Alright so let's do some logical thinking. in 2004, when they announced World of Warcraft they went through approximately 9 months of public beta testing before they released the game. (I'll state the relevance to this later on in the post.)
Diablo 1 was released December of 1996. I'd say maybe in late 1997-1998, They started the development of Diablo II. If you read any of the interviews with the blizzard guy who's operating Hell's Gate:London (I don't have any links) but he stated that when they created Diablo 2, they wanted to do so much more with it, the only problem was the lack of technology. Diablo 2 was a pretty rushed project in my opinion, If they had waited another 2 years, it wouldn't have been as outdated as it is now. (Because the graphics would be significantly better, the game would be a lot bigger with more quests, items, etc etc.) This is all a part of technology and making advances.
So Diablo II which was released on June 29th, 2000. Took off, did really well, and they wanted to keep people interested? So they make an expansion called Diablo 2 LOD which was released on June 29th, 2001. (same day a year apart). So Blizzard basically finished an expansion 6 months after the release of their game, and already planned on distributing it. It takes around 3-4 Months to set forth to distribute a finished product as well. This is pretty odd if you ask me.
Immediately after the release of Diablo2 LOD, they must have started working on World of Warcraft. I was doing some research and it looks like it "may" have taken them around 2 years to develop the game itself. Which would mean that they started working it 2001 or 2002.
Wow was released late 04, and their expansion was released in early 2007. Which is pretty normal, considering it's a huge game and it takes time to edit the game. When they announced a Second WOW expansion 6 months after the release of the first.. That was mind boggeling. That means they had already started plans for developing the second expansion before the first one even came out. Knowing this, I wouldn't be surprised if it was released january of next year.
Here's where I think Diablo fans have to worry. Stracraft 2 vs Diablo 3.
Based on my observations. Diablo 3 is near finished at this point. They have been making hints towards development since 2004. I think what they did was create world of warcraft first, and kind of use a couple ideas they had from there, and try to wait it out for technology to throw in new ideas for it.
The mysterious game they have in the works, has to be D3. They wouldn't open up a new franchise without sealing the deal with SC2 and D3. On a business perspective, it just wouldn't make sense otherwise. (although they tend to "not make sense" a lot.)
Even if they were to announce D3 tomorrow, It still wouldnt hit the shelves till mid-end of next year anyway. Based on my observations and research, I'm going to make an educated guess and state what's going to happen.
Released first: Wow expansion
-----Reason: It's a guaranteed cash cow. I bet you shortly after the release of this expansion, they work on another one as well. (cap the level to 90) Add one more character. And then by that time, they will focus on other projects.
Second Release: Starcraft 2
-----Reason: Thanks to us idiots, creating forums, creating petitions. They don't have to market Diablo 3. Wow they're good. They've created so much suspense and hype over the past 3 years, that if they announced it tomorrow with a release date of 2010, we'd go and reserve our copy right away, knowing we wouldnt get it for 2 and a half years. With that said, they would market SC2, because if they did this vice versa, no one would pay attention to SC2, they'd play D3. So this would make the most sense from a business viewpoint.
Third Release: Diablo 3
-----Reason: They've created enough hype for this to happen. Sadly we are the cause of it. Think about it. Every damn interview they have at Blizzard, they are asked the same question. "What's the news on D3". They weren't asked "what's the news on Sc2 or what's the news on a new expansion for wow" It was always D3. They already know people will come out of the woodworks for this game, so they will close with this game, filling the hole of any debts that Sc2 might cause.
Like I said, it's still possible that D3 gets released before Sc2, just very unlikely and not wise. If I were you I wouldn't expect a release from D3, till at least 2009-2010. Although I'm only speculating based on the length it takes to develop a game, market a game, test a game, distribute a game, and profit off a game; I think it's the most accurate and honest speculation yet. One thing is for certaint, it is not coming out before 2008
Also.
With all those rumours saying D3 was done 3 years ago, but was held back because it failed to meet the requirements.
Blizzard doesn't want to make the same mistake.
Instead of announcing it when they are half way or 3/4 done. They want to make sure they don't make the same mistake as SC: Ghost or the Diablo 3 from a few years back.
That's why SC2 is so far along when it was announced.
What's the news on D3". They weren't asked "what's the news on Sc2 or what's the news on a new expansion for wow"
Yeah right! all of the interviews and shit have been about sc2 and WoW.. we just don't read them because it has nothing to do with diablo!!! at blizzcon.. they only got what, 1 question about diablo? "just liek diablo right?" and that isnt even a question!
Yeah right! all of the interviews and shit have been about sc2 and WoW.. we just don't read them because it has nothing to do with diablo!!! at blizzcon.. they only got what, 1 question about diablo? "just liek diablo right?" and that isnt even a question!
What I meant was, as much as Blizzard may have been all about Sc2, and the Wow Expansion, most of the interviewers always took the attention away from Blizzard's current projects and asked about D3, at some point in the interview (showing more interest in an answer for D3, then an answer for SC2 or the Wow expansion). It's just a big mystery at this point, and we are all waiting for answers. The reason I created the post in the first place is to get all of your heads on the same level. All the rumors going around right now are a bit ridiculous and unrealistic. People make these things up, raise your hopes of it coming out or being announced, and then you get mad when it never does. I want to address the newest rumor as well. They are saying that D3 may be announced by the 26th. If it does? so what. It's not a positive until it's announced within a reasonable release date. Whether they announce it now, or 6 months from now, I can assure you the release date will still be the same (End of 2008 the earliest, mid 2009 the most accurate). If your response to that statement is "Well at least we will know it is coming out soon, if they announce it". To clarify a bit, it WILL come out. Diablo 2 was a top seller of it's time, and still has a lot of fans. It would be throwing away money not to put it out. The reality of it is it's just not the right time. And I'm going to assume Diablo 3 is going to be a MMORPG or pretty damn close to it. I wouldn't expect to see the same 5 Repetitive Acts with a change in difficulty. I would expect to see something spectacular, in fact turning the game from a cocaine addiction (Diablo 2 LOD) to a heroine addiction (Diablo 3) *nice anaology eh? I guess at this point the only thing a diablo fan can hope for is that it beats Starcraft to the punch, if not I suggest throwing in the towel and playing Sc2 for a year to tide yourself over heh.
Very nice observation. We need more quality posts like this
What was the exact source of this rumours? I don't think it's believable at all.
Source of any rumor isn't creditable and a waste of time to look up, that's why it's considered a "rumor". However, that rumor probably isn't too far off. I would say it's safe to say they began production for D3 in 2004 or 2005, However, I am sure that it was not 100% dedicated being that WOW blew up like it did. If you were to assume like I am assuming that Diablo 3 is going to be a pretty big world, with lots of side quests and things of that nature. It would almost make sense that it's been in production for quite some time and nearly done. Especially if your hoping for an announcement anytime soon. It's hard to tell because they keep everything such a mystery. And considering Blizzard has a firm employee policy legally binding you from opening your mouth, anything that is leaked will either be a rumor, or a major announcement from Blizzard themselves. Like he said, SC:Ghost was halted and postponed. Could be due to not enough technology to do what they want to do with it, could be not enough response from the public, heck it could be thousands of things. But when your that close to a release date and then you back out? That looks bad as a business. I'd expect all of Blizzard's games down the line to be announced only 3-6 months prior to a release from now on.
I don't think so. Then it would be named World of Diablo or something like that. Diablo 3 will be in the same style as Diablo 2. Just as Warcraft 4 will be no MMORPG like WoW.
Do you really think they would spend all this time, creating a suspense about the game if it wasn't going to be truly brilliant? I beg to differ. It may not be as massive as Wow. But I assure you, they will make this game much much larger. I bet they also introduce a character system like wow, where there's X amount of classes, Gender, Sub-Class/Sub-Class. Keep in mind how they said they wanted to do so much more to Diablo 2 but couldn't due to lack of "tools" or "technology". It's now 2007. They are going all out, guaranteed.
alright, so i'll talk this out in your perspective. Let's say they don't make it an MMORPG. Let's say they keep the same style, but make it 16 or 32 players in each game with a much bigger map, just for arguments sake. Now let's say the game is as great as we expect it, and they don't charge. What's to stop everyone from switching from Wow to D3, if it's "better". Surely wow isn't really attracting just the warcraft fan population because warcraft is supposed to be a strategy type game. Wow is more of an expanded "diablo style" game (As far as the battle schematics diablo and wow aren't much different. Wow just has adjustable camera angles, and zoom capabilities.) And of course Wow is an MMORPG as where Diablo is much smaller. No matter what I don't see D3 being free, and it still seems to me like it's going to be an MMORPG. I mean they did buy 1,500 brand new servers recently :/
hmmm very interesting.... it almost seems like d2dealz works at blizzard or something hmmm? but wat do i know... anyways i hope d3 come out. if it is a mmorpg and costs money im not gonna buy because my mom and dad won't let me. so i hopw its not. well im keepin my hopes uup till tommorow or w.e. adios
alright, so i'll talk this out in your perspective. Let's say they don't make it an MMORPG. Let's say they keep the same style, but make it 16 or 32 players in each game with a much bigger map, just for arguments sake. Now let's say the game is as great as we expect it, and they don't charge. What's to stop everyone from switching from Wow to D3, if it's "better". Surely wow isn't really attracting just the warcraft fan population because warcraft is supposed to be a strategy type game. Wow is more of an expanded "diablo style" game (As far as the battle schematics diablo and wow aren't much different. Wow just has adjustable camera angles, and zoom capabilities.) And of course Wow is an MMORPG as where Diablo is much smaller. No matter what I don't see D3 being free, and it still seems to me like it's going to be an MMORPG. I mean they did buy 1,500 brand new servers recently :/
It's going to be MMORPG, no matter what, Blizzard wants money and Diablo will be their next wallet.
I think they will add a monthly fee to starcaft 2 aswell ... joking.. wait a second..
if its going to be a mmorpg...i think thats fine...but i dont think blizzard is that greedy with money...wow already racks in the cash enough. they really dont need to make d3 pay to play. diablo 3 is going to sell millions of copies just from pre-orders
i think at this point Mike Morahime and Paul Sams could take a dump in a box and label it D3 and we would all buy it when they decide to let us know it exists
if its going to be a mmorpg...i think thats fine...but i dont think blizzard is that greedy with money...wow already racks in the cash enough. they really dont need to make d3 pay to play. diablo 3 is going to sell millions of copies just from pre-orders
If it turns out to be an MMORPG i'd bet an arm and a leg that they charge. And personally, I couldn't complain. Look at Diablo 2 for instance. I think they sold 14 million total copies, ~2 million the first week. Including price reductions, and the battle chest we will say the made roughly 250 million.(don't quote me on these numbers). I'd say that's quite a nice amount. But your not calculating the cost to make the game, the cost to distribute the game. the cost of employees, the cost to maintain the servers etc etc. I know they still made a profit. But if it's going to be an MMORPG where they need around 900 servers, they will be maintaining it 24/7, there will be a lot more costs than if it were a smaller scaled game. And your not calculating the losses they will lose from players switching to the new "free" MMORPG. It would be a bigger loss to do a free MMORPG than it would to do a free classic style. I could be wrong, but I'd bet they will charge.
i think at this point Mike Morahime and Paul Sams could take a dump in a box and label it D3 and we would all buy it when they decide to let us know it exists
Diablo 1 was released December of 1996. I'd say maybe in late 1997-1998, They started the development of Diablo II. If you read any of the interviews with the blizzard guy who's operating Hell's Gate:London (I don't have any links) but he stated that when they created Diablo 2, they wanted to do so much more with it, the only problem was the lack of technology. Diablo 2 was a pretty rushed project in my opinion, If they had waited another 2 years, it wouldn't have been as outdated as it is now. (Because the graphics would be significantly better, the game would be a lot bigger with more quests, items, etc etc.) This is all a part of technology and making advances.
So Diablo II which was released on June 29th, 2000. Took off, did really well, and they wanted to keep people interested? So they make an expansion called Diablo 2 LOD which was released on June 29th, 2001. (same day a year apart). So Blizzard basically finished an expansion 6 months after the release of their game, and already planned on distributing it. It takes around 3-4 Months to set forth to distribute a finished product as well. This is pretty odd if you ask me.
Immediately after the release of Diablo2 LOD, they must have started working on World of Warcraft. I was doing some research and it looks like it "may" have taken them around 2 years to develop the game itself. Which would mean that they started working it 2001 or 2002.
Wow was released late 04, and their expansion was released in early 2007. Which is pretty normal, considering it's a huge game and it takes time to edit the game. When they announced a Second WOW expansion 6 months after the release of the first.. That was mind boggeling. That means they had already started plans for developing the second expansion before the first one even came out. Knowing this, I wouldn't be surprised if it was released january of next year.
Here's where I think Diablo fans have to worry. Stracraft 2 vs Diablo 3.
Based on my observations. Diablo 3 is near finished at this point. They have been making hints towards development since 2004. I think what they did was create world of warcraft first, and kind of use a couple ideas they had from there, and try to wait it out for technology to throw in new ideas for it.
The mysterious game they have in the works, has to be D3. They wouldn't open up a new franchise without sealing the deal with SC2 and D3. On a business perspective, it just wouldn't make sense otherwise. (although they tend to "not make sense" a lot.)
Even if they were to announce D3 tomorrow, It still wouldnt hit the shelves till mid-end of next year anyway. Based on my observations and research, I'm going to make an educated guess and state what's going to happen.
Released first: Wow expansion
-----Reason: It's a guaranteed cash cow. I bet you shortly after the release of this expansion, they work on another one as well. (cap the level to 90) Add one more character. And then by that time, they will focus on other projects.
Second Release: Starcraft 2
-----Reason: Thanks to us idiots, creating forums, creating petitions. They don't have to market Diablo 3. Wow they're good. They've created so much suspense and hype over the past 3 years, that if they announced it tomorrow with a release date of 2010, we'd go and reserve our copy right away, knowing we wouldnt get it for 2 and a half years. With that said, they would market SC2, because if they did this vice versa, no one would pay attention to SC2, they'd play D3. So this would make the most sense from a business viewpoint.
Third Release: Diablo 3
-----Reason: They've created enough hype for this to happen. Sadly we are the cause of it. Think about it. Every damn interview they have at Blizzard, they are asked the same question. "What's the news on D3". They weren't asked "what's the news on Sc2 or what's the news on a new expansion for wow" It was always D3. They already know people will come out of the woodworks for this game, so they will close with this game, filling the hole of any debts that Sc2 might cause.
Like I said, it's still possible that D3 gets released before Sc2, just very unlikely and not wise. If I were you I wouldn't expect a release from D3, till at least 2009-2010. Although I'm only speculating based on the length it takes to develop a game, market a game, test a game, distribute a game, and profit off a game; I think it's the most accurate and honest speculation yet. One thing is for certaint, it is not coming out before 2008
With all those rumours saying D3 was done 3 years ago, but was held back because it failed to meet the requirements.
Blizzard doesn't want to make the same mistake.
Instead of announcing it when they are half way or 3/4 done. They want to make sure they don't make the same mistake as SC: Ghost or the Diablo 3 from a few years back.
That's why SC2 is so far along when it was announced.
*jz_owns_all
Willing to help xfers/mods.
Yeah right! all of the interviews and shit have been about sc2 and WoW.. we just don't read them because it has nothing to do with diablo!!! at blizzcon.. they only got what, 1 question about diablo? "just liek diablo right?" and that isnt even a question!
What I meant was, as much as Blizzard may have been all about Sc2, and the Wow Expansion, most of the interviewers always took the attention away from Blizzard's current projects and asked about D3, at some point in the interview (showing more interest in an answer for D3, then an answer for SC2 or the Wow expansion). It's just a big mystery at this point, and we are all waiting for answers. The reason I created the post in the first place is to get all of your heads on the same level. All the rumors going around right now are a bit ridiculous and unrealistic. People make these things up, raise your hopes of it coming out or being announced, and then you get mad when it never does. I want to address the newest rumor as well. They are saying that D3 may be announced by the 26th. If it does? so what. It's not a positive until it's announced within a reasonable release date. Whether they announce it now, or 6 months from now, I can assure you the release date will still be the same (End of 2008 the earliest, mid 2009 the most accurate). If your response to that statement is "Well at least we will know it is coming out soon, if they announce it". To clarify a bit, it WILL come out. Diablo 2 was a top seller of it's time, and still has a lot of fans. It would be throwing away money not to put it out. The reality of it is it's just not the right time. And I'm going to assume Diablo 3 is going to be a MMORPG or pretty damn close to it. I wouldn't expect to see the same 5 Repetitive Acts with a change in difficulty. I would expect to see something spectacular, in fact turning the game from a cocaine addiction (Diablo 2 LOD) to a heroine addiction (Diablo 3) *nice anaology eh? I guess at this point the only thing a diablo fan can hope for is that it beats Starcraft to the punch, if not I suggest throwing in the towel and playing Sc2 for a year to tide yourself over heh.
Source of any rumor isn't creditable and a waste of time to look up, that's why it's considered a "rumor". However, that rumor probably isn't too far off. I would say it's safe to say they began production for D3 in 2004 or 2005, However, I am sure that it was not 100% dedicated being that WOW blew up like it did. If you were to assume like I am assuming that Diablo 3 is going to be a pretty big world, with lots of side quests and things of that nature. It would almost make sense that it's been in production for quite some time and nearly done. Especially if your hoping for an announcement anytime soon. It's hard to tell because they keep everything such a mystery. And considering Blizzard has a firm employee policy legally binding you from opening your mouth, anything that is leaked will either be a rumor, or a major announcement from Blizzard themselves. Like he said, SC:Ghost was halted and postponed. Could be due to not enough technology to do what they want to do with it, could be not enough response from the public, heck it could be thousands of things. But when your that close to a release date and then you back out? That looks bad as a business. I'd expect all of Blizzard's games down the line to be announced only 3-6 months prior to a release from now on.
Do you really think they would spend all this time, creating a suspense about the game if it wasn't going to be truly brilliant? I beg to differ. It may not be as massive as Wow. But I assure you, they will make this game much much larger. I bet they also introduce a character system like wow, where there's X amount of classes, Gender, Sub-Class/Sub-Class. Keep in mind how they said they wanted to do so much more to Diablo 2 but couldn't due to lack of "tools" or "technology". It's now 2007. They are going all out, guaranteed.
Not exactly sure what your trying to say.
It's going to be MMORPG, no matter what, Blizzard wants money and Diablo will be their next wallet.
I think they will add a monthly fee to starcaft 2 aswell ... joking.. wait a second..
I could link you to thousands of pics if you want to see some nice creations people have made. As far as real ones? There non-existant heh.
If it turns out to be an MMORPG i'd bet an arm and a leg that they charge. And personally, I couldn't complain. Look at Diablo 2 for instance. I think they sold 14 million total copies, ~2 million the first week. Including price reductions, and the battle chest we will say the made roughly 250 million.(don't quote me on these numbers). I'd say that's quite a nice amount. But your not calculating the cost to make the game, the cost to distribute the game. the cost of employees, the cost to maintain the servers etc etc. I know they still made a profit. But if it's going to be an MMORPG where they need around 900 servers, they will be maintaining it 24/7, there will be a lot more costs than if it were a smaller scaled game. And your not calculating the losses they will lose from players switching to the new "free" MMORPG. It would be a bigger loss to do a free MMORPG than it would to do a free classic style. I could be wrong, but I'd bet they will charge.
haha, yeah i'll agree with that statement.
If I recall correctly the servers were top-of the line. Operand or something like that.