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Blizzard Denies Rumors That Diablo 4 Was Planned for BlizzCon Reveal + ATVi Stocks Tumble - MMORPG.c
SBFord
Former Associate EditorMember LegendaryPosts: 33,129
Blizzard Denies Rumors That Diablo 4 Was Planned for BlizzCon Reveal + ATVi Stocks Tumble - MMORPG.com
In the continuing saga of one of the most viral stories in gaming, Blizzard Entertainment has responded to a rumor that Diablo 4 was intended to be announced at BlizzCon 2018 last weekend in addition to the as-yet poorly received Diablo Immortal mobile game. In and of itself, this is highly unusual as Blizzard generally ignores rumors. However, after a Kotaku story citing the rumor exploded all over the internet, the company felt it needed to respond.
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What is ironic about this is Blizzard is THE reason why other gaming companies began porting their titles to computers that were typically not supported by Windows such as Macintosh computers. What did this mean? It means that they spearheaded a major change in the gaming industry simply by porting their own games, which with the huge number of players playing World of Warcraft early on, forced the hand of companies like Windows Games to convert their game titles to Macintosh computers as well! This was almost unheard of until they made this change at Blizzard!
Additionally, the model for tablet/phone games is free to play -- with the addition of toxic billing practices such as the selling of boxes/keys that gamble on the contents of those boxes, in game requirements from the store in order to complete the leveling process or to get central storyline/progression materials in order to remain competitive in the game. This includes the ability to respec, questlines that tell the main story, or competitive skills/items that make it possible to win at PVP.
Even though these things are speculative at this point, they are drawn directly from what's experienced in the typical phone/tablet game today.
I don't expect Blizzard to handle this properly considering they made this move while also misleading the public on twitter by claiming there were "multiple" Diablo projects in the works weeks before the actual announcement of Diablo Immortality at Blizzcon.
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I have to say that I'm blown away that they issued a statement. I think that's a first and proves they're in full damage control mode.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
They haven't mislead anyone if they really have several other Diablo games in the work, but players probably need to let go of their speculations until Blizzard is ready to share.
Not surprising Activision stock took a bit of a dive, no doubt dumped by either investors who made the same miscalculation as gamers did, or just a dump in retaliation by butthurt and petulant fans.
Blizzard will weather the storm and likely continue to rake in the cash and this kerfuffle will quickly fade into the past.
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my issue with blizzard statement(s) is that they still don't mention platforms. yeah they may have other projects but that doesn't mean any of them are for PC....and I find it odd that they haven't mentioned PC after the backlash...when it could literally fix the issue.
WoW in it's current state is just... it's beta. Every day I continue to encounter new bugs it's beyond me how that's possible. I know they said that the next patch should get the game out of it's beta status, but I doubt it and even if it does there are a lot of other things that were done in a lackluster way.
HotS feels like it's beyond salvage with the lack of interest in introducing a proper MM. They keep talking about the personal MM rating, but they've been talking about it for years and I doubt we will see it anytime soon. They continue to make irrelevant changes like to stimpacks for example instead of focusing on what's important. I'm downloading LoL as I write this. Stopped playing this game like 5 years ago because of the horrible community, but if there is anything that LoL had it spot on it was the MM. Everyone was where they should be.
I'm expecting in 10 years if Blizzcon is still a thing to see something like "hey guys we just made Overwatch and Hearthstone remastered" cause we lost our passion for releasing new content in 2018, we also have 5 new mobile titles.
I get it money is important, but doing things without thinking can have negative effect and cost you more than if you had done things correctly.
Personally I think that they are working on a Diablo 3 expansion and that's what they planned to announce, but after they saw everyone expecting a Diablo 4 they probably changed their minds and decide to try and make the Diablo 3 expansion a Diablo 4, but of course that will require another 1-2 years at least. However they probably didn't expect things to blow out like that because of Diablo Mobile.
But to continue thru there article they are correct and i pointed out Blizz could have lessened the PR blow with a D4 Teaser/Trailer , and yes they have been working on D4 for a while
Agreed.
Their stock price is really a function of expected future revenues, and Blizzcon is usually a big source of information on new releases that can have an impact. This year didn't give investors much to latch onto:
* WoW Retail: No new expansion.
* WoW Classic: Has resources devoted, but will be included with the normal sub. This will only boost revenue if it draws new players in (or old players back) who don't currently sub. They didn't provide any numbers to show what the interest level might be.
* HotS: A new hero, but no huge news.
* StarCraft II: No huge news. No SC3.
* WC III Reforged: This will drive new revenue, but the question is timing. It's slated for some time in 2019 (the launcher uses a placeholder of 12/31/19). Even if people preorder, I don't think they can book revenue until it's actually delivered. No WC4.
* Overwatch: No real revenue-related news.
* Hearthstone: New expansion, which might be the only short-term revenue signal.
* Diablo: No expansion, D1/2 remaster, or D4 to drive sales.
* D:I: No release date or monetization scheme or really anything that gives confidence on short-term revenue
Taking that all together, I don't think the stock dip should be a surprise, and it's from a combination of factors (or non-factors) rather than simply being tied to D:I alone.
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No one in their current fan-base was asking for a phone Diablol
And as for WoW Classic, that news was just disappointing. Part of the $15 sub?! Nope. Not for a 14 year old game. It should be $15 a month for live, $5 a month for classic, and $18 a month for the bundle of the two. That way they could use the hot marketing term 'bundle' and for both you would be saving $2 a month by bundling.
They missed it with both of those.
The only thing good I think was Warcraft 3 HD. Everything else was a wash in my opinion.
Even for classic WoW, zero box price and just a $15 sub is fair considering it's a remastered and officially supported version.
So they are going to be around for another hundred years?
Oh! and don't forget the Edsel!
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Many have already made the accurate analogies, but I'll give it a go: it's like going to a Wizards of the Coast convention and finding out their big announcement for MtG is a general-subject trivia board game that's only connection to MtG is the art and flavor text. Nobody really wanted it, and those who did wanted it only in a "it'd be kinda nifty" way.
And as that is the metric they have chosen to report to investors, and most of those players are mobile, maybe senior management might have become somewhat focused on mobile.
On no! Our user numbers are dropping. Quick release a new mobile game sort of thing.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
This is the key info right here. After a years-long drought of meaningful content, Diablo fans got no relief. Blizzard abandoned Diablo forums years ago as well, giving players no hint as to the direction the game would be going in, if any. It's like they prepared this grand feast and in front of starving players, threw it down the garbage chute.
However you wish to characterize this, Blizzard could not have misjudged their player base more. And that means they're out of touch, focusing on powerpoints and spreadsheets and ignoring the tenor and tone of their customers.
The problem (stated again) is the fact that we're all even talking about it. It shouldn't have been marketed in the way it was. It shouldn't have been thrown in the face of die-hard PC master race fans when Blizzard KNEW everybody was looking for a Diablo 4 or Diablo MMORPG reveal.
The people making the games haven't lost their edge. The marketing team and stakeholders who made the decision to reveal Diablo Immortal at Blizzcon then do a mic drop after are the IDIOTS.
Overwatch, WoW, Diablo, Hearthstone, not to mention the vice grip on eSports are their assets. Blizzard ain't going anywhere any time soon. This situation was embarrassing for sure, but it's more like when Leonidas cut Xerxes face.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯