Diablo 3 to have always online DRM, cash shop, no mods at all, and kills puppies.

[Ramary]

Okay maybe not kill puppies.

1) The game requires a constant internet connection. It cannot be played offline.
2) Mods are “expressly prohibited.”
3) Items in the auction house are bought and sold for real-life money.

Anyone who wanted to buy this game, please just don't. It is the only way to actually send a message to them. You can send Activison or Blizzard all the hate mail in the world if you wanted to, but if you still buy the damn game like a sheep, it does NOTHING. In fact, it makes it even worst, since it sets a standard and more developers and publishers will realize they can get away with it.

[Yrcrazypa]

Well, I was already on the fence about this game, leaning towards not buying it. Thanks for making my decision easy Activision! I won't call them Blizzard, Blizzard died when they merged.

[Jagos]

This just in:

Pirating of Diablo 3 has gone up 20% due to no mods, and someone needing to create an offline mode.

[Azisien]

Quick, Internet, lose your minds about this rather predictable and not as horrifying as you think news!

Since Diablo 3 will probably be an important game in my life, I might as well weigh in on this news in detail though:

1) Always-On DRM is terrible and I struggled for a long time with loving StarCraft 2 but despising how they modelled Battle.net. However, that's just the thing. There's already a precedent set for this policy on Blizzard's online gaming service. How is anyone actually surprised by this? Really, how? The only reason could be that you were paying no attention beforehand.

However, I'll take the stance that I support with Always-On DRM: feel free to pirate the shit out of it to have an offline mode. I happen to know a very small handful of people trapped in the mid-20th century with no Internet access, and I support those people's privilege to play Diablo 3. For me, I intend to spend 95%+ of my time playing multiplayer, so I'll be needing that stable internet connection anwyay.

2) Uh, of course Blizzard isn't supporting bots or mods. First is obvious, second is semantics. Most cooperative/competitive online game developers don't support rampant cheating. Bots have completely, utterly, without possibility of repair ruined Diablo 2. My stance for my sequel would be militant too. As for mods, they're taking about player-side mods I think, not a modding community. You know, map hacks, illegal macros, whatever else people can come up with to make them innately better at the game without a measure of skill. I mean, they probably aren't supporting a game editor like they do for StarCraft 2, and that is a shame, but hardly horrifying news.

Dudes, check out this sweet new "aiming" mod I installed for Call of Duty. My KD ratio is SOOOOOO great now!

3) This is an interesting experiment, if anything. First of all, pretty sure it's been twisted by the media from "may buy with real currency" to "must buy with real currency." The Blizzard explanation sounds like people that WANT to pay real money to twink their characters CAN, but you could always just earn your gear like most people will. For me, I could see myself buying that last piece of Tal Rasha set, instead of running Baal 200 more times and PRAYING that 0.01% item drops.

Really, this is Blizzard accepting the inevitable. They are not really "letting us" buy gear with real money. The Diablo 3 community would set that up with or without Blizzard's consent. This seems similar to legalizing marijuana, instead of trying to combat its sale. It's gonna happen, the question is, how hard are the people in charge going to try and senselessly fight it? I'm curious to see how this pans out.

[Professor Smarmiarty]

Originally Posted by Azisien

3) This is an interesting experiment, if anything. First of all, pretty sure it's been twisted by the media from "may buy with real currency" to "must buy with real currency." The Blizzard explanation sounds like people that WANT to pay real money to twink their characters CAN, but you could always just earn your gear like most people will. For me, I could see myself buying that last piece of Tal Rasha set, instead of running Baal 200 more times and PRAYING that 0.01% item drops.

There are actually two seperate auction houses, one for real money and one for ingame gold only. BOth of them are selling only things that are found int he game by players who then put them up for sale. You don't have to use either auction house, you can use all the random gold you have lying around to buy shit or if you just want to kill stuff without having to grind out the best loot you can spend real monies. It pretty solidly a non-issue.
And like even if they didn't support ongame selling of items it going to happen anyway, this just allows a much safer and more regulated trading service for everyone to use without getting screwed by dodgey traders.

These arguments are pretty much the same for legalising lots of drugs/prostitution etc- going to happen anyway, you'll just waste money and time fighting it and you won't succeed, so allow it, clean it up and regulate it.

[Azisien]

Originally Posted by Smarty McBarrelpants

There are actually two seperate auction houses, one for real money and one for ingame gold only. BOth of them are selling only things that are found int he game by players who then put them up for sale. You don't have to use either auction house, you can use all the random gold you have lying around to buy shit or if you just want to kill stuff without having to grind out the best loot you can spend real monies. It pretty solidly a non-issue.
And like even if they didn't support ongame selling of items it going to happen anyway, this just allows a much safer and more regulated trading service for everyone to use without getting screwed by dodgey traders.

These arguments are pretty much the same for legalising lots of drugs/prostitution etc- going to happen anyway, you'll just waste money and time fighting it and you won't succeed, so allow it, clean it up and regulate it.

Yeah I knew this. I support the real money auction house being added. Who said I didn't? I even referenced legalization like you did!

Originally Posted by Jagos

The bots is understandable. The mods is reprehensible in a day and age where their best work is made by a fan. While not horrifying for you, it just seems to hit the Blizzard modding community in the nuts that they can't make their own maps or offshoot games, having to buy Starcraft II just for those tools.

But, they can make their own maps or offshoot games, it probably just won't be on Battle.net, or specifically supported by Blizzard on Battle.net. Diablo 2 had zero modding functionality built right into the game. It didn't come with a map editor, or anything else. It's always a shame to see any PC game lacking maximum modder potential, but that's all it is really, a shame.

[Jagos]

Originally Posted by Azisien

2) Uh, of course Blizzard isn't supporting bots or mods. First is obvious, second is semantics. Most cooperative/competitive online game developers don't support rampant cheating. Bots have completely, utterly, without possibility of repair ruined Diablo 2. My stance for my sequel would be militant too. As for mods, they're taking about player-side mods I think, not a modding community. You know, map hacks, illegal macros, whatever else people can come up with to make them innately better at the game without a measure of skill. I mean, they probably aren't supporting a game editor like they do for StarCraft 2, and that is a shame, but hardly horrifying news.

The bots is understandable. The mods is reprehensible in a day and age where their best work is made by a fan. While not horrifying for you, it just seems to hit the Blizzard modding community in the nuts that they can't make their own maps or offshoot games, having to buy Starcraft II just for those tools.

3) This is an interesting experiment, if anything. First of all, pretty sure it's been twisted by the media from "may buy with real currency" to "must buy with real currency." The Blizzard explanation sounds like people that WANT to pay real money to twink their characters CAN, but you could always just earn your gear like most people will. For me, I could see myself buying that last piece of Tal Rasha set, instead of running Baal 200 more times and PRAYING that 0.01% item drops.

Really, this is Blizzard accepting the inevitable. They are not really "letting us" buy gear with real money. The Diablo 3 community would set that up with or without Blizzard's consent. This seems similar to legalizing marijuana, instead of trying to combat its sale. It's gonna happen, the question is, how hard are the people in charge going to try and senselessly fight it? I'm curious to see how this pans out.

It probably depends on the fee charged in house. I can see it not really being effective in stopping the heavy users from using other illicit sources. Maybe they have a reputation to uphold or something else. It's a neat concept, granted, but I dunno if Blizzard is really going to do well in this fashion.

[Professor Smarmiarty]

Re the auction house- there is an ingame currency auction house as well. And you dn't have to use either of them. I've seen a lot of people having a shit about this but I don't understand why. It's important to note the auction house is between players so it's not like there will be things you can't get in other ways in there.
The other ones are valid complaints but what is wrong with havng an auction house.

[Revising Ocelot]

Starcraft 2 used to require a constant connection too. I believe there's an offline mode, though, but then SC2 doesn't have items that can be botted for offline and then sold for cash.

Considering the amount of people that'll play and thus the huge supply, I doubt items would sell for very much. You'll get the occasional person buying your way to victory, but as far as I know that already happens with Diablo 2 and unofficial sites selling items. I guess Blizzard thinks it's easier to police a legitimised version.

I don't know about the lack of mods though, I've never played any Diablo games before. How did mods affect D2? If I were to speculate, I'd say that D3 will have an achievements system like SC2 and WoW and don't want people to mod their way to easy 'cheeves.

[Magus]

Originally Posted by Smarty McBarrelpants

Re the auction house- there is an ingame currency auction house as well. And you dn't have to use either of them. I've seen a lot of people having a shit about this but I don't understand why. It's important to note the auction house is between players so it's not like there will be things you can't get in other ways in there.
The other ones are valid complaints but what is wrong with havng an auction house.

Because Blizzard threw a shit-fit over people "buying" top-level World of Warcraft accounts and equipment ("goldfarming"). Now everybody can just buy the dreaded Sword of Nagerroth off of goldfarmers completely legally.
With WoW Blizzard hypocritically threw a fit (because they weren't making any money off of it.) Also as far as gameplay goes it makes it so you can just buy your way to the top.

Personally I'm not into MMOs so maybe it works different from what I'm saying.

EDIT: BTW as somebody pretty late to the Diablo series (I played Diablo "for real" about two years ago, despite having played maybe five minutes in the past on other people's computers) I have to say that Diablo II basically ruined everything I enjoyed in Diablo.

What Blizzard should be focusing on is Blackthorne 2 and The Lost Vikings III.