Your Diablo III for consoles confirmation is in another castle.
Blizzard rarely shoots down the idea of Diablo III on consoles. Whoever is asked about a possible port often says that the studio believes the hack-and-slash RPG is suited for a controller. It's this kind of careful answer that's been fueling the "Diablo III could be heading to consoles" headlines that we've seen a billion times. This isn't exactly one of those stories because of these twists: Blizzard is hiring console leads for the Diablo III team and it has admitted that it's investigating a "Diablo-related concept for consoles."
According to three posted openings, Blizzard wants to hire someone with "extensive knowledge of Diablo," and experience in console development. A lead programmer opening specifically asks for "an experienced engineer to lead console development on the Diablo team."
These listed positions aren't confirmation of Diablo III for consoles, despite how they appear on the surface. Right after these positions were posted and requests for comment from press went out, Blizzard wrote on its Diablo III page that it is merely "exploring a Diablo-related concept for consoles and are looking to fill a few senior console-related positions on the Diablo III team." Hmm...
It added towards the end of said post, surely in an attempt to keep the legions of PC and Mac owners off its back, that it is "first and foremost developing Diablo III for Windows and Mac PCs and don't intend to allow any possibility of a console interpretation to delay or affect the release of the game."
So, will Diablo III hit consoles? Who knows? It's plain now, however, that Blizzard is at least investigating the possibilities instead of just talking about how suited Diablo III is to a controller.
Blizzard rarely shoots down the idea of Diablo III on consoles. Whoever is asked about a possible port often says that the studio believes the hack-and-slash RPG is suited for a controller. It's this kind of careful answer that's been fueling the "Diablo III could be heading to consoles" headlines that we've seen a billion times. This isn't exactly one of those stories because of these twists: Blizzard is hiring console leads for the Diablo III team and it has admitted that it's investigating a "Diablo-related concept for consoles."
According to three posted openings, Blizzard wants to hire someone with "extensive knowledge of Diablo," and experience in console development. A lead programmer opening specifically asks for "an experienced engineer to lead console development on the Diablo team."
These listed positions aren't confirmation of Diablo III for consoles, despite how they appear on the surface. Right after these positions were posted and requests for comment from press went out, Blizzard wrote on its Diablo III page that it is merely "exploring a Diablo-related concept for consoles and are looking to fill a few senior console-related positions on the Diablo III team." Hmm...
It added towards the end of said post, surely in an attempt to keep the legions of PC and Mac owners off its back, that it is "first and foremost developing Diablo III for Windows and Mac PCs and don't intend to allow any possibility of a console interpretation to delay or affect the release of the game."
So, will Diablo III hit consoles? Who knows? It's plain now, however, that Blizzard is at least investigating the possibilities instead of just talking about how suited Diablo III is to a controller.
If it does, good luck playing the hardest difficulty with a controller. And good luck with sales also. People that only own consoles most likely don't know Diablo and will wonder where the first 2 games are. Therefore leading them to pass up the title.
All I know is.... regardless of whether they try to make Diablo 3 on consoles, it better not cause a delay of any kind to the PC version. Blizzard takes their sweet time as it is to make their games (with good reason), I don't want to add even more time onto that to wait for them to shore up a console version.
"People that only own consoles most likely don't know Diablo and will wonder where the first 2 games are. "
I seriously doubt there are many people who own a games console and not a PC...
I have always been interested in this sort of game on a console. Torchlight seems like it could work well, with a bit of faffing about with the controls. I am really interested in Diablo 3 though, and as I don't have the best PC/Laptop in the world, a decent console version would be perfect for me.
" @ch13696: I don't know...there's quite a bit of hype and buzz for this game within the gaming media. That may be enough to sell copies on its own. "
I understand that, but if that were the case then most 360 and PS3 owners would be buying more than Halo and Call of Duty. When Starcraft II was released, I barely saw one commercial on TV for the game. It just depends on what's advertised besides the ads on gaming websites.
Sacred 2 (in addition to many older games on previous gen consoles) works fine on current gen consoles, and it's pretty much based on the Diablo games playstyle-wise. In fact, it got better reviews on console than it did on PC. No reason D3 couldn't work.
"People that only own consoles most likely don't know Diablo and will wonder where the first 2 games are. "
I seriously doubt there are many people who own a games console and not a PC... I have always been interested in this sort of game on a console. Torchlight seems like it could work well, with a bit of faffing about with the controls. I am really interested in Diablo 3 though, and as I don't have the best PC/Laptop in the world, a decent console version would be perfect for me. "
Of course there's people that own a PC, but do they game on it. Most people don't. Out of all of my friends, I'm the only one thats knows Diablo. They know World of Warcraft and they swear thats the only good game on PC. But, that's because of word of mouth.
Would love me some Diablo for my console. Can't imagine they wouldn't port it to the consoles, it's a perfect fit and they would make a ton of money for sure.
Stating the obvious. WoW Devs have joked about console games and talked about doing it, for years. Its old news. Literally. Hit up a search on the forums.
Stop reporting on Blizzard. You don't pay any real attention to anything not Starcraft.
Cough Rorycraft cough (biggest MMO event in history going on in WoW right now)
"People that only own consoles most likely don't know Diablo and will wonder where the first 2 games are. "
I seriously doubt there are many people who own a games console and not a PC... I have always been interested in this sort of game on a console. Torchlight seems like it could work well, with a bit of faffing about with the controls. I am really interested in Diablo 3 though, and as I don't have the best PC/Laptop in the world, a decent console version would be perfect for me. "
Of course there's people that own a PC, but do they game on it. Most people don't. Out of all of my friends, I'm the only one thats knows Diablo. They know World of Warcraft and they swear thats the only good game on PC. But, that's because of word of mouth. "
You bring up some points ch13696 but i don't think any of that will cause a problem. Lets get it out of the way this is all just if this happens and also if it is just as good as the pc version (i trust blizzard enough to assume that)
It wont matter if there are console versions day of or if the pc version comes out first i believe word of mouth is what will do this game some good on consoles. PC people are going to buy this who are fans obviously because they know the Diablo franchise and know what they are buying. If the game gets really good reviews from sites and they have a bit of advertising that is all it will take.
Think of it this way there are plenty of people who have never played a call of duty game until Call of duty 4 Modern Warfare. People didn't wonder where the other Call of Duty games were they just played that one.
My only concern is i don't think console owners are used to this kind of game so there is no telling how it will sell if it is a really good game/port/whatever. Would this style of game be very appealing to most console gamers? I believe that is the real question in all of this.
"People that only own consoles most likely don't know Diablo and will wonder where the first 2 games are. "
I seriously doubt there are many people who own a games console and not a PC... I have always been interested in this sort of game on a console. Torchlight seems like it could work well, with a bit of faffing about with the controls. I am really interested in Diablo 3 though, and as I don't have the best PC/Laptop in the world, a decent console version would be perfect for me. "
Of course there's people that own a PC, but do they game on it. Most people don't. Out of all of my friends, I'm the only one thats knows Diablo. They know World of Warcraft and they swear thats the only good game on PC. But, that's because of word of mouth. "
You bring up some points ch13696 but i don't think any of that will cause a problem. Lets get it out of the way this is all just if this happens and also if it is just as good as the pc version (i trust blizzard enough to assume that) It wont matter if there are console versions day of or if the pc version comes out first i believe word of mouth is what will do this game some good on consoles. PC people are going to buy this who are fans obviously because they know the Diablo franchise and know what they are buying. If the game gets really good reviews from sites and they have a bit of advertising that is all it will take. Think of it this way there are plenty of people who have never played a call of duty game until Call of duty 4 Modern Warfare. People didn't wonder where the other Call of Duty games were they just played that one. My only concern is i don't think console owners are used to this kind of game so there is no telling how it will sell if it is a really good game/port/whatever. Would this style of game be very appealing to most console gamers? I believe that is the real question in all of this. "
Brings up a good point. I only bought Call of Duty 4, ignoring previous titles, because of the raving user reviews I've heard from my peers. I don't really care about previous instalments, just whatever is out and current right now.
This should happen. It should have happened with Diablo II back in the day. It would be inexcusable to not have a console version of this installment now.
It makes sense from a business perspective, but if Diablo 3 is anything like the other 2, they have to change the gameplay quite a bit to make it work on a controller. As it is, it's a bit too fast and as much as people make it out to be a simple click-fest, there's quite a bit of tactics and skill to the game.
" If it does, good luck playing the hardest difficulty with a controller. And good luck with sales also. People that only own consoles most likely don't know Diablo and will wonder where the first 2 games are. Therefore leading them to pass up the title. "
Just because they only own consols doesn't mean they are idiots. I seriously doubt that most of the people that are playing WoW right now know what Warcraft even is. And the same actually goes for Warcraft III. It was infinetly more populer then Warcraft II was. Also, I seriously doubt that the people that are excited about Diablo III are interrested in it because of the story or something else that would in any way relate back to the first two games.
And if your seriously suggesting that people that play games regularly don't know what the Diablo series is then your seriously misstaken. And most non gamers that are interrested in Diablo III is so because of Blizzard, not the Diablo series itself.
I even talked to a friend of mine that only played C-S on PC back in the day, other then that only playes on consols. And when I talked to him about Diablo III a few weeks ago he know what it was but has never played it. In short. If you are a "harcore" gamer, regular gamer or have friends that are, then you have heard about Blizzard and their three big franchises.
Just as in the other thread, I'm amazed by people who don't believe this could work. Did they never play the first console installment of Diablo? Have they not played games like Champions of Norrath, Baldur's Gate 2, and Sacred 2 on console? Not only CAN this be done, but it HAS been done. Yes, even on our current console generation.
Here's an example of the current gen Diablo-type game:
" It makes sense from a business perspective, but if Diablo 3 is anything like the other 2, they have to change the gameplay quite a bit to make it work on a controller. As it is, it's a bit too fast and as much as people make it out to be a simple click-fest, there's quite a bit of tactics and skill to the game. "
I'm not sure we played the same Diablo 2.. It is fast, but I think you're seriously underestimating console gamers if you think they can't wrap their heads around it. Especially when you take away the urgent need to chug potions constantly, the controls become pretty easy to port over to a controller. Though menus, inventory, character sheets, etc.. would need a slight re-haul.
The only time I see an issue playing Diablo on a controller would be targeting priority targets over trash, and instead of a gameplay change, that would be something Blizzard would have to seriously look at and work on. Maybe have the bumpers cycle through targets starting with the highest level, or even let the player decide how they want it to work.
@animathias: Or prioritizing item retrieval after large item drops. But, yeah, otherwise the game shouldn't be that difficult to port to a controller-based console.
I don't know. I'm surprised the Diablo-to-console gesture hasn't been made sooner.
I'm sure the percentage of people that bought Black Ops on PC vs the amount that bought it on consoles had something to do with this "comment" from Blizzard. Let's face it eventually Blizzard is going to have to get one of their franchises (or a new one) on consoles, and a modified Diablo-style game could work really well.
@melcene: Well, yeah. But it fell off with Diablo II when the Playstation 2 was a perfectly viable platform for it. I guess I mean to say I don't understand why it hasn't been a consistent venture.
@Sir_Ragnarok: I bet at that time the PS2 couldn't do everything Blizzard wanted, namely decent online play and patches. Though I wonder if Microsoft will try to stand in front of Blizzard patches on the 360. I'd love to be in the room for that phone call.
I don't think the console version would be very successful. PC/Mac versions gives better control of spells, MOAR BUTTONS, and there's a bigger online community. Unless Battlenet brings online for both PC/Mac and consoles together online, I don't believe it'll be very successful. Although the idea is fun, I don't think I'll get any sort of console version.
" Just as in the other thread, I'm amazed by people who don't believe this could work.
I know right.
The way I see it is, if other developers have tried it and made okay games, that just means that Blizzard would be more than able to make an awesome one.
Financially it seems like a no-brainer as well. I find it hard to imagine that the concept of "Blizzard's triumphant return to consoles" wouldn't move crazy units.
It would be cool if this works on consoles, but the first Diablo did not work on PS1. Blizzard is best at making PC games and have been for the past twenty years almost. If they want to go to consoles as well, I think they should make an entirely different game after they finish up with Diablo III on PC/Mac.
" It would be cool if this works on consoles, but the first Diablo did not work on PS1. Blizzard is best at making PC games and have been for the past twenty years almost. If they want to go to consoles as well, I think they should make an entirely different game after they finish up with Diablo III on PC/Mac. "
" Stating the obvious. WoW Devs have joked about console games and talked about doing it, for years. Its old news. Literally. Hit up a search on the forums. Stop reporting on Blizzard. You don't pay any real attention to anything not Starcraft. Cough Rorycraft cough (biggest MMO event in history going on in WoW right now) Get a clue Giant Bomb. "
Well who the fuck peed in your cereal this morning?
Now, what I find most interesting about this is that they said it was Diablo related. They didn't say it would be a port of Diablo III or that it would even be a typical hack and slash style Diablo game. It is just in some how related to the series. It could be a demonic version of Cookin Mama for all we know.
Interesting news that they are going to try and make a non-PC game again. This could end up being another Starcraft: Ghost. Only time will tell.
Now, what I find most interesting about this is that they said it was Diablo related. They didn't say it would be a port of Diablo III or that it would even be a typical hack and slash style Diablo game. It is just in some how related to the series. It could be a demonic version of Cookin Mama for all we know.
Exactly, it's like the bulk of the people making comments didn't read the article. Imagine that.
Exactly, it's like the bulk of the people making comments didn't read the article. Imagine that. "
Haha, I just assume that a lot of people read "PC super-mega-developer thinking about a console" and their shit gets too twisted up to think straight - let alone read. :P
they said at blizzcon D3 isn't gona be on consoles, what this is for will most likly be a 3rd person hack'n'slash like DMC etc and there is no way it'll be out that same time as D3.
Also if you think "oh D3 could work" your are wrong tbh the amount of time to move a reticule with a stick you'll be quite dead before you can jump/tele also good luck trying to kite (deamon hunter and wizard will require this quite a bit)
Also if you think "oh D3 could work" your are wrong tbh the amount of time to move a reticule with a stick
lol, oh wow.
@hexx462 said:
" @IBurningStar said:
Now, what I find most interesting about this is that they said it was Diablo related. They didn't say it would be a port of Diablo III or that it would even be a typical hack and slash style Diablo game. It is just in some how related to the series. It could be a demonic version of Cookin Mama for all we know.
Exactly, it's like the bulk of the people making comments didn't read the article. Imagine that. "
It's because they have the console jobs listed under Diablo 3 on their website. Odds are they will port Diablo 3 to consoles, but they don't want to piss off the PC gamers who would get upset about it.
" It makes sense from a business perspective, but if Diablo 3 is anything like the other 2, they have to change the gameplay quite a bit to make it work on a controller. As it is, it's a bit too fast and as much as people make it out to be a simple click-fest, there's quite a bit of tactics and skill to the game. "
I'm not sure we played the same Diablo 2.. It is fast, but I think you're seriously underestimating console gamers if you think they can't wrap their heads around it. Especially when you take away the urgent need to chug potions constantly, the controls become pretty easy to port over to a controller. Though menus, inventory, character sheets, etc.. would need a slight re-haul.
The only time I see an issue playing Diablo on a controller would be targeting priority targets over trash, and instead of a gameplay change, that would be something Blizzard would have to seriously look at and work on. Maybe have the bumpers cycle through targets starting with the highest level, or even let the player decide how they want it to work.
"
How would you use Teleport or AoE spells where you need to target a specific area? Have the game select on its own? Draw a cursor on screen to move around with a stick? Sure, they can make a Dark Alliance/Champions of Norrath style game, but they sure as hell are no Diablo and seeing Blizard's track record, they're not gonna make a game that's "ok for what it is".
At the end of the day, give me Starcraft: Ghost, Blizzard.
I still think it is nothing more than wishful thinking - I mean look at StarCraft: Ghost. But then again, maybe they will port Diablo 3 to consoles when it is all said and done on the PC/Mac - and I am sure if they go this avenue that they will undoubtedly spend the proper time to port it successfully; unlike how developers port games vice versa (from consoles to PC).
I really enjoyed the original Diablo on both the PC and the console. Each offered their own unique experience. Diablo was the introduction of Battle.net and I was amazed at it back then - me and 2 friends played Diablo almost religiously back then over the net. But Diablo on the playstation was great because me and a friend could share the same screen just kickin back on the couch slaying skeletons and taking their loot. The couch-cooperation was a lot of fun with the Playstation version.
Diablo is about the only series from Blizzard I can actually see being faithfully ported to the consoles. Countless Diablo clones have proven that the hack-and-slash can and does work on consoles quite well - but I know which platform I will be buying it on even if it were to release on consoles at some point - the PC. Looking at a variety of other games that were first made for PC and then ported to consoles you can't help but notice that features usually get cut when they make the jump from PC to console. Either way I think it would be a smart move for Blizzard to create a console presence so long as they continue prioritize the PC as their primary platform. I am sure Bobby Kotick is behind a lot of this though... :p
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