Diablo Immortal - MMO ARPG for mobile platforms - massive butthurt at Blizzcon

[Dexter]

Blizzard doesn't give a fuck about the "core" audience, which has been steadily casualfied since Diablo 3 came to consoles.

Regardless of the backlash from the surprisingly vocal mouth breathers, Blizzard knows this garbage is going to make them shit tons of money considering many other companies (Sony comes to mind) have their all time best sellers as mobile games that came out within the last decade, and we're going to see this more and more. Fucking pathetic considering most of the sales are from children with mommy's card and whales.

This is a very simplistic (and stupid) point of view, especially for a franchise that has topped 30 million units sold at high retail price: https://www.tweaktown.com/news/46876/diablo-3-sold-over-30-million-copies-platforms/index.html and managed to end up on the Top3 of Best Selling PC games despite the last entry being shit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_PC_games

Remember when Facebook games were going to be "the future" with breakout hits like Farmville and Angry Birds? Does anyone even remember these things anymore? Heck, does anyone even still remember "Pokemon Go" (to the polls)? If it was true that they "didn't give a fuck about the core audience" they also wouldn't have farmed out development to some Chinese Mobile shovelware company and there would be no point to "BlizzCon". I also have some doubts regarding forecasts with some Mobile games given their total Download numbers, and regulations are going to cut into their whale profits soon enough.

 

[lukaszek]

deterministic system > RNG

 

[Generic-Giant-Spider]

Pokemon has become a convenient way for pedophiles to get closer to children. Change my mind.

 

[Blaine]

Pokemon has become a convenient way for pedophiles to get closer to children. Change my mind.

Pedophile hysteria is foolish. While vigilance should be maintained, the constant and widespread modern paranoia of pedophiles is an anti-male feminist psyop.

Meanwhile, women teachers get community service for sucking off fourteen-year-old boys.

 

[PorkBarrellGuy]

Most video games targeted at kids have become convenient ways for pedophiles to get closer to children. Change my mind.

Fixed, and I'm not convinced you're wrong

Fortnite raises more alarm bells than Pokemon though

Pedophile hysteria is foolish. While vigilance should be maintained, the constant and widespread modern paranoia of pedophiles is an anti-male feminist psyop.

Meanwhile, women teachers get community service for sucking off fourteen-year-old boys.

Though Blaine has a point as well

 

[buru5]

Remember when Facebook games were going to be "the future" with breakout hits like Farmville and Angry Birds? Does anyone even remember these things anymore?

They evolved into highly profitable mobile games such as Fate, Township, Candy Crush, Clash of Clans, etc. The mobile gaming market is extremely profitable. You would have to be completely out of touch to think otherwise, or maybe a little senile.

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

Are they hot teachers? Ah to be 14 again then. (Damn another day another A..)

I’ve been naughty. Teacher is taking me to the timeout room.

 

[PorkBarrellGuy]

Remember when Facebook games were going to be "the future" with breakout hits like Farmville and Angry Birds? Does anyone even remember these things anymore?

They evolved into highly profitable mobile games such as Fate, Township, Candy Crush, Clash of Clans, etc. The mobile gaming market is extremely profitable. You would have to be completely out of touch to think otherwise, or maybe a little senile.

the question then becomes "Is DI the kind of mobile game that will make bank?" and I'm inclined to think it's going to pan out to be a financial disappointment because from what I've seen most people who play mobile games want stupid little quick distractions while waiting for a bus or an appointment. At my place of work I usually see things like shitty little Sims/SimCityish knockoffs played, with one notable exception in the guy who likes to play SHMUPs instead.

 

[buru5]

Remember when Facebook games were going to be "the future" with breakout hits like Farmville and Angry Birds? Does anyone even remember these things anymore?

They evolved into highly profitable mobile games such as Fate, Township, Candy Crush, Clash of Clans, etc. The mobile gaming market is extremely profitable. You would have to be completely out of touch to think otherwise, or maybe a little senile.

the question then becomes "Is DI the kind of mobile game that will make bank?" and I'm inclined to think it's going to pan out to be a financial disappointment because from what I've seen most people who play mobile games want stupid little quick distractions while waiting for a bus or an appointment. At my place of work I usually see things like shitty little Sims/SimCityish knockoffs played, with one notable exception in the guy who likes to play SHMUPs instead.

Blizzard clearly thinks it will be profitable, otherwise they wouldn't be doing it. I'm assuming they're going to make it very easy to pick up/play and just as easy to put down. I haven't seen a mobile game (outside of ports) that haven't adapted to that ADHD mentality yet, since it's one of the things that most successful mobile games have in common. Of course if the entire demographic was just codexers the game would fail miserably but alas...

I wonder what sort of business model is going to be used. The classic, "You need gems that replenish every hour to start a map" or maybe free to play but banking on purchasable cosmetics? I don't see them charging to play this game. What really surprises me is that they didn't add anything new to the formula (at least from what I can tell), mostly in the form of a new class. There's nothing to hype even long time Diablo fans which is one of the reasons I feel like they don't understand what their core audience actually wants.

 

[PorkBarrellGuy]

Remember when Facebook games were going to be "the future" with breakout hits like Farmville and Angry Birds? Does anyone even remember these things anymore?

They evolved into highly profitable mobile games such as Fate, Township, Candy Crush, Clash of Clans, etc. The mobile gaming market is extremely profitable. You would have to be completely out of touch to think otherwise, or maybe a little senile.

the question then becomes "Is DI the kind of mobile game that will make bank?" and I'm inclined to think it's going to pan out to be a financial disappointment because from what I've seen most people who play mobile games want stupid little quick distractions while waiting for a bus or an appointment. At my place of work I usually see things like shitty little Sims/SimCityish knockoffs played, with one notable exception in the guy who likes to play SHMUPs instead.

Blizzard clearly thinks it will be profitable, otherwise they wouldn't be doing it. I'm assuming they're going to make it very easy to pick up/play and just as easy to put down. I haven't seen a mobile game (outside of ports) that haven't adapted to that ADHD mentality yet, since it's one of the things that most successful mobile games have in common. Of course if the entire demographic was just codexers the game would fail miserably but alas...

I wonder what sort of business model is going to be used. The classic, "You need gems that replenish every hour to start a map" or maybe free to play but banking on purchasable cosmetics? I don't seem them charging to play this game. What really surprises me is that they didn't add anything new to the formula (at least from what I can tell), mostly in the form of a new class. There's nothing to hype even long time Diablo fans which is one of the reasons I feel like they don't understand what their core audience actually wants.

Well, DI isn't realistically aimed at the franchise's core audience. At least, it wouldn't be if Blizzard had two braincells to rub together.

The fact that they were expecting backlash (just not to this extent apparently) makes you wonder what kind of idiot greenlighted the whole damn Blizzcon reveal in the first place.

 

[Atlantico]

They evolved into highly profitable mobile games such as Fate, Township, Candy Crush, Clash of Clans, etc. The mobile gaming market is extremely profitable. You would have to be completely out of touch to think otherwise, or maybe a little senile.

Yes and no. A handful of mobile games are really profitable, and you just mentioned most of them. Then there are throngs of mobile games which do nothing except bleed money and waste investment in hopes of becoming the next Candy Crush. But odds are we're still going to be talking about Candy Crush, at the end of the day, as an example of a successful mobile game.

Blizzard also thought they'd do their own MOBA game, after all Valve and that Chinese company are making hand over fist in profits with that one. I can't even remember the name of Blizzard's MOBA. But it's such a lucrative market! You would have to be completely out of touch to think otherwise, or maybe a little senile.

 

[PorkBarrellGuy]

They evolved into highly profitable mobile games such as Fate, Township, Candy Crush, Clash of Clans, etc. The mobile gaming market is extremely profitable. You would have to be completely out of touch to think otherwise, or maybe a little senile.

Yes and no. A handful of mobile games are really profitable, and you just mentioned most of them. Then there are throngs of mobile games which do nothing except bleed money and waste investment in hopes of becoming the next Candy Crush. But odds are we're still going to be talking about Candy Crush, at the end of the day, as an example of a successful mobile game.

Blizzard also thought they'd do their own MOBA game, after all Valve and that Chinese company are making hand over fist in profits with that one. I can't even remember the name of Blizzard's MOBA. But it's such a lucrative market! You would have to be completely out of touch to think otherwise, or maybe a little senile.

Heroes of the Storm (it's shit of course, ASSFAGGOTS are shit in general)

 

[buru5]

They evolved into highly profitable mobile games such as Fate, Township, Candy Crush, Clash of Clans, etc. The mobile gaming market is extremely profitable. You would have to be completely out of touch to think otherwise, or maybe a little senile.

Yes and no. A handful of mobile games are really profitable, and you just mentioned most of them. Then there are throngs of mobile games which do nothing except bleed money and waste investment in hopes of becoming the next Candy Crush. But odds are we're still going to be talking about Candy Crush, at the end of the day, as an example of a successful mobile game.

Blizzard also thought they'd do their own MOBA game, after all Valve and that Chinese company are making hand over fist in profits with that one. I can't even remember the name of Blizzard's MOBA. But it's such a lucrative market! You would have to be completely out of touch to think otherwise, or maybe a little senile.

Comparing one genre to an entire platform is a little senile.

At the end of the day the mobile market is still more profitable than the console and PC market. And the number just keeps going up. The choice is obvious for any company, as mobile is the lowest risk and highest reward market.

 

[Dexter]

Remember when Facebook games were going to be "the future" with breakout hits like Farmville and Angry Birds? Does anyone even remember these things anymore?

They evolved into highly profitable mobile games such as Fate, Township, Candy Crush, Clash of Clans, etc. The mobile gaming market is extremely profitable. You would have to be completely out of touch to think otherwise, or maybe a little senile.

I don't doubt it's making money, the question is how much and if it's sustainable (like the console and PC market for the past 2 decades) and not just fad-based and possibly a overhyped bubble like "Facebook gaming" and similar before, and whether it's worth risking a company's reputation of general quality products and their top-tier IP with established devoted "core fanbase" cultivated over two decades to cash in for short-term P2W profit.

Additionally, before I went into it I actually checked your Fate link and the Sources it cites.

One is a SuperData research report: http://strivesponsorship.com/wp-con...eview-digital-games-and-interactive-media.pdf which seems shady in various ways, for one it forecasts Console gaming in its entirety to only be a $8.3 billion market while stating that the PC in its entirety is a $33 billion market, which can in no way be true, it also contradicts other market research for instance: https://newzoo.com/insights/articles/newzoo-cuts-global-games-forecast-for-2018-to-134-9-billion/ which can't both be true. It also states that VR in 2017 was a $4.5 billion market, which can no way be true. Another thing it states is that 65% of Mobile revenue comes from the Asia market (specifically likely China) and it's supposedly only ~$15 billion in the West where this core audience they apparently "don't give a fuck about anymore" resides, do Western brands have the same amount of market penetration there?

The other one leads back to an article that leads to the Blog of "Dr. Serkan Toto", who is apparently a German Blogging about the Japanese games industry with a consulting firm and talking about the power of waifus, most other articles also lead back to here: https://www.serkantoto.com/2018/07/06/fate-grand-order-fgo-revenue-profit/

The funny thing is, that even that is being cited wrongly, since what it states is:

Fate Grand Order (FGO), the mobile RPG that Bloomberg once compared with Pokemon Go, continues to print money for Sony subsidiary Aniplex.

According to a new release in the Japanese government’s Official Gazette, the company made US$1.8 billion in revenue in the fiscal year that ended on March 31, 2018.

For reference Aniplex is mainly an Anime/Music production and merchandising company producing things like toys and food items too: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aniplex , yet the $1.8 billion revenue is being wholly attributed to this game in various outlets:


Additionally I checked further data, and apparently Fate/Grand Order had 14 million total downloads as a F2P Mobile game since its launch, yet supposed to have brought in $2 billion in revenue: https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/in...es-14-million-downloads-with-anime-ad/.136025

For comparison, League of Legends supposedly has 100 million monthly active users: https://www.riftherald.com/2016/9/13/12865314/monthly-lol-players-2016-active-worldwide and according to similar reports has apparently brought in somewhere around $2.1 billion in revenue.

My Fake News and bullshit senses are generally tingling strongly.

 

[Curious_Tongue]

Degenerates spend thousands on in game purchases for mobile games.

Hundreds of thousands of degenerates are worth more to Blizzard than millions of stingy fans.

 

[PorkBarrellGuy]

Degenerates spend thousands on in game purchases for mobile games.

Hundreds of thousands of degenerates are worth more to Blizzard than millions of stingy fans.

I suppose that depends on how you define stingy, as I imagine plenty of PC blizzfans dropped coin on D3 and the DLCs. I mean, compared to MTXwhales, they seem stingy, but to someone like me they look like fucking spendthrifts.

 

[Atlantico]

Comparing one genre to an entire platform is a little senile.

Allright dumbass, compare then mobile ARPGs to Blizzards attempt at mobile ARPGs. Although my comparison still works fine. A platform is as good as a genre, for comparison.

At the end of the day the mobile market is still more profitable than the console and PC market. And the number just keeps going up. The choice is obvious for any company, as mobile is the lowest risk and highest reward market.

Well, it's people like you who logic themselves into losing money because at the end of the day, that's not how things work. Take any market, which is profitable. There's plenty of them.

You're talking about mobile as if it's a goldrush. It isn't. It may have been, but now it's saturated.

We've had Facebook games and trading card games and MOBAs and now mobile games. Different plaforms, different genres, but one constant: nobody just walks into any of those and starts piling up profit, when there's already established leaders.

Blizzard of all companies should know that, how many WoW killers have there been through the years? Remember when MMOs were the goldrush?

It's like you're immune to cognitive reasoning. i.e. senile.

 

[Curious_Tongue]

Pedophile hysteria is foolish. While vigilance should be maintained, the constant and widespread modern paranoia of pedophiles is an anti-male feminist psyop.

Meanwhile, women teachers get community service for sucking off fourteen-year-old boys.

There has always been a disconnect between punishments for men and women for the same crimes.

 

[aweigh]

 

[Dexter]

 

[Aildrik]

Best thing you can do; vote with your wallet.

 

[Generic-Giant-Spider]

Wyatt Cheng is such a tragic story.

He was apart of the Blizzard North team way back in the early 2000s, worked alongside them for their original vision of D3, then was moved to work under Jay Wilson for D3 Vanilla which was such an awful game it gave me a viral stomach virus somehow. When Jay Wilson was busy telling David Brevik to fuck himself and Blizzard forum posters were being snide cunts, Wyatt was actually reaching out to players to get perspective and doing interviews, writing blogs on improvements to come, etc. After Jay Wilson was put off the project, Wyatt rose to prominence on the D3 team and while the damage was done on that overly casual fuckhouse of a game he and Josh Mosqueira did as much as they could to salvage what they could and did make a lot of people happy with Reaper of Souls. It seemed like if there was to be a D4, Wyatt Cheng having his hand on it would steer it in a much better direction.

And then Blizzcon 2018 happened. You could see right away he knew he was going to get eaten alive out there. His skin was pale, his eyes looked dead, his posture was as if he had received one hundred lashes, he knew it was shit and nobody would be fooled. But he went on, he stood by his franchise, he sunk with his ship.

You have to respect that. He sat out there and let himself be executed by the firing squad of boos and empty stares of outrage. He was one of the few good ones they had left, and now he'll forever be associated with this. His legacy overshadowed as he is the guy everyone will point at and go, "He's the one that announced Diablo Immortal. He's the one that asked us if we had phones."

I only hope Wyatt Cheng can somehow, some day, recover his corpse.

[I took his gold]

 

[aweigh]

You know there are actual problems in the real world right you manbabies you entitled little shits !

These people who have dedicated their lives just to entertain us don't deserve this!!!!111

 

[InD_ImaginE]

Comparing one genre to an entire platform is a little senile.

Allright dumbass, compare then mobile ARPGs to Blizzards attempt at mobile ARPGs. Although my comparison still works fine. A platform is as good as a genre, for comparison.

At the end of the day the mobile market is still more profitable than the console and PC market. And the number just keeps going up. The choice is obvious for any company, as mobile is the lowest risk and highest reward market.

Well, it's people like you who logic themselves into losing money because at the end of the day, that's not how things work. Take any market, which is profitable. There's plenty of them.

You're talking about mobile as if it's a goldrush. It isn't. It may have been, but now it's saturated.

We've had Facebook games and trading card games and MOBAs and now mobile games. Different plaforms, different genres, but one constant: nobody just walks into any of those and starts piling up profit, when there's already established leaders.

Blizzard of all companies should know that, how many WoW killers have there been through the years? Remember when MMOs were the goldrush?

It's like you're immune to cognitive reasoning. i.e. senile.

The thing is, Mobile games are extremely cheap production wise vs traditional games.

Modern mobile games probably has 2 years lifetime top before people move along to the new thing. Few exception of course when we are talking about market leader such as Fate or CoC.

The reason mobile game is the gold mine people are rushing in is not because it is the biggest or only goldmine but it is a goldmine with relatively low cost for investment with acceptable profit. People entering the market most likely aware of the lifecycle of the average mobile game and plan costs accordingly. They are not entering it to be the next WoW killer so to speak.

If anything, as consumerism and instant gratification prominent in younger people will result in the market growing.

The challenge for the industry is more from regulatory side as the loot box business model is under heavy scrutiny while it is a very big part these games are profitable.

 

[Assisted Living Godzilla]

Robotron did it in 1982.



Nu-Blizzard is a joke. The assimilation by Activision is now complete.



The sting goes deeper than that. Blizzard actively refused to nurture the DotA competitive scene (by largely ignoring it), while it obviously grew much more popular than actual competitive Frozen Throne. They could have made a shit ton of money from DotA even while it was still a mod. They just didn't give a shit, they slowly watched as competitive WC3 died a slow and painful death and switched all resources to their behemoth cash cow, WoW.

Meanwhile, someone else realized that the concept was brilliant and ran away with it. And it's not one company making billions out of DotA - it's two. Riot and Valve, although that trend is also on steep decline. Blizzard released the pitiful Heroes of the Storm, which is a truly, truly wretched game that's so designed by committee and devoid of any passion that it is palpable. It perfectly encapsulates everything that's wrong with the company.

Foresight and predictive ability are very rare and valuable skills in any industry, but especially one that moves as fast as videogames. Blizzard is now and has been for a very long time (at the very least since the WoW heyday of 2008 or so) run by sales-oriented bureaucrats that are as removed from the company's target audience as possible. Extinction is inevitable, after a (possibly very long) writhing and thrashing period. They might make some big bucks out of this mobile hack, but then again they might not - the audience they've alienated in this and other instances is gone forever, and this new mobile 'audience' that they're courting is as fickle and inconsistent as dust in the wind. They'll move on to whatever the next big fad is, and Blizzard has never been - even in its prime - a trendsetter.

RIP.

The funny thing is the whole MOBA thing wasn't a fast moving trend. Blizzard had years to capitalize on that market before the release of League of Legends, they were just seemingly just too stupid to see the mode people were playing in their own game could be something on its own. They also did the same thing with Tower Defense, which was another thing that got huge in Warcraft 3 before others picked that up and made tons of money off it.

Blizzard's lack of foresight when it comes to genres spun out of Warcraft 3 is almost astonishing.