Yeah, they absolutely lost my trust. And I’m making sure that I’m never calling them Blizzard again, but Activision Blizzard, because that makes clear that they simply are not the Blizzard they once were.
I ordered 2 collectors editions of D3 as soon as possible, have the RoS collectors edition (even in spite of the bad state D3 released in, I trusted Activision Blizzard to turn the corner), but I’ll wait a few weeks before jumping on D4…if it doesn’t disqualify itself by strange p2w practices which I kind of expect.
Blizzard had the benefit of the doubt for me, Activision Blizzard does not. They are just another EA, Ubisoft, Bethesda these days that don’t deserve any goodwill before release.
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[quote=“Elgareth-1469, post:62, topic:60, full:true”]but I’ll wait a few weeks before jumping on D4…if it doesn’t disqualify itself by strange p2w practices which I kind of expect.
Blizzard had the benefit of the doubt for me, Activision Blizzard does not. They are just another EA, Ubisoft, Bethesda these days that don’t deserve any goodwill before release.
[/quote]
Honestly, I would recommend that approach to every new game. There isn’t a company in existence that deserves blind faith, especially in this day and age of lootboxes, preorder shenanigans, cash shops etc. Two games I’m incredibly hyped for are Baldurs Gate 3 and Cyberpunk, both being developed by highly respected companies, but I’m not handing over a single cent until I see raw gameplay footage post release, and have read a handful of reviews from a vaiety of sources.
As a consumer, its no longer as simple as picking a game that looks fun. You have to actively protect yourself because there are so many devious schemes in play now. Unfortunate, but there it is.
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Fine by me, that would be the news I would want to hear.
A bit tired of that once a year announcement though. Might be something relevant 10 years ago but these days people are way more impatient. I know, I am one of them.
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It’s disgusting how companies like EA and Activision Blizzard are relying on predatory monetization and pay-to-win loot boxes to make money from games. The integrity of game design is lost through their relentless lust for greed.
To the executives and investors, they see such monetization of video games as nothing more than cash machines. They don’t really care for the quality of the product - just that it makes them tons in profit by any means necessary.
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Hmm, I didn’t see you post in my updates, even though I got tracking on this topic. Seems like it’s unreliable and we need to check manually as before.
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Exactly this. Their silence is deafening. Not that it will ultimately matter, as I have no faith that the current blizzard can make a good diablo game. At this point I’m expecting them to announce that D4 will be a live service filled with loot boxes and other predatory nonsense.
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“Loot boxes.” That’s surprise mechanics to you, good sir.
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There is a bill introduced to the US Congress that aims to outlaw loot boxes surprise mechanics and other predatory monetization from games and the FTC is scheduled to host a workshop discussion about loot boxes surprise mechanics in August.
I wonder how much of a factor, if any, these are having on the release of Diablo Immortal, let alone Blizzard’s silence regarding the important details like if it has any pay-to-win microtransactions.
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Forges burning hooooooot!
Buy your BlizzCon ticket now and be the first to learn about the Diablo: Immortal release date!
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Even if she showes up after D4 or 3000000 millions of content and updates, the disrespect has been made, and it would be HILAROUS if Nevers comes after that to say something like the famous rekt.
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They have had plenty of opportunities at other Con’s to tell us what they are doing, so the “We don’t announce things on the forums” is a terrible excuse for total radio silence. Hell, Top Gun II was announced at Comicon, they could have easily announced D4 there.
After a MAJOR PR disaster, waiting a whole year to fix it is a bad idea. Either they really, truly have nothing to show that D4 is beyond even a concept stage, or their marketing team is full of imbeciles. Yes, Blizzcon is their Con, but if they really wanted to fix this, they would have teased D4 is in existence at the earliest Con, then follow it with more details at Blizzcon. The fact they did none of this shows to me that they have nothing at this point and are frantically trying to come up with something to cover the mobile trash announcement failure.
FUN FACT: Acti-Blizz did have a booth at Comicon. It was full of Overwatch gear. My wife wanted to get me something Diablo, as that is the only Blizz game I play, the choices were Diablo standard 52 playing cards and a T-shirt she said was very Meh. Kinda shows where Diablo is on their pecking order.
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Yeah, Diablo is the unwanted stepchild for a while now… no wonder, as they don’t have any “recurring purchases” in it yet. SO glad D:I will change that ![:roll_eyes:](https://d1hnj6esvk269c.cloudfront.net/en/d3/images/emoji/twitter/roll_eyes.png?v=6" ":roll_eyes:")
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Recurring purchases are fine, so long as they are not tied into the mechanics of gambling. Even loot boxes are fine – if they are willing to restrict games with loot boxes to adults (ie. make these games 18+ only). It’s when children are exposed to gambling mechanics that the game stops being legal.
For example, micro-transactions with guaranteed items instead of RNG-dependent items would be okay for most people. That gray area they operate wherein they cultivate addiction to gambling is truly evil.
OH! NO NO NO NO. Keep those brilliant ideas in the never implemented zone.
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And how is that any different from the RMAH?
You’re supposed to kill monsters for loot, not buy little virtual pressies with loot.
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Um, no. P2W loot boxes are pure evil. Cosmetic loot boxes are slightly less pure evil. Why can’t they just make the cosmetic, then sell it in the game’s store outright rather than make it a gambling game.
Ya, good luck with that. Any kid who plays the game can get access to Mommie’s credit card. You won’t be able to separate the two.
No thank you, already had the RMAH. If they put this in the game, the game will designed to push you towards it. That’s how D3V was with the auction house and any other game with P2W mechanics.
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For one, all money will flow directly to Acti-Blizz. There won’t be a black market where other people can profit off farming items.
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When lootboxes came out, we said “its okay its just cosmetic”
When lootboxes started offering gameplay advantages we said “its okay you can still earn it in the game”
When lootboxes implemented a grind to get them, we said “it only takes 10 hours of grinding”
We keep making excuses. And IT KEEPS GETTING WORSE.
You cannot trust this industry to be fair. They will NOT do the right thing by the players, and they keep proving it, over and over again. But part of it is our fault. When we make excuses for bad behaviour, we greenlight it. We ask to be reamed. So in some ways you can’t blame these disgusting executives, because we keep sending them messages through our buying habits that this is how we want to be treated.
For one, all money will flow directly to Acti-Blizz. There won’t be a black market where other people can profit off farming items.
Thats not a good thing. I dont know why you said that. Do you think the money they make will be put back into games to create good experiences for us? Because thats not gonna happen. The money they make from lootboxes makes more lootboxes.
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I can not wait for Diablo Immortal.
Simply the best mobile game that will be released.
Blizzard has got to be the best gaming company with it’s hand on the pulse of the consumers.
Part of it will flow to NetEase who are co-developing Diablo Immortal. As far as Activision Blizzard is concerned, much of their share will flow into the pockets of the greedy executives and investors.
Mobile gaming is lucrative partly because of pay-to-win microtransactions; that’s the reason why they are even doing Diablo Immortal in the first place.
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