d3 Blizzard Announces Diablo Game for Mobile Devices

[Angela 0]

Try and be open minded about Diablo immortal guys

[shanghaied 55]

The biggest problem with Diablo Immortal isnt that it's on a mobile platform.

The biggest problem with Diablo Immortal is that it was hyped to die-hard fans who couldn't care less about a a mobile micro-trans-you-to-the-stratosphere game.

This shouldnt have been presented in the way it was at Blizzcon, where fans, desperate for signs of life in a franchise they've supported for the better part of 2 decades, built expensive PCs to run the game at it's best and logged thousands of hours in the previous titles, were waiting with baited breath for something to validate their unwavering loyalty.

Instead Blizzard said "lolz Chinese mobile game, arent you thankful?"

OF COURSE WE'RE PISSED.

[Vorguz 33]

16 hours ago, Bnetmyke said:

They probably knew the reaction they would of gotten, especially since they did downplay the hype a month before hand.

Sure they tried but if i learned anything it is that you cant end a hype or overgrown expectations so easily. They only posted an article about diablo 4 but hyped the audience at the same time about something new at blizzcon.
I think if they had known the reaction, they wouldn't have declared it as THE big news. But its just my opinion and as such could be wrong.

[TheRealBill 5]

3 hours ago, Vorguz said:

Sure they tried but if i learned anything it is that you cant end a hype or overgrown expectations so easily. They only posted an article about diablo 4 but hyped the audience at the same time about something new at blizzcon.
I think if they had known the reaction, they wouldn't have declared it as THE big news. But its just my opinion and as such could be wrong.

Positioning is key to understanding the fiasco.

The spot the announcement occupied at BlizzCon gives it an expected hype level. You don't put something you think is a relatively minor announcement in that spot, you put BIG NEWS there. This is why the hype built, and why no matter how much tamping down you do, it isn't going to matter. So why did they put it there? There are a few reasonable possibilities.

First: they somehow thought this was THE news of the convention. This is the default position and thus is what everyone is going on. Why this matters is that you have to consider the audience. BlizzCon attendance audience consists almost exclusively current fans of Blizzard games who play on PC. Thus the big news of the convention was not for the attending audience. But there is another possibility.

It could be that they originally planned a different Diablo project to take that slot and something happened after the scheduling, leading to them sticking Immortal there to avoid what would basically be a blank spot in prime real estate. The whole "there are multiple projects" lends possibility here, but this is countered by the "don't get excited, we know you want D4 but we're going to pretend we don't have anyone working on Diablo".

Consider last year. Diablo did not have the prime spot, yet a simple teaser led to expectations and hype:
 

Quote

 

Jul 19, 2017

Best case scenario: this year a new class is announced, next year D4 is announced as a hack n slash arpg

Worst case scenario: no new class and a lame diablo spinoff is announced (diablo as a mmorpg, mobile phone game etc).

Realistic scenario: Nothing will be announced.

 

Notice what is there. This is but one post, the Diablo forum has been littered with similar sentiments. Whether you agree with it or not, feel it "entitlement thinking" or not, the clear consensus among Diablo players is that they've been forgotten about. When the "best" they hope for a new class, expect nothing new, and dread a mobile spinoff, you'd be hard pressed to not understand the reaction.

This is probably why so many are more than disappointed about the announcement and reaction. If their team wanders the forum, or at least gets a summary of the sentiments, they would have known that a) placing Diablo in the prime zone would cause expectation of D4, and b) making the big announcement mobile game was going to cause a large reaction. A Diablo MMO has mixed reactions in expectations, but a mobile game has had almost universally bad ones. The forums for the last couple years have had people saying they'd be thrilled with just an announcement that they are working on D4, and even just an expansion or new class this last year.

Personally I think this is part of the fuel for the rage. Either Blizzard is paying attention and worse than ignoring it in announcing the consensus "worst" option, or they aren't paying attention to the people who play the game, and come off very condescending when they are shocked at the reaction. Neither are good scenarios. Blizzard gave the top spot to Diablo and announced the one thing that was almost universally dreaded. While we can only speculate as to various reasons why, the abject failure of it can not be denied. Nor should it be unexpected by Blizzard.

The "do you not all have phones" is certainly something that comes off as condescending, thus adding fuel to the fire. It hints at an expectation that the Diablo base will lap up anything Blizzard presents - even if it is the highest item on their "please god, no" list. I get it was spur of the moment on stage, but it does expose a mindset. It could have been "do you guys not like mobile games?" and been far less damaging.

The remaining nail in this coffin is the "but we're working on other stuff that we won't tell you about". The swing-and-a-miss-before-the-pitch of the Immortal reveal induces one to wonder if the team working on Diablo has any clue about it. When your big reveal is the most feared one in the forums, wondering that is justified; almost obligatory.

I'm inclined to give people the benefit of doubt. Thus I am inclined to think they had a different reveal planned and something went awry. Nor do I feel any sense of entitlement for Diablo and I've been playing Blizzard games since Orcs and Humans. Indeed I'm often arguing against the expectation of new games getting free content in perpetuity. I am, however, hard pressed to not be gobsmacked at how avoidably bad this was done and handled.

Sure, one can say 'well they don't usually announce until', but I don't think that is sustainable in today's connected world. When people can see postings, titles, and hiring in a game title at Blizzard there will be an unavoidable speculation cycle. Blizzard could choose to be a bit more open about it, or they can let it build out of control, then make an announcement demonstrating that they are either ignoring their customer base or realizing their worst aggregated fears.

Imagine they had instead said "we are working on/exploring D4, here are some screenshots, or gameplay clips, or a cutscene trailer and our goals"; then, after the visuals, and in the meantime we have Immortal coming". Then the "is this a joke" questions probably would have been "Awesome on D4, now how about _some_ content for D3 while wait, a class, an expansion, D2 remaster, anything?" which would have been far less meme-ified and much more helpful to both players and Blizzard. They could have then said something as little as "we understand and appreciate your enthusiasm for D3, but to really put out a solid D4 we are choosing to focus all of our in-house Diablo team on getting a great D4 to you".

I'd wager the base would have been disappointed about no new content for D3, but happy about D4. I'd also wager that the latter would have overruled the former. A decent PR team would have seen the D4 hype and said "hey guys, we're gonna have to add something about D4 in that slot, probably even lead with it". Instead they doubled down on Immortal while saying "trust us we still have other things we're working on". It kinda comes off like a cheating spouse pointing out he or she still loves you, and not the other person.

[Vorguz 33]

49 minutes ago, TheRealBill said:

Positioning is key to understanding the fiasco.

Thats one hell of a wall of text. But i like it. ?
You have my thanks for that.

[seranrakan 0]

On 11/5/2018 at 7:38 PM, TheRealBill said:

Positioning is key to understanding the fiasco.

The spot the announcement occupied at BlizzCon gives it an expected hype level. You don't put something you think is a relatively minor announcement in that spot, you put BIG NEWS there. This is why the hype built, and why no matter how much tamping down you do, it isn't going to matter. So why did they put it there? There are a few reasonable possibilities.

First: they somehow thought this was THE news of the convention. This is the default position and thus is what everyone is going on. Why this matters is that you have to consider the audience. BlizzCon attendance audience consists almost exclusively current fans of Blizzard games who play on PC. Thus the big news of the convention was not for the attending audience. But there is another possibility.

It could be that they originally planned a different Diablo project to take that slot and something happened after the scheduling, leading to them sticking Immortal there to avoid what would basically be a blank spot in prime real estate. The whole "there are multiple projects" lends possibility here, but this is countered by the "don't get excited, we know you want D4 but we're going to pretend we don't have anyone working on Diablo".

Consider last year. Diablo did not have the prime spot, yet a simple teaser led to expectations and hype:
 

Notice what is there. This is but one post, the Diablo forum has been littered with similar sentiments. Whether you agree with it or not, feel it "entitlement thinking" or not, the clear consensus among Diablo players is that they've been forgotten about. When the "best" they hope for a new class, expect nothing new, and dread a mobile spinoff, you'd be hard pressed to not understand the reaction.

This is probably why so many are more than disappointed about the announcement and reaction. If their team wanders the forum, or at least gets a summary of the sentiments, they would have known that a) placing Diablo in the prime zone would cause expectation of D4, and b) making the big announcement mobile game was going to cause a large reaction. A Diablo MMO has mixed reactions in expectations, but a mobile game has had almost universally bad ones. The forums for the last couple years have had people saying they'd be thrilled with just an announcement that they are working on D4, and even just an expansion or new class this last year.

Personally I think this is part of the fuel for the rage. Either Blizzard is paying attention and worse than ignoring it in announcing the consensus "worst" option, or they aren't paying attention to the people who play the game, and come off very condescending when they are shocked at the reaction. Neither are good scenarios. Blizzard gave the top spot to Diablo and announced the one thing that was almost universally dreaded. While we can only speculate as to various reasons why, the abject failure of it can not be denied. Nor should it be unexpected by Blizzard.

The "do you not all have phones" is certainly something that comes off as condescending, thus adding fuel to the fire. It hints at an expectation that the Diablo base will lap up anything Blizzard presents - even if it is the highest item on their "please god, no" list. I get it was spur of the moment on stage, but it does expose a mindset. It could have been "do you guys not like mobile games?" and been far less damaging.

The remaining nail in this coffin is the "but we're working on other stuff that we won't tell you about". The swing-and-a-miss-before-the-pitch of the Immortal reveal induces one to wonder if the team working on Diablo has any clue about it. When your big reveal is the most feared one in the forums, wondering that is justified; almost obligatory.

I'm inclined to give people the benefit of doubt. Thus I am inclined to think they had a different reveal planned and something went awry. Nor do I feel any sense of entitlement for Diablo and I've been playing Blizzard games since Orcs and Humans. Indeed I'm often arguing against the expectation of new games getting free content in perpetuity. I am, however, hard pressed to not be gobsmacked at how avoidably bad this was done and handled.

Sure, one can say 'well they don't usually announce until', but I don't think that is sustainable in today's connected world. When people can see postings, titles, and hiring in a game title at Blizzard there will be an unavoidable speculation cycle. Blizzard could choose to be a bit more open about it, or they can let it build out of control, then make an announcement demonstrating that they are either ignoring their customer base or realizing their worst aggregated fears.

Imagine they had instead said "we are working on/exploring D4, here are some screenshots, or gameplay clips, or a cutscene trailer and our goals"; then, after the visuals, and in the meantime we have Immortal coming". Then the "is this a joke" questions probably would have been "Awesome on D4, now how about _some_ content for D3 while wait, a class, an expansion, D2 remaster, anything?" which would have been far less meme-ified and much more helpful to both players and Blizzard. They could have then said something as little as "we understand and appreciate your enthusiasm for D3, but to really put out a solid D4 we are choosing to focus all of our in-house Diablo team on getting a great D4 to you".

I'd wager the base would have been disappointed about no new content for D3, but happy about D4. I'd also wager that the latter would have overruled the former. A decent PR team would have seen the D4 hype and said "hey guys, we're gonna have to add something about D4 in that slot, probably even lead with it". Instead they doubled down on Immortal while saying "trust us we still have other things we're working on". It kinda comes off like a cheating spouse pointing out he or she still loves you, and not the other person.

You have my thanks for that.