Yesterday, Zarhym confirmed there was a high level meeting for Diablo 3. Though there are lots of rumors going around on what this meeting may have been about, nothing has been confirmed! However, today Zarhym posted on twitter saying at this time they still do not have a release date set.
Official Blizzard Quote:
This meeting's high-level shit, yo. Gettin' all professional up in this bitch.
It better be D3 related!!!
It is!(source)
say something to community to stop this "no release date" madness. You are CMs! Commuticate with us!
We don't have anything to communicate that'll make you happy. No set release date yet. Them's the facts.(source)
As I recall, you announced Starcraft 2 8 weeks before you actually released the game.
There'll be lead time. Not sure how much. I've been working on the promo material (a la Your Fortune Awaits / Join the Dominion). (source)
We use target dates, but obviously have missed some. We won't announce a date until we're sure it's g2g. (source)
Beta Key Contest - Round 3
BlizzardCS has begun the third round of their Twitter beta key give away. If you would like a chance to enter and win a Diablo III beta key, you can find all of the conest info here.
Official Blizzard Quote:
All messaging for the 3rd round winners of the #DiabloBeta Sweepstakes has been sent out at this time. Congratulations to the winners!
PC/Mac Still Top Priority
While it has been mentioned over and over again, Bashiok reconfirmed that the "announcement" of the console version of Diablo III will not effect the work and release of the PC/Mac version. A few sites such as kotaku have reached out to blizzard about this as well.
Official Blizzard Quote:
"Yup" wasn't meant to be an announcement. We're still exploring a console version, but more importantly working on the PC/Mac version.
Official Blizzard Quote:
I reached out to Blizzard for clarification, and received the following from a company representative:
"Bashiok's response on Twitter was intended as a confirmation that we're actively exploring the possibility of developing a console version of Diablo III, as we've mentioned in the past. This is not a confirmation that Diablo III is coming to any console platform. Our focus right now is on finishing the PC/Mac version of Diablo III and making sure it's a worthwhile successor to the Diablo series."
Wizard - Explosive Blast Runed
With this video, we would like to show you a first look at the runed versions of the Wizard's Explosive Blast. As always, please keep in mind some effects or graphics may be missing or not be working correctly!
This.
Missed SOME!, seriously how close is this game to being offically finished, as if Korea has nothing to do with the delay.
"We told you at the end of last year we wouldn't be shipping the game until 2012. That didn't mean we'd have the final details ready to announce by January of this year."
1) Another Blizzard employee conveniently omitting the adjective "early" from the "early 2012" release timetable. Are we all supposed to believe that this was an accident?
2) If the game is releasing "early 2012" and Blizzard games typically allows 8 weeks from the release date announcement to the release date, then shouldn't Blizzard have the final details ready to announce by January (or at least by the end of January)?
The entirety of Zarhym's posts seems to sugest that we shouldn't take almost anything Blizzard says seriously unless they are officially announcing something. The bottom line is when your community doesn't get the communication from Blizzard that it finds reasonable to expect, it starts trying to read between the lines. If they don't like it, communicate more often as to where things are and have that communication be consistent, specific, and honest. Every time I read a Blizzard employee say "2012" instead of "early 2012" when they KNOW exactly how much their comments are being dissected, it makes me want to pull my hair out. Zarhym whines on and on about the way people seem to be hanging on every word and then loses the "early" from "early 2012". You've just lost your credibility, Zarhym.
All I know is next week is mid-January which puts the release date probably early to mid March if it were to be announced then with the letter from Jay Wilson and it sure seems like it won't be announce in tandem with it. Sooner or later, all of this talk about making sure the game is ready starts to read more like they can't make up their minds on important decisions. You said "early 2012". Well, Blizzard - it's early 2012. Let's see if Jay's got the sack to either be more specific with the time frame for release than "early 2012" or announce a delay. It certainly seems like it is time for one or the other.
Tease a little = announce D3
Vanish for some time
Show some skin = speak of beta
Make a kiss = release beta
Promises of a great night = aim for a 2011 release
Cancel night = delay to 2012
Still teases with cute message text = Intro cinematic, web pages for game features, lot of communication
Disappear after Christmas
Wonder why the guy is kinda needy = Bashiok and Zahrym asking everyone to forget about the release date and reading between the lines
P.S: Obviously my post is a joke.
Amen, brother.
Her Korean parents won't let her date you.
Haha good one