Diablo III has real money auction house

By Oli Welsh Published 1 August, 2011

Game cannot be played offline.

Blizzard has revealed that Diablo III will allow players to trade in-game items for real money via an officially sanctioned auction house, integrated in the game.

The move was revealed to press at a preview event for the game's beta at the company's offices in Irvine, California.

It was also confirmed that the game will require an internet connection to play at all times.

The auction house, the first of its kind, will be exclusively for player-to-player trading; Blizzard will not sell items through it. The aim, explained executive producer Rob Pardo, is to provide a secure and fun environment for a player-driven economy to develop around the game, which focuses on the acquisition of randomised loot.

Blizzard will take a "nominal" flat-rate fee for each listing and sale, and an additional fee if players choose to cash out payments for sold items via a third-party payment provider such as PayPal.

There will be separate auction houses for each region and currency. Another separate, but functionally identical auction house will exist for players who wish to trade using in-game gold rather than real currency.

Players will be able to trade items, components and game gold on the auction house. Blizzard is considering allowing the sale of game characters, too. Trading via the auction house will be completely anonymous.

Players will be allowed a small number of free listings per week to encourage participation in the currency auction house, making it possible to begin trading without making any payments.

Once an auction has sold, sellers can choose either to pay the proceeds into their Battle.net account balance, or cash out via the third-party payment provider. There will be one approved partner for payments, but Blizzard did not name the company as the deal has not yet been struck.

Money earned from auction sales and paid into a Battle.net account can be spent in the Diablo III auction house, but also at the Blizzard Store on merchandise, games, or services such as World of Warcraft subscriptions and character transfers.

Other auction house features include a "smart search" function that finds loot appropriate to your characters, automated bidding and buyout opions.

Blizzard said it did not plan to create a similar real money auction house for World of Warcraft, despite the prevalence of unauthorised real money trading around the massively popular MMO. Pardo explained that Blizzard felt the idea did not suit the "prestige system" of WOW's item game, where items are tied to specific achievements and bind to game characters. But it was considered a good fit for the "merchant economy" stimulated by Diablo's randomly created and freely tradable items.

By collecting a fixed rather than a percentage fee on auction house sales, Blizzard will have no incentive to manipulate the game design in order to make more money from the auction house, Pardo argued.

He also stated that there would be no other charges or micro-transaction costs for playing Diablo III.

Pardo further confirmed that the game will only be playable online. This, he said, was due to the deep integration of Battle.net online features and the desire for all player characters to be persistent and able to move seamlessly between solo and co-op play, as well as to prevent cheating and improve security.

Other Battle.net features announced for Diablo III included matchmaking for the Versus player-versus-player mode, a public game finder for co-op, immediate drop-in co-op for friends, and a Banner system that displays your achievements and play style to other players.

Blizzard also showed a new, radically streamlined skill system for the game, which allows players to freely customise their characters on the fly. The public beta test was revealed to cover the early stages of the game, taking players up to a low-level boss fight with returning foe the Skeleton King at Tristram cathedral. All five character classes will be playable.

You can read about all these in more detail in our Diablo III beta preview. Check back soon for an in-depth analysis of the real money auction house.

Picture of Oli.

About Oli Welsh

Oli is Eurogamer's acting deputy editor and reviews editor and likes to take things one word at a time. He is among the best dressed people in South London.

Read more articles from Oli by visiting the Oli Welsh archive page.

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Comments (103) Latest comment 10 months ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Inmediasress #1 10 months ago

    Well I did say that Diablo 3 is not going to be good.
    Why couldn't they ruin Star craft 2 instead I liked Diablo better.
    I wasn't planning to buy it anyway because of the whole cartoony feel of it but this kind of reasures my decision anyway.

    Oh by the way I wouldn't be surprised if project titan was a Diablo MMO.

  • apolloscollapse #2 10 months ago

    This is wrong on so many levels.

  • Anciegher #3 10 months ago

    Have they completely lost their minds??

  • bad09 #4 10 months ago

    "It was also confirmed that the game will require an internet connection to play at all times. "

    It was also confirmed bad09 will not require this game. The more this industry does it the more they push me into the arms of the pirates.
    Edited by bad09 at 01/08/11 @ 08:29

  • AcidSnake #5 10 months ago

    Won't this lead to:
    Gold farming -> buying everything off the gold auction house -> selling those items for real money in the real-money auction house?

    Also, always online, bad call...

  • Inmediasress #6 10 months ago

    @bad09
    You know what distrubs me the most that on other sites people can't wait to spend money on this.

  • Lexx87 #7 10 months ago

    Stopped reading at the 'fee' they take part. Bollock off.

  • The_Bloody_Kettle #8 10 months ago

    First I thought,
    'The game can pay for itself!'

    Then slowly I realised just how stupid that thought was. Everyone will think of this as a money maker for them, not realising that it's Blizzard making the profit.
    Everyone will laud it as a game changer, but really it's pay to play, just more subtly placed.

  • bobfish09 #9 10 months ago

    @Rack

    You clearly didn't read it all...

    "cash out via the third-party payment provider"

  • bad09 #10 10 months ago

    @Inmediasress

    Yeah it's depsressing people are so desperate for games they put up with kind of thing. Of course the hostile publishers/devs out there count on those people to be able to keep it up, look at Ubi their name is mud and their PC sales down but enough people are still buying it for them to continue down this path. You hear it all the time "I'd rather a game with silly DRM than no game".

    It won't go away until people stop paying for it....or you join the pirates they claim it's there to "stop".

  • TopZed #11 10 months ago

    my will to get this just got very close to 0 on a scale from 0 to 100 the more they come with this kind of ideas the more e feel to turn my back on them.

    I mean seriously? Is this really necessary?

    But offcourse there are always those blind enough to be milked from their money, yeah blizzard doesn't need to make good games... they already know what makes mankind tick. "Just throw them something they will eat it and call us gods!"

  • UncleLou #12 10 months ago

    Don't have a problem with that - there'll be no subscription fee (of course), and we know Blizzard supports games for years/decades. If this supports it, why not. It's not like anyone's forced to use it, and as he points out, people are doing it in Diablo 2 already, anyhow.

    And:

    Another separate, but functionally identical auction house will exist for players who wish to trade using in-game gold rather than real currency.

    Edited by UncleLou at 01/08/11 @ 08:54

  • osh #13 10 months ago

    It's funny how a single announcement can kill years of anticipation. Internet connection required at all times? Fuck's sake.

  • WinterSnowblind #14 10 months ago

    So I guess this means LAN play is straight out? Great. It's good to hear that there will be an auction house for in-game currency.. but really, who's going to use that? Everyone is going to want to try and make some cash, especially when they find a rare item, it's going to go straight up for sale, instead of being used personally.

    It's just going to make the game feel like work, I can't stress enough how much this is a horrible idea.

  • FortysixterUK #15 10 months ago

    This is a total clusterfuck.
    Drop the dumb AH idea. I wonder if ACTIVISION had a say in this?
    Allow the game to have an offline mode FFS.
    We , the gamers, are paying for it, is this another game we don't ever really own?
    What happened to the days of a simple single player game that didn't involve being constantly connected to the 'net?

    As appealing as another Blizzard game is, I am seriously considering NOT buying this one, for the above two reasons.

  • butler` #16 10 months ago

    can't say i could have called this...

    they're going to be pissing money

  • menage #17 10 months ago

    Interest waning ..... quickly I might add.

    Why the hell can't we just have a game without some bullshit attached to it like everybody wants.

  • Buran #18 10 months ago

    Quoting myself:

    Utterly PATHETIC what happened to Blizzard since the Activision merge.

    Some people still will have the nuts to defend a devastating decision that turns from a game that rewards personal effort into a game that rewards your wealth... Is sad that such kind of people exist.

  • Seoh #19 10 months ago

    I don't see a problem in this, since areas are not shared this is not traditional gold farming. You are never going to come across some Chinese bot killing the same quest important mob for its loot again and again, they will be doing that in their own game instance.

    If someone wants to do that in their own game then fair enough, if i don't want to spend money i still don't have to as there is an in game currency auction house.

  • UncleLou #20 10 months ago

    DRAMA. KNEE-JERK.

    Gold-farming is a multi-million Dollar industry, people are stupid enough to want that kind of stuff. If Blizzard manage to make money from them rather than Chinese gold-farmers, more power to them. I see it as an idiot tax that will support my (free) game.

  • ZuluHero #21 10 months ago

    I know i will probably get negged for saying this, but isn't everyone connected to the net all of the time anyway? The only time i'm not is in some of the more remote parts of the UK. Everything is starting to become internet relient. Even my TV has an internet connection. So is that really such a deal breaker for anyone? I suspect that if it is, then chances are that person was never really that interested in D3 anyway.

    The real money thing, might cause a bit of an uproar, but this was already an aspect of the previous games, so i can understand why Blizzard would want to have a more official process in D3 as well as a peice of the pie.

  • killuminati2911 #22 10 months ago

    I know maybe I will be flamed and.. I REALLY didn't ever expected to say somenthing like that guys believe me.. but.. I REALLY hope tha EA/Bioware rip their a@@ in two...
    If you wanna gamble on things, there are lots of gaming site for stripping money from customer.. and games that are pointed to a audience of kids (mainly) shouldn't have instruments to do such tinghs.. I already see teenager selling crack to buy things off that bloody auction hause.. I was waiting for this game but man.. now it feels so wrong to go and get it..

  • LetsGo #23 10 months ago

    It's not competitive multiplayer so WHO CARES?!?!?!?

  • cardigait #24 10 months ago

    Seems like they got lost in the secret [milk the] cow level
    Edited by cardigait at 01/08/11 @ 09:39

  • bad09 #25 10 months ago

    "Everything is starting to become internet relient"

    Er....since when? Just because your TV has internet doesn't mean it won't work without a connection. Blu-rays have BD live, the movie still works without internet though.

    Nothing is internet "reliant" outside of interent multiplayer gaming (of course!), the games industry are the only ones anywhere who think they have the right to tie the products you buy to the internet chaining you like a dog to your ISP, and even then they only do it on PC outside of a couple of Capcom PSN games.

    The internet should be constructive added benefit to your product not a controlling chain around your customers neck.

  • Ahskay #26 10 months ago

    not playable offline = no sale

  • Vedfolner #27 10 months ago

    Making a profit off of people who don't play the game for fun but for work. Nice, Blizzard. Really nice.
    I wonder how many great games are going to be completely ruined in the future because of pure, greedy idiotic crap like this? It certainly has happened more often than I would like to think of in the past year or so. This could seriously spell the end of my gaming passion.

  • jonbwfc #28 10 months ago

    @UncleLou - I very much doubt Diablo III is going to be free. It's much more likely to be 40 quid.

  • login_name #29 10 months ago

    Oh well, there's another one down :(
    I refuse to play a single player game that requires an always on Internet connection. Unacceptable.

  • DavidSebb #30 10 months ago

    Online-only play, NO mods, real money AH...
    This game went from Hero to ZERO for me.
    Edited by DavidSebb at 01/08/11 @ 09:53

  • Inmediasress #31 10 months ago

    @bad09
    Completely agree.
    I hate that some people think that everybody has an internet connection and also that everybody has an ISP that provides quality connections instead of shity ones that work like Russian rulett.
    Some are even stupid enough to believe that it's necessary for everything nowadays to have a permanent internet connection so that our masters can supervise and controll us anytime.
    Nothing is necessary unless you make it so.

  • Apaar #32 10 months ago

    How is this such a big deal? This was already an unofficial part of Diablo 2, so I can't say it's surprising that they are now making it officially supported in Diablo 3. Also, for your average Diablo player this won't have any effect at all, the same way it didn't affect them them in Diablo 2. And the always on internet... is there honestly someone who expected that to not be the case?

  • bad09 #33 10 months ago

    @Inmediasress

    Yeah I don't really understand that "logic" either. I love the internet and even a decent connection now I don't touch BT. I still don't want to invest in products that are chained to the internet and just cannot understand why some do and even think it's OK.

  • CaptainKid #34 10 months ago

    "There will be separate auction houses for each region and currency"

    And there is the fail.

  • Freki #35 10 months ago

    As much as I would like to I just can't really get worked up about this. It is pretty much a feature that will have zero impact on me as I will play Diablo III just like I played Diablo I and Diablo II. A decent hack and slash single player game or multiplayer with friends. So a real money auction house will just be a feature that I don't use.

  • Gearskin #36 10 months ago

    Why do people care that it's online only? You're online right now.

  • Kartis #37 10 months ago

    Blizzard didn't make anythink new by adding real money market to the game. They just admit that buing game items for real money egsist and there is nothing they are able to do about it. So rather then pretending that there is no auctions for Diablo 2 (or any MMO) on ebay they decided to create their own market for it. This all situacion changes nothing except that money that before were going to ebay now stay in Diablo franchise and can be spend to it's futer deweloping (more content in futer ekspantions for example).
    Sorry for my English, it's not my first language.
    Edited by Kartis at 01/08/11 @ 14:56

  • obscured021 #38 10 months ago

    That sucks, the few % that got game items on ebay to get an unfair leg up was bad enough, but now he with the most money will win as most people who did not trust the ebay sellers would buy on battle net.

  • bad09 #39 10 months ago

    "Why do people care that it's online only? You're online right now."

    Yep and if I decide to stop my connection for a while to save money or I lose connection through hardware, router, ISP, exchange problems or I go to an area without internet I couldn't moan about not having access to the web. Still At least I can play my legally bought single player games....oh wait.

    / rolls eyes

  • UncleLou #40 10 months ago

    @UncleLou - I very much doubt Diablo III is going to be free. It's much more likely to be 40 quid.

    I thought it was blatantly obvious that I was talking about (the lack of) subscription fees/micro-transactions, not the initial purchase price, but seemingly not. Blizzard are a company that keeps their severs running for 10+ years, unlike 99% of the rest who switch theirs off after a couple of years.

  • UncleLou #41 10 months ago

    I still don't want to invest in products that are chained to the internet and just cannot understand why some do and even think it's OK.

    I can absolutely see why some people don't like that, but surely you can see why many people think it's OK? Time I've been offline while gaming in the last 10 years? Maybe 1 hour, in total. I can accept that kind of DRM if there's actually a benefit involved, like here: cloud-based storage of characters, which means single- and multiplayer is seamlessly integrated. I see Diablo 3 as a semi-MMO.

  • Azilis #42 10 months ago

    Neither is a problem for me personally. I won't pay real money for in-game items, so that's a non-issue for me, and although my internet connection does go out occasionally, online-only isn't a deal-breaker.

    To disparage people who actually don't care about these issues (as several people in this thread have done) for buying this game is kind of offensive actually. If these decisions by Blizzard turn you away from the game, don't buy it. Yeah, I wish Blizzard would support offline or LAN play, but it's not that big a deal for me. It's good gameplay I want most. If it lacks that, then that's a deal breaker.
    Edited by Azilis at 01/08/11 @ 10:17

  • Vedfolner #43 10 months ago

    I'm afraid I'm not done complaining: Should you decide to play the game (I won't) for fun under these circumstances you would now know that the fantastic piece of loot you just found isn't fantastic at all. The guy willing to pay for the same item has just done so without much thought - with Blizzard's blessing. So the developers are actually not only making money off of people who play the game solely to make money - they are actually making the game less fun to play for people who just want to enjoy themselves. Much less fun I might add since Diablo is all about the loot. This is an insult.

  • Shinetop #44 10 months ago

    Yep and if I decide to stop my connection for a while to save money or I lose connection through hardware, router, ISP, exchange problems or I go to an area without internet I couldn't moan about not having access to the web. Still At least I can play my legally bought single player games....oh wait.

    Your power could fail. Or your hardware could break. Then you also wouldn't be able to play your legally bought single player game. So why is nobody complaining that single player games require an active power grid and functioning hardware?

  • Xeaon #45 10 months ago

    Everyone will still buy it regardless though, so why complain.

  • bad09 #46 10 months ago

    @UncleLou

    No I really don't see why some think FORCED online connection is OK. Of course I understand the benefit of having the option of cloud saving, drop in co-op etc. but do not see the benefit of FORCING people to connect and disabling games if they don't, it merely encourages, and personally I feel highlights an important need for, DRM free torrents and crackers.

    I've said it before how many of the industry apologists would be fine buying a CD or DVD/Blu-ray that FORCES you to be connected to listen or view? Why the games industry got supporters of this anti-consumer movement that stops no piracy I'll never know but then I guess many gamers are emotionally attached to these corporations so defend them.

  • UncleLou #47 10 months ago

    nd personally I feel highlights an important need for, DRM free torrents and crackers

    A need? Don't be ridiculous. If you disagree with them, fine, don't buy it, don't play it. The self-entitlement speaking from that quote is quite, er, breath-taking though. Why the spoiled child attitude? I don't get it.

  • arcam #48 10 months ago

    (the lack of) subscription fees/micro-transactions

    Lack of microtransactions? This whole article is about the micro-transactions in Diablo 3, no?

    Also, I have a pretty nice internet connection, but it's been playing up recently. Time offline in the last week - probably around 10 hours. I have a new router coming on Wednesday.

  • Zastai #49 10 months ago

    I don't think anyone was waiting for a real-money auction house, really. But with it in place, they of course cannot allow local savegames, since that would open up the possibility of editing it to give you "teh m4d l00tz". Hence the always-online requirement.
    So a feature no-one needs leads t a requirement no-one wants -that's excellent game design, that is.

  • Kartis #50 10 months ago

    I think that online only is a lesser evil in this game. If players could play it offline then characters would have to be saved on their hard drives rather then on battle.net cloud. There realy is nothing that Blizzard can do to protect from cheating by changing charactrs statistics and items if they don't hold data about them secure, and there is no real wey to secure data that are holding autside company servers. I mean they could do fancy protecion validating all consumers rights but it would fall rather sooner than later. So there are realy two options here: lets seperate multi from singel player and force all players to level new characters for multiplayer, or let players play charcters which they created by plaing single player in multi and keep all data on battlenet.
    Edited by Kartis at 01/08/11 @ 10:51

  • bad09 #51 10 months ago

    @UncleLou

    I buy a game to own it's mine. Publsihers want to stop me owning my games now they have the power of the internet but I, like most of us, want to continue owning games. Cracker and torrents are increasingly the only way to safeguard the products I buy to own.

    It's not "self-entitlement", it's what's gonna keep me buying games if this nonsnense gets worse, I already have coasters instead of legally bought games if my internet dies and I need to re-install. Crackers and torrents are providing a service to consumers as well as pirates now and that's the industries own fault.
    Edited by bad09 at 01/08/11 @ 10:41

  • UncleLou #52 10 months ago

    It is the definition of self-entitlement, tbh.

    But anyway, most people these days play on consoles. Locked-down, razor-blade business model cash-grabbing machines where you pay a fat chunk of license fees with every game you buy, and pretty much a guarantee that you won't be able to play your games a few years down the line - I personally think they are much bigger restriction for consumers than, for example, a requirement to be online on an otherwise open platform.

    My point: We all have our different thresholds what's acceptable and what isn't, I just try not being so nastily judgmental about it.

  • Xensor #53 10 months ago

    So when my crappy virgin internet goes down for the umpteenth time i won't be able to play? Thanks Blizz! :/

    As for the AH... meh, i ain't gonna use it, if other people wanna piss their real money up the wall for some random digital loot then let them.

  • bad09 #54 10 months ago

    @UncleLou

    Well the consoles are closed ssystems I agree but I don't get where you claim you won't be abel to play games years down the line.

    / hugs Dreamcast

    I do understand levels of tolerance but there are limits and people can blindly accept things they really shouldn't. online DRM such as this is one of those things because by accepting it and finacially supporting it you are killing this hobby for a great deal of us and on top of that it's not even stopping piracy but encouraging it.

  • LetsGo #55 10 months ago

    If you want to play it offline you can always buy the console version??

  • Dogzilla #56 10 months ago

    Plain wrong.

    Games used to be so innocent...

  • Lemming81 #57 10 months ago

    "not playable offline = no sale"

    Its 2011. People still spouting this shit is just madness. Stop making excuses just to pirate games. Who the fuck doesn't have their broadband connection on the entire time their pc is on?

    Btw anyone claims turn it off all the time is either lying or psychotic. Take your pick.

  • bad09 #58 10 months ago

    @ LetsGo

    Encouraging people to buy console versions isn't really gonna help the PC market is it? No one to buy games on PC means no PC games for that minority who are happy with this kind of DRM, and they are a minority otherwise everyone would do it and the likes of EA and Capcom would not have backed down, Ubisoft sales would not be down and their market share smaller.

  • Vedfolner #59 10 months ago

    @Shinetop

    "Your power could fail. Or your hardware could break. Then you also wouldn't be able to play your legally bought single player game. So why is nobody complaining that single player games require an active power grid and functioning hardware?"

    Stating the obvious. "I would like the new Diablo III, please. Oh, and could I also have a can of air? Or do I need an online subscription?"

  • UncleLou #60 10 months ago

    I do understand levels of tolerance but there are limits and people can blindly accept things they really shouldn't.

    Again: stop being so judgmental. I don't accept anything "blindly". And yet again: we have different thresholds. People who buy a 3DS don't care enough about region-locking not to buy one. Fair enough. People who buy games on consoles don't care for the extra license fees and lack of mods. Fair enough. I don't run around telling them what not to do so they don't "ruin" my hobby, though.

  • varsas #61 10 months ago

    Why is it a problem than an internet connection is required? Does everyone have 2 PCs? 1 for internet use and another for playing games? If not then the problem is...?

    EDIT: Regarding future support i.e. the idea that at some point Blizzard could take away the servers rendering the game useless; has this happened before with their support of previous games and couldn't Blizzard just patch the game at the point since they would no longer be supporting it?
    Edited by varsas at 01/08/11 @ 11:23

  • immateriaux #62 10 months ago

    Some really weird design decisions there. The point of Diablo, for me, was that it wasn't WoW; it was a game I could enjoy single player, whenever or wherever I wanted (there's a significant amount of time when I will not have internet connectivity). Auctioning loot also seems to my mind contrary to the point of the Diablo experience and makes the game seem more like a spur off WoW. The only positive I can take from it all is that it strikes Diablo off my wanted/following list. I can just forget about it now.

  • bad09 #63 10 months ago

    @UncleLou

    Well we could debate this all day but it's not really "judgemental" I and many others feel you shouldn't support it and have every right to say so just like you apologists saying "oh but you are on the internet" "it's no big deal get over it" etc.

    The fact is I and many others feel this type of restrcition will be the end of the platform for us if it grows worse and spreads and don't want that to happen because we love this platform. People who accept this stuff are encouraging these companies to put us off buying their products.
    Edited by bad09 at 01/08/11 @ 11:29

  • Vedfolner #64 10 months ago

    This is really a matter of ownership. Are you happy to subscribe to the software you purchased or do you insist on ownership
    - I insist to own. The auction thing is also complete rubbish of course.

    EDIT: Spell

    EDIT 2: Spell!
    Edited by Vedfolner at 01/08/11 @ 14:19

  • Daeltaja #65 10 months ago

    I knew this would be a grind fest of a game, but this is taking it a step too far. Don't think I'll have the time to play this, afterall.

  • jetsetwillie #66 10 months ago

    @vedfolner

    but you don't own anything. just a license that lets you play the software under the terms and conditions of the license.

  • Seafort #67 10 months ago

    I hope Blizzard asks ubisoft how they are doing with their always online DRM :p And the auction house will be a major turnoff for alot of PC gamers who are sick of being nickel and dimed for every game they play.

    Sounds like a stealth subscription to me. If blizzard didnt take a cut from every real money auction i might accept it but they do so its just a money grabbing technique.

    I loved diablo 2 but this is the first time i've had second thoughts in getting diablo 3.

    Do blizzard actually want me to buy their game now or do they just want the "more money than sense" rich bastards buying it instead?

  • Laythe_AD #68 10 months ago

    "Spend real money on items that you do not actually own." Genious.

    There is an in game gold anternative, but this is going to create a two tier system. Items of any real use value will all end up on the real money auctions. I suspect Blizzard know this full well. I suspect they also know people will buy such things, full well. And when people cry "Microtransactions!", they will reply "It was not us, it was the community!"

    Good thing i'll be making Guild Wars 2 my time sink.

  • jellyhead #69 10 months ago

    Oh well, Thanks for freeing up some money for another game, Diablo III. I'll be looking elsewhere for my fun, no monies for you!

  • jetsetwillie #70 10 months ago

    @seafort

    but isn't the real money auction optional. ie you don't have to buy anything for real money unless you want to. how is this a stealth subscription if your not pay real money for items. all its going to cost you is the cost of the game itself.

  • Vedfolner #71 10 months ago

    @jetsetwillie

    Too many people stating the obvious in here. True, I can't make copies of the game and hand them out to my friends etc. That should be a given to most people. But the general laws for using purchased software is nowhere near as intrusive as demanding a fully functional internet connection at all times.

  • bad09 #72 10 months ago

    "True, I can't make copies of the game and hand them out to my friends etc.

    Well seeing as this isn't 20 years ago you don't need to, they simply download their own copy these days :)

  • Pastici #73 10 months ago

    What was wrong with the way Diablo 2 worked, you want to play online? Make an online character! Offline? Make an offline character! It worked fine in Diablo 2, why change it?
    Edited by Pastici at 01/08/11 @ 12:21

  • Vedfolner #74 10 months ago

    @bad09

    Truer words were never spoken :)

  • rottingyoda #75 10 months ago

    Cant wait for this game. Gameplay will be great.

    Goes without saying that because of the drm ill get a cracked copy and when the price drops low enough ill buy it for the multi. I do this for all games with this type of drm. The only way to push back folks. Still, gonna be a cracking game

  • UncleLou #76 10 months ago

    but it's not really "judgemental"
    ...
    just like you apologists

    Oh really?
    Edited by UncleLou at 01/08/11 @ 12:51

  • Freek #77 10 months ago

    Seems like defeat.

    "Well, some people cheat and some people buy character, geuse we'll just have to ruin the game for the vast majority of normal players".

  • UncleLou #78 10 months ago

    geuse we'll just have to ruin the game for the vast majority of normal players

    Or a vocal minority? Who knows. Thing is, one of their main target groups for this will be WoW players. They are in the double-digit millions (and that's just active accounts), and won't bat an eyelid that they need to be online.

    I also imagine that they took a good look at how many people who bought Starcraft 2 are/aren't online.

  • Vedfolner #79 10 months ago

    @UncleLou

    I understand that you don't care that the game requires an internet connection. But do you feel the same kind of ownership for a game that requires it?

  • butler` #80 10 months ago

    It's an interesting thought. Is this a response to the logic that when D3 is released, WoW's subscription figures will take a nose dive, and this will help fill that revenue void?

    It's cynical, but they are a business after all.

  • Zyklonbzombie #81 10 months ago

    Stunning the amount of people who are so out of touch they think that because they have a perfectly functioning, always-on internet connection, everyone else must too. This is such a shame - I was looking forward to buying it, but now I can't. Not out of any principle, but because it would simply be a frustrating waste of money on my tempremental connection.

    @Shinetop: Electricity is necessarily required to power a PC, and goes without saying. Requiring an internet connection at all times is unnecessarily exclusive.

  • Silvervein #82 10 months ago

    I wonder how the sales of diablo 3 will look like. And I wonder if blizzard will try to justify the poor sales with 'rampant piracy on pc'.
    It's almost amusing to see what big corporations do now, to test how far they can push their customers.

  • Caimbeul #83 10 months ago

    Dear Publisher/Developer,

    I am now no longer buying this game. I do hope that it is pirated to death and /or gets shit reviews. Shitting on legitimate customers will only push them to get involved with the pirating/cracking scene. Are you REALLY that stupid? If i buy a game and i decided, ooh, that would be good to play on the laptop on the train or in my remote cabin in the middle of nowhere, I damn well expect to be able to do it. DO NOT PRESUME TO TELL ME WHEN AND HOW I CAN USE THE PRODUCT THAT I BUY (Short of doing anything blatantly illegal - although people WILL now)

    YOUR STUPID DECISION IS AN AFFRONT TO ALL LEGITIMATE CUSTOMERS. Kindly fuck of until you remove this hinderance.

  • jumpdeveraux #84 10 months ago

    Not overly happy re always on internet connection (as I'd only play the single player of this to be honest).

    Rather interesting that there is a fee charged for just listing an item irrespective of whether it sells - so there is a disincentive for people to simply lists loads of tat as it will cost them real world money, just like ebay, to list their wares. I'm sure this will be an interesting revenue stream for Blizz - at least they included another auction system for ingame currency where many developers simply wouldn't bother as they want your $$$'s.

  • UncleLou #85 10 months ago

    @ UncleLou

    I understand that you don't care that the game requires an internet connection. But do you feel the same kind of ownership for a game that requires it?

    Fair question - the one comparison I can draw is MMOs which I don't play anymore, where I definitely do not feel any sense of ownership admittedly, but then I couldn't play them anymore without paying a sub - that said, I guess Guild Wars would be an example, no? It's somewhere in between a single-player gamer I own on a disc and an MMO. I don't also feel like I particularly "own" the games I buy on Steam.

    I don't really care that much about "ownership" in that regard though, and I am maybe too aware that my ownership when it comes to something like a game is restricted to a cheap plastic box and data carrier, anyhow.
    Edited by UncleLou at 01/08/11 @ 13:48

  • Silvervein #86 10 months ago

    @UncleLou

    'Or a vocal minority? Who knows. Thing is, one of their main target groups for this will be WoW players. They are in the double-digit millions (and that's just active accounts), and won't bat an eyelid that they need to be online.

    I also imagine that they took a good look at how many people who bought Starcraft 2 are/aren't online. '

    According to the wow player data, majority of them is in asia. The same can be said about star craft 2, what with it becoming a korean national sport. Keeping that in mind, are you saying that diablo 3 is a game designed for asian markets?

    I can't say anything about other people in the west, but myself, I play games like diablo for the story: I don't want the distraction of some random kid joining my game. Therefore I'm absolutely not interested in paying good money for a game that should be a single player product, and tries to hit me for even more money after the purchase. Money is tight nowadays. I'd like developers to understand that simple fact, and realize that their steath extortion won't sit well with people.

  • UncleLou #87 10 months ago

    . Keeping that in mind, are you saying that diablo 3 is a game designed for asian markets?

    Actually, yes, I had that suspicion for a while since I looked at the artwork/characters on the official homepage, which have a strong influence of your typical Asian MMO rather than Western RPGs. And that's a much bigger worry that I have, to be honest, that the game might be tailored more for this market, and that the single-player "playability", so to speak, might suffer.

    Edit: I am definitely not playing games like Diablo for the story though, no. Quite on the contrary, games like this only work for me when the story doesn't really get in the way of the loot and the repetitive (and I mean that as a compliment) gameplay.
    Edited by UncleLou at 01/08/11 @ 13:54

  • Vedfolner #88 10 months ago

    @UncleLou

    Okay, just wanted to clear that up. I have never played an MMO partly because I don't feel like I own them and I hate that I don't have hard copies of my PopCap games collection from Steam (some of the games are in fact available at retail and on my "to buy list" though.) For me ownership is so very much more than a plastic case and a data carrier. That's the difference pure and simple.
    Edited by Vedfolner at 01/08/11 @ 14:18

  • UncleLou #89 10 months ago

    Fair enough, I feel the same about music, for example, and would never sue* something like Spotify. And I repeat myself, I absolutely have no problem with people not agreeing with the online requirement. What I do have a problem with is when people try to tell me what I should/have to think about it, or that I am some kind of sheep if I don't protest against it. I know very well what I want and what I tolerate, and why. Microsoft, Sony etc. have been trying to tell me for years what I should or shouldn't play or buy, I don't need fellow gamers doing the same.

    edit:
    Typo, meant to be "use". Too fitting to edit it out, though. :p
    Edited by UncleLou at 01/08/11 @ 14:23

  • Aiten #90 10 months ago

    I am not one for overplaying games so I guess this will give me the option of cashing out some money once I feel I am done with the game. No complaints here.

  • sidneyfife #91 10 months ago

    It's all about the cock stroking gamers!

  • Vedfolner #92 10 months ago

    @UncleLou

    Sure - each to his own and all that :) No harm in debating though.

  • Vyggo #93 10 months ago

    Coop-play could become a lot more cutthroat when real money is on the line. Hope the make a decent party looting system to prevent ninja-ing the valuables. With every drop you'll be thinking: how much money will this thing be worth? Man, I don't think I am going to buy this game....

  • Sildur #94 10 months ago

    Not playing Diablo 3 anymore and seriously disappointed with Blizzard. Have been a hardcore fan of theirs for years. Will never play any Blizzard games in the future if this is the direction they're taking.

  • CaoSlayer #95 10 months ago

    I like it.

    Once I get tired of this game, I could then sell all my items and my character and get back part or more money than the one I used to buy this game.

    "Coop-play could become a lot more cutthroat when real money is on the line. Hope the make a decent party looting system to prevent ninja-ing the valuables. With every drop you'll be thinking: how much money will this thing be worth? Man, I don't think I am going to buy this game.... "

    They have already showed that everyone will only see the items he can take.
    Edited by CaoSlayer at 01/08/11 @ 17:40

  • grouch666 #96 10 months ago

    Actually enjoy this I loved playing diablo 2 and I can make money which is cool I think and it's more incentive for blizzard to add more content and items

  • Matix #97 10 months ago

    Fuck you, Blizzard.

  • Spekingur #98 10 months ago

    So, I guess some of the ones here that do not like where Diablo 3 is heading will try out Torchlight 2 for the more "Diablo-like" experience?

  • Lunatic4ever #99 10 months ago

    reminds of that one song "say goodbye,say goodbye to hollywood, say goodbyem, say goodbye to hollywood"

  • Laminator #100 10 months ago

    I was on the fence with D3 because I don't like how greedy Blizzard is getting lately. Now it's a no brainer won't be touching anything by Blizzard again. One less game to buy this year.

  • UncleLou #101 10 months ago

    So, I guess some of the ones here that do not like where Diablo 3 is heading will try out Torchlight 2 for the more "Diablo-like" experience?

    Both day 1 purchases for me, glad I don't have to choose. Bit worried about T2 though, there hasn't been any update whatsoever on their website in ages. And they haven't even shown any screenshots yet - I don't quite believe it still is a 2011 release.

  • FooAtari #102 10 months ago

    Apart from having to be online to play, another serious concern is where my game data is saved.

    It's on their servers. Meaning I can't back up all my game data. What if something happens at their end or if they get hacked (as everyone does these days), loosing user data.

    And while I admit it's unlikely to happen any time soon, I'd like to know what happens if the servers are switched for any reason. If they go bust or get bought over by another company that might not have any interest in supporting the game.
    In fact I'd like some gaurantees from all devs/publishers who are going down this route. I'm not renting your game, I'm buying it so what assurances do I get I'll always be able to play this? Until I get a satisfactory answer I wont buy it.

    I also don't understand why they can't have seperate online and offline charachters with no overlap. You either play 100% offline, removing the need for a connection or/and have a charachter played 100% online. Im spending most of time in hospital at the moment over a long period and game on my laptop. Fortunatly this ward allows me to use 3G to get online, however most don't. So even if I do decide to get the game it's probably not going to worth it as I wont have the oppertunity to play.

    Seems to me this is just going to limit their sales, even if only by a small amount. Why would you want to do that.

  • penniegrim #103 10 months ago

    I'm out