The Internet Is Furious About Diablo Immortal

124 responses to “The Internet Is Furious About Diablo Immortal”

1. 

   namiwakiru

   November 3, 2018 at 10:25 am

   I’m no marketing executive but how does anyone not know by this stage that announcing a mobile game based on big franchise is never well received?!

   Bethesda knew exactly what to do if your gonna go the mobile angle, announce it along side a full scale title also.

   Reply
   1. 

      beatsbynelly

      November 3, 2018 at 10:35 am

      The fallout shelter game got some cheers. Granted cause it was announced right after fallout 4 was announced and coming way sooner than anyone anticipated

      Reply
      1. 

         sabrescene

         November 3, 2018 at 11:01 pm

         Exactly, it wasn’t announced while people were sitting, hoping for something interesting to be announced, it was announced after they already got the tease they wanted then told “oh btw you can have this while you wait.”

         Blizzard posted in their blog about multiple projects being worked on but decided to only announce one – one that they must’ve known would be poorly received by most of their fans on its own…

         Reply
         1. 

            xenoun

            November 5, 2018 at 10:37 am

            They also made it the headline announcement for Blizzcon. They typically reserve the first slot for the biggest announcements…and then throw out a mobile game. Fans were getting hyped just based on its slot.

            They should have dropped it near the end of Blizzcon and said “Here’s a new mobile game. We’re also working no a number of other Diablo projects but don’t have anything to say yet”.

            Releasing a mobile game isn’t a big deal – doing it in a way that people expect something more though is bad and garners exactly the reaction they got.

            Reply
      2. 

         pookie101

         November 4, 2018 at 7:41 am

         Take the Fo76 news. Even Bethesda knew they were going to have a lot of pissed fans and they mentioned Starfield and Elder scrolls 6 straight afterwards to help with the backlash

         Reply
   2. 

      travisnew87

      November 3, 2018 at 11:38 am

      Also, not just that but don’t try a water down the experience of the main franchise but reimagine it as they did with fallout shelter. From D1- to D3 we know a good dungeon experience, why would you think you could recreate that on the mobile platform is silly.

      Reply
      1. 

         zombiejesus

         November 3, 2018 at 11:47 am

         Not to say this game is or isn’t good, but why do you think you can’t create a good dungeon crawl experience on mobile?

         Reply
         1. 

            travisnew87

            November 3, 2018 at 11:52 am

            The console version of Diablo due to the limited nature of control afforded by controllers they had to reduce the monsters on screen and how aggressive their AI was. This is on another platform that is more limited control schemes which means the combat will be limited even further reducing the mayhem people expect and like from the PC(and even console) counterparts. You can see they even reduce the abilities to 4 from 6 and the amount of enemies is woeful as is there aggressiveness. https://youtu.be/Ab2-WW1skOM

            Don’t get me wrong, I’ll try it out and give it a whirl but it won’t capture that feeling that PC and even console provides. It will be lacklustre.

            Reply
            1. 

               zombiejesus

               November 3, 2018 at 12:06 pm

               Obviously some concessions need to be made to suit the hardware and input mechanism. I guess I just don’t agree that, broadly speaking, it’s not possible to make a good dungeon crawl experience for mobile platforms, or that the idea of even trying to is silly.

            2. 

               chinesefood

               November 3, 2018 at 4:32 pm

               To quote a highly upvoted comment I saw elsewhere:

               “This is not Blizzard, and this is not our game.
               We have moved on, without you. Enjoy your addicted fans playing on packed subways in countries we will never visit, who will throw money at you daily to revel in pay to win, soulless automatic gameplay.”

               That’s why they’re making this gumpf. They aren’t out to revolutionise touchscreen gaming.
               They’re chasing that casual money stream. And you know what, we understand that. But not if you neglect your core audience.

               It’s literally a reskin of all the crappy Korean/Chinese ARPG’s out there.
               
               
               

            3. 

               zombiejesus

               November 3, 2018 at 7:52 pm

               But they already said they’re working on core Diablo content. How are they neglecting their audience by putting something else out in the interim?

            4. 

               amstradhero

               November 3, 2018 at 10:47 pm

               Because Blizzcon attendees are their “core audience” and this is trying to wow them with something designed for a completely different audience.

               It’s like having people turn up for a Meshuggah concert and announcing that the show is being headlined by Nickelback. Sure, it might be popular with some people… but it sure as hell ain’t popular with the people who are there.

            5. 

               zombiejesus

               November 4, 2018 at 9:15 am

               @amstradhero I don’t disagree that the way it was announced was handled poorly, but I guess I just don’t think that’s the same as neglecting their core audience. I understand people being disappointed because of the way they built it up but as long as they’re still developing core Diablo content (which they’ve as much as said) then the core is being catered to, it’s evidently just not time to announce anything yet.

            6. 

               sabrescene

               November 4, 2018 at 2:24 pm

               I think a big issue they never actually said that at Blizzcon. They said it in a blog post a few weeks ago that I doubt everyone at the show read.

            7. 

               xenoun

               November 5, 2018 at 10:46 am

               Sometimes it’s more about how you do something rather than what you’ve done. They had this as their headline slot in Blizzcon which is typically reserved for big announcements. They throw out a mobile game that the fanbase at Blizzcon isn’t going to care about and expect a good reaction. It shows that they’re pretty tone deaf and don’t understand their target audience.

               If they’d pushed it back to a later slot, announced it and at the same time re-iterated that they have other Diablo projects in the pipeline but aren’t ready to say anything yet then it would have gone over much more smoothly.

      2. 

         zar

         November 3, 2018 at 11:50 am

         They could of re-released D1, D2 on mobile and gotten a better response

         Reply
         1. 

            chinesefood

            November 3, 2018 at 2:42 pm

            Yeah. But then they couldn’t turn it into a f2p designed to make all the money in the world.

            Bleh.

            Reply
            1. 

               skrybe

               November 3, 2018 at 5:40 pm

               They certainly could have. It’s damned easy. Who was the gambling vendor in D2? Wirt wasn’t it? Want to buy a random item from him it’s just a micro-transaction away. Other possibilities; Running low on runes or gems? Just can’t get that awesome Axe/sword/wand? Need more potions or town portal scrolls?

               Basically anything that’s a drop could be monetized by adding it to a vendor and using “blizzbucks”.

   3. 

      skrybe

      November 3, 2018 at 5:35 pm

      The irony is way back when WOW was announced I thought the world of Diablo was a better fit for an MMO that Warcraft (action RPG -v- RTS). Of course that was looking at it from a PC gaming perspective.

      The idea of playing a persistent MMO on my phone just gives me the shits for a bunch of reasons – small screen, lousy controls, poor battery life, (possibly) bad performance and of course the problems that come with always online and phones like hitting data cap and mobile dropouts.

      I can understand Blizzard wanting to make a mobile version. But they could have (a) made a port of existing D3 and (b) actually announced something, *anything* to appease the PC/Console Diablo fans. Common sense would have been to lead with;
      “Hey this is what we’re working on, it’s only a tease but we’re working hard on D3 Xpac/D4.”
      *pause for audience oohs and ahhs*
      ” In the meantime we’ve got this mobile game to tide you over.”
      *audience goes “meh” but doesn’t stone presenters to death*

      Reply
2. 

   negativezero

   November 3, 2018 at 10:26 am

   It’s not even being developed by Blizzard, it’s NetEase. As in the company that publishes all Blizzard’s stuff in China. They opened a US studio a few years ago and the game looks like just a reskin of one of their mobile games.

   Reply
   1. 

      skrybe

      November 3, 2018 at 5:51 pm

      Didn’t Blizzard sue Netease because of some dodgy borderline rip-offs of their games a couple years back?

      Reply
      1. 

         drumrbaxj

         November 3, 2018 at 6:28 pm

         They wouldn’t be the first to do it. I was playing one that had a Kerrigan being touted as “Queen Of Blades”. It wasn’t even subtle.

         Reply
3. 

   bobby_d

   November 3, 2018 at 10:40 am

   Back of the box quote: “You’re gonna love this shitload of fuck!”

   Reply
   1. 

      amstradhero

      November 3, 2018 at 10:48 pm

      I think you got your shits and your fucks confused there.

      Reply
4. 

   thyco

   November 3, 2018 at 10:48 am

   Damn right we’re fucking pissed, Diablo has just been given the fucking C&C treatment. We had nothing last year, and this year just under two months ago Blizzard said that this years BLizzcon was going be Diablos.
   The two weeks before to day they tell us to that no its not D4, so we temper out expectations think maybe another class pack for D3 or Diablo 2 remaster. You know something extremely reasonable and something that everyone would like. but no we get this fucking abomination. right after the announcement the Panel that was known as Diablo:whats Next was changed to be all about a shitty asset flip mobile game

   Reply
   1. 

      ghostnerve

      November 3, 2018 at 12:18 pm

      The fact that they called it “Diablo: What’s next?” and only mentioned a Mobile game that isn’t even made by them is just beyond a joke. If they do in fact have a new real Diablo in the works how hard would it have been to at the very least tease SOMETHING.

      Reply
   2. 

      timon

      November 5, 2018 at 1:46 pm

      Christ, the sense of entitlement…..it’s a video game, in a video game franchise that happens to be loved, but you’re actually actively angry at the developers because they didn’t give you what you want? There’s a bajillion other games out there to enjoy and occupy your time. I think some perspective may be needed if thing like this actually make you angry.

      The other way of saying all this is: get a life

      Reply
5. 

   rowan

   November 3, 2018 at 10:48 am

   I think there’s a fair bit of unease after D3. It’s just a bit disappointing. It still has major issues and it’s been years now. I can’t help feeling like they dropped the ball. PC was their core customer base for so long.

   Reply
   1. 

      illexi

      November 3, 2018 at 1:04 pm

      It is true that the fans overhyped themselves in regards to diablo 4 but blizz did try and shut that down, that being said if they did say this years blizzcon was the year of diablo they really screwed the pooch, like @thyco said no d3 char or d2R just some asset flip….

      i just assume any time something shitty like this happens it’s activision being activision, especially if it has anything to do with chasing money.

      Reply
      1. 

         drumrbaxj

         November 3, 2018 at 6:29 pm

         Thankyou! Blizzard aren’t really the masters of their own destiny anymore.

         Reply
      2. 

         sabrescene

         November 3, 2018 at 11:17 pm

         It is true that the fans overhyped themselves in regards to diablo 4 but blizz did try and shut that down
         Some did but personally I’d have been happy with just about anything… D1/2 remaster/remake/port, new dlc/update for D3, the rumoured netflix/animated series? Diablo: Battle Royale? Ok maybe not that one but I feel like almost anything would be better than just announcing a chinese mobile game with a Diablo skin…

         Reply
6. 

   vaegrand

   November 3, 2018 at 11:03 am

   Was feelin pretty hyped about WC3r, but between the price and this announcement the taste in my mouth soured pretty quick. I keep forgetting that at this point Blizzard is just the maggots animating a dead carcass.

   Reply
   1. 

      zombiejesus

      November 3, 2018 at 11:45 am

      I don’t want to single you out specifically, but ‘maggots animating a dead carcass’ is exactly the kind of hyperbolic nonsense that is plaguing gamer expectations this last few years. Do you really think that’s a reasonable reaction to a few things you’re not personally interested in?

      Reply
      1. 

         vaegrand

         November 3, 2018 at 12:31 pm

         A remake that doesn’t come close to other big brand remakes, priced the same as the likes of Spyro, Rachet and Crash. Which you can couple with pimping out Diablo to a free to play dev that charges an arm and a leg for content in their other titles.

         Its not hyperbole, I just don’t make excuses for why an established company can fuck us and get away with it. Do you really not think that complacency like yours is why publishers keep pumping out shit including loot boxes because they know there are fan bois that would literally pay for them to take a steaming poop on your chest.

         Reply
         1. 

            rowan

            November 3, 2018 at 3:33 pm

            How are they fucking you? Exactly?

            They don’t owe you, me or us anything. They’re a company making products to sell.

            Yes I loved the old blizzard too. But they don’t owe me anything. And when they make a product i’m interested, like the StarCraft remaster, I buy it. That’s how this relationship works. That’s all there is too it.

            Reply
            1. 

               vaegrand

               November 3, 2018 at 6:06 pm

               High priced relatively low effort remakes? Loot boxes? Microtransactions?

               I am not even commenting on whether the gameplay loop itself will suck a big ol bag of “casual as fuck” dicks.

            2. 

               rock_m

               November 3, 2018 at 7:38 pm

               I’m going to half agree with @vaegrand here..

               Yes you are correct to a degree that as a business/company Blizz definitely do not owe us anything. And yes you have the option to “not buy” should you not like any of their products (I skipped Hearthstone coz as much as I love CCG’s i’m over buying random packs and getting shite rares, WoW was a pass as I did not have time to invest in anymore MMO and I prefer DoTA so no HoS) but at the same time being passive and actively not paying attention to bad practices also leads to normalising really bad consumer practices…

               Remember D3 being always online because… reasons? and now we have a console version that is perfectly fine (and as a PC Diablo player it pains me to say this) a much better experience if by virtue of no latency/disconnect issues… but we all took it on the chin and moved on because… hey its Blizzard! they have a reason and they’re ok! Meanwhile any other company and the net would be up and arms over “always online DRM” ie. EA and Ubisoft

               It’s this kind of normalisation that’s a big issue in the industry… its about pushing the boundaries of how much can we take control of our product that we are supposed to be providing and how we monetise it without everyone making a huge fuss

            3. 

               rowan

               November 3, 2018 at 7:50 pm

               I’m sorry man but just… Don’t buy it?

               They will stop doing it if it stops making money. Sure kicking up a stink on the Internet is more fun for some I guess, but what they really listen to is numbers.

            4. 

               rock_m

               November 3, 2018 at 8:22 pm

               “but what they really listen to is numbers”

               And that’s kinda the point here =P It’s not so much “having fun making a fuss” it’s basically putting forward your opinion and drawing that line on the sand…

               Yes I didn’t buy it…. but for 1 person like me there are hundreds if not thousands who didn’t bother or care. And that’s fine… my issue is when that’s taken as tacit approval of bad habits. And we are all screwed over in the end unless you make a point across…. (just look at SW:BF2)

               And to be fair I don’t mean you go full aggressive with language or shite stirring. I just mean a nuanced conversation or opinion on the matter to show disapproval. As I said I only half agree with this opinion. I appreciate where the sentiment is coming from but I don’t quite agree at the level of vitriol is needed

            5. 

               piratepete

               November 3, 2018 at 9:22 pm

               The whole not complaining and just not buying it doesn’t work anymore anyway, even if I don’t buy it as long as one whale does it basically counters 1000 people like you and me.

            6. 

               skrybe

               November 4, 2018 at 12:53 pm

               To be fair a bunch of us did complain quite loudly about the always online requirements. But we were ignored or shouted down. And as you point out the console release proves we were right, that it was achievable and being online only was just Blizzard attempting to maintain tougher control over the game (*koffDRMkoff*).

         2. 

            zombiejesus

            November 3, 2018 at 7:50 pm

            You don’t think ‘maggots animating a dead carcass’ is hyperbole? I don’t see how it could be interpreted as anything else.

            Reply
            1. 

               vaegrand

               November 3, 2018 at 10:07 pm

               I think it is very accurate to the situation. Blizzard is all suits these days, they just keep the name because even the slightest whiff of a Blizzard title cleanses the prison wallet and tightens the testicles of the fan boys. They get to make every shitty decision under the sun and complacency from fans that are just happy for the Blizzard dick means that they never have to question it.

            2. 

               zombiejesus

               November 4, 2018 at 9:02 am

               See, that reply is just more hyperbole. You might have a reasonable complaint somewhere in there but when you wrap it in ad hominems and nonsense about maggots and taking dick you end up burying both the complaint itself and any legitimacy it might have.

               This reaction is wholly disproportionate to its cause, and what you’re doing contributes to the over-the-top bullshit gamers pull lately because people with less self control see talk like this and think vitriol is a reasonable response to something that’s not for them.

               It’s your right to do that if you want, but don’t pretend it’s either rational or reasonable. You complained recently that politics has become tribalistic and petty; please don’t contribute to making gaming the same way with this kind of hyperbole. There are much more effective ways to communicate the problems you have without resorting to this.

      2. 

         lemonmule

         November 3, 2018 at 12:45 pm

         I think if you’ve followed blizz since lost Vikings and warcraft 1 it’s a definite change in company culture, style and a lot of things that make “blizzard” – blizzard. So I can see what he means.

         Reply
         1. 

            illexi

            November 3, 2018 at 1:15 pm

            the change your talking about can be traced back to 2008…activision is the Antichrist

            Reply
            1. 

               thyco

               November 3, 2018 at 7:50 pm

               not really, as it was blizzard’s parent company vivendi that brought activison. the crap we are dealing with now has only creeped in after Activision and Blizzard brought themselves out of vivendi which was only a few years ago

            2. 

               zombiejesus

               November 4, 2018 at 9:11 am

               Yeah, Blizzard changed hands a lot in its earlier years. It first landed under Vivendi in 1998, so technically everything from Starcraft 1 to Diablo 3 inclusive (as well as most of Hearthstone’s development) was under Vivendi’s watch.

      3. 

         chinesefood

         November 3, 2018 at 2:46 pm

         They really are a shell now of what made them great originally.

         But that’s how it goes, I suppose. Blizzard is now just chasing the ultra-casuals. Some new developer will take their place.

         Grinding Gear Games arguably already took the ARPG crown.

         Reply
         1. 

            skrybe

            November 3, 2018 at 5:44 pm

            I’d argue that Crate deserve the crown more than GGG but either way is good.

            Reply
            1. 

               chinesefood

               November 3, 2018 at 8:32 pm

               Yeah, both are top tier companies who respect their fanbase.

               I tend to prefer TQ and GD too… But I think PoE has the numbers nowadays?

            2. 

               skrybe

               November 4, 2018 at 12:30 pm

               It’s possible. PoE is a good game, but I prefer GD because it doesn’t have the always online requirement and it looks better (that’s subjective but I wasn’t a fan of PoE’s visuals).

      4. 

         drumrbaxj

         November 3, 2018 at 6:30 pm

         Gamers are the most entitled fans of any fandom possible.

         Reply
         1. 

            piratepete

            November 3, 2018 at 9:25 pm

            I’m gonna have to stop you right there, I think you will find Gamer’s are the most entitled fans that you know of.

            Reply
         2. 

            amstradhero

            November 3, 2018 at 10:52 pm

            Seriously, I have a fucking massive bone to pick with anyone that says gamers are “entitled”. That’s a fucking load of bullshit that’s been pushed by fuckwits since the Mass Effect 3 debacle.

            Voicing criticism IS NOT ENTITLED. Saying “this is shit” is not entitled. It’s being a fucking discerning consumer. The day that gamers are not allowed to criticise something and say “fuck no, I don’t want that” or “that was a pile of shit” is the day that gaming as a medium because a stagnant fisting of customers.

            Customers are allowed to vote with their wallets and say “no, that looks fucking terrible, I never asked for something like this.”

            Reply
            1. 

               blazenite104

               November 4, 2018 at 11:58 am

               Yeah but at the same time we also have a habit of getting pissed when something isn’t what we expected. just because you don’t expect something doesn’t mean the company is wrong and needs to fix things either. vote with your wallets sure but, rampaging over a mobile game while they have already stated they are working on a core title does nothing for anyone.

            2. 

               skrybe

               November 4, 2018 at 12:37 pm

               In this case it was a perfect storm of fuckups from blizzard that created the rage. First you have a game that’s historically been PC based so the majority of the fanbase resides there. Recently it’s hit console, but it’s essentially the same game as PC. That said, even the console release pissed of PC players since it has certain tweaks that PC didn’t get. Secondly, they started hyping amazing diablo information to come at blizzcon, naturally arousing peoples interest. Finally, when they announced the *mobile* only game they didn’t give people *anything* about the PC/console versions and they announced the mobile game isn’t a port it’s new content.

               If they’d just made it a port current players would have been ambivalent or maybe a little annoyed. But because it’s new content it means the only way to see that content is on mobile. If they’d also announced some meaningful PC related information fans would have been assuaged “oh cool we have this coming for us. That’s ok then”. And more importantly they shouldn’t have been hyping it as a huge diablo announcement beforehand.

            3. 

               skrybe

               November 4, 2018 at 12:56 pm

               Oh and I forgot to mention that this wasn’t an announcement online or to the press. It was at an event for the fans where the fans *pay* to be there. In some cases travelling from overseas just to be there. So it’s not like the fans at the event were a few casuals, they are the hardest of the hardcore. It’s no wonder their response was as passionate as it was.

            4. 

               blazenite104

               November 4, 2018 at 3:17 pm

               I get that. I just mean that we do often overeact to things. this time has better justification than others but it is a problem.

            5. 

               drumrbaxj

               November 4, 2018 at 6:07 pm

               You’ll be ok, champ.

         3. 

            drumrbaxj

            November 4, 2018 at 6:10 pm

            They’re also whiney.
            Ten downvotes. A record thus far.

            Reply
      5. 

         transientmind

         November 4, 2018 at 11:02 am

         I read your criticism of this last night and after thinking about it, I actually think it is appropriate.

         It’s hyperbolic, but it’s also a useful analogy that hits the nail on the head on a few ways.

         When you’re really invested in a franchise (which, by the way, Publishers usually encourage), it would definitely be an unpleasant shock to see that the entry you saw signs of on the horizon was not only different to expectations, but frankly abhorrent. Have you read up on NetEase or Crusaders of Light? The lack of integrity in that company or its monetizarion are deeply concerning.

         Take into account all that this signals about the future direction of the franchise (D3’s online-only ‘we swear it’s not DRM’, and god-awful item drop-tables tooled towards coercing players toward the auction house) and there’s definitely fair cause to believe that the franchise that you loved is metaphorically dead to you and twisted into a grotesque parody of what you loved about it.

         This, in the context of an annual convention (remember this when considering who is responsible for fan fervor around a franchise) which promised to centre on Diablo means that this compromise on gameplay experience and this chasing of a market that does not include its ardent fans signals very clearly – perhaps unintentionally – that they don’t see anything wrong with this change in direction or the tone-deaf ignorance of fan desires.

         It’s a useful analogy, and the fact that it is emotionally-charged and evocative is entirely appropriate given the not inconsiderable resources Blizzard has devoted towards cultivating that emotional investment. That’s a road that cuts both ways – we can’t just pretend the road is only working when it’s one-way adoration making the publisher rich.

         Reply
         1. 

            zombiejesus

            November 4, 2018 at 11:20 am

            I don’t question whether people are (or should be) disappointed, I think the announcement and the way it was presented is absolutely disappointing too. But there’s a world of difference between a statement like “I’m incredibly disappointed and I feel Blizzard has really let down its fans, this was a real heartbreaker” and “Blizzard is like maggots animating a dead carcass”. Emotional responses don’t have to be hyperbolic, nor do they have to be insulting.

            I strongly disagree that hyperbole is useful. It feeds one of the bigger problems plaguing gaming lately, the gaming equivalent of road rage – completely disproportional reactions to realistically minor problems. It’s not a problem unique to gaming, you can see it in politics and in sports as well, and in the latter at least effort has been made to crack down on it.

            Bottom line: It’s not acceptable on the road, it’s not acceptable in sport, it’s not acceptable in gaming. It should not be defended nor normalised. Raising the bar is on all of us.

            Reply
            1. 

               freshlyravagedcornhole

               November 4, 2018 at 12:33 pm

               I believe Jason Schreier, deeply respected Kotaku editor said it best: ‘feel free to fuck off’.

            2. 

               zombiejesus

               November 5, 2018 at 10:01 am

               If you don’t think we should all be striving to be better, then you can follow your own advice.

            3. 

               freshlyravagedcornhole

               November 5, 2018 at 2:33 pm

               No! I won’t be smeared like that, I work hard every chance I get to improve the Kotaku comments section. I’ll stand up for Jason Schreier like Jason Schreier stands up for Activision. His tweet is his bond and its shining light guides me through this darkness.

            4. 

               zombiejesus

               November 5, 2018 at 2:50 pm

               I’ve read your other comments. I’m sure you think your sarcasm and mockery is funny, but it really isn’t. If you’re capable of being better than that, then be better than that. If you’re not, well that’s not good.

            5. 

               freshlyravagedcornhole

               November 5, 2018 at 3:50 pm

               Well now you’ve made me feel like the guy asking the April Fools question being chastised by the distinguished game journalists as ‘not funny’. To be fair you also expanded on it with ‘not good’. The silent mobile majority thanks you.

            6. 

               skrybe

               November 4, 2018 at 12:44 pm

               Depends on what you consider a minor problem. Not being able to play the game at all is not a minor problem (from a gamers perspective).

               I think the situation is also indicative that blizzard as a company now has now idea what their fans actually want or any empathy towards them. It really appears as though they are now, more than ever driven entirely by accountants and the bottom line.

               Sure profit is important, if a game doesn’t make money you can’t continue to support it, or make new games. However, it shouldn’t be the entire driving factor behind game production. There shouldn’t be some accountant or executive sitting there saying “it must make at least an X% return on investment” or “mobile games are an untapped market lets get some of that pie”.

            7. 

               zombiejesus

               November 4, 2018 at 1:07 pm

               I don’t think vitriol and hyperbole is appropriate for major problems either, I said ‘minor problems’ here because that’s what this story in particular is about, and also what complaints I was able to parse from vaegrand’s comments.

               If we entertain that though, let’s take a non-gaming hypothetical for comparison. If you bought a car and got it home but the next day the engine seized, would a reasonable person (who understands that defects do sometimes happen) have the car taken back for free servicing or even a refund, or would a reasonable person start hurling insults and calling the dealership staff maggots? If there was a history of it happening, would a reasonable person say “Okay, their quality control is terrible, I’m not going to buy from them any more” or would a reasonable person suggest that anyone who did buy from them just liked ‘taking company dick’?

               I don’t have any problem with people disliking Blizzard, or the announcement, or how it was worked up before Blizzcon only to be a let down. I share some of those myself. And I agree with your assertion that making games shouldn’t be entirely about profit. What I have a problem with specifically is over-the-top responses and hyperbole to these things. I hold that they’re unproductive, harmful to the general quality of discourse, and have a greater chance of pushing the recipient into shrug mode because there’s no rational complaint contained in nor any reasonable way to respond to “your company are just maggots animating a dead carcass”.

            8. 

               skrybe

               November 4, 2018 at 1:18 pm

               See we obviously disagree on a fundamental issue – it is a major problem.

               As for the car analogy, it really depends on the reaction from the dealer. If it’s poor (as has often proved to be the case) then getting angry and blowing up is not at all surprising.

               I think though that the car dealer analogy is poor in any case. It’d be more like Toyota saying “we’ve got an amazing new Land Cruiser announcement coming at the car show”. Then when it comes out instead of being a new Land Cruiser they announce that a little two wheel drive, two door hatchback is the new Land Cruiser.

               While I understand that you don’t like hyperbole, and it can sometimes be detrimental, it seems like sometimes it’s the only way to get their attention. People have been politely complaining about problems for years (WoW’s beta tests are a perfect example) and they’ve been basically ignored until months down the track when a million people start getting hyperbolic about the problems.

               A real world comparison is the polite customer at a store who gets fobbed off because they don’t make a fuss versus the one would gets loud and belligerent, causing a scene and yelling that they’ll get the ACCC involved. It’s easy to ignore the first because there is no negative press, no bad publicity. But it’s hard to ignore the vocal customer who is getting attention from other people.

            9. 

               skrybe

               November 4, 2018 at 1:21 pm

               I should point out that I don’t *like* the customer “overreaction” but it’s something we’ve been trained into by years of poor customer service. If the corporate reactions to polite complaints were better there’d be no need for aggressive and hyperbolic complaints.

            10. 

                zombiejesus

                November 4, 2018 at 1:33 pm

                We do seem to disagree, I definitely don’t think anything here amounts to a ‘major problem’. That said, I’m glad we can respectfully disagree. There are things we do agree on too, eg. I do think companies (collectively) should be more receptive to calm feedback. I don’t think hyperbole is the right response to that, but it’s good to know we’re on the same page on at least some things.

7. 

   serimorph

   November 3, 2018 at 11:08 am

   All they needed to do was do the same thing Nintendo did for Metroid Prime 4 at E3 this year. Have a black screen and have flames flicker up from the bottom of the screen. Have some Diablo 1 dungeon style drums start playing and have the number 4 appear on the screen. That’s it. The crowd would piss themselves in delight, Blizzard would be heroes and everyone would be happy.

   Instead they let out a wet fart into the mic, and stood there smiling as if they were proud.

   Reply
   1. 

      rowan

      November 3, 2018 at 3:34 pm

      Hahaha. Ok you got me. That was funny. Did you see his response to the dude asking if it was a joke?

      Reply
8. 

   piratepete

   November 3, 2018 at 11:11 am

   I cant wait to buy 100 health potions for 79.99 (Best Value)

   Reply
9. 

   snacuum

   November 3, 2018 at 12:53 pm

   Part of the problem too is the nature of Blizzcon. It’s billed not just as a convention, but a family event, an event where people come together and listen. The fans at Blizzcon treat Blizzard more like a father figure, a family than a corporate entity.

   This right here. I don’t blame Blizzard and I don’t blame gamers – I blame Blizzcon; Exactly what type of fan do you think is willing to buy a ticket to that kind of event?

   Reply
10. 

    rammo123

    November 3, 2018 at 1:17 pm

    Pro tip: if you’re going to take a dump on a beloved franchise by making a cash grab mobile game, don’t announce it as a centrepiece of a presentation to uberfans.

    Reply
11. 

    caser

    November 3, 2018 at 1:17 pm

    To be blunt, they should have known better. The real sin wasn’t that they released Diablo for mobile, it’s that they release *only* Diablo for mobile and didn’t talk about anything else. If they’d showed *something* for a Diablo 4 and then done a trunkated “oh and here’s a mobile game” they cold have avoided all this crap. And it blows my mind that they don’t know that.

    Reply
12. 

    markavian

    November 3, 2018 at 1:27 pm

    Wow, another waste of a day so far, expecting a new game finally and they pull this mobile nonsense. I mean they just take money for everything, and not little amounts either, and don’t really provide any progress.

    Reply
    1. 

       rock_m

       November 3, 2018 at 7:01 pm

       Hell they didn’t even need to make a new game or even any additions to the game… just pull another 20AUD character addition like the Necromancer before and people will lap it up (never mind that the concept of paying 20 bucks just for ONE character with nothing else besides extra cosmetics is practically a rip off but yeah…)

       Nope they had to pull an EA and expected the net to overlook it because of all the banked positive attitude they built up over the years.

       Reply
       1. 

          skrybe

          November 4, 2018 at 12:47 pm

          I paid the $20 for the extra stash space. The extra character and couple new maps was candy on top. (that’s a joke btw)

          Honestly, I don’t have a problem with them releasing an addon similar to the Necromancer one. If it’s priced reasonably that’s fine with me. My only issue is when the price is approaching that of a full game.

          Reply
13. 

    d3sucks

    November 3, 2018 at 1:32 pm

    path of exile > diablo

    Reply
    1. 

       pylgrim

       November 4, 2018 at 10:17 am

       This has been a debacle for Blizzard. The Path of Exile subreddit got flooded by people “renouncing” Diablo and seeking to get into PoE (which I’d recommend, anyway).

       Reply
14. 

    blakeavon

    November 3, 2018 at 2:12 pm

    Yet another ridiculous downvoting hysteria. People didn’t get what they want so instead of judging the thing for what it is, they are downvoting it for what it isn’t.

    Don’t get my wrong I am bitterly disappointed there was no new Diablo but come on, I am not going to go out of out my way to demonised (hehe) the mobile game or the people making it, because my expectations weren’t matched

    Reply
    1. 

       sabrescene

       November 3, 2018 at 11:37 pm

       instead of judging the thing for what it is, they are downvoting it for what it isn’t.
       Have you looked at what it is? It’s a chinese grinding game with (currently) no character customisation/gear changes (just bland looking classes that don’t change), 12 skills per class (though you can only choose 5 and all have CDs, no resources, so casters are garbage), loot is basically non-existant as they haven’t decided how it will work yet (the game they ripped-off didn’t have a loot system) and possibly how they will make money from it – though that bit is just speculation on my part….

       Some of that will obviously change as it’s not finished but it’s not being made by Blizzard so I don’t have much faith and can only really judge it by what I see now – we shouldn’t judge it by what it isn’t as you say.

       Reply
       1. 

          blakeavon

          November 4, 2018 at 6:21 am

          Yes I have seen as much as everything else, and have zero interest in it, but the thing is you have no proof for half of what you are saying.

          Furthermore you can’t tell me the all downvoting has anything to do with the game itself, as in your concerns, so much of the downvoting is about people voicing how they are upset that this is not a new Diablo. That’s the stupidity I was taking about… downvoting as a form of protest, for something

          Reply
          1. 

             sabrescene

             November 4, 2018 at 2:20 pm

             you have no proof for half of what you are saying.
             What? Did you think I just pulled that all out of my arse or something? It’s all straight from either the DIablo panel or Alex’s article (here on Kotaku) after playing the demo himself…

             Reply
    2. 

       djbear

       November 5, 2018 at 12:15 am

       So basically you are saying if you don’t like a game. You are not allowed to voice your displeasure about it?

       Do you realize how retarded your logic is?

       Reply
       1. 

          blakeavon

          November 5, 2018 at 8:52 am

          they arent reporting their displeasure at THIS game but the fact that it is not the game they want. That sounds extremely idiotic. Did I want a stupid mobile game? No. Did I want a new DIablo? Oh gosh yet.

          When I heard the news my reaction wasnt to downvote and go on posting hysterical outrage spree as if that would somehow conjure the game I want into being. I am adult enough to know that there will be a new Diablo game, eventually, there is no way their wont be one. But in the meantime people who like mobile games will get this. Lucky them, I hope they enjoy it.

          Reply
          1. 

             djbear

             November 5, 2018 at 9:33 am

             Do you ever drop the holier than thou attitude? Any time there is outrage about something you act like you are somehow morally superior by decrying how people react.

             People are allowed to voice their displeasure at this decision however they like bud. Stop acting like you are some kind of superior being for not downvoting a YouTube video or posting a tweet. You come across as a pretentious douche.

             Reply
             1. 

                blakeavon

                November 5, 2018 at 10:35 am

                No I am just an adult. With adult level of reaction to a first world issue like this. One person’s intelligent thoughts is always going to be another persons ‘pretentious douche’ reaction. Sure people are free to say whatever they want and act however they want. Just as other people are free to call them out for it. At no point did I say they shouldnt speak up, just merely the means and scale.

                From where I stand you are equally deploying a ‘holier than thou attitude’. Yet I am at least willing to see where you are coming from, even if I dont agree,but I always have the sense you are never willing to do that to me.

             2. 

                djbear

                November 5, 2018 at 7:06 pm

                Hey. I might disagree with you on most occasions.

                But can at least that you can back up your assertions. Some others i wont name arent able to achieve such a feat.

                What im trying to say is i don’t appreciate your opinions while at the same time appreciate you can articulate them in a proper manner.

15. 

    kritter5x

    November 3, 2018 at 2:38 pm

    It’s like when parents say “I’m not mad… just disappointed”

    That’s how I feel.

    Reply
    1. 

       chinesefood

       November 3, 2018 at 2:49 pm

       Except we’re also mad.

       Reply
       1. 

          kritter5x

          November 3, 2018 at 7:06 pm

          Exactly 🙂

          Reply
       2. 

          transientmind

          November 3, 2018 at 11:24 pm

          I think often when parents say that… they are probably also a little mad. Just trying not to be.

          Reply
          1. 

             thyco

             November 4, 2018 at 1:50 pm

             as i said yesterday, im not mad, im fucking pissed off. its not just this, but its also how shit BFA has been and how blizzard for a while now have been taking us for granted. Well though out constructive feed back ignored every single time.Massive issues pointed out in druing Alphas and Betas and on the PTR all ignored. Issues that everyone can comming form a mile away only to have Blizzard say we wrong and then having those issue manifest.

             This isnt Hindsight.

             Lets not forget, Blizzard cancelled Lord of the Clans, Starcraft Ghost and Titan because they never lived up to their standard, and yet somehow this Mobile asset flip that its not even being develop by Blizzard is ok by their standards? give me a fucking break

             Reply
16. 

    stormo

    November 3, 2018 at 3:16 pm

    I’ve been wanting a Diablo-like experience on my phone for years, so to get an actual Diablo title is amazing.

    Can’t wait.

    Reply
    1. 

       skrybe

       November 3, 2018 at 5:46 pm

       But it’s not an actual diablo exerience. It’s more like a cut down version of WoW than Diablo. It’s a persistent world MMO (according to them). That’s not Diablo, that’s WoW.

       Reply
17. 

    rowan

    November 3, 2018 at 3:36 pm

    Honestly I’d be happy with another expansion for D3 that includes a significant rebalance. That game has never come close to what it should’ve been. I shouldn’t have to grind for so many hours just to unlock a difficulty level where there’s a chance of me dying. I remember many times in D2 running from mobs in fear of my life. That just NEVER happens in D3. I love the atmosphere but it just feels like a waste of time.

    A D2 remaster would’ve been great. D4? Yeah I guess. But after D3 it’s not exciting. But Diablo mobile. Ha! That really is funny to announce the way they did. What a let down!

    Reply
18. 

    raveyman001

    November 3, 2018 at 4:36 pm

    Some people’s reactions are over the top for sure, but the frustration is understandable. Blizzard were somewhat naive to build up the event as a Diablo-fest then show the mostly PC-loving crowd a mobile Diablo mod and not expect a hostile reaction.

    For the love of God, they have so much money, how can their community managers/marketing departments/sales teams etc etc not have foreseen this coming? At the very least some kind of cinematic for D4 would have kept the masses content.

    Reply
    1. 

       skrybe

       November 3, 2018 at 5:50 pm

       I honestly wonder this myself, and not just about their Diablo debacle, but also the bad press they gain from WoW announcements and to a lesser extent their other titles. I don’t know whether they literally have no one in their team saying “Are you sure this is a good idea, there’s gonna be fan backlash” or maybe they do but the executives are just looking at bottom line saying “Don’t care, it’ll make money. Just do it”.

       Are there small, ignored dissenting voices among the Blizzard staff or are they all so blind to the reality of what they’re doing?

       Reply
       1. 

          drumrbaxj

          November 3, 2018 at 6:34 pm

          They do what the boss tells them so they can continue to pay their bills.

          Reply
    2. 

       rock_m

       November 3, 2018 at 6:56 pm

       The funny thing is…. we already saw this happen during E3 with EA’s CnC mobile shenanigans..

       I mean they cannot seriously missed all the backlash from that anouncement and expect things to go great for them just coz Blizzard?

       Then again a lot of people have been willing to put up with a lot of shenanigans from Blizzard because of all the good will they had over the years (splitting SC2 into 3, always online for D3, etc.) but you can only cash in on so much good will for so long before you become an EA =/

       Reply
    3. 

       thyco

       November 3, 2018 at 7:54 pm

       simple, they do not care about diablo because with the removal of the RMAH in Reaper of Souls, D3 is the only game that doesnt have any micro transactions to conn people out of their hard earned cash

       Reply
19. 

    drumrbaxj

    November 3, 2018 at 6:35 pm

    So, just got back from the trailers and oooh boy. They’re deleting comments too? I didn’t read any of the deleted comments so I can’t say if they were reasonable or typical gamer rage, but there seems to be a lot of them deleted. And yet no one has mentioned that yet?

    Reply
    1. 

       skrybe

       November 3, 2018 at 6:44 pm

       If you can believe what some of the people who’ve had comments deleted are saying, they’re fairly innocuous. Sure they’re angry ranting, but they’re not active death threats or hate speech or outright swearing. Maybe some of them deserve deletion but not all. That said, maybe deleting a root post deletes all the posts that stem from it?

       Reply
    2. 

       lemonmule

       November 3, 2018 at 7:11 pm

       I’ve been reading a lot of the negative comments and honestly, they are quite placid. I’m surprised they are deleting them it’s just more fuel to the fire.

       Reply
       1. 

          thyco

          November 3, 2018 at 7:57 pm

          just remember that some people found calming asking a developer if this was a belated april fools joke was considered rude…..

          Reply
    3. 

       thyco

       November 3, 2018 at 7:55 pm

       they were deleting the comments the2 minutes after the trailers when up on youtube

       Reply
20. 

    rock_m

    November 3, 2018 at 7:08 pm

    I guess the whole expect the worst and you won’t be disappointed applies here?

    Blizzards been on a downward trend in my books since the stupid decision to split SC2 into 3 “games” all those years back followed up with the inane decision for D3 to be “online only” because reasons…

    They still make great games that I enjoy… but it’s a tad bit obvious the Activision buyout has shown the decision making in Blizz is really starting to veer towards the EA/UBisoft “games a service” philosophy to get more out of your wallets. If it wasn’t for the great quality and effort that the folks left at Blizz pour into crafting actually very well done worlds, stories and an actually very good well polished game at release they would have been derided as an EA by now…. but the cracks are starting to really show their descent into an EA style company.

    Reply
    1. 

       transientmind

       November 3, 2018 at 11:30 pm

       D3 being forced online was the canary in the coal mine screaming of dire portents before it died. Unheeded.

       There was no good gameplay reason to force it online only. The console port proved that. It was publisher douchebaggery – plain and simple. The worst kind of DRM. It was transparent and it didn’t get harped on, called out, and slammed anywhere near as much or for as long as needed to call the developers to account, to get a fucking admission. The lie just went unacknowledged and everyone shrugged and forgot about ever getting them to actually speak the truth about their old bullshit.

       Reply
       1. 

          skrybe

          November 4, 2018 at 1:01 pm

          A bunch of us did complain and took a stand. I personally would never have bought or played D3 because of the always online fact. However, they literally gave it to me for free since I had WoW.

          I wonder whether that clever marketing ploy contributed greatly to its success. Millions of WoW players basically getting the game for free then playing and potentially using the RMAH (at the time) seems like a great strategy to boost sales and interest.

          Reply
21. 

    john_stalvern

    November 3, 2018 at 7:17 pm

    @alexwalker can you confirm or deny that the lines to play this game were virtually empty? I’ve seen a couple of photos, but photos alone can be spun to mean anything. Maybe they were taken before people were allowed or during the middle of some other massive announcement.

    Reply
    1. 

       thyco

       November 3, 2018 at 7:59 pm

       from everything ive read on diablo sub reddit ( including from the guy ask if this was an april fools joke) there was people playing it but no there were no lines like there would be to try out a new wow expansion/diablo class/overwatch character etc

       Reply
       1. 

          alexwalker

          November 4, 2018 at 1:04 pm

          Two elements here (cc @john_stalvern). There’s a ton of stations – mobiles are easier to set up in that regard – and the stations have been mostly full throughout. It doesn’t take long at all to get a game, but that’s also a combination of how much demo content is there and how quickly they’re able to shuffle people in and out.

          Reply
          1. 

             john_stalvern

             November 5, 2018 at 7:27 am

             Thanks, Alex

             Reply
22. 

    sielinth

    November 3, 2018 at 9:27 pm

    I kind of understand what Blizzard wants to do, they want to diversify their games from being PC only to consoles and mobile. so they took the easiest franchise (Diablo) and went with it

    the Switch version isn’t too shabby and naturally a mobile version makes sense but you got to be deaf and blind to the community to not understand that what people really want to know is where your franchise is going. is there D4? an xpack to D3? who the heck knows, the entire Diablo panel was devoted to the mobile game

    Reply
    1. 

       skrybe

       November 4, 2018 at 1:09 pm

       I don’t disagree, but I see Fortnite as a perfect example of how to do it right. The mobile version is essentially the same game. What are you getting? Fortnite on a different platform, not more fresh Fortnite content that is only available on a different platform.

       Reply
       1. 

          sielinth

          November 4, 2018 at 6:24 pm

          somehow I think part of the Diablo community will never accept a mobile version of Diablo regardless of whether it’s D3 port or a new game.

          as others have pointed out as well, the whole mess could probably be avoided or dampened if they just did a 10 second Diablo 4 teaser or something heh

          Reply
       2. 

          djbear

          November 5, 2018 at 2:20 am

          Old school Runescape is another example of a mobile game done right.

          They didn’t try to make a separate game. They just ported the already widely popular game to mobile and did a good job. OSRS player numbers have increased tenfold thanks to the mobile release.

          Reply
23. 

    intelligentgamer

    November 4, 2018 at 1:14 am

    “The author travelled to Blizzcon 2018 as a guest of Blizzard”

    Guess this explains Jason’s overly defensive tweet about Red Shirt Guy, who everyone else has hailed a hero. Also explains the second half of this article. And it should help inform Kotaku’s coverage of this train wreck going forward.

    Reply
    1. 

       alexwalker

       November 5, 2018 at 8:08 am

       No, it doesn’t. Kotaku Australia and Kotaku in the US are owned by separate companies. I travelled to Blizzcon with Blizzard, but the US isn’t involved in that and completely separate. We’ve got more Diablo coverage today, so you’ll be able to see for yourself. Please don’t sling mud at writers for no good reason.

       Reply
24. 

    jaystillman

    November 4, 2018 at 4:17 pm

    This game is hitler satan

    Reply