Post from Mike Morhaime

[FireIceTalon]

Sales don't really mean much though. It is a overwhelming general consensus that D3 is a very serious disappointment among gamers. And besides, D3's sales were sold by the success of D1 and D2, and the fact there was a decade between releases. Its the same thing with the boy bands of the late 90's - they sold a ton of records, but anyone with even halfway decent musical tastes knows their music is shit.

When you are a well established and iconic company as Blizzard is, you cannot let the success and money get to your head, and thats exactly what they have done. Instead of progressing and making newer and better games as they should, they are doing the opposite - REGRESSING and making lackluster games, to try and reap greater profits. I don't think D3 will break them just yet, but its safe to say they have been heading in the wrong direction since right around the second WoW expansion. They got greedy, and thus they have fallen off. And unless they turn things around, and soon, I predict their days as the marquis PC gaming company will be numbered.

[Archon_Wing]

Diablo 3 sold on its name and the hype around Blizzard. What mattered in the box didn't matter, because it already had an established fanbase, anticipating for so long.

It's really not that bad of a game. Though as a fan of the Diablo series, I don't think it deserves the name.

And there's no need to worry about Blizzard. Any game with their name will sell. They have yet to finish milking WoW, and once that expansion comes out, Diablo 3 will merely just be an afterthought, if it isn't already.

It's sorta funny. While IMO, 1.03 was one of the worst things to happen to D3, the most recent SC 2 patch failed so badly and of such epic proportions I actually laughed as I fired it up for the first time in a year. That one is clearly the worst patch to hit for that game. This doesn't really bode well.

Which is why actions speak louder than words. For Starcraft II, I was also asked to wait and see, because Starcraft took a long time to develop too. Unfortunate, all I have is them promising the sky, and consistently not only failing to deliver but frequently making problems worse. However, Starcraft II lasted a good 18 months on its own. And it's an e-sport taken seriously by many. I can go with that. But Battle.net 2.0 is still in shambles, and with the exception of the tacked on chat room improvement, it's still almost the same damned thing as the beta one. And it's been what? 2 years? And the 2nd game that uses this platform uses it even worse?

Like I've said many times, it's an issue of priorities. But I guess I haven't been specific enough so I'll just list one. No PvP, yet the real money auction house is running... while gameplay is still unstable and the nerfbat would instantly screw people silly enough to buy from the RMAH atm. And honestly, one would be a fool to buy from the RMAH right now-- not because buying virtual items is bad in anyway, but buying items that are prone to heavy changes this early in development is haphazard at best. It's a trap for suckers.

I'm just pointing this out, just because I feel it's not just a problem with D3, but with Blizzard as a whole. And why "just wait and see" has grown really tiring to me.

So in a way, I don't hate this letter at all. It's an earnest attempt to admit that something is wrong, and not promising anything too speciifcally. Perhaps, they are taking a more modest, compromising, and more calculated approach to changing the game.

[Mavfin]

I find it quite funny that someone complaining loudly how lackluster the game is has five 60s in his signature, while I haven't even gotten to that point yet.

If it was so lackluster and such crap, why do you have five 60s?

(Rhetorical question; I don't need another recitation of how bad Blizzard is, I can read it on the official forums myself if I want. Same crap I've read about WoW for the last five years, yet, millions still like the game. Just because they don't kiss *your* ass doesn't mean they're bad. They just chose to cater to someone that isn't you.)

[FireIceTalon]

The 5 60's just means I gave every class (and game in general) a fair shake, and truth be told, I was pretty burnt out after doing it on 4 chars. Only reason I even did it on all 5 was to get it over with really, just to say that I did it.

Inferno is very poorly balanced, elites are broken, enrage timers have no place in the game, the loot system is god awful, and the lack of randomization on levels (both area design and the monsters that spawn) really detracts from the overall replayability of the game. In short, the endgame sux. And you act like my opinion is in the minority or something, well sorry to inform you, its NOT. The overall consensus is that the game is a disappointment and that Blizzard has fallen off as a company, no matter how much you sit here and try to defend it - and it is no coincidence that it has 2 stars on Amazon, compared to 4.5 for D1 and 4 for D2. Of course, Blizz could put out a re-make of Pac-Man and it would still sell well because the Blizz fan boys would eat it up.....but that doesn't make it a good game. Millions of little groupies loved Justin Beiber, doesn't mean he makes good music. Bottomline: If I wanted to play WoW, I would have bought it....I don't want silly WoW mechanics in my Diablo games. I bought D3 expecting a Diablo game. What I got instead was a Wow-Diablo hybrid that simply doesn't work. Don't kid yourself, Blizz isn't trying to cater to any particular group - they are trying to make a profit regardless of how mediocre of a product they put out - everyone else be damned.

[LochnarITB]

And you act like my opinion is in the minority or something, well sorry to inform you, its NOT. The overall consensus is that the game is a disappointment and that Blizzard has fallen off as a company, no matter how much you sit here and try to defend it.

This is so old. You have no possible way to know if your opinion is the majority or not! People who are satisfied rarely take the time to say they are satisfied. Customer service departments do not exist to gather compliments. Even if posters on all the boards were counted you'd probably have numbers in the thousands or even tens of thousands. This is compared to how many millions that have bought the game. I would more easily believe that you (meaning not just you personally but any of us that have posted about something being not right with D3) are the squeaky wheel. Blizzard appears to be trying to apply some grease but it is to try to quiet some of the squeak. You have not affected their ride on that wheel.

Kwitcherbitchen. Fun is where you find it.

[FireIceTalon]

^^And this is what is called being DELUSIONAL.

I guess water isnt wet, pigs do fly, the Holocaust is a myth, evolution is just a theory, and the tooth fairy and gods do exist......sheesh.

[Thenryb]

And you act like my opinion is in the minority or something, well sorry to inform you, its NOT. The overall consensus is that the game is a disappointment and that Blizzard has fallen off as a company, no matter how much you sit here and try to defend it.

This is so old. You have no possible way to know if your opinion is the majority or not! People who are satisfied rarely take the time to say they are satisfied. Customer service departments do not exist to gather compliments. Even if posters on all the boards were counted you'd probably have numbers in the thousands or even tens of thousands. This is compared to how many millions that have bought the game. I would more easily believe that you (meaning not just you personally but any of us that have posted about something being not right with D3) are the squeaky wheel. Blizzard appears to be trying to apply some grease but it is to try to quiet some of the squeak. You have not affected their ride on that wheel.

Kwitcherbitchen. Fun is where you find it.

I hope you realize that your monk's name "Grasshopper" was preempted by King Jim 15 years ago when he was playing Hellfire) Apologies for the utter inanity of this post in a thread where there is so much "serious discussion".

[Archon_Wing]

^^And this is what is called being DELUSIONAL.

I guess water isnt wet, pigs do fly, the Holocaust is a myth, evolution is just a theory, and the tooth fairy and gods do exist......sheesh.

You're not helping either... let's not pretend to be arbitrator of truths here, because none of us are.

I'll be frank. I'm pretty arrogant myself, and I think most people in general don't know about inferno, and aren't qualified to comment. I've sold more than the game's value on the RMAH, reached and farmed act 3 inferno on a softcore character and am almost heading 60 in hardcore before I got bored since the last person on my friend's list quit. Less than 250 hours, and a lot of it was idling for AH. Oh, and softcore is a joke compared to hardcore. Lag demons are the strongest elite. :p

You have to remember. When Sirian was (rightfully) complaining about melee, I was part of the L2P crowd. I felt it was too early to know everything about the game, and that one should troubleshoot their own game. 200 hours later though, I realized I was being way too harsh, even though I was right that our play could be refined more. And then uncovered the real problems.

But I'm not going to claim people are delusional or have no points, even though I'll be cocky enough to say that I am confident in my skill and knowledge of the game. There is a player far more stronger and wiser than I, and even he ragequit the game, after getting untold millions in softcore (w/o using the AH til inferno), quite a killing on the AH and multiple 60s in hardcore in about 500 hours. There really is nothing at the end.

Sometimes though, in these threads, I feel that you and I play a different game from others. That's the problem. Through that, we can answer why we have high level characters-- to rule ourselves out as the problem.

Anyhow, I'm afraid LochnarITB is right. Although sometimes one will receive compliments about good service, most will just leave quietly. It's when service is bad that it's louder.

But this is why I'm vocal about both. If a place of business greatly pleases me, I usually inform them, to encourage them to do more of it. (Though of course, $ talks). If they do a crap job, well, I usually let them know that too, but usually I just avoid coming again.

That doesn't change the endgame being trash though.

[Mavfin]

That doesn't change the endgame being trash though.

(Again, not picking on Archon_Wing here, just using his quote, written in such a way that I take it as his opinion, versus the way other posters insist that we should all think that way, or we're delusional.)

There's a difference between saying it's trash for the game you want, and extrapolating that into Blizzard as a company is failing just because <someone> says so.

Yes, there's a population here that didn't get what they expected, but there is also a population here that seems to be pretty happy with the game.

You're very much entitled to your opinion of the game and of the company, but, don't tell me what I should think. That's the point where it gets tiresome. Don't tell me what I like or don't like, or what my opinion should be. Don't tell me I'm 'delusional' if I see the situation differently. Tell me what *you* like or don't like, and leave it at that. Don't try to project your own opinion onto 'everyone' or 'the majority' to validate yourself.

Even 100,000 pissed-off posters is only 1% of the 10 million copies of D3 sold (numbers announced recently, includes AP).

[Chesspiece_face]

you act like my opinion is in the minority or something, well sorry to inform you, its NOT. The overall consensus is that the game is a disappointment and that Blizzard has fallen off as a company, no matter how much you sit here and try to defend it - and it is no coincidence that it has 2 stars on Amazon, compared to 4.5 for D1 and 4 for D2. Of course, Blizz could put out a re-make of Pac-Man and it would still sell well because the Blizz fan boys would eat it up.....but that doesn't make it a good game. Millions of little groupies loved Justin Beiber, doesn't mean he makes good music.

This is literally a the same post you have been putting up since two weeks after the game's release. I wouldn't be suprised if 90% of your Diablo 3 related posts boiled down to the same statements repeated ad nauseum.

So what's changed over the last few months that you've been posting this tripe. Well either you have stopped playing the game and feel the need to denegrate anyone else that is still playing and enjoys it, in which case my response is "WTF is your problem ass?" Or you are still playing the game months after your distaste for it was completely obvious and continue to let that distaste spill onto the web, in which case my response is "WTF is your problem ass?"

Now what's changed for me over the last few months; I still gain satisfaction on an almost daily basis playing the game (even with all of it's faults). Unfortunately, however, posters like you have systematically destroyed any and all interest I have in actually discussing the game. It's bad enough that you offer nothing of productivity to a discussion and claim 100% universal agreement with your positions decrying anyone that breaks with that position idiotic, but on top of that your interactions actively drive away individuals that may have offered positive discussions.

Congratulations, you win the internets. Lurker mode re-engaged.

[LochnarITB]

I hope you realize that your monk's name "Grasshopper" was preempted by King Jim 15 years ago when he was playing Hellfire) Apologies for the utter inanity of this post in a thread where there is so much "serious discussion".

In that case, my sincere apologies to King Jim. Had I had the capacity to pull that information from the depths of my gray matter, I would not have used it. Unfortunately, now that he has been created, I can't delete him or even change his name. As I posted somewhere here just yesterday, I would rather have them sleeping peacefully on a disc somewhere than become bit-icidal.

---

^^And this is what is called being DELUSIONAL.

Thank you! Having you believe I am delusional tells me I am certainly OK. Such a warm fuzzy!

[Lissa]

Even 100,000 pissed-off posters is only 1% of the 10 million copies of D3 sold (numbers announced recently, includes AP).

Posts really mean nothing, it's numbers of actual active games running at any given time. I've heard numbers that the games running consistently for the past month and a half we're holding steady at around 10k games in prime time for the NA region. That means at most, you have 40k people actually in a game (this does not account for browsing the AH or chatting with people while sitting at the character screen). If there are 10 Million copies sold, that's pretty telling on the number of people that are still actively playing Mav. If there were only 2 Million copies sold in North America, that means that during prime time you're looking at only 2% of the copies sold actively in a game session (again, not counting those browsing the AH or sitting at character screen and chatting). That's actually kind of pathetic for a game that has only been out now 2 1/2 months, especially one that has such a rich legacy behind it. So yeah, 100k angry posts, big deal, but 10k active games during prime time in NA when several million games were sold in NA, that's a very big deal (and a big problem).

[FireIceTalon]

you act like my opinion is in the minority or something, well sorry to inform you, its NOT. The overall consensus is that the game is a disappointment and that Blizzard has fallen off as a company, no matter how much you sit here and try to defend it - and it is no coincidence that it has 2 stars on Amazon, compared to 4.5 for D1 and 4 for D2. Of course, Blizz could put out a re-make of Pac-Man and it would still sell well because the Blizz fan boys would eat it up.....but that doesn't make it a good game. Millions of little groupies loved Justin Beiber, doesn't mean he makes good music.

This is literally a the same post you have been putting up since two weeks after the game's release. I wouldn't be suprised if 90% of your Diablo 3 related posts boiled down to the same statements repeated ad nauseum.

So what's changed over the last few months that you've been posting this tripe. Well either you have stopped playing the game and feel the need to denegrate anyone else that is still playing and enjoys it, in which case my response is "WTF is your problem ass?" Or you are still playing the game months after your distaste for it was completely obvious and continue to let that distaste spill onto the web, in which case my response is "WTF is your problem ass?"

Now what's changed for me over the last few months; I still gain satisfaction on an almost daily basis playing the game (even with all of it's faults). Unfortunately, however, posters like you have systematically destroyed any and all interest I have in actually discussing the game. It's bad enough that you offer nothing of productivity to a discussion and claim 100% universal agreement with your positions decrying anyone that breaks with that position idiotic, but on top of that your interactions actively drive away individuals that may have offered positive discussions.

Congratulations, you win the internets. Lurker mode re-engaged.

You don't want to discuss the game any longer, that is your prerogative, but don't point the finger at me partner. That is COMPLETELY on YOU, it has nothing to do with me, or anyone else for that matter. I agree with very little of what you have say about D3 in general and sometimes I wonder if we are playing the same game, but you don't see me pointing fingers at posters like you, crying and going "back into lurker mode" just cause I don't agree with you (or how you express your opinions, you are every bit as arrogant as I am, which is fine, but dont sit here and point fingers).....do what you gotta do, but Ill be damned if I take any responsibility for your discontent on discussing the game. Sorry if I'm not one your fellow fan boys that thinks D3 is the greatest thing since sliced bread.

And ill tell you what my problem is. My problem is I shelled out hard earned cash for a game I was waiting almost a decade for. And I expected to get Diablo 3, not World of Diablo, or World of War Craft wrapped in a Diablo package. So am I pissed off? You betcha.

[Ashock]

That doesn't change the endgame being trash though.

(Again, not picking on Archon_Wing here, just using his quote, written in such a way that I take it as his opinion, versus the way other posters insist that we should all think that way, or we're delusional.)

There's a difference between saying it's trash for the game you want, and extrapolating that into Blizzard as a company is failing just because <someone> says so.

Yes, there's a population here that didn't get what they expected, but there is also a population here that seems to be pretty happy with the game.

You're very much entitled to your opinion of the game and of the company, but, don't tell me what I should think. That's the point where it gets tiresome. Don't tell me what I like or don't like, or what my opinion should be. Don't tell me I'm 'delusional' if I see the situation differently. Tell me what *you* like or don't like, and leave it at that. Don't try to project your own opinion onto 'everyone' or 'the majority' to validate yourself.

Even 100,000 pissed-off posters is only 1% of the 10 million copies of D3 sold (numbers announced recently, includes AP).

Stop with the bullshit math. Bnet has almost no ppl on D3 and it is the only method of playing D3. Ergo, the game is dead after 2 months. Period.

You happen to be one of the few who like it. So what? There's those ppl who liked Manimal, but that did not make it a good show.

You are proud of being a contrarian? Good for you.

[TheDragoon]

Man, how are you guys still here trying (in vain) to convince everyone that Diablo 3 isn't fun with posts just about every day? I would think that it is totally clear at this point who enjoys the game and who doesn't and however many whining posts you make isn't going to change anyone's opinion. The game itself is what helps people develop their opinions so all of the talk in the world isn't likely to have more effect than people get from actually going and playing the game.

Now for a specific comment:

And I expected to get Diablo 3, not World of Diablo, or World of War Craft wrapped in a Diablo package. So am I pissed off? You betcha.

I'm not sure I follow this at all. It seems like basically all of the unhappy comments I read about how D3 is a bad game revolve around the end-game, not so much about the journey to get there. If the game had been released with no Inferno difficulty, it would have been more like the other Diablo games. The fact that they tacked on Inferno as a pseudo-end-game is what I would perceive to be a step down the path of the World of Warcraft model (a fun leveling experience with additional activities and much focus on continued fun at the end-game). If you were not looking for a "World of Diablo" then shouldn't you be happy with what you got in Normal, Nightmare and Hell? I know I really enjoyed those difficulties so I've been pretty happy with the game!

As a side note, I personally wish the game had been a bit more like World of Warcraft where I could expect to have continually developing end-game content that could hold my interest with new, fun content. Knowing that what the game has at the end-game, currently, is pretty much what it will always have is a bit disappointing to me. However, I did find the process of playing through Normal, Nightmare and Hell difficulties very fun, so I thought the game was well worth the money!

[Bolty]

If you don't like Diablo III and have stopped playing it, get the hell off this forum. LAST WARNING. Bans are coming next.

Locking thread.