Not getting baited into this, nothing about this release feels like a Diablo game. The monetization is predatory and I can’t see how end game could be any good with paid cosmetics.
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Thanks for the life update. It’s very important that you let internet strangers know all your purchasing decisions.
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He spammed the D4 forum with the same rant. 
Bravata is that you?
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Oh nice… I mean I learn a new cool… ermm… something!! 
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It’s a live service game, of course it’s using FOMO to sell things.
That’s like pointing out that a FPS has guns in it. It’s just sort of implied in the label.
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FOMO is a you problem.
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In this case, cosmetic things. There is no Sanctuary’s Next Top Model so it is very much an issue of personal taste. Nothing anyone needs to buy.
Like those end racks in big stores and the checkout line racks in the grocery store. Limited time! Impulse buy!
Pretty standard marketing and yes, people should think before spending their disposable income. Coffee? Pizza? Movie? Game skin?
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Well yeah. Let’s make a race where the only winners will be those that pay an extra $20 to get a four day head start. Oh and let’s allow all of the people who have seen all of the content enter the race too.
Sure sounds fair.
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Well they did recently amend the rules about entry for the statue thing to exclude those that got to play the full game 2 weeks early.
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Good move.
/10 characters
All thought out! Pizza!!
(I am still confused to this day by the coffee craze…)
Maybe game skin next? 
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OP…you leave me wondering what game company isn’t relying on FOMO.
Think about it: All your friends are hyped on the new FPS 20,000: Gold Edition (nevermind that it just came out, so this would be the first version even available…still somehow a “collector’s item”), and so now you want it too. You boot up the game and find out it SUCKS. Epic fail on every level. You hate it. You would rather self-terminate with a staple gun to the face than even launch it again.
BUT…your friends all play it. It’s the only thing they talk about. You know in your heart that if you suggest something else, you’ll get laughed out of the room. So you play it anyway.
Plot Twist: The above is the only reason your friends play it at all. They all expect everyone else in your circle to use the same logic (or lack thereof).
The game companies know that this is a thing. They rely on it. Why do you think so many games nowadays try to force multiplayer participation? They’re counting not on the game, but on peer pressure to keep you playing.
They’re counting on the fear of being left out of the social circle being powerful enough to compel you to play a game you can’t stand.
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FOMO is very commonly used in business.
Limited-time sales?
Limited edition?
Early bird promotion?
Buy 1 free 1 for a limited time?
Accumulate and spend your points before this year’s expiry?
So yeah…why are people acting so surprised about this? How sheltered can one be to get surprised on learning this method which had been in our lives for centuries or more?
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I still think it would be better for them to move this race back to Season 1. This lets everyone in on it that would normally be allowed, eliminates the early start “pay to win” argument, and wipes the smirks off of the CBT folks’ faces (whom most likely also bought early access versions of the game).
The conflicting nature of how this launch is with early access for some, but not all, preorders coupled with CBT players and the race announcement coming after preview copies of the game went out make for a very bad look for any contest like this that is ultimately time restricted based on participant success. To not move this to Season 1 is a very bad look for Blizzard and really shows they still, after nearly three decades still can’t handle contests all that well.
A Season 1 start for this race means equal footing for everyone possible, regional restrictions notwithstanding.
It’s not a race. I have no intention of starting the 4 days early despite the fact that I did get the deluxe version of the game. Maybe I’ll change my mind, but all the content will be there for me when I decide to jump in.
That makes very little sense.
Dude, just play it since you bought it already. It changes nothing in the grand scheme.
It’s a new monetization platform for Activision with the diablo name slapped on top of it. Did everyone forget that diablo immortal was a beta test for monetization practices that the community will tolerate?
Bring on the epic comedy and buyer’s remorse. Nothing makes a company change their ways like tens of millions of dollars (or more) in preorders.
2 Likes
Pretty much this.
The game doesn’t HAVE to have all this extra monetization that will slowly keep selling you the game you should’ve gotten from the beginning.
But everyone keeps buying it anyways and then many complain after the fact. People have no self control and never learn.
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Not paying for a reskin of Lost Ark.