in some way), less filler skills, customisation of avatar's appearance (the game's 3D, for heaven sake), new loot system (Titan Quest's system of monsters dropping what they are wielding makes some much sense), really branching storylines and quests as they wanted for Diablo II. And please, play-test!
Blizzard has spent a lot of time with the talent system while developing WOW, so I'm sure Diablo III's skill system will be more fleshed out. I'm hoping for something new, though. How many times has the talent tree design been re-used and abused since Diablo II?

[Least Original User Name Ever]

There are a grand total of 65 million consoles out there. I doubt the Wii hardware can handle D3 and even if it could, the online service is so shitty I doubt Blizzard would even consider porting it. So that leaves us with aproximately 30 million 360/PS3 owners. And it could work for those consoles and I kind of want to see Blizzard try. Keep in mind, Diablo was on the PS1. (It got an inferior score due to a choppy framerate, long loading and saving times, but was still considered a successful port)

I suspect one of the biggest reasons D3 is PC/Mac exclusive is because they want Battle.net to be an operative feature. XBox Live and PS Network are great, but not that great. Further, I have a hard time imagining how the control scheme on a console pad would work out with dozens of combos at your fingertips, quick-heal and quick-mana buttons, directional control (keep in mind you actually have to aim a lot and not just in a general direction, for spells like the fireball), jumping and so on and so forth.

Lastly, Blizzard aims at longevity and replay value in all their games. Warcraft 3? Starcraft? Still the biggest strategy games around. Diablo 2? Still thousands playing online. And I've never heard of that kind of longevity in a console game.What console game older than two years is still being played extensively? Competetively?

I'm glad they didn't decide to cross-release unto the consoles, personally, because I'd hate for them to have to dumb it down.


Halo. CounterStrike. Unreal Tournament?
Also, who says they have to dumb it down? Civilization: Revolution is going to prove that such a thing can be ported over very successfully, and it's not so much dumbed down as it is streamlined for faster play.

[nikonikosuru]

Just took a look at the videos today. I was going to start a thread on it but I'm glad to see the dope already has a thread going, even if half of it is some zealous fanboy ranting.

Personally, I'm both happy and disappointed that Diablo III will not be a MMO. Part of me really wanted it to be made into a MMO to see what Blizzard could do with it. On the other hand, as other people have pointed out, it's not a very logical move as Blizzard would oversaturate the market it already dominates. Even then, I was surprised that they did not make it a MMO and milk the cash cow; I think there's a goodly amount of people who would be willing to play a World of Diablo who do not currently play World of Warcraft (such as myself).

I was hoping that this next game would revert to the dark creepiness of the original Diablo that used to scare the hell out of me as a kid, but taking a look at the videos I'm afraid not. The graphics do look awesome and smooth, yes, but it still seems to be lacking the oomph from the original. There was something about the darkness and eerie music in Diablo (not to mention not being able to run!) that just scared the piss out of me when I saw a band of monsters running towards me. The butcher scared me the most and gave me nightmares; I loved the game for that! The novelty of Diablo II wore off pretty quickly; the colorful enviroments and wide, open fields were nothing like the original dungeons. It became Diablo II: Tour the World as You Hack and Slash! I didn't become attached to any of the characters like I did in dinky little Tristam. Part of me is still holding out that Diablo III will have some of that scariness of the original.

Nevertheless, I'm still addicted and no doubt I'll be dropping the money to check out this game.

[Gukumatz]

Halo. CounterStrike. Unreal Tournament?
Also, who says they have to dumb it down? Civilization: Revolution is going to prove that such a thing can be ported over very successfully, and it's not so much dumbed down as it is streamlined for faster play.

Halo 1 is still being played extensively? When Halo 3 came out less than a year ago? CounterStrike is on consoles? The original Unreal Tournament still gets online play on consoles?

Well, Diablo 3 is a pretty simplistic game already. But most, if not all, PC to Console ports are "dumbed down" in some ways. Aiming assist, directional walking, that kind of thing. And while Civ:Rev might not be dumbed down much, you're talking about a game where you have close to infinite time to make decisions. Diablo 3 will require some hefty, hectic action.

[Least Original User Name Ever]

Halo 1 is still being played extensively? When Halo 3 came out less than a year ago? CounterStrike is on consoles? The original Unreal Tournament still gets online play on consoles?

Well, Diablo 3 is a pretty simplistic game already. But most, if not all, PC to Console ports are "dumbed down" in some ways. Aiming assist, directional walking, that kind of thing. And while Civ:Rev might not be dumbed down much, you're talking about a game where you have close to infinite time to make decisions. Diablo 3 will require some hefty, hectic action.


Halo 1 is being played on Xbox Connect, a program that you can hook your 180 up to the computer and get games with.

Halo 3 has *checks right now* 155,160 people playing it this moment.

CounterStrike came out for the 180.

I don't know what version of Unreal Tournament they're on right now (never that big into it, but I've wanted to venture back in) but it gets play. If memory serves me right, that game is one of the games in MLG.

The demo for Civilization: Revolution is very good and very addictive. Firaxis hit it out of the park with this one. Online games, they say, should take a few hours to complete. I wouldn't be surprised if Blizzard released it for the consoles (at least the 360 after Microsoft throws a bucket of cash at them) after they see how Civilization does. It's already very well received by the critics.

[MJinks]

So long as they design and release it for the PC first, I don't care how much they hack and slash at it in order to get it to work on a console. I need my mouse and keyboard, I can't imagine playing my D2 Mage with a PS3 controller.

I'm trying to download the video trailer but with 3 other people in this house playing WoW constantly; they wouldn't appreciate it. I'll have to wait for a while.

[Least Original User Name Ever]

So long as they design and release it for the PC first, I don't care how much they hack and slash at it in order to get it to work on a console. I need my mouse and keyboard, I can't imagine playing my D2 Mage with a PS3 controller.

I'm trying to download the video trailer but with 3 other people in this house playing WoW constantly; they wouldn't appreciate it. I'll have to wait for a while.

I couldn't imagine it as well, but I'm glad that game designers get paid to do that for me. Civilization: Revolution is a great game.

[anamnesis]

Just Forget About Diablo 3 On A Console, Mmkay? (http://www.kotaku.com.au/games/2008/06/just__forget_about_diablo_iii_on_a_console_mmkay-2.html)

Thought I'd liven up the console fanwanking with this cite, though something tells me that isn't about to curb the pointless trainwreck of bickering over Blizzard's choice in development platforms ...

[Apocalypso]

This is good news. The bad thing is, Blizzard doesn't exactly have a track record of timely releases. They took forever to release Diablo 2 (mainly due to extensive revisions to Battle Net), and don't even get me started on the 1.10 D2 patch...
So I'm not getting all excited just yet.

On PC vs. Console sales: Is it really accurate to compare game sales of every single console out there to the PC? Given the number of people that will always own PC's for purposes other than gaming, I think it will always be a viable platform to play games on. I've been hearing BS about PC vs. Consoles since the Atari Days and I'm sick of it. Neither is going to die out. Period. Also, consoles and PC's are NEVER going to merge. You make a PC that hooks up to your TV and can be put in your living room, or release MS Office for the Xbox packed in with a mouse and keyboard, it doesn't matter. PC's will always exist, and consoles will always exist, and the twain shall never meet. Sorry, I had to get that one off my chest.

Diablo 2 has to be one of the better selling PC games. I remember reading last year that it was still on the top 20 list of PC games sold (Sorry I don't have a cite). Considering how long ago it was released, that's quite an accomplishment. I agree that it seems to be a logical move to release the Diablo series (and probably WoW) for the consoles, but for whatever reason, Blizzard has chosen not to do so. Oddly enough, the first Diablo was released for the original Playstation (and was surprisingly good). Then again, perhaps the experience soured Blizzard on consoles (the PS version had a limited release and is somewhat rare).

BTW, does anyone play Sacred? I played it a bit when it first came out, and noticed that Sacred 2 has been announced for both the PS3 and Xbox 360. It's not Diablo, but Sacred 1 was a pretty decent game with a similar style, nice graphics, huge game world, and closed servers. It had some neat features, like horses, a combo system, and a "pick up everything lying near you" key. Haven't played Sacred gold or Underworld (the expansion) though, so I've no idea what the current state of the game is.

Not sure if I'd rather Diablo continue to be free to play online, I've mixed feelings on paying to play. On one hand, charging to play D3 on bnet will hopefully keep the retarded 10 year olds out, and give Blizzard some incentive (and money) to keep up with hackers and cheaters. On the other hand, they might put in a half assed system like Hellgate: London or Dungeon Runners where free and paid players can play together, in which case you're basically paying a fee for better items and exclusive areas.

It's really a shame about Iron Lore (the creators of Titan Quest). TQ was pretty much a straight rip off of D2 thrown into a Greek mythology setting, but it was a pretty good game. I wonder how much better it would've been if they had closed online servers a la bnet, but I guess we'll never know. I was really hoping they'd release a TQ2, maybe with a Norse mythology theme, but it was not to be. R.I.P. Titan Quest.

[cckerberos]

I'm hoping for something new, though.
From Blizzard?

[Yorikke]

Diablo 2 has to be one of the better selling PC games. I remember reading last year that it was still on the top 20 list of PC games sold (Sorry I don't have a cite). Considering how long ago it was released, that's quite an accomplishment.


Top 10, according to this. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_video_games#PC)

Joe

[Gulo gulo]

I am chock full of *squee* to hear this news. I've been playing Titan Quest lately, thanks to a recommendation in another thread, but it's still not the same.

I'm also liking the optional multiplayer idea as I'm too nervous to play online. While there aren't many computer gamers in my circle of friends, I should be able to find a couple to play with.

(Also hoping to see the Druid return but not keeping my hopes up.)

[Cubsfan]

Just Forget About Diablo 3 On A Console, Mmkay? (http://www.kotaku.com.au/games/2008/06/just__forget_about_diablo_iii_on_a_console_mmkay-2.html)

Thought I'd liven up the console fanwanking with this cite, though something tells me that isn't about to curb the pointless trainwreck of bickering over Blizzard's choice in development platforms ...

I love when holy folk like you try to camoflauge your own participation in "fanwanking" by complaining about the very thing they detest so much.

[Least Original User Name Ever]

I am chock full of *squee* to hear this news. I've been playing Titan Quest lately, thanks to a recommendation in another thread, but it's still not the same.

I'm also liking the optional multiplayer idea as I'm too nervous to play online. While there aren't many computer gamers in my circle of friends, I should be able to find a couple to play with.

(Also hoping to see the Druid return but not keeping my hopes up.)

You know, the Dope may or may not have people interested in video games...


Just..you knw..throwing that out there.

[Sateryn76]

I just heard about this today...

Watched the demo...

I'm not ashamed to say I teared up just a little tiny bit when Cain showed up...

I am beyond stoked.

[E-Sabbath]

What's this rumor about a next-gen MMO in development, too?

[Crowbar of Irony +3]

What's this rumor about a next-gen MMO in development, too?

There was a rumour that there was a job ad in which Blizzard is looking for experienced MMO developers/designers. So far, from the official page, it seems that D3 will still be running on Battle.net and not a full MMO...

[Illuminatiprimus]

World of Starcraft, perchance?

[E-Sabbath]

Aha. Blizzard has said there is a fourth game in development, as yet unstated as to what it is. People suggest it's connected to the mmo theory.

[Autolycus]

Deckard Cain Prank Phone Calls :) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1sESCewzLk&eurl=http://darklegion.net/vb/showthread.php?t=8938)

[Autolycus]

And here's the original: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1hF2E1-Inw&feature=related

[Autolycus]

The Deckard Cain Rap (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMAbNFptzAA&feature=related)

[Justin_Bailey]

Just to rile up the PC fanboys in this thread (who swear they're not "fanboys"):

Blizzard says console version of Diablo III "theoretically possible" (http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=167023)

EDIT: The article also says the only reason they're not doing a console version now is because the game is more suited to development on a PC. So it's a business decision, not "the PC is bettar!!!!!!!!!!one!!!!!!eleventy"

[Illuminatiprimus]

Which is funny as Soren Johnson (lead designer/programmer of Civ 4) said he was looking to leave PC developing and focus more on console because developing for the PC is such a complicated mess of platforms/drivers etc.

[Least Original User Name Ever]

Just to rile up the PC fanboys in this thread (who swear they're not "fanboys"):

Blizzard says console version of Diablo III "theoretically possible" (http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=167023)

EDIT: The article also says the only reason they're not doing a console version now is because the game is more suited to development on a PC. So it's a business decision, not "the PC is bettar!!!!!!!!!!one!!!!!!eleventy"


Oh, just wait. Microsoft will throw an obscene amount of cash at Blizzard and then there will be something exclusve for the Xbox. The writing is on the wall and it's in giant, 4-foot letters.