2012 report: D3 sold 12 million copies

[Bigbazz]

We are trying to find out why the game wasn't as good as Diablo 2 LOD, but the more the people discuss about it, the more pointless it gets. The game was bad and that's the end of the story, the Game Director was fired (in a "civil way") and the game lost a lot of players.

The only way to fix the game is another 1 or 2 years of development to fix the problem. There is not science on this, it's just a simple bad game with a lot of veteran and new players frustrated.

http://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/di...eviews?page=42

Just read those posts....

Well if you read the posts you get the impression that people loved it, only a few bad reviews in the bunch and a load of 10's. I dont really think using such a site is anything to go by, Its always the biggest games that get the most sales along with the most hate and trollers, no matter the genre. I have an old PC Zone magazine from when Diablo 2 was released and they gave it a 71% score, which is pretty poor.

I'l say it over and over, I think D3 was a great game that people expected too much from, I understand the frustration of wanting it to be better but a game that delivers in such a way rarely happens. The guys who are hating the most are the vocal minority and the general everyday gamers who arent posting around forums really liked it.

When it comes to arguements about online only and the AH, which happens to cover the vast majority of mad angry posters... Well as I've said countless times I think the AH was an excellent idea, you aren't forced to use it (even if it did seem that way at launch when the game was exceptionally difficult) and the online only merely reflects the way most people played Diablo 2 back in the day combined with the way Blizzard has gone with all of their battlenet games.

Fact is that an expansion pack will come sooner or later, everyone will buy it and the vocal minority will come on forums like this to whine, bitch and moan.

[Redblade]

I understand the frustration of wanting it to be better but a game that delivers in such a way rarely happens. The guys who are hating the most are the vocal minority and the general everyday gamers who arent posting around forums really liked it.

Yet we're hanging out playing PoE, a game that delivers on most expectations on a D2 sequel...

[Mirishka]

TLTR; Game isn't Diablo it is not what I want it to be but nothing more then frustrations and anger that is simply an unrewarding pile of trash that I obviously perfected as well.

Done

Your post = TLDR and pointless. This wasn't a topic about 'brag about how leet you think you are and how you manipulate teh economeez lulz' - it was about someone saying he likes D3.

Lets say you aren't what your parents wanted you to be. Does that make you an unrewarding pile of trash?

Just because a game isn't what *you* want doesn't make it bad, trash, or anything else. It makes no sense that you boast about playing for 12+ hours a day and yet the game isn't worth your time.

Also, people who actually like the game aren't 'defenders' - believe it or not, there are people who actually have an opinion which differs from yours. And that's okay, it really is. Your opinion isn't the beginning and end of anything.

[Bigbazz]

If the guys that complain about the game are the minority, why there are a lot of people complaining about it? even in ign.com people complain a lot about it....

And the "Fact" of a new expansion seems a little too much of a "fantasy" from fans, that a true reality. If blizzard is taking the Game Director away, do you think the game is doing great? i think not.... Also remember this problem "http://www.cinemablend.com/games/Blizzard-Forced-Give-Koreans-Refunds-Diablo-3-43844.html" Koreans asking for refounds because D3 was really bad.... Also don't forget this: http://i.imgur.com/r5o5I.png


Think about it...

People who post on internet forums in general are a minority, and there are only a handful of people even commenting here, the majority of actual reviews on that Metacritic link you showed me were very positive. During the first weeks of Diablo 3 there was chaos because of the fact that It simply didn't work and sure a few people had their money back, but that didnt stop Diablo 3 to continue to sell and sell in massive numbers, becoming one of the biggest selling PC games of all time. A game that a LOT of people still actively play, and that blizzard are still making big money from.

Blizzard games sell big and those same guys who moaned about D3 will come back for the expansion pack to see if it improves things, it will sell in massive numbers just as all Blizzard games do. Blizzard were likely already developing an expansion pack before D3 released, their game director has moved on and they are looking for a new one, why is that a big deal? It happens all the time.

You can absolutely guarentee there will be an expansion for one of blizzards biggest selling and most successful games. And you can also guarentee that no matter how good or bad it is, there will always be a vocal minority around websites and forums moaning, bitching and whining as there is with pretty much every big release (and most small) games currently available.

[Redblade]

Just look at the Starcraft 2 and WoW forums, people are conform with the actual game and giving feedback on what they would like to see in those games, but in Diablo3 is more complains than actual feedback. Blizzard is actually trying to fix this game, but many people like me, think that the damage is already done

To fix the issues Diablo 3 has Blizzard would have to change their minds about a fair few major design decisions though, something I doubt will happen as they stuck by their guns during development. Basically the same they done with WoW last few years, personally I think they suffer from hubris and will deny that any design they implement is a bad idea to begin with, they would rather buff/alter/increase rewards to make it seem ok when in fact it's still the same pile of shit underneath.

[Kelimbror]

To fix the issues Diablo 3 has Blizzard would have to change their minds about a fair few major design decisions though, something I doubt will happen as they stuck by their guns during development. Basically the same they done with WoW last few years, personally I think they suffer from hubris and will deny that any design they implement is a bad idea to begin with, they would rather buff/alter/increase rewards to make it seem ok when in fact it's still the same pile of shit underneath.

I have loved Blizzard for a long time, but even I'm starting to get this feeling as well. I mean the whole response to reputation and dailies in Mists screams a similar issue. Players said they would rather farm dungeons for rep, that rep tabards were preferable to being forced to do other activities, and then suggestedthat the ability to control when and how much rep you can gain on your own time is important.

What was Blizzard's answer to this? To put reputation on more forced activities that not everyone will enjoy, which still limits the rep you can get on a daily basis, and still dictates exactly how a player needs to play their game. Others might not see it, but you are exactly right about this.

[Fencers]

I finally am close to finishing the single player story on the default mode (i have almost no time,hurray kids). It's not a bad game. <snip>

D3 probably does get a lot of undue flak. Especially from people not actually longtime Diablo 2 players wishing or expecting something else out of the genre/franchise.

Like, "So all you do is grind at max level?" a sentiment almost invariably tied to how little the commentator played D2 or how few games in the genre they may have expedience with.

"Yes, Johnny. All you do is grind. Sorta the point."

Where I think a lot of accurate and rightful criticism of the game comes is in the simplicity of it's play systems. Diablo 3 is petty shallow. It is so streamlined and linear as to reduce a lot of the "quirk" of Diablo 2. Compared with new ARPGs, Diablo 3 in gameplay is very unsatisfying experience in the long term for enthusiasts of the genre.

Does Diablo 3 play well? Look & sound stylish? Absolutely. Blizzard still know how to make great playing video games.

Diablo 3 seems to me to be a solid but polarizing game. Though I wouldn't say it is objectively a poor game.

[Beazy]

I think D3 was too small. The streamlined systems didnt bother me as much as the 1 hour long act 4. . . . really Blizz. . . 1 hour for an entire act?!

I had imagined a massive dungeon crawler with over a hundred unique level tile sets, endless dungeons you could grind with friends and hundreds of more models for loot. None of that is what we got.

I dont hate D3, and to be honest, I still like it a lot. I have a blast playing with my friends every week. We have a few beers, kick back and dominate monsters on MP07. . its fun and enjoyable, but its not a deep experience.

It needs some heavy duty work. Hopefully the new lead game designer will see that, and add more than 6 unique models for shields. . . . . add some endless dungeons. . . give us rune words back.. . add more than 6 attributes to weapons. The list goes on. . .

But you have to admit, for a game that is missing so much, it does its job well. It plays better than any ARPG on the market, period. They have the framework to make it great. Lets hope they do just that.

[Leonard McCoy]

The value of things is way overblown? I recently went on Diablo 3 and bought a Stormshield that "would have" sold for over 100million gold a few months back, I paid 69000 for it. I bought a sword that would have set me back probably 15-25million and I paid 137,000 gold for it, I bought bracers I would have spent perhaps 3 million on previously, for 2600 gold, a neck previously worth around 2 million for 3000 gold, a belt previously worth 4-5million for around 40k gold.

So yeah sure, the price of items is just exploding! No, what has happened is that the market is inflated with too many items because items drop like crazy and the value of them has dropped to nothing. Only a few select near perfect items have any value at all.


Your arguements about networking are no more valid than they were the last time. If networking was a good and efficient way to properly trade then the other systems would not have emmerged and become so popular. And the fact is the higher the quality your gear got and the more rare items you went for the more you needed to use one of those systems. They worked better and that is why so many people used them, the AH replaces both and is superior to both.

Regardless of whether you could get by with "networking" and regardless of whether you like it or not, the AH was something almost required in order to avoid the repeat of the sad state of Diablo 2 as seen by many.

---------- Post added 2013-02-05 at 01:42 PM ----------



The reason I called you a smart ass is because you missed the conversation that came before it, and based your reply on the post you were reading, if you properly read my post in the first place then you might understand that it was a reply based on a whole conversation that had come before, not a small part of one post.

Your blabbering on as Black Sabbaths posting buddy has nothing to do with the topic of conversation, and if you think that was done "politely" then you might want to go rethink your understanding of the word "polite". If Black Sabbath wants to defend himself then I'm sure he doesn't need you to do it for him, and the more this thread gets filled up with this pointless bickering the more offtopic and off rails it is going to go.

Why are you so bloody hostile to someone who pointed out that what I was saying was the most obvious thing in the universe? Fact: The ONLY ONE CONFUSED BY WHAT I'M SAYING IS YOU. Ergo you have the problem. Check yourself

While you may not see value in networking and socialization many of us did. The points about networking are totally valid, the key is that the only thing you and the developers value is "efficiency". It's your measure for almost everything in this game and it's frankly the dumbest thing you could think of. Farming bosses was to efficient, soooooooooo go farm trash instead (regardless of "fun"). The natural trade and barter of Diablo 2 was to inefficient sooooooo heres a listing service. Just because it isn't bloody efficient to sate the impatient and the ADD kids doesn't mean their isn't value in it and doesn't mean people didn't enjoy making new contacts and socializing.

When I had left the game some months ago the rash of bots had inflated the gold economy to the point where the individual unit of gold was worthless. The prices on even shit items had sky rocketed because well gold was everywhere and Blizzard was helpless to stop the botters.

The higher quality your gear gets and the more rare items you want ARE STILL NOT GUARANTEED BY THE AH. The AH is just a listing service. It doesn't not guarantee you a sale or a buy. It doesn't actually solve the problem of you wanting rarer and harder to find items. Those items still have to exist, and still be put up for money instead of being used by the individual who found them. IN NO WAY SHAPE OR FORM WAS THE AH REQUIRED. It was a design decision made by the developers, a very conscious one but not REQUIRED in the slightest.

[Grogo]

I have played D3 since launch and have had my fun with it, i am the sort of dude who can stick with a game for years if it is truly well done.

You know what is harshing my mellow? D3 is pay to win, that is the root of it. The game was made around the base of steering people to buy gold and making a buck off AH/gold/gear selling/buying.

I would of like to see a poe like approach perhaps.

[BenBos]

Yet we're hanging out playing PoE, a game that delivers on most expectations on a D2 sequel...

You may relook again.

As FREE to play PoE starts to bomb on Xfire and it is not even decently launched yet.

A symbolic 11th place today ... BEHIND Diablo 3 and patch 1.07 is not even out yet. DO check the LATEST global figures, not the paid publicity on the front page (where it still is advertised as 5th played)...

so the "we're" part is the usual small number of forum guys talking here (as usual).

I know you hate guys "won" the place in here and it is kind of status symbol to seek refugee over here (ty mods ! for that). But frankly the SAME 600+ new public groups numbers being formed in prime time a whole 5 months after the last patch shows D3 is being played WITHOUT you guys, ... whther you like that or not.

[ro9ue]

OP, need to put it in perspective. There's a lot less hate than there appears to be. Most people are 'meh' with the game. Then there's the small% people who hate it enough to bitch about it on forums and the small% who love it enough to defend it to the death on the forums. D3 wasn't bad, i only played it until level 20 and was disappointed, but don't care and moved onto other games. Blizzard is in an unfortunate spot where their early success set the bar so high.

[BenBos]

I dont hate D3, and to be honest, I still like it a lot. I have a blast playing with my friends every week. We have a few beers, kick back and dominate monsters on MP07. . its fun and enjoyable, but its not a deep experience.

It needs some heavy duty work. Hopefully the new lead game designer will see that, and add more than 6 unique models for shields. . . . . add some endless dungeons. . . give us rune words back.. . add more than 6 attributes to weapons. The list goes on. . .

But you have to admit, for a game that is missing so much, it does its job well. It plays better than any ARPG on the market, period. They have the framework to make it great. Lets hope they do just that.

Apart from the usual anti Blizzard suspects with a cross in their hands, it ALSO explains the hate by some Elite Paragon 100 on this site (and more controlable on the official site) : these guys played a 1000 hours in a game that is NOT an mmorpg, but a normal FUN game to smash things up on a casual basis.

That's it really. That's ALL of it. Blizzard NEVER did want to make a game that would take WOW subs away massively, so they made a very fast paced fun and casual H&S ON LINE game you play along now and then WHEN in the mood.

All the others who reached Paragon levels with a 1000 hours played within 4 months time ...are playing a game that was never intended that way.

And no ... D2 was not that good either. D2 preceded the MMORPG's and as such had VERY limited gameplay compared to present MMORPg's too.

THE END and it is already easy to see that D3 will be THE reference in the new H&S games as TL1 and TL2 are already WAY out of the hitparade and PoE already is following these 2 as we speak.

----

H&S is simply too limited to be played as an mmorpg or even rpg./ It is just blasting fun and so was D2. Get over it. The biggest fail of all arguments is the so called "story" argument.

Tell me ... I just want to know: WHICH story exactly do you want to hear 3.467 times in a row? Like I said even Fawlty Towers can only be viewed 3 times in a row and that was elected the ULTIMATE show of the 20th century

[Kelimbror]

As FREE to play PoE starts to bomb on Xfire and it is not even decently launched yet.

It seems your stay in time out hasn't taught you that xfire isn't a reliable source of anything. How cute.

---------- Post added 2013-02-07 at 09:14 AM ----------

Like I said even Fawlty Towers can only be viewed 3 times in a row and that was elected the ULTIMATE show of the 20th century

This proves that you know nothing. I have watched Fawlty Towers at least 10 times nonstop over the period of a week. I alread couldn't take you seriously, but now you have blasphemed. Good day.

[Resentful]

You really should stop replying to him or ask for him not to reply like It's utterly pointless for obvious reasons.

[Kelimbror]

You really should stop replying to him or ask for him not to reply like It's utterly pointless for obvious reasons.

I'm on a mission from the Heavens to prove that he is a robot antichrist, built by blizzard in conjunction with xfire, who has a faulty logic matrix and so can only post the things that he does.

I shall set his robot soul free and thereby prevent the xfire apocalypse.

[Redblade]

You may relook again.

As FREE to play PoE starts to bomb on Xfire and it is not even decently launched yet.

A symbolic 11th place today ... BEHIND Diablo 3 and patch 1.07 is not even out yet. DO check the LATEST global figures, not the paid publicity on the front page (where it still is advertised as 5th played)...

so the "we're" part is the usual small number of forum guys talking here (as usual).

I know you hate guys "won" the place in here and it is kind of status symbol to seek refugee over here (ty mods ! for that). But frankly the SAME 600+ new public groups numbers being formed in prime time a whole 5 months after the last patch shows D3 is being played WITHOUT you guys, ... whther you like that or not.

I really don't know why you are allowed to post still, this has nothing...nothing to do with what I just said.

Your random crap posting doesn't refute what I was talking about in any way, all I was saying is that the people not satisfied with D3 primarily because it strayed from the concept of D2 seem to be very happy playing PoE.

Also, PoE has around 2-3 times as many viewers on twitch as D3, just thought I'd leave that pointless metric here for you as you seem to like them so much.

[Mexa]

its 1 million times better on co-op, though. I played up to inferno in co-op as 4 players and i finished inferno solo because all my friends stopped playing, and while it is still a decent single player game, it's co-op just makes it so much more fun. Especially if u all sit on skype and talk and kill bosses and shit and share what loot drops and give eachother the loot they need and so on and so forth.

[BenBos]

I really don't know why you are allowed to post still, this has nothing...nothing to do with what I just said.

Your random crap posting doesn't refute what I was talking about in any way, all I was saying is that the people not satisfied with D3 primarily because it strayed from the concept of D2 seem to be very happy playing PoE.

Also, PoE has around 2-3 times as many viewers on twitch as D3, just thought I'd leave that pointless metric here for you as you seem to like them so much.

In WOW forums and GW2 forums it is BORBIDDEN to talk about other games to be "better" to avoid the forum clashes. I just answered your teasing about PoE with some facts you do all the time.

Apparently you don't like that.

So a friendly advice: stick to Diablo 3 on a Diablo 3 forum.

Why do you keep haunting for praise to trash talk the game I like to play?

I mean if you really have NOTHING to say about the game I like to play, except to vomit all over it, please leave these pages as it is not allowed.

---------- Post added 2013-02-07 at 04:51 PM ----------

its 1 million times better on co-op, though. I played up to inferno in co-op as 4 players and i finished inferno solo because all my friends stopped playing, and while it is still a decent single player game, it's co-op just makes it so much more fun. Especially if u all sit on skype and talk and kill bosses and shit and share what loot drops and give eachother the loot they need and so on and so forth.

yeah. it is. I sometimes have the impression I am always talking to non players of this game. But it is a general remark. Even on Diablofans sometimes you read things and say to yourself: this dude simply is not playing the game I play.

Like the argument: you need the AH to advance: You can beat Diablo with lvl 60 gear in no time in grouping mode these days. Another one of those fables: group play is not awarded, while ... I gain 3X more loot and gold while just playing in group.

Even public grouping is quite fun, but of course co op with real friends is max fun.

[Redblade]

In WOW forums and GW2 forums it is BORBIDDEN to talk about other games to be "better" to avoid the forum clashes. I just answered your teasing about PoE with some facts you do all the time.

Apparently you don't like that.

So a friendly advice: stick to Diablo 3 on a Diablo 3 forum.

Why do you keep haunting for praise to trash talk the game I like to play?

I mean if you really have NOTHING to say about the game I like to play, except to vomit all over it, please leave these pages as it is not allowed.

I'm sure if the mods think I overstepped they would tell me, I doubt however that they appreciate you playing moderator here telling others what they can and can't discuss.