Ironically, Blizzard's free service would succeed where every other online gaming service had failed. As of 1999, Battle.net was "the only profitable online gaming service in existence," according to Greg Costikyan in an article for Salon.com. "How? Advertising. 30+ million ad impressions in one month alone."
"Most people don't realize it," says Mark Kern, "but Blizzard has been running servers in datacenters since Diablo. Diablo 2 was also Blizzard's first true client/server game. We learned a lot of lessons that I was eager to apply to WoW."
Blizzard, having essentially turned the wave of the future into a tsunami, then set about using their momentum to wipe all competition from the face of the map. With a proven online service and no fewer than two successful fantasy franchises under their belts, the company decided that it was time to revisit the idea of subscription-based games.
"We had to build an entire company around [World of Warcraft]," says Kern. "This included tweaking everything from PR and QA to establishing entirely new departments like operations, customer service, GMs and billing - it literally transformed Blizzard."
As well as the entire landscape of online gaming. It was the final move in a decade-long coup d'etat by Blizzard, against the entire gaming industry.
To date, WoW boasts more than 6 million total subscribers, bringing in an estimated $75 million dollars per month.
I just wanna D3 be free as I am so poor........................
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
People laugh and people cry,
Some give up, some always try,
Some say Hi, while some say bye,
Other may forget U, but never will I!
that is true and the fact of the matter is that there is no proof to whether or not blizzard are deciding to go mmo with diablo or starcraft, we will just have to wait and see.
But i dont think that they will go mmo because of the large portion of people that don;t have good internet access. Diablo II could be considered MMO but it is only a max of 8 people per game. Massively Multiplayer means that there are millions of online players, diablo 2 has that characteristic but still isn't classified as MMO because it can be played single player.
I think that if blizzard want to get half the franchise that they did for the earlier diablo games then they will just have to do what they did before and have it so the game is available online but also features the same gameplay in single player. Isn't that just as good as having the game MMO|?
Yeah diablo is really unique with that aspect.
Hey guys i just found my guinness book of world records (2002) and this was inside :Battle.net, owned by blizzard entertainment, provides players of games such as Diablo2 and Starcraft with an internet arena where they can play multiplayer games on the web, Since its launch in 1997, its popularity has risen to over 8.2 million active accounts that log more than six million games daily. Peak concurrent usage tops more than 210,000 players per day. This is the largest free online game service in the world. (and that was 4 years ago, imagine the numbers now with WoW, Wc roc, and Wc tft. ) Cool huh?
MMOGs are completely different than games like Diablo. Mainly cause in MMOGs u need to interact with other ppl in the world, and u need to group with them in order to continue your journey to the "end-game" content. Diablo always was a single-player game with coop options (same in battle.net).
Those Vivendi business plans arent proof the next diablo and starcraft games will be MMORPGs. Both those franchises are "potential" for MMOGs, not certain to be. Expect to finish the trilogy and get an expansion out before they make a MMORPG in the Diablo universe. Till that time WoW will be old anyways and they'll need another "cow" to milk
when it comes to MMOGs cooperation, discipline and clear roles are really needed. The way it was in Diablo 2 it would be impossible to turn it in a MMO. First of all the fact that in Diablo 2+LoD you can finish the game and kill everyone alone isnt MMO-like. A possible Diablo MMO would make perfect sense as a big pvp massacre to me Heaven vs Hell and such. Take part in the Great Conflict and help decide the ending of it all (that wont ever come ofc :P).
It would be funny if they cancelled the project. Or maybe it would devastate thousands of fat 13 year olds and lead to a mass suicide. I dunno...anyone that serious about the Diablo series? Oh well, hopefully it will come out. I am hoping for it, might be fun...for a few months...or days...like RF Online...such a disapointment...
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
If there is nothing there now, what exactly was there to begin with? Was it moved? Was it crushed? Did it disappear? Or...was it ever there at all?
"Most people don't realize it," says Mark Kern, "but Blizzard has been running servers in datacenters since Diablo. Diablo 2 was also Blizzard's first true client/server game. We learned a lot of lessons that I was eager to apply to WoW."
Blizzard, having essentially turned the wave of the future into a tsunami, then set about using their momentum to wipe all competition from the face of the map. With a proven online service and no fewer than two successful fantasy franchises under their belts, the company decided that it was time to revisit the idea of subscription-based games.
"We had to build an entire company around [World of Warcraft]," says Kern. "This included tweaking everything from PR and QA to establishing entirely new departments like operations, customer service, GMs and billing - it literally transformed Blizzard."
As well as the entire landscape of online gaming. It was the final move in a decade-long coup d'etat by Blizzard, against the entire gaming industry.
To date, WoW boasts more than 6 million total subscribers, bringing in an estimated $75 million dollars per month.
I just wanna D3 be free as I am so poor........................
Some give up, some always try,
Some say Hi, while some say bye,
Other may forget U, but never will I!
But i dont think that they will go mmo because of the large portion of people that don;t have good internet access. Diablo II could be considered MMO but it is only a max of 8 people per game. Massively Multiplayer means that there are millions of online players, diablo 2 has that characteristic but still isn't classified as MMO because it can be played single player.
I think that if blizzard want to get half the franchise that they did for the earlier diablo games then they will just have to do what they did before and have it so the game is available online but also features the same gameplay in single player. Isn't that just as good as having the game MMO|?
Hey guys i just found my guinness book of world records (2002) and this was inside :Battle.net, owned by blizzard entertainment, provides players of games such as Diablo2 and Starcraft with an internet arena where they can play multiplayer games on the web, Since its launch in 1997, its popularity has risen to over 8.2 million active accounts that log more than six million games daily. Peak concurrent usage tops more than 210,000 players per day. This is the largest free online game service in the world. (and that was 4 years ago, imagine the numbers now with WoW, Wc roc, and Wc tft. ) Cool huh?
Mind you that right after LOD came out isn't it. So techniccally its saying that games are just as good without being MMO
That's wicked information, its good to hear that Blizzard whooped everyone elses ass.
Those Vivendi business plans arent proof the next diablo and starcraft games will be MMORPGs. Both those franchises are "potential" for MMOGs, not certain to be. Expect to finish the trilogy and get an expansion out before they make a MMORPG in the Diablo universe. Till that time WoW will be old anyways and they'll need another "cow" to milk