Official Blizzard Quote:
That's weird, they originally had the exact quote in their Inferno article and then pulled it out and only quoted "When it's ready." in that new mini-blip thing. I think his original quote on Kotaku was "by the end of September" but I didn't copy it down.
Anyway, to set expectations straight, beta in August is unlikely. But it shouldn't be too long after.
So, as of now, the best we can hope for is before September 30.
If I recall correctly, they said the Beta's primary purpose will be to test their hardware and their client-server infrastructure. They're going to see how well the game will work under heavy pressure. I also remember them saying that they need to tweak the game's interactions with BNet2. These two things will probably only undergo quick changes, perhaps leading to daily updates of the beta client. Won't hold them back after beta ends.
Also, since the company-wide testing has been going for a while (from what we've heard) and knowing what little content will be in the Beta, I think it's safe to assume that they don't need us in the Beta to help with itemization, skill testing or balance, like most Beta phases are used for. Nah, the team seems confident with their number crunching.
My guess? Unless they run into some major problems like "Oops, our graphical engine absolutelty crashes half the GPUs out there", Beta should be short and sweet and not require much work once it's done. I could see a last-minute polishing phase happening, but nothing too long. Gameplay should already be spot-on for the Beta. If all goes well, release has no reason to be that late after it ends. If all goes well, that is. Fingers crossed!
On a different note, I love blizzard but their when it's done attitude will be gone soon especially in this age where a lot of developers are catching up with high quality games and they know it. They will be releasing games much sooner now but this doesn't mean they will be rushing their games out. It will only be a much lesser development cycle. But thats just me.
Beta September 1st, Beta September 1st, Beta September 1st,
Beta September 1st, Beta September 1st, Beta September 1st, Beta September 1st...
I'm at the stage where I'm annoyed, just RELEASE, the F'IN, GAME. I bet people would rather just have the game than wait forever for perfection. There was a time when I was like "let them take their time", that was like 5 years ago lol. When it doesn't look that great anyway why would I wait for perfection? I just want something to play, D3 won't be my next game to devote much time to anyway, so I might as well get a time-killer now.
On top of that they've made some changes that, personally I don't mind too much, but many seem to. Fill me in on the plan here, killing your game BEFORE it releases ? If you have any clue you'll know there will be better games in the near future, that do something different, that are on a different scale, and that we haven't waited for since the dawn of time. Guild Wars 2 is an example. Can't wait for that. Blade and Soul doesn't look bad, neither does The Secret World. Project Titan although far away might be good. If anything this game will be to pass my time casually, and at that for maybe some months tops. It's sad, as it is Diablo. I was so EXCITE, now I so DISAPOINT.
indeed
It better be soon.
Like, September 6th soon.
http://diablo.incgamers.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/6027/title/the-ghoul-to-baal-scal/cat/585
"Diablo #D3 is up for a People's Choice Award at @IGNUK If we win we'll release the beta, or will we!? Only one way to be sure. http://ow.ly/67OC4"
Direct link - http://uk-microsites.ign.com/ign-pca/
To troll or not to troll, that is the question.
Bash replied:
Q u o t e:
d3 forums coming when beta is released apparently.
Sooner. Like. Real soon.
Good news is, it just means the game will be that much better. Their best full-game release time would be right before Christmas, and I know they want a short beta time. If they did SC2 beta in April-June with a release in July, I think doing a d3 beta release in sept/oct. with a full-game release in Dec. is totally doable.