Diablo 4 Announced !!!

Doobeedoo · November 9, 2019

10 hours ago, EldritchMoose said:

And it was conveniently implemented when the RMAH was removed, I don't believe that to be a coincidence.

I agree that MW1 was highly requested, but surely it would have been better to sell it separately rather than attach it to a preorder of another COD game. Unless, of course, Activision wanted to inflate preorder and sales figures of the new COD title. My point was that they took on customer feedback ("we would like a COD:MW remaster") and gave it to players with a slew off bullshit strings attached. I foresee that happening with D4 simply because they've already shown that they are looking for ways to monetize as much of Diablo as they can. I've seen what happens when a transparently greedy company decides to lazily cash in on a nostalgic title. That's how you get Dungeon Keeper Mobile and Elder Scrolls Blades.

You're right, Activision is not Blizzard, Activision only merged with Blizzard Entertainment's parent company. In corporate America, the apple rarely falls far from the tree. I hope I'm wrong, I really do, but my pattern recognition sense keeps tingling. I'll happily eat my words and admit I'm wrong, but the ball's in Blizzard's court to prove me wrong. The past few years they've not shown themselves capable of continuing Blizzard North's fine work on the Diablo series, and they've lost all rights to get the benefit of the doubt.

Also another thing is, Acti can do BS and get away with it, or rather change them up a bit later. If Blizz would do exactly such shit from the get go they would take way more flak. They know it, fans know it. They know they need to make D4 the best they can be and it seems they plan to build upon that game for a longer time. So, for now we know their plan is to sell base game and expansions with MTX being cosmetics only stuff. Though people look at that as odd because it won't be a f2p game, true. So we'll see.

Can't even compare Acti CoD business to anything Blizz they release CoD on freaking yearly basis, for full price, wanting to sell DLCs, battle pass, etc. I mean EA is closer to them really.

What D4 fans are actually worried about is how they'll make a game, gameplay wise, loot system, talent skill system and stuff like that more than monetization though.

Was reading this
https://www.icy-veins.com/forums/topic/46810-diablo-4-will-feature-cosmetic-microtransactions/?fbclid=IwAR2sGXydPjwcvtpblLnc7G21KqiKl_3mbTAERp5BuX_AOF7r0UwuLiYUxq8

PineyCreek · November 9, 2019

...and just like that, all was forgiven (sarcasm).

EldritchMoose · November 11, 2019

On 11/9/2019 at 3:18 PM, Tegos said:

Though I think it could be an effective way to show companies that they can't overstep their boundaries.

I kind of worry that it's showing the exact opposite. Internet outrages and boycotts usually don't work because the internet tends to have a very short attention span. The Amazon being burned down was news for a week before people collectively moved on to the next week's outrage. Coincidentally, it is still burning as of the 21st of October while the news cycle has long since moved onto juicier stories like impeachment or the impending election in the UK.

Similarly, Blizzard caused a massive controversy over BlitzChung's banning, which was largely paved over by the time Blizzcon came around. Sure, there were people protesting at the con and after, but it's nowhere near the amount you would expect from the amount of outrage that was pouring out of social media during the two weeks following the ban.

EA seems to have gotten away with Anthem (and hell, how many people bought Anthem on the back of EA being the most hated company in gaming for years), the problems surrounding Epic's new store have been all but forgotten now that the Outer Worlds is a poster boy for how to make a Fallout game and Rockstar made a killing on an actual in-game casino during a time when politicians were weighing in on whether or not loot boxes should be counted as gambling.

Whether or not Blizzard can get away with stuff like this, will have to be reflected in their bottom line. If enough Overwatch players stopped playing, and enough people cancelled their WoW subscriptions, Blizzard might be in trouble, but if that doesn't happen, I don't think a group of angry tweets and Reddit posts is going to be enough to change Blizzard's mind. The likes of Morhaime and Brode would have cared, but I never got the impression that Brach is much more than a corporate mouthpiece. Speaking of:

Quote

Sure, Blizzard's punishment was within the rules (though I think taking the prize money was a bit much), but who knows: if this outrage didn't happen there could be a chance they'd just go full authoritarian with their rules, like Riot Games does.

"Within the rules" should only ever really be used as an excuse if one is not the one who wrote the rules in the first place. In fact, even then I don't think the spirit of the rules were clear from the text in the first place, since they were written like a "get-out-of-jail-free" card. In addition, just because it's legal, doesn't mean you should do it.

I also very much disagree with the severity of the punishment, even if I can understand the wish to keep gaming as apolitical as possible. Political discourse has become toxic to the point where the company that made Wolfenstein came under fire for tweets that included the words "punching Nazis" and if that's where we're at, I can understand it if you want to keep gaming about gaming. I just wish they hadn't doubled down on the "dude who was bullied and is now middle management and sees that a zero tolerance policy has been violated" approach.

I hope I'm wrong, and that this is the push Blizzard needs to rediscover the company I grew up with.

EldritchMoose · November 11, 2019

On 11/9/2019 at 2:21 PM, Doobeedoo said:

Also another thing is, Acti can do BS and get away with it, or rather change them up a bit later. If Blizz would do exactly such shit from the get go they would take way more flak. They know it, fans know it. They know they need to make D4 the best they can be and it seems they plan to build upon that game for a longer time. So, for now we know their plan is to sell base game and expansions with MTX being cosmetics only stuff. Though people look at that as odd because it won't be a f2p game, true. So we'll see.

Can't even compare Acti CoD business to anything Blizz they release CoD on freaking yearly basis, for full price, wanting to sell DLCs, battle pass, etc. I mean EA is closer to them really.

What D4 fans are actually worried about is how they'll make a game, gameplay wise, loot system, talent skill system and stuff like that more than monetization though.

Was reading this
https://www.icy-veins.com/forums/topic/46810-diablo-4-will-feature-cosmetic-microtransactions/?fbclid=IwAR2sGXydPjwcvtpblLnc7G21KqiKl_3mbTAERp5BuX_AOF7r0UwuLiYUxq8

Thing is, game development doesn't happen in a vacuum. Trends across the industry are being picked up and adapted by competitors all the time. And in addition, Activision Blizzard is one conglomerate. Their financial publications include both companies (as well as King), so any idea that is profitable for one, may well be floated as an idea for the other in board meetings.

Microtransactions being only cosmetic has been a phrase thrown around for years now due to the initial pushback of even having microtransactions (and in some cases, an entire f2p economy) in a game that costs the full MSRP of $60,-. Just because they're saying it now, years before the game launches, does not mean that it will still be true at launch. Besides, Fallout 76 used to boast just cosmetic and optional microtransactions, and recently backtracked on that decision. And again, it wouldn't be the first time that a game launched without microtransactions and lootboxes only to have them patched in a month or so down the line (MW remaster, Crash Team Racing remaster).

I'm a Diablo fan to the point where I even have the tie-in books, and my main worry is that the story, gameplay, talents, etc. will not matter if they are also implementing a bad monetization system. I'm not even sure cosmetic microtransactions wouldn't impact the look and feel of a co-op game, depending on the art style of the items in question. I remember how people reacted when D3 wasn't as grimdark as they had expected, so whatever cosmetic items they offer, had better fit the tone of the game if they want to keep people from raging.

Doobeedoo · November 11, 2019

32 minutes ago, EldritchMoose said:

Thing is, game development doesn't happen in a vacuum. Trends across the industry are being picked up and adapted by competitors all the time. And in addition, Activision Blizzard is one conglomerate. Their financial publications include both companies (as well as King), so any idea that is profitable for one, may well be floated as an idea for the other in board meetings.

Microtransactions being only cosmetic has been a phrase thrown around for years now due to the initial pushback of even having microtransactions (and in some cases, an entire f2p economy) in a game that costs the full MSRP of $60,-. Just because they're saying it now, years before the game launches, does not mean that it will still be true at launch. Besides, Fallout 76 used to boast just cosmetic and optional microtransactions, and recently backtracked on that decision. And again, it wouldn't be the first time that a game launched without microtransactions and lootboxes only to have them patched in a month or so down the line (MW remaster, Crash Team Racing remaster).

I'm a Diablo fan to the point where I even have the tie-in books, and my main worry is that the story, gameplay, talents, etc. will not matter if they are also implementing a bad monetization system. I'm not even sure cosmetic microtransactions wouldn't impact the look and feel of a co-op game, depending on the art style of the items in question. I remember how people reacted when D3 wasn't as grimdark as they had expected, so whatever cosmetic items they offer, had better fit the tone of the game if they want to keep people from raging.

Yeah for sure the industry influences companies, some more some less, rarely few who don't get. But some companies or games have gone so far than anything in Blizzard games exist, to such disgusting extent. Be it like EA games, CoD and some other. I mean in WoW you can buy mounts and such small thingies, I barely ever consider it's even in the game. I'm sure they will keep the MTX in D4 to fit the tone of the game mostly, not having like a Hello Kitty helmet transmog and such. D3 really didn't look grimdark, I'm glad for D4 look so much better. Probably just some cool armor sets for transmog, char customization extras, mount customs and such.