About Activision Blizzard

[SirCowdog]

Haha what? There have been multiple changes to D3 since Reapers launched. Path of Exile WISHES it completely blew D3 out of the water. It is hardly the amazing game people make it out to be.

Because I've played both, and I can see the massive difference in gameplay and overall approach to the customers. Diablo 3 has been in maintenance mode for years, while POE has continuously updated, upgraded, and improved. Not only that, but Grinding Gears actually talks to its community and accepts feedback. In addition, POE is a consistent revenue generator, whereas Diablo 3 has not made ANY money after the purchase of RoS.

It is not an exaggeration to say that even Diablo 4 is going to face stiff competition. POE's expansion will be out MUCH sooner than Diablo 4, and take an already solid game up a notch while Blizzard sits in development. By the time D4 is released, POE will have had upwards of two years to refine and polish their experience, while it's entirely possible that D4 will launch in an imperfect state.

You may not personally like POE, but you can't deny it's place as a powerful rival and leader in the ARPG genre.

[TwoMana]

Seeing Classic compared DIRECTLY across from retail wow, and doing so with the same levels of population and popularity, HAS to be a powerful contrast

To be honest, I haven't followed Classic at all, so did they actually release official numbers or is this just one of those "people in the forums are comparing their gut feelings"-type of thing?

I've said for a while that Blizzard as a company has a problem with huge waterfall designs. It takes them years to develop projects - and they seem to regularly abandon these. So we're left with the maintenance releases for products they managed to push out. Some of that is good - but their portfolio is sure very much on the "aging fast"-side.

They need to be more agile. But I don't really see that happening right now.

[Calfredd]

To be honest, I haven't followed Classic at all, so did they actually release official numbers or is this just one of those "people in the forums are comparing their gut feelings"-type of thing?

"People in the forums are comparing their gut feelings"-type of thing. Classic and Retail share a sub and Twitch viewership can only say so much. It was on MMO-Champ's front page but Blizzard did admit to a resurgence as people came back and started resubbing for Classic but people do that anyway for Retail expansions as well so I wouldn't take that metric for gospel either.

[SirCowdog]

To be honest, I haven't followed Classic at all, so did they actually release official numbers or is this just one of those "people in the forums are comparing their gut feelings"-type of thing?

I've said for a while that Blizzard as a company has a problem with huge waterfall designs. It takes them years to develop projects - and they seem to regularly abandon these. So we're left with the maintenance releases for products they managed to push out. Some of that is good - but their portfolio is sure very much on the "aging fast"-side.

They need to be more agile. But I don't really see that happening right now.

There was a report from Blizzard about how Classic was the cause of unprecedented growth in the quarter(or some such similar statement), which people extrapolated on from previous figures that Blizzard has released. I don't want to mislead you, so take it with a grain of salt, but I believe the numbers were guestimated to be somewhere between 1-2 million classic players.

Even if that number is wrong, I think the popularity of Classic was still MUCH higher than Blizzard expected it to be, and including it in the normal WoW sub was a masterful move, and extremely consumer-friendly. I just wish they'd take that example and repeat it in other areas.

[MoanaLisa]

There was a report from Blizzard about how Classic was the cause of unprecedented growth in the quarter(or some such similar statement), which people extrapolated on from previous figures that Blizzard has released. I don't want to mislead you, so take it with a grain of salt, but I believe the numbers were guestimated to be somewhere between 1-2 million classic players.

WoW Classic's launch was a decided success easily taking care of its expenses for many years to come. What no one here knows is how ephemeral that success is: how many have left, whether phases will bring few or many back for another month. It seems logical that a Classic Burning Crusade is a no-brainer though.

[SirCowdog]

WoW Classic's launch was a decided success easily taking care of its expenses for many years to come. What no one here knows is how ephemeral that success is: how many have left, whether phases will bring few or many back for another month. It seems logical that a Classic Burning Crusade is a no-brainer though.

I'm eagerly waiting for the announcement. Given what they've gone on record about how, now that they've laid the groundwork and figured out the underlying methods of re-working old code for modern systems, it will be much easier for future releases.....I don't see them NOT doing TBC or WotLK. Given that a Classic TBC server will cost them even less in development, and it's widely considered the golden age of WoW, it's basically a no-brainer.

But I also think Blizzard should be careful about recycling content like that. As I said in some of my earlier posts here, they're treading a thin line. And the Phase 2 release of PVP for classic shows us all that the older style of WoW isn't without its pitfalls.

[Self Inflicted Wounds]

Haha what? There have been multiple changes to D3 since Reapers launched. Path of Exile WISHES it completely blew D3 out of the water. It is hardly the amazing game people make it out to be.

Why even lie though?

I don't get the massive love for PoE either. I've played and enjoyed both. But PoE isn't a D3 smasher. I just think that A) contrarians will like PoE out of principle because Blizzard is a bigger company, and B) People that hate "things" about Diablo will somehow find sanctuary in PoE.

- - - Updated - - -

"People in the forums are comparing their gut feelings"-type of thing. Classic and Retail share a sub and Twitch viewership can only say so much. It was on MMO-Champ's front page but Blizzard did admit to a resurgence as people came back and started resubbing for Classic but people do that anyway for Retail expansions as well so I wouldn't take that metric for gospel either.

I mean, it would be easy for Blizzard to give out the number of average players. But I doubt we will get that.

[Seranthor]

I mean, it would be easy for Blizzard to give out the number of average players. But I doubt we will get that.

It would be easy, but the problem is and always has been in how those numbers would be used.

Say the number is X... one side will clutch the magic X and squeal that its the most perfect X because it supports their claim that their version of the game is the best... while the other side will claim that the magic X isn't really a magic X at all but faked X for whatever dreamt up reason...

Just look at the history of how sub numbers have been handled by the masses.

Giving the X is really a no win situation for Blizzard, because no matter what someone will squeal about Fake X.

[Kokolums]

Blizzard thrived in the 1990s / early 2000s because it had a value add. They had battle.net. Bnet separated Blizz from its competitors because at the time it was THE cutting edge social space for online gamers. People formed guilds on it and people would play all of Blizzard's titles with friends. Bnet had observer mode where you can just watch friends play without playing yourself. You could watch with other observers and comment in chat while they played. They added replays where you can record your game and share it with others so they can watch. In an age long before Youtube or Twitch, this was AMAZINGLY groundbreaking for social play.

That social play was absolute crack.

Today, Bnet is a SHELL of its former self, just a basic stupid launcher. They destroyed the value add of Bnet and replaced it with nothing. Now, Blizzard is just another video game company with nothing to separate itself from its competition. That's why GGG can usurp it in the realm of ARPGs. That's why Fortnite can best them in shooters. Thats why they lose out in Mobas.

Its just too competitive to roll out games with no vision and expect to be on top.

[Self Inflicted Wounds]

It would be easy, but the problem is and always has been in how those numbers would be used.

Say the number is X... one side will clutch the magic X and squeal that its the most perfect X because it supports their claim that their version of the game is the best... while the other side will claim that the magic X isn't really a magic X at all but faked X for whatever dreamt up reason...

Just look at the history of how sub numbers have been handled by the masses.

Giving the X is really a no win situation for Blizzard, because no matter what someone will squeal about Fake X.

Yeah, but my point is that we have real access to the success of Classic. But we won't get it, and the problem you're showcasing still exists essentially. We don't have the numbers and people are still running away with their claims being supported somehow. Objectivity is a thing, but people that ignore that for their biases will always be there, doing just that. We have people in this thread doing just that.

[Seranthor]

Yeah, but my point is that we have real access to the success of Classic. But we won't get it, and the problem you're showcasing still exists essentially. We don't have the numbers and people are still running away with their claims being supported somehow. Objectivity is a thing, but people that ignore that for their biases will always be there, doing just that. We have people in this thread doing just that.

Is there really some reason we need the Magic X? Does it have any bearing on how much or how little someone is enjoying either version? Maybe its just me, but as I see it the only real measure of the 'success' of Classic is if you are playing it and enjoying it. If you aren't happy playing it then how much of a 'success' is it really?

[Self Inflicted Wounds]

Is there really some reason we need the Magic X? Does it have any bearing on how much or how little someone is enjoying either version? Maybe its just me, but as I see it the only real measure of the 'success' of Classic is if you are playing it and enjoying it. If you aren't happy playing it then how much of a 'success' is it really?

Where did I say I wasn't enjoying it?

Its clearly something used for discussion.... in threads like these? Or the thread regarding the rushing of Classic phases.

"Do we really need it?" Just screams that you might be afraid of the answers to me. I doubt it would legit cause the harm you're implying.

[Seranthor]

Where did I say I wasn't enjoying it?

Its clearly something used for discussion.... in threads like these? Or the thread regarding the rushing of Classic phases.

"Do we really need it?" Just screams that you might be afraid of the answers to me. I doubt it would legit cause the harm you're implying.

I didnt say you weren't enjoying it... read the whole thing again, not cherry pick part of it.

It's NOT ever used for 'discussion' its used for dickwaving. I just loathe the dickwaving that has gone on over sub numbers and in all these classic v retail threads, because lets be fair, its pointless. There are no classic subs... There are no retail subs... they are all Warcraft subs... and that means people throwing their money at Blizzard.

'Afraid'... not likely... I'm indifferent at best... Frankly its not any of our business what X is. And that seems to be Blizzard's position as well. Not to mention there is zero harm from not telling us X.

[Dastreus]

Let just Blizz give to THQ

THQ still needs to release Supreme Commander 3

[ls-]

John Staats in an interview published November 19, 2019 (11 days ago):

https://www.adventuresinpoortaste.co...ture-and-more/

There's a lot I could say about it but fuck it, I've said all of this before more than once. It's pathetic that people are still so moonstruck over what Blizzard used to be that they have to blame things on Kotick and ATVI. They got here entirely on their own. They say they still scrap about half the stuff they start. They haven't published a new game in over three-and-a-half years.

I think Titan broke Blizzard and they have yet to pull their shit together because of it. Because they can't seem to organize themselves to get a new title out on a regular basis they must find ways to monetize their games. They would be doing exactly the same thing if they were self-owned. In fact it's entirely possible that it would be a fuck of a lot worse if they didn't have CoD, Candy Crush and Skylanders merchandise to cover the quarters and years that they can't bring themselves to finish and publish something.

The problem is in Blizzard HQ.

Yeah, people like blaming Activision for everything bad that happens in games of studios they own or co-own. But we've seen many times that it's not exactly the case. Heck, some studios that previously were under Activision tried to blame everything on them. *cough* Bungie *cough*.

I'm playing Destiny, and I think everyone here remembers all those articles and whatnot about bad bad Activision that tied Bungie's hands, and how everyone at Bungie was celebrating the end of their contract w/ them. But now people started figuring out that it really was Bungo themselves that were the problem. The best content and/or DLCs that were released for Destiny 2 weren't even made by Bungo, but by Vicarious Visions and High Moon Studios that were under Activision. And when it comes to MTX/Eververse, oh boy, things were fairly mild and easily obtainable while they were under Activision, nowadays we're getting milked like there's no tomorrow, bright dust economy is completely busted, all cosmetics are in the shop now, and it's like that by design. Bungo themselves said that going forward all power gains would be obtainable by playing the game, but all cosmetic stuff, ships, vehicles, ornaments (armour and weapon skins, basically transmog), etc would be sold in their store, while previously there's both Eververse-exclusive cosmetics AND cosmetics tied to various activities.

And there's still people saying that D2 is F2P now, but it's really not, they just made obsolete/outdated content from previous years F2P, at this point everyone who was going to purchase D2 already purchased it, so making that part of the game F2P didn't hurt them at all. It's free PR now. But you still need to pay full prices for Forsaken and Shadowkeep, you also need to pay for the season pass. And don't get me started on how abysmal content-wise the current season is.

[Relapses]

It would be easy, but the problem is and always has been in how those numbers would be used.

Say the number is X... one side will clutch the magic X and squeal that its the most perfect X because it supports their claim that their version of the game is the best... while the other side will claim that the magic X isn't really a magic X at all but faked X for whatever dreamt up reason...

Just look at the history of how sub numbers have been handled by the masses.

Giving the X is really a no win situation for Blizzard, because no matter what someone will squeal about Fake X.

Sub numbers serve no purpose to players. They served no purpose to players when we did get them and it means even less now. In order to really benefit from subscriber levels we would have to know how many new players were gained and how many existing players left. Since there is a 0% chance Blizzard would ever publicly release these numbers it's pointless for players to ask for them.

[CrawlFromThePit]

https://classic.wowhead.com/news=297...by-john-staats

From the book:





Can there be any doubt left that the Blizzard we knew and loved, the one that once gave us quality games, for gamers by gamers, is well and truly dead? Its very soul consumed by Activision?

Activision is not putting a deadline on anything Blizzard does. The only thing on a deadline are WoW xpacks and that's because of community expectation based on how it's always been in the past, 1 xpack every 2 years.

Activision has no say in the creative direction of Blizzard games, if you think sometimes sucks in the game it's because designers made it bad, not because some money-person is in the mix, they didn't ask the designers to make things bad.

[SirCowdog]

I don't get the massive love for PoE either. I've played and enjoyed both. But PoE isn't a D3 smasher. I just think that A) contrarians will like PoE out of principle because Blizzard is a bigger company, and B) People that hate "things" about Diablo will somehow find sanctuary in PoE.

The thing is, I like both games. I especially enjoy Diablo 3 hardcore much more than POE hardcore. But that doesn't stop me from recognizing that POE is just a better game in almost every way.

The map system destroys the GR system, both in depth and scaling.
The builds in POE are nearly infinite, whereas D3 is basically which class set is best.
The appearance customization is probably on par, although POE has a number of paid cosmetics that outclass D3s, so that's a wash.
POE has player housing with actual functionality(stash, crafting, portals, etc).
POE's economy system is 349826734 lightyears ahead of D3.
POE's crafting is much more in-depth and interesting, as well as having better customization.
POE is free, which includes the entire game, only locking cosmetics and some utility(stash/storage/etc) behind paywalls.

The only thing that D3 really has is a slight advantage in smoothness of gameplay, which the POE expansion is addressing along with graphical updates.

I LIKE diablo 3, but that doesn't change the facts. POE is just a better game in almost every sense.

[Self Inflicted Wounds]

I didnt say you weren't enjoying it... read the whole thing again, not cherry pick part of it.

It's NOT ever used for 'discussion' its used for dickwaving. I just loathe the dickwaving that has gone on over sub numbers and in all these classic v retail threads, because lets be fair, its pointless. There are no classic subs... There are no retail subs... they are all Warcraft subs... and that means people throwing their money at Blizzard.

'Afraid'... not likely... I'm indifferent at best... Frankly its not any of our business what X is. And that seems to be Blizzard's position as well. Not to mention there is zero harm from not telling us X.

For indifference you seem pretty worried about their existence.

I also think its safe to assume some people aren't playing both classic and retail, so some players would have vested interest in one over the other. I also specifically said average number of players, not "retail vs classic subs" so that doesn't make much sense.

Plenty of discussions could be had: "Is classic getting an equal amount of resources based on the amount of players it has?"

This wouldn't hurt you, especially if you're so "indifferent."

- - - Updated - - -

Sub numbers serve no purpose to players. They served no purpose to players when we did get them and it means even less now. In order to really benefit from subscriber levels we would have to know how many new players were gained and how many existing players left. Since there is a 0% chance Blizzard would ever publicly release these numbers it's pointless for players to ask for them.

If its pointless anyway, why are you AGAIN, AS ALWAYS so against their release?

Oh yeah, you're afraid of what they might say

[A Chozo]

Yesss Blizzard is a saint, Activision is the real evil, holding back our hero corporation.