Even though the games all have separate teams, there are developers that work in between the teams, and resources that are divided differently. I'm sure once SC2 and Cataclysm are out, any leftover work on D3 will wrap up quickly because they can push all their resources into it. I certainly don't think it's the actual developers that couldn't release a completely polished game by holidays 2010, but the higher-ups didn't provide them the resources or the deadline for it.
You know, I can see your point... but the truth of the matter is that while the upper echelon is allocating resources to this game or that, it's not designed to pull any more or less money out of people's pockets than intended, which is my only point here. They aren't purposely delaying Diablo III to soak up more income through Blizzcon or whatnot.
Yes, while World of Warcraft is their highest profit maker, it would make sense in a business model to allocate more resources to that which nets you the most money. But when people say that the delay is malcious and done for more income... that's where I put my foot down.
[Putting his pants on his head since 1107AD] Oath~
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
------------------------------------------- Those who stand for nothing will fall for anything.
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You know, I can see your point... but the truth of the matter is that while the upper echelon is allocating resources to this game or that, it's not designed to pull any more or less money out of people's pockets than intended, which is my only point here. They aren't purposely delaying Diablo III to soak up more income through Blizzcon or whatnot.
Yes, while World of Warcraft is their highest profit maker, it would make sense in a business model to allocate more resources to that which nets you the most money. But when people say that the delay is malcious and done for more income... that's where I put my foot down.
[Putting his pants on his head since 1107AD] Oath~
To be honest, I believe the delay was most certainly partially for making more income. Right now the SC2 marketing begins, SC2 comes out Q2 2010. BlizzCon 2010 hits, main focus is on Cataclysm. Focus is also on D3 with the 5th class announced, but D3 will still be second to Cataclysm. Cataclysm marketing begins, Cataclysm comes out holidays 2010. Enter 2011, lots of D3 information begins to be released. A few months in, beta testing begins. BlizzCon 2011 hits, main focus is on D3 now that Cataclysm has kept WoW alive and kicking. D3 marketing begins, and D3 is released holidays 2011. There will certainly be an influx of WoW players flooding into D3, so Cataclysm will make WoW a huge moneymaker for a year while they slowly increase D3 hype until it finally releases. Remember, once SC2 and D3 are out, Blizzard is competing with themselves. WoW is an aging game, and while I'm sure there will be at least one expansion after SC2 and D3 come out, Cataclysm looks to be WoW's last real marketing stand before they start putting heavy resources into WoW2.
This is all speculation of course, but from the CEO of Activision Blizzard's point of view, this would be the smart thing to do, financially.
To be honest, I believe the delay was most certainly partially for making more income. Right now the SC2 marketing begins, SC2 comes out Q2 2010. BlizzCon 2010 hits, main focus is on Cataclysm. Focus is also on D3 with the 5th class announced, but D3 will still be second to Cataclysm. Cataclysm marketing begins, Cataclysm comes out holidays 2010. Enter 2011, lots of D3 information begins to be released. A few months in, beta testing begins. BlizzCon 2011 hits, main focus is on D3 now that Cataclysm has kept WoW alive and kicking. D3 marketing begins, and D3 is released holidays 2011. There will certainly be an influx of WoW players flooding into D3, so Cataclysm will make WoW a huge moneymaker for a year while they slowly increase D3 hype until it finally releases. Remember, once SC2 and D3 are out, Blizzard is competing with themselves. WoW is an aging game, and while I'm sure there will be at least one expansion after SC2 and D3 come out, Cataclysm looks to be WoW's last real marketing stand before they start putting heavy resources into WoW2.
This is all speculation of course, but from the CEO of Activision Blizzard's point of view, this would be the smart thing to do, financially.
Thank you. I mean this seriously. Thank you for being one of the few people I can stand openly debating with, using real models and logical thought processes to make your valid arguement. From the bottom of my heart, <3.
Now, your assessment seems interesting, but remember: SC2 and D3's employment numbers (that were publically announced last year) stayed relatively the same from Project Hydra to the announcement of D3. Also, SC2 and D3 were both "second" to Wrath of the Lich King and Cataclysm.
It is in my opinion, however, that the reasoning is simple. SC2 and D3 are both still vaporware; WoW is currently making them money. It wouldn't be wise to take away from what is bringing in constant income only to dump it into something that will be a one-time purchase, as D3 will be (SC2 as well, but in 3 installments {it is of my opinion that the other two will be more like expansions than 'installments' similar to Guild Wars's model for expansions}).
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
------------------------------------------- Those who stand for nothing will fall for anything.
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To be honest, I believe the delay was most certainly partially for making more income. Right now the SC2 marketing begins, SC2 comes out Q2 2010. BlizzCon 2010 hits, main focus is on Cataclysm. Focus is also on D3 with the 5th class announced, but D3 will still be second to Cataclysm. Cataclysm marketing begins, Cataclysm comes out holidays 2010. Enter 2011, lots of D3 information begins to be released. A few months in, beta testing begins. BlizzCon 2011 hits, main focus is on D3 now that Cataclysm has kept WoW alive and kicking. D3 marketing begins, and D3 is released holidays 2011.
To believe that each blizzard game is split into their own blizzcon events and marketing focus is just ignorance toward the fans. Its like throwing out scraps of food to dumb animals hoping to destract them from whats important..and that is PEOPLE WANT THE GAME..and to start D3 in 04/05..announce it in 08,..then finally release in 2011 is an absolute insult in my mind!!!!
To believe that each blizzard game is split into their own blizzcon events and marketing focus is just ignorance toward the fans. Its like throwing out scraps of food to dumb animals hoping to destract them from whats important..and that is PEOPLE WANT THE GAME..and to start D3 in 04/05..announce it in 08,..then finally release in 2011 is an absolute insult in my mind!!!!
How is it ignorance? If you look at the layout of the convention, it's perfectly segmented by franchise. If you look at the time slots, WoW takes up a lot of time because it's more popular the the other two franchises currently. It's logical to assume this current form.
Yes yes, everyone wants the game to come out. Quite frankly though, I'd rather a well put together game than a hastily buggy game.
Diablo 3 did start in concept in 04/05, but the allocation of resources wasn't funded. Why? World of Warcraft's business model required a lot of constant attention (because it's an MMO), and Starcraft 2 was farther along in its production schema than Diablo 3's. Just because you want the game to come out doesn't mean that the company should make decisions based off of you.
It's simple. Diablo 3's fanbase is less than or equal to Starcraft's fanbase, which is smaller than Warcraft's current playerbase. Because of these blinding statistics, it's logical to assume where monetary investment will be attributed to.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
------------------------------------------- Those who stand for nothing will fall for anything.
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"When I left Blizzard in '03, Blizzard North had done quite a bit of pre-production work on Diablo III...some of the concepts we were developing definitely looks like it made it through to the version of the game they displayed"
Mike just said on the live stream that of the 2 games expected for 2010, SC2 and Cataclysm are the ones expected. That being said, we will not be seeing Diablo 3 in 2010 until further notice. 2011 it is then, lets just hope they can make it the best game possible!
I'm willing to wait till 2011, because I'm certain Diablo 3 will be absolutely ridiculous and awesome.
Dont believe it if you want but when they were asked if the Cataclysm was the second major Release they said that was what was planned. And later on they showed no intrest of announcing any info on when D3 was going to be planned. Jay Wilson with "When its ready".
I don't believe it, and they just released the 4th class in the game. Just watch, they will release this sooner than you think.
This gives me plenty of time to get my new laptop, so that's a plus. Right? The one I have now would definitely not be able to run D3 and I would be very worried.
They should release SC2 in Feb of 2010, and around November 2010 Diablo III.
Starcraft 2 and Diablo 3 communities are very different. Blizzard cares allot about $$$$$$$$ as they want to market the fuck out of both games. But to be honest I don't really care about SC2!
I don't really get all these classes in diablo 3, in diablo 1 you knew what you were getting, thats why it was good, warrior was a sword fighter, soccerer magic, and rouge bows and arrows.
These classes are a little all over all the place, I hope in the expansions they return some of the old classes, the necromancer for sure, the witch doctor is not even close of a replacement for that charectar, and maybe make the necro mancer be able to turn into a animal, similiar to the druid, call him a dark mage or something. Would be good if they made a class called Elementalist, which would add that gap that we currently have, and give him the ability go create water, fire, or earth golems like in warcraft 3, or even turn into one for a short period of time! and ofcourse, bring back the warrior or paladin, the barberian is not "that" type of class. I like the old sword shield, and holyness concept.
Anyway, 2011.. man there will be other games out, I hope they dont make it take that long..
They should release SC2 in Feb of 2010, and around November 2010 Diablo III.
This is based on what? Your desires? When have you ever known Blizzard to release something that they're not satisfied with the production of? And, all biases removed, when have they released a truly bad game using this market strategy?
Starcraft 2 and Diablo 3 communities are very different. Blizzard cares allot about $$$$$$$$ as they want to market the fuck out of both games.
Uh huh... you apparently haven't read the multiple threads disproving your farfetched notion of Blizzard "market[ing] the fuck out of both games."
But to be honest I don't really care about SC2!
That makes two of us, but I'm still excited about its release. I enjoy Blizzard games as a whole, and I'm excited to see how Battle.Net 2.0 will integrate itself into the game so we can better understand how it'll affect Diablo 3.
I don't really get all these classes in diablo 3, in diablo 1 you knew what you were getting, thats why it was good, warrior was a sword fighter, soccerer magic(sic), and rouge(sic) bows and arrows.
Why? Because it is different takes on several known archetypes? C'mon man, a little imagination goes a long way. Instead of the Warrior you now have the Barbarian, a variant of the melee fighter. You have the Wizard, a variant of the magic user. You have the Monk, a variant of the Speed powerhouse, and you have the Witch Doctor, a variant of the enemy manipulator. These are well used archetypes, and well honored archetypes.
These classes are a little all over all the place, I hope in the expansions they return some of the old classes, the necromancer for sure, the witch doctor is not even close of a replacement for that charectar(sic)
The Witch Doctor was not designed to replace the Necromancer. It uses a different archetype completely. Blizzard has already stated that the Necromancer will not be a playable class in Diablo 3 (though it did not state anything about the expansion pack). We assume the reason is two-fold. One, because of storyline purposes (hopefully dealing with Ureh and Zayl), and two for a new variety of characters.
and maybe make the necro mancer be able to turn into a animal, similiar to the druid, call him a dark mage or something.
lolwut?
Would be good if they made a class called Elementalist, which would add that gap that we currently have, and give him the ability go create water, fire, or earth golems like in warcraft 3, or even turn into one for a short period of time! and ofcourse, bring back the warrior or paladin, the barberian is not "that" type of class. I like the old sword shield, and holyness concept.
They've filled those archetypes already. There is no need for the overused Paladin, or the generic Warrior. If you want to play those, go back and play Diablo I and II. This is a new game with new classes. These classes, although similar to their predecessors, are designed because of the need to not play Diablo II with Diablo III graphics. Even the Barbarian, while carrying the same look, plays different than it did in Diablo II. They're not making a bland game, they're making an epic game with epic classes. That's what we've seen thus far.
Anyway, 2011.. man there will be other games out, I hope they dont make it take that long..
I hope they take as long as necessary to produce a valuable and worthwhile game. And, from the looks of it, they're doing just that.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
------------------------------------------- Those who stand for nothing will fall for anything.
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One thing I found interesting was, during the diablo section of blizzcon when he was mentioning the runes. He said they work on the runes last because they're supported by all the other classes and their skills. He also mentioned that they have given themselves a mass amount of time to work on them and polish them.
I'm probably reading too much into it, but the way he describes the amount of time given to work on runes, and them usually kept towards the end, leads me to believe the game is further along than we think. Not saying its complete, and still could be set for 2011, but if they can polish it and eliminate the kinks I wouldn't be surprised to see a 2010 date
Though I'd love to see the game come out next year, I really really really do.... I want them to flesh out the game as much as they can. I don't want a repeat of Hellgate: London all over again.
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WoW sucks!!! throw it away, and work on DIABLO 3 BLIZZARD. I mean honestly, does any 1 need another piece of recycled generic garbage that comes with WoW? I SAY NO!!! at least give us the damn patch already!!!! >____________<
WoW sucks!!! throw it away, and work on DIABLO 3 BLIZZARD. I mean honestly, does any 1 need another piece of recycled generic garbage that comes with WoW? I SAY NO!!! at least give us the damn patch already!!!! >____________<
WoW team and Diablo team have nothing to do with each other
and do you really want what they are doing in cataclysm to come to diablo?
haha thats funny. well, i dont hate on anyone personally, but i think blizz should take a break from WoW and focus on D3. Of course this is just my opinion, but i think WoW has been slowly dying since WotLK came out. BC was pretty cool, but WotLK made the game bad. and i got the same opinion with the new expansion from wut i see so far. IM NOT SAYING ITS TRUE! so dont go crazy on me.
anyway, the whole thing before about SC2 being pushed back into early 2010 made me think that they just leaked a possible release date for D3. im only saying this bcuz blizz said that the delay of SC2 had no effect on the production of D3. so, if starcraft2 was pushed back TO early 2010, its original release date was probably around christmas. that being said, if D3 was supposed to come out soon after SC2, then my guess is that it will be out b4 the end of this year. once again, im not saying im right; im just speakin my mind.
please correct me if im wrong with release dates and such, i just want my facts straight. =D thanks
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Im editing real quick bcuz this message was meant for edi-lupus. my bad
You know, I can see your point... but the truth of the matter is that while the upper echelon is allocating resources to this game or that, it's not designed to pull any more or less money out of people's pockets than intended, which is my only point here. They aren't purposely delaying Diablo III to soak up more income through Blizzcon or whatnot.
Yes, while World of Warcraft is their highest profit maker, it would make sense in a business model to allocate more resources to that which nets you the most money. But when people say that the delay is malcious and done for more income... that's where I put my foot down.
[Putting his pants on his head since 1107AD] Oath~
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Those who stand for nothing will fall for anything.
-------------------------------------------
To be honest, I believe the delay was most certainly partially for making more income. Right now the SC2 marketing begins, SC2 comes out Q2 2010. BlizzCon 2010 hits, main focus is on Cataclysm. Focus is also on D3 with the 5th class announced, but D3 will still be second to Cataclysm. Cataclysm marketing begins, Cataclysm comes out holidays 2010. Enter 2011, lots of D3 information begins to be released. A few months in, beta testing begins. BlizzCon 2011 hits, main focus is on D3 now that Cataclysm has kept WoW alive and kicking. D3 marketing begins, and D3 is released holidays 2011. There will certainly be an influx of WoW players flooding into D3, so Cataclysm will make WoW a huge moneymaker for a year while they slowly increase D3 hype until it finally releases. Remember, once SC2 and D3 are out, Blizzard is competing with themselves. WoW is an aging game, and while I'm sure there will be at least one expansion after SC2 and D3 come out, Cataclysm looks to be WoW's last real marketing stand before they start putting heavy resources into WoW2.
This is all speculation of course, but from the CEO of Activision Blizzard's point of view, this would be the smart thing to do, financially.
Thank you. I mean this seriously. Thank you for being one of the few people I can stand openly debating with, using real models and logical thought processes to make your valid arguement. From the bottom of my heart, <3.
Now, your assessment seems interesting, but remember: SC2 and D3's employment numbers (that were publically announced last year) stayed relatively the same from Project Hydra to the announcement of D3. Also, SC2 and D3 were both "second" to Wrath of the Lich King and Cataclysm.
It is in my opinion, however, that the reasoning is simple. SC2 and D3 are both still vaporware; WoW is currently making them money. It wouldn't be wise to take away from what is bringing in constant income only to dump it into something that will be a one-time purchase, as D3 will be (SC2 as well, but in 3 installments {it is of my opinion that the other two will be more like expansions than 'installments' similar to Guild Wars's model for expansions}).
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Those who stand for nothing will fall for anything.
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How is it ignorance? If you look at the layout of the convention, it's perfectly segmented by franchise. If you look at the time slots, WoW takes up a lot of time because it's more popular the the other two franchises currently. It's logical to assume this current form.
Yes yes, everyone wants the game to come out. Quite frankly though, I'd rather a well put together game than a hastily buggy game.
Diablo 3 did start in concept in 04/05, but the allocation of resources wasn't funded. Why? World of Warcraft's business model required a lot of constant attention (because it's an MMO), and Starcraft 2 was farther along in its production schema than Diablo 3's. Just because you want the game to come out doesn't mean that the company should make decisions based off of you.
It's simple. Diablo 3's fanbase is less than or equal to Starcraft's fanbase, which is smaller than Warcraft's current playerbase. Because of these blinding statistics, it's logical to assume where monetary investment will be attributed to.
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Those who stand for nothing will fall for anything.
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That directly contradicts this:
"When I left Blizzard in '03, Blizzard North had done quite a bit of pre-production work on Diablo III...some of the concepts we were developing definitely looks like it made it through to the version of the game they displayed"
http://www.mikehuang.com/blog/2008/06/diablo-iii-announced.html
I'm willing to wait till 2011, because I'm certain Diablo 3 will be absolutely ridiculous and awesome.
I don't believe it, and they just released the 4th class in the game. Just watch, they will release this sooner than you think.
They should release SC2 in Feb of 2010, and around November 2010 Diablo III.
Starcraft 2 and Diablo 3 communities are very different. Blizzard cares allot about $$$$$$$$ as they want to market the fuck out of both games. But to be honest I don't really care about SC2!
I don't really get all these classes in diablo 3, in diablo 1 you knew what you were getting, thats why it was good, warrior was a sword fighter, soccerer magic, and rouge bows and arrows.
These classes are a little all over all the place, I hope in the expansions they return some of the old classes, the necromancer for sure, the witch doctor is not even close of a replacement for that charectar, and maybe make the necro mancer be able to turn into a animal, similiar to the druid, call him a dark mage or something. Would be good if they made a class called Elementalist, which would add that gap that we currently have, and give him the ability go create water, fire, or earth golems like in warcraft 3, or even turn into one for a short period of time! and ofcourse, bring back the warrior or paladin, the barberian is not "that" type of class. I like the old sword shield, and holyness concept.
Anyway, 2011.. man there will be other games out, I hope they dont make it take that long..
This is based on what? Your desires? When have you ever known Blizzard to release something that they're not satisfied with the production of? And, all biases removed, when have they released a truly bad game using this market strategy?
Uh huh... you apparently haven't read the multiple threads disproving your farfetched notion of Blizzard "market[ing] the fuck out of both games."
That makes two of us, but I'm still excited about its release. I enjoy Blizzard games as a whole, and I'm excited to see how Battle.Net 2.0 will integrate itself into the game so we can better understand how it'll affect Diablo 3.
Why? Because it is different takes on several known archetypes? C'mon man, a little imagination goes a long way. Instead of the Warrior you now have the Barbarian, a variant of the melee fighter. You have the Wizard, a variant of the magic user. You have the Monk, a variant of the Speed powerhouse, and you have the Witch Doctor, a variant of the enemy manipulator. These are well used archetypes, and well honored archetypes.
The Witch Doctor was not designed to replace the Necromancer. It uses a different archetype completely. Blizzard has already stated that the Necromancer will not be a playable class in Diablo 3 (though it did not state anything about the expansion pack). We assume the reason is two-fold. One, because of storyline purposes (hopefully dealing with Ureh and Zayl), and two for a new variety of characters.
lolwut?
They've filled those archetypes already. There is no need for the overused Paladin, or the generic Warrior. If you want to play those, go back and play Diablo I and II. This is a new game with new classes. These classes, although similar to their predecessors, are designed because of the need to not play Diablo II with Diablo III graphics. Even the Barbarian, while carrying the same look, plays different than it did in Diablo II. They're not making a bland game, they're making an epic game with epic classes. That's what we've seen thus far.
I hope they take as long as necessary to produce a valuable and worthwhile game. And, from the looks of it, they're doing just that.
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Those who stand for nothing will fall for anything.
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I'm probably reading too much into it, but the way he describes the amount of time given to work on runes, and them usually kept towards the end, leads me to believe the game is further along than we think. Not saying its complete, and still could be set for 2011, but if they can polish it and eliminate the kinks I wouldn't be surprised to see a 2010 date
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Those who stand for nothing will fall for anything.
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WoW team and Diablo team have nothing to do with each other
and do you really want what they are doing in cataclysm to come to diablo?
anyway, the whole thing before about SC2 being pushed back into early 2010 made me think that they just leaked a possible release date for D3. im only saying this bcuz blizz said that the delay of SC2 had no effect on the production of D3. so, if starcraft2 was pushed back TO early 2010, its original release date was probably around christmas. that being said, if D3 was supposed to come out soon after SC2, then my guess is that it will be out b4 the end of this year. once again, im not saying im right; im just speakin my mind.
please correct me if im wrong with release dates and such, i just want my facts straight. =D thanks
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Im editing real quick bcuz this message was meant for edi-lupus. my bad
ROFL
sc2 and obviously cata