Blizzard vs. Real Money Trading (RMT)

[Taem]

It probably sounded like I'm picking on you specifically but I was more responding to a long standing curiosity. I've been here at the lounge since 1999, and there has never been a time when people weren't complaining about how Blizzard has abandoned the principles that made them great. I just want to know what those are.

I believe a lot of people have idealized something that never really was, and have set their expectations inappropriately based on that idealization. Bolty's post is very much how I feel about it. I am hardly a fanboy, I'm more of a pragmatist.

Thanks for at least attempting to explain your objections to me.

[text]

What it comes down to is Blizzard was once a small company who put a lot of thought into not only their game-play (which is always excellent ~ that is not in dispute), but their story and atmosphere, which really is 50% of a great game! As Roland pointed out, they made some executive decisions that, on the surface look bad for the game-play this time around in D3, but what I can't get over is the cartoonie graphics and similarity to the Gauntlet series. Did Activision make Gauntlet? Seriously, very disappointed with many aspects of D3, so much so that I doubt I'll even pick it up until I get tired of TL2 and PoE. Anyways, the game seems to be pretty far atmospherically and game-play wise from D2 and so far removed from D1 as to be called a separate series, but with the Diablo label. From what I've seen, I'd call it more of a WoW/Gauntlet hybrid with a purely action premise (minus the gothic entity that made the Diablo series so good). The Auction houses are really the only thing that interests me in D3, which is ironic in that it is also the thing that is driving many people away from D3.