Hey guys, I know there is a lot of buzz surrounding Diablo III, but I've never really seen the appeal of it. Can you guys tell me what you love about the Diablo series and why you're excited for III? And should I stay away if I'm turned off by heavily stat-driven games? I LOVED Dark Souls, but that's an entirely different game and its seems like it's a lot more engaging than what I've seen of Diablo.

The appeal of Diablo is the gear lottery, along with the ability to play with your friends easily.

I'm excited for the game because I played the beta and really liked the experience. Could have been more difficult, but I chalk that up to playing what is essentially still a tutorial.

Love dark fantasy.

You should check out Torchlight.  It's only $15 on Steam, and will give you an idea of whether or not you're interested in that style of gameplay.  Keep in mind, of course, that Torchlight is an entirely single-player experience, whereas Diablo 3 will have you thoroughly integrated into a network of friends and other players.
 
EDIT:  I should also mention that a large part of why I'm interested in Diablo 3 is simply that Blizzard made it.  They make high quality products and they always have something interesting and unexpected in their games that reinvigorates your enthusiasm.

Because Diablo 3

Some of my best friends recently moved away (college graduation and all that) all over the country. We're all going to play, and I cannot wait. I can't comment on your dislike of stat-driven games since I sort of get a kick out of theorycrafting in WoW. I've seen evidence that you'll be able to get into pretty deep theorycrafting with Diablo, but I'm sure it's not requisite to having a good time.

To be honest, I'm not. I thought Diablo 2 was a step down from Diablo 1. I thought the beta (closed, didnt bother with the open) was poor - the graphics were terrible technically and artistically (usually ignorable, but they were bad to the point of being distracting), the game doesn't have a good "feel" in my opinion, I feel like I hate every class in the game, and I absolutely hate the complete and utter lack of customization.

But, it's a blizzard game, and though they've definitely been sinking, they deserve the benefit of the doubt.. but this is the last time I'll be giving them that benefit, if this game doesn't live up to what other people think it will.

I'm excited for Dialbo III because I want to see how the story plays out, and whether Blizzard actually closes it or leaves it wide open for another game that'll come out in 10 years.

I'm more excited for Torchlight 2 because I feel actual improvements to the genre are being made there.

i spent tons of time in diablo 1 and 2... only natural to feel drawn back in.

Because 5 minutes into the beta I knew I would never want to stop playing it.

I spent most of my middle school life with Diablo 2 and Counter-Strike, so it only feels natural. I am not nearly as excited as I used to be, and it's solely because I have a job. And thankfully due to that, the real life auction house will come into play. I played D2 to Magic Find farm solo a lot. And i'll prob do the same, this time selling my items for a profit just for the heck of it.

Also because Diablo III

Because of the female barbarian. I likes my ladies thick and with an axe.

At the core of my excitement is the simple fact that it's Diablo, one of the premier game series of all time.

On a more high-concept level is the fact that it has one of the most intelligently designed skill/gear/stat systems I've even seen in any type of game. The steps they've taken to ensure relevance to and approximate balance between the over one hundred skills available to each class are genius. The freedom for true customization and, more importantly, experimentation, is unprecedented.

Min/maxing is no longer looking up a FAQ for a pre-determined build and following it to the letter. Blizzard has finally designed a game that grants me the tools to min/max in a way that's right for me, according to the specifics of my play-style. I <3 Diablo 3.