Blizzard Encourages High Hopes For Diablo 3

Andy Chalk

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Nov 12, 2002
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Blizzard Encourages High Hopes For Diablo 3


Jay Wilson of Blizzard says that despite what you may have heard from a certain community manager, Diablo 3 is in great shape and fans should keep their expectations high.

Back in mid-February, posted a message [http://www.amazon.com/Diablo-III-Collectors-Pc/dp/B0050SZC5U/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1330099614&sr=8-1] on the Battle.net forums suggesting that Diablo fans tone down their hopes for Diablo 3. Part of his job is managing people's expectations, he explained, and he's started to worry that the game just won't be able to meet them.

"Stop thinking about how awesome this game could be. Just imagine it's a new M. Night Shyamalan movie," he wrote. "Sure Sixth Sense was amazing and Unbreakable had its moments, but this right here is the sequel to The Village... or The Happening... or Signs... or any of the movies besides the two I first mentioned. So just like, lower those expectations, but still definitely buy the game please, and everything will be just fine."

His comments were pretty obviously a joke, but that didn't stop some people from taking them seriously - seriously enough that Diablo 3 Director Jay Wilson felt it necessary to release a message of his own reassuring gamers that it will in fact be awesome when it comes out.

"Some of you might have seen some headlines or a certain (obviously sarcastic) blue post that implies that we're unsteady about where Diablo 3 stands, and that you should temper your expectations when it comes to the next installment in the Diablo series," he wrote. "Let me be clear: Nothing could be further from the truth."

"As those of you in the beta have seen, the game is in good shape. Actually, I should say that the beta version of the game is in good shape. The latest full build we've been testing here in the office is in great shape," he continued. "We want you to have high expectations for Diablo 3 and all Blizzard games. That's what pushes us to try to make the best gaming experiences we possibly can. If Diablo 3 wasn't a worthy next installment in the Diablo series, we wouldn't release it."

Wilson also said an announcement of the Diablo 3 release date would be coming "in the near future," but not necessarily "soon."

So, people are taking an obvious joke too seriously and Blizzard is being simultaneously promising and evasive about the release date of its Next Big Game? Sounds like just another day on the internet to me.


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Fappy

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Jan 4, 2010
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I take it they are probably not allowed to make jokes about "buying power" however.
 

Hitchmeister

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Nov 24, 2009
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I think Micah Whiple has the right idea. People going into Diablo 3 with the view Jay Wilson is promoting are likely to be disappointed. Odds are good that it simply will not be the greatest game of all time. Do the math. But realistic expectations could lead to people saying, "Wow! This is really fun."
 

felbot

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May 11, 2011
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i already tempered my expectations long ago when they announced the always online drm.
 

Scars Unseen

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May 7, 2009
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You still have to play online for single player, correct? My hopes remain low, and my wallet remains firmly in pocket.
 

SharedProphet

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Oct 9, 2008
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Well, my expectations will apparently be too high for them: to be able to play a single-player game offline and, I don't know, pause it when I need to.
 

Schizocorpse

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Felix Benandex said:
i already tempered my expectations long ago when they announced the always online drm.
Actually, this is one of the few games where it makes sense to me. Who knows, with some luck there won't be as much duping and hacking as the last few games.
 

Chaos Marine

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Feb 6, 2008
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Having played the beta, my expectations were significantly lowered. WoW was Diablo II with the camp of Warcraft. Diablo III is WoW with a Diablo 2 overhaul. Entirely meh.
 

Eric the Orange

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Apr 29, 2008
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Felix Benandex said:
i already tempered my expectations long ago when they announced the always online drm.
A bit of a pet peeve for me here, but it really is not about piracy, so it's not DRM. It's about trying to make the real money auction house a viable source of income. Extra Credits Said it best I think in this episode.

http://penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/the-diablo-iii-marketplace


That being said, I can still understand the anger about the requirement of always being online. But it's not DRM.
 

Cormyre

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Jun 11, 2010
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Can't say I have any expectations of this game, planned on installing it on my laptop and playing when I had nothing better to do, which is usually away from an internet connection.
The DRM killed that.. so blah.
 

Scarim Coral

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Meh my expectation is already being use for a different game but I still somewhat looking forward to it once it is actually out.
 

Hungry Donner

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The gameplay I've seen looks fine, but none of the D3 characters grab my interest. I assume from Wilson's comment they're keeping the cool classes under wraps until the game is released?

There's nothing wrong with being excited about a game's release, but I think a little caution on the fans' part goes a long way towards enjoying the final product. It's very easy for a solid game to fall flat when it doesn't live up to expectations. This isn't to say that expectations should be depressed, just moderated.
 

Andy Chalk

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Nov 12, 2002
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Not buying this game is going to drive me crazy. I've passed on games I've been iffy about before, but never one I wanted this badly. But always online = no money from me.

That said, I have every confidence that Blizzard will deliver. Blizzard didn't get to where it is today by being lucky.
 

Hungry Donner

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Hammeroj said:
Hungry Donner said:
The gameplay I've seen looks fine, but none of the D3 characters grab my interest. I assume from Wilson's comment they're keeping the cool classes under wraps until the game is released?
Uh.. No. The 5 characters that have been revealed - Demon Hunter, Witch Doctor, Barbarian, Wizard and Monk - are the only classes that will be featured in the game. That doesn't mean expansions won't bring more to the table, but for now, 5 is all you get.
That was a joke. ;) Clearly there are no hidden characters, which means I can't actually keep my expectations as high as Wilson suggests - at least not without being disappointed.