Oh Blizzard, how you have fallen (Diablo Immortal).

[Valhalladin]

Do you guys not have credit cards?

[Delever]

People unironically defending predatory monetization behaviours from multimillion $ companies and also having the audacity to shift the blame to the consumer is mindboggling to me.
And not only defending predatory monetization behaviours but also calling the compliance with and acceptance of such behaviours "maturing and growing up".
This has nothing to do with maturing or growing up and everything to do with this having become the norm in the mobile gaming industry and there being no other alternative.

[Pozz]

Cool. They are not making that game though. With games as a service and with people expecting to pick a game and play it for the rest of their lives, there needs to be constant revenue streams.

Do large amounts of people actually expect to pick up games "for life"?
I feel like this is more companies that have been pushing for the chance of keeping people "for life" with their live service (generally) unfinished garbage?

[Shrouded]

People unironically defending predatory monetization behaviours from multimillion $ companies and also having the audacity to shift the blame to the consumer is mindboggling to me.

And to me, but I'm still not surprised. It's been a very long process of normalization and testing the boundaries. Every time a company has gone too far all at once there has been a very major and very loud public backlash, so they've learnt that introducing extreme monetization over time is what works. Look at the original "DLC" - Oblivion's horse armor. It's being ridiculed to this day, even though thousands of other games sell similar things now. It only took a few years for that sort of thing to become the norm. What's baffling to me is not that these extra monetization practices actually emerged, but that there are people who are not only willing to defend them, but actually eagerly do so. Working against their own interests solely for the satisfaction of telling someone on the Internet that they're wrong seems so self-destructive to me.

[crusadernero]

Do you guys not have credit cards?

This made me laugh. Blizzard should get someone to say that on stage at a later Blizzcon. A fitting follow up to the "dont you have phones?"

[Jester Joe]

People unironically defending predatory monetization behaviours from multimillion $ companies and also having the audacity to shift the blame to the consumer is mindboggling to me.
And not only defending predatory monetization behaviours but also calling the compliance with and acceptance of such behaviours "maturing and growing up".
This has nothing to do with maturing or growing up and everything to do with this having become the norm in the mobile gaming industry and there being no other alternative.

You say this as if they're not also developing Diablo 4.

[Delever]

And to me, but I'm still not surprised. It's been a very long process of normalization and testing the boundaries. Every time a company has gone too far all at once there has been a very major and very loud public backlash, so they've learnt that introducing extreme monetization over time is what works. Look at the original "DLC" - Oblivion's horse armor. It's being ridiculed to this day, even though thousands of other games sell similar things now. It only took a few years for that sort of thing to become the norm. What's baffling to me is not that these extra monetization practices actually emerged, but that there are people who are not only willing to defend them, but actually eagerly do so. Working against their own interests solely for the satisfaction of telling someone on the Internet that they're wrong seems so self-destructive to me.

You put this in damn near perfect wording. Kudos sir.

[crusadernero]

And to me, but I'm still not surprised. It's been a very long process of normalization and testing the boundaries. Every time a company has gone too far all at once there has been a very major and very loud public backlash, so they've learnt that introducing extreme monetization over time is what works. Look at the original "DLC" - Oblivion's horse armor. It's being ridiculed to this day, even though thousands of other games sell similar things now. It only took a few years for that sort of thing to become the norm. What's baffling to me is not that these extra monetization practices actually emerged, but that there are people who are not only willing to defend them, but actually eagerly do so. Working against their own interests solely for the satisfaction of telling someone on the Internet that they're wrong seems so self-destructive to me.

Yep, I dont understand it either. Why someone would go out of theyre way to defend this practice that over time has gotten worse and worse. Its not like this will get any better in the coming years. Imagine how this will look like in 5-10 years.

The only way this will get somewhat regulated is for goverments around the world actually take actions against it.

Why people eagerly defend it? I think it got alot to do with the individualization of our society. Each to theyre own. "I dont care if X amount of people do this or that aslong as im fine" accompandied with "Everyone can do what they want, own choice".

[Delever]

You say this as if they're not also developing Diablo 4.

I do not understand how the simultaneous development of D4 has anything to do with what I just said and the point i was making but.... ok?

[Jester Joe]

I do not understand how the simultaneous development of D4 has anything to do with what I just said and the point i was making but.... ok?

There's alternatives.

You said it's becoming the norm, and there being no alternative, but there is.

[Huehuecoyotl]

All those people in another thread asking whether Blizzard will be able to change direction and make WoW fun again.....if this new "game" is any indication, the answer is going to be a firm "no".

If you'd told those developers that started at Blizzard, all those years ago, that this is what their company would end up like....would they have believed it possible? The company that spent time developing new patches for D2, that significantly changed and improved the gameplay, then gave them away for free. I think they'd be sickened by what Blizzard has morphed into.

Doesn't bode well for D4. Unless they are taking a VERY different stance of how that is going to be built.

Whatever happened to building a game that was fun, selling that game, then using the profits to make another game? When did our pasttime get taken over by bean-counters who care more about money than gameplay? It's so sad to see.

[Delever]

There's alternatives.

You said it's becoming the norm, and there being no alternative, but there is.

If you re-read my post you will see I specifically mentioned the mobile gaming market.

[Lady Atia]

Wow, really sad to read all the hate here. I love the game for what it is - a mobile game set in the diablo world. They even made the battlepass so that you can buy missing ranks at the end of the season if you can't manage to fill it up, that's actually better than the hearthstone one. Would love to see WoW take some notes from it tbh.

[Jester Joe]

If you re-read my post you will see I specifically mentioned the mobile gaming market.

There's consoles that go mobile now, you know that right? And even on the phone itself, there's still other options. Minecraft, Bloons, Stardew Valley, Terraria, Slay the Spire, and that's just yanking a few off of the top paid apps list.

[rhorle]

All those people in another thread asking whether Blizzard will be able to change direction and make WoW fun again.....if this new "game" is any indication, the answer is going to be a firm "no".

So are you just ignoring how Hearthstone is a mobile game that is heavily monetized as well? If Hearthstone didn't give an indication of the potential of Blizzard to create fun then why is Diablo Immortal an indicator?

[Aleksej89]

its an awful soulless money grubbing pile of dung.

[willtron]

It's a free game, it's fun for when I'm commuting. The minute I feel I need to start spending money, I'll stop.

[Lathspell]

Yep, I dont understand it either. Why someone would go out of theyre way to defend this practice that over time has gotten worse and worse. Its not like this will get any better in the coming years. Imagine how this will look like in 5-10 years.

The only way this will get somewhat regulated is for goverments around the world actually take actions against it.

Why people eagerly defend it? I think it got alot to do with the individualization of our society. Each to theyre own. "I dont care if X amount of people do this or that aslong as im fine" accompandied with "Everyone can do what they want, own choice".

It's not so much defending, but just accepting the fact that it is a valid and successful business plan. If people wouldn't be willing to pay to progress, they wouldn't be doing it. I'm not willing to spend much money on p2w games and don't really understand why someone would either, but that doesn't mean it's evil and harmful to make games that have those elements.

[Eazy]

Expecting F2P games not being P2W is kinda wrong...

but the discount coupon as a reward from a game for a real life currency shop is more than stupid.

[Vakna]

This is actually the least predatory mobile game I've ever played, no obnoxious 5 popups every time you login asking you if you want to spend money. Everything that does ask you to spend money is a very small notification marker that you might not even notice if you are not looking for it.