It looks like it sold well under a mil on each non-pc platform. When you realize that margins on console are much worse, you realize that it probably barely penciled out relative to dev costs, unlike WoW, which makes something ridiculous like 20x dev costs on a constant basis.
This is despite the console version being much superior to the PC by all accounts.
It would be great if itemization and character-identification issues went from "disaster" to "almost acceptable". That's optimistic.
That only leaves the other major issues - the horrible story and ham-fisted implementation of it, the levels totally lacking effective randomization and hence immersion, rubberbanding and hitboxes, an attempt at PVP that plays like something from a five-digit budget kickstarter title, etc.
Anyhow, faith is a real blessing. Some people believe in people rising from the dead and floating into the sky, some believe that guys who heard voices were hearing the true words of the creator of existence, some people believe that a company with billions in the bank deserves yet more money despite a decade of uninspired, shoddy reiterations and increasingly shady consumer practices. De gustibus...
Lately, so many more people are showing support for the game, instead of just posting the same dumb crap all the time about D2 and POE.
That's because the millions who were dissapointed with the last couple of years finally got sick of whining and waiting and just left.
The extremely large "community" that loved (and loves) D2 is basically gone, and the minority that doesn't see D3 as a flaming train wreck remains. Which is probably a win-win for both groups.
The weak console sales and relatively very slow forums, like this one, reflect this. I don't think we'll be seeing any confetti parade "fastest sale ever" news blurbs about the expansion, for that matter, unless they find a way to tie it into WoW subs.
In the bigger picture, the genre itself has been pretty well driven into the ground. No one is particularly excited about anything in the ARPG space at the moment, and this most recent generation didn't have a single title that really filled the gap left by D2, or even came close.
The beaten-wife syndrome evidenced today is truly hilarious.
People want so badly to believe in something which really hasn't existed in years, and will line up to be the first to give their money now that mean ol' hubby has changed his ways.
They didn't miss the launch window for the new consoles because of any obsession with quality - they missed it for the same reason they shipped a mediocre game, never really made PVP, and will be lucky to ship an expansion in under two years.
But this is inevitable when a corporate culture spends a dozen years moving away from actual focus on their products and promotes people based on their ability to play politics.
Obviously, it's Blizzard All-stars - because the world needs another dota/smash bros in a world where LoL and Valve's dota exist. Not to mention the original war3/dota.
Beyond jumping the shark... Between this, the movie, the lukewarm reception of Diablo to PS, and the increasingly obvious vapor that is titan, it might be a long couple of years for bliz.
I don't think it is necessarily either - he's obviously a decent writer and analyst.
I just point it out because it illustrates that Activision and Blizzard are sharing development resources, at least in this case. They are, in fact, the same company, and the image of Blizzard as some walled-off ninja temple is delusional.
I understand why some ARPG fans hate TL2, but the starting 4 difficulties + HC option is a no-brainer, no matter your opinion on their execution of it. Making a player grind for 20 hours before the game even begins to get remotely challenging is just stupid.
It looks like it sold well under a mil on each non-pc platform. When you realize that margins on console are much worse, you realize that it probably barely penciled out relative to dev costs, unlike WoW, which makes something ridiculous like 20x dev costs on a constant basis.
This is despite the console version being much superior to the PC by all accounts.
Nice, a straightforward admission that all they are doing is retreading.
At least they're honest about it.
It would be great if itemization and character-identification issues went from "disaster" to "almost acceptable". That's optimistic.
That only leaves the other major issues - the horrible story and ham-fisted implementation of it, the levels totally lacking effective randomization and hence immersion, rubberbanding and hitboxes, an attempt at PVP that plays like something from a five-digit budget kickstarter title, etc.
Anyhow, faith is a real blessing. Some people believe in people rising from the dead and floating into the sky, some believe that guys who heard voices were hearing the true words of the creator of existence, some people believe that a company with billions in the bank deserves yet more money despite a decade of uninspired, shoddy reiterations and increasingly shady consumer practices. De gustibus...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battered_person_syndrome
That's because the millions who were dissapointed with the last couple of years finally got sick of whining and waiting and just left.
The extremely large "community" that loved (and loves) D2 is basically gone, and the minority that doesn't see D3 as a flaming train wreck remains. Which is probably a win-win for both groups.
The weak console sales and relatively very slow forums, like this one, reflect this. I don't think we'll be seeing any confetti parade "fastest sale ever" news blurbs about the expansion, for that matter, unless they find a way to tie it into WoW subs.
In the bigger picture, the genre itself has been pretty well driven into the ground. No one is particularly excited about anything in the ARPG space at the moment, and this most recent generation didn't have a single title that really filled the gap left by D2, or even came close.
People want so badly to believe in something which really hasn't existed in years, and will line up to be the first to give their money now that mean ol' hubby has changed his ways.
But this is inevitable when a corporate culture spends a dozen years moving away from actual focus on their products and promotes people based on their ability to play politics.
D3 is an MMO. A very, very gimped MMO.
Beyond jumping the shark... Between this, the movie, the lukewarm reception of Diablo to PS, and the increasingly obvious vapor that is titan, it might be a long couple of years for bliz.
I don't think it is necessarily either - he's obviously a decent writer and analyst.
I just point it out because it illustrates that Activision and Blizzard are sharing development resources, at least in this case. They are, in fact, the same company, and the image of Blizzard as some walled-off ninja temple is delusional.
Just my opinion.
Uhhh.... yeah...
http://torchlight.incgamers.com/2012/12/torchlight-2-wins-best-rpg-in-incgamers-2012-readers-vote/
http://www.ign.com/wikis/best-of-2012/Best_PC_Role-Playing_Game
http://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/diablo-iii
http://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/torchlight-ii