Note: the views expressed in this article are solely that of the author’s and does not represent the views of MP1st and its staff as a whole.
Gamers everywhere are finally turning on Blizzard after years of good faith built up through Overwatch, and why? Because a mobile game for Diablo was announced. *SIGH*
Now, I’m no stranger to being outraged over things that I shouldn’t be outraged over, like when EA thought the best to way to bring back the Command & Conquer series was through a mobile game. Obviously, I wasn’t happy about it, but the game isn’t for me, and that’s okay. Obviously, I wanted a PC C&C like 99% of the people who play the game, but alas.
You might be asking why I changed my tune, and frankly, it was the sudden realization that a mobile game of C&C affects me in literally no way at all. Just like a mobile game of Diablo affects nobody who likes the Diablo franchise. “But wait Den, I wanted a PC release of the next Diablo game, not this mobile Pay-To-Win game!”
This is what it ultimately comes down to, yet the approach is what I disagree with. You see, by allowing yourselves to be absolute spoons and ask developers who develop a game they want to create if what they are doing is a joke, you remove all semblance of a valid reasoning to be angry with Blizzard. It’s misplaced anger. It’s so misplaced the guy presenting this game looked like he wanted to break down and cry.
First off, it’s probably not his fault that the game exists. Second, he probably cares about actually delivering a great and functional spin-off mobile game of Diablo, and what childish fans of the franchise did was blow something so small out of proportion.
And don’t even talk to me about being a “real fan” of the franchise, I was beating the first Diablo game when I was five years old because my Dad was cool like that (Plot twist: accidentally burned my house down in the same year. Game about demons and hell and fire. Correlation? I don’t know, I failed math twice).
The point is that gamers are letting themselves get riled up over things that don’t affect them in a meaningful way. They are letting disappointment turn to anger and using that energy to fuel an overblown harassment and meme campaign which is going to affect any developer who might be working on the game. “Oh cool, the game we just announced is already hated before it’s even played. Man, I just love working in the games industry. It’s such a positive experience.”
What’s even worse are all the publications, influencers, and UTubbers who encourage this behavior. Obviously, we should be consumer first and protest anti-consumer practices like loot boxes and pay-to-win, but a mobile game with Diablo branding is on the opposite spectrum. This doesn’t mean I don’t agree that Blizzard’s timing was absolutely wack, but the response is so negative and toxic it’s like watching my Twitter feed become a League of Legends in-game chat feed.
Did you like the hot take? Did you hate it? What’s yours?
Email me your hates, hateful comments, compliments, and anything else at den@mp1st.com, or leave a comment below.
Keep digging that hole, why don’t you?
It does affect us, good devs that could be working on a real Diablo are stuck working on a shit mobile game. Real gamers play on pc or consoles. No one wanted a mobile game. They are just pandering and trying to reach the stupid mobile crowd instead of being the blizzard we all grew up loving. They are just as ass as EA and other money hungry shit publisher/developers change my mind!
Considering it is a reskin of a chinese game, I feel that there is a lot to hate.
They made a cashgrab for the eastern market and thought it could be sold to the western market.
If that was what they were thinking, then their marketing team has to go away.
Also who is more childish, the community who was waiting for a good game or the marketing team for deleting comments on youtube and also influencing the ratings?
Yup, shame on those people for spending hundreds or even thousands of dollars to attend Blizzcon to then find out the big announcement is a reskinned mobile game, and then have the ignorance to boo! Shameful, I say! /s
Go read Mark Kerns tweets on it. Those are “hot takes” I 100% agree with.
blizzard teased the so called fans in videos like this one https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwVaqS_bd-8. people do not buy a ticket and fly across the country or the world to see a mobile game announced.
diablo 3 released may 15th 2012, six years later they announce the sequel is mobile exclusive. activision generated 4 billion in micro transactions last year. blizzard says they have many of their best devs making mobile games. it absolutely does affect you and everyone else. people should be angry, they should have been angry years ago, the industry has shifted away from the core user and it is not coming back.
diablo II producer Mark Kern had this to say-
“I hate to say it, but what you are seeing is Blizzard not understanding gamers anymore.”
“There is nothing wrong with having a mobile version of Diablo. In fact, I would have wanted one as an option”, he explained. “But the way it was hinted at, and presented, and the failure of Blizzard management to predict the backlash caught me my surprise. Blizzard used to be really gamer driven”.
“Blizzard never used to have to ask, because it was made up of hard core gamers from top to bottom […] I would have had a line of devs outside my door telling me [the Immortal reveal] was a bad move.”