So they are moving away from PC/console to mobile for profits? Meanwhile R2D2 opens with $750m and BO4 with $500m. Hmmm.
Everything about this event screams how they got nothing original or creative left to offer. A relaunch, a remaster, and a mobile game or - The good, the bad, and the ugly! This ain't a blizzard, this is just a mild temperature drop. A pathetic one for sure.
No wonder Morhaime threw in the towel, Blizzard becoming a joke. Can't believe they had a shitty mobile announcement for the main event. I was at least expecting a D2 remaster announcement.
The thing that gets me is who at Blizzard thought this would go down well? Blizzcon is for devoted fans of the existing games/franchises. Diablo Immortal is aimed purely at potentially new players who don't currently play Diablo games and in another gaming market all together. They had to know it would be like trying to sell steak at a vegan convention.
They still chose to announce it at Blizzcon because they lose nothing if the crowd was disappointed, so might as well do it.
I agree with everything you said except for this. They lose reputation with their biggest fans. I am sure they did the math first but I think they also expected a bigger reception based on the number of set-ups they had for people to try it.
Brand means a lot and loyalty means a lot. For me as an older gamer Blizzard = good products that I am willing to buy with minimal research if the concept appeals to me. After some recent moves: Diablo III, BfA etc. then a mobile Diablo. . they are now no longer any different than any other company for me.
I get that I am not their target market for this. . maybe it is strategic brilliance and will shift their demographic to younger players. There is a loss though.
The thing that gets me is who at Blizzard thought this would go down well? Blizzcon is for devoted fans of the existing games/franchises. Diablo Immortal is aimed purely at potentially new players who don't currently play Diablo games and in another gaming market all together. They had to know it would be like trying to sell steak at a vegan convention.
Look how word will get out. . they will advertise it on the Play Store etc. so it will get played. I am sure for a mobile game it will have decent production value and make money. It might introduce new players to the franchise. . they just have to come up with a new online MMO those people will want to play. I am not sure mobile games will have the same shelf life. . of course. . neither do most MMOs these days.
I am telling you that Blizzard knew about the backlash and was ready to do damage control months ago. None of this is surprising to them - again because they know that 95% of Blizzcon crowd are not mobile players.
Blizzard cares greatly about things that would impact their bottom line - upset forum posters and blizzcon crowd - they weren't gonna blow money on a mobile game anyways - so Blizzard is like - Fuck it - we'll manage the fallout but Diablo Immortal can still be a major cash cow for us.
Which is precisely why Blizzcon is a weird place to make the announcement. They could have generated the same buzz with 1/100th of the negative fan reaction if they had chosen to do the reveal anywhere other than Blizzcon.
Expected or not the shitstorm of negativity they're getting is something you generally want to avoid.
Not necessarily - it might help Diablo Immortal catch the ear of mobile players - could be the ripple that Blizzard can magnify into a tidal wave with marketing dollars and get the game to the top of mobile charts.
A product announcement that upsets those who were never gonna buy it - not really a bad thing. Creating a ripple in the news that will bubble up said product to the attention of actual intended consumers - not bad either.
Ah dear DM Kano. I logged into account after year not posting just to answer this.
Mobile gaming market is made up of bored woman on the commute , 8-12 year old kids and people that have 2-3 minutes to burn.
None of them dont know or give a damn about Diablo in any way or form.
Entering mobile game with property like Diablo is huge gamble. Where Blizzard has much more to lose than to gain.
Up to now Blizzard was known for their quality. Their word was their bond. People bought their games in millions on launch just because it was known that Bilzzard knew exactly what players want and how to make it.
To be booed on live stage , during your own convention, that people payed lot of money to attend. Thats bad, even unheared of.
There is no price for spinning that. And surely not marketing something to unexisting populus.
Now that only leave us with China. It is a big question mark. Some say mobile gaming is the gaming in China, and Blizzard basically made this for them.
Again. As people said. They could just left that announcement for ChinaJoy. And Spin Diablo Mobile as side project in western media, and as exclusive focus in chinese media. And none would be the wiser.
Huge fail fail fail. That sounds like EAfication ,corruption of the marketing suits to the highest degree in Blizzard.
Basically people in charge know nothing about the games , but pretend they know all.
You Kano know what I am talking about very well
I 100% agree that majority of mobile gamers don't know what Diablo is.
Every new game is a risk - there are no guarantees that any game will succeed.
What Blizzard can do - and has been doing very well is this:
1. Make a game that is a bit better than average - doesn't have to be anything amazing or revolutionary.
2. Polish the hell out if it, make sure it runs well on older hardware for mass market reach
3. Market the living hell out of it
4. Profit (hopefully)
What they do takes enormous capital - this is why smaller companies just can't compete with the above - as they lack the funds to do so.
So Blizzard will try the same with Diablo Immortal - but again - no guarantee that it will work - but they will stick to their plan and hope for the best.
Mobile market is way more brutal than PC market - so it's gonna be interesting to see how this works out for Blizzard
Are there even any Blizzard employees touching the code? It seems like Diablo has become nothing more than a whored IP like something from Games Workshop.
I haven't found much of anything to play on my phone that I care about; one exception card games, Ascension beats reading the old magazines in the doctor's office.
I also realize I'm not the target demo anymore; too old. I sound like my father now. "They just don't make anything worth a damn anymore...." (SIC)
I don't like mobile games even on the can.... If gaming goes totally mobile that's when I'll know it's time to hang up the joystick, and then put down the controller after leaving the can.
Gut Out!
Not a mobile gaming fan either but think for a minute on how many people world wide have gaming PCs, or Consoles, compared to how many own mobile devices.
Pc is the most popular gaming device in other countries too. Its just Asian is such a huge population they skew the market in favor of mobile phones.
You are forgetting that mobile is about to overtake PC - it may have already done it.
Edit - actually PC has been playing catch up - go PC!
Also look at places like India - 75% mobile vs 25% PC and India will overtake china by population in the next 7 years. Talk about a massive untapped market.
Kano, what's the point of Blizzcon again? While pissing off people is one way of generating interest in new markets, it still doesn't fit what Blizzcon is about. At all. Plus, both Overwatch and Hearthstone would be better candidates for mobile than Diablo. And then there's always the new IP. So, again, what's the point of Blizzcon? Surely not to announce a mobile game nobody wants. It really should've been handled differently.
The point of Blizzcon is marketing of new products, new expansions, etc...- since they lose money every year on Blizzcon.
I am surprised they are still doing it - as I doubt that the marketing they get out of it is paying off.
I would fully expect to see in the next 5 years Blizzard just completely stop doing the shows altogether.
And all the merchandise they sell? Do you have anything recent to back up what you said about them losing money? They said that in the past but that was before the virtual ticket and online sales.
Well, it will be a short lived disaster, putting Diablo on mobile instead of doing something to improving the existing game, calling it 'immortal' the only way they could possibly make it any worse would be to use a company like Netease to do it
Well, nobody here is saying their move does not make sense @DMKano We are saying we dislike it.
They have their right to opt to pull some candy crush fiscal year carnival move...
And we have the right to dislike it because as fans of their IPs it does not take our desires in consideration.
I don't get your point in trying to see their side. We know their side: Money. Edit to add: We just expected more from them. Because we like them. Such cheap move is something below them.
I am saying that us disliking it has zero impact on Blizzards bottom line in case of Diablo mobile.
This is literally none of Blizzards concern - they knew that Diablo mobile would have zero appeal to your average Blizzcon patron - these are not your mobile players.
They still chose to announce it at Blizzcon because they lose nothing if the crowd was disappointed, so might as well do it
You are totally off base with these comments. It’s like saying that you are going to announce the new McDonalds McVeggie Burger at the largest cattle farmer convention. And then when you get booed say “ You all eat veggies don’t you?”
Your comments on this thread seem quite off base and skewed from reality.
This was a pure PR fuckup. Does that mean they will never make money with Diablo phone games? No. But even if you asked the stuttering and stammering guys on stage they would tell you in hindsight it was a fucking ridiculously bad idea.
All time classic MY NEW FAVORITE POST! (Keep laying those bricks)
"I should point out that no other company has shipped out a beta on a disc before this." - Official Mortal Online Lead Community Moderator
Proudly wearing the Harbinger badge since Dec 23, 2017.
Coined the phrase "Role-Playing a Development Team" January 2018
"Oddly Slap is the main reason I stay in these forums." - Mystichaze April 9th 2018
Well, it will be a short lived disaster, putting Diablo on mobile instead of doing something to improving the existing game, calling it 'immortal' the only way they could possibly make it any worse would be to use a company like Netease to do it
Exactly, this is the type of thing you slide in with at least a D3 expansion, hell people would've even been less pissed off if they announced D2 remastered which was almost a guarantee for this year.
Well, nobody here is saying their move does not make sense @DMKano We are saying we dislike it.
They have their right to opt to pull some candy crush fiscal year carnival move...
And we have the right to dislike it because as fans of their IPs it does not take our desires in consideration.
I don't get your point in trying to see their side. We know their side: Money. Edit to add: We just expected more from them. Because we like them. Such cheap move is something below them.
I am saying that us disliking it has zero impact on Blizzards bottom line in case of Diablo mobile.
This is literally none of Blizzards concern - they knew that Diablo mobile would have zero appeal to your average Blizzcon patron - these are not your mobile players.
They still chose to announce it at Blizzcon because they lose nothing if the crowd was disappointed, so might as well do it.
Mobile players are often unaware of upcoming games because every day there's a huge number of them released. The ones that bubble to the top have huge marketing campaigns behind them - Blizzard can do that no problem.
People have every right to be upset about whatever they want - it's a bit delusional to think that Blizzard has any obligations to live up to everyone's expectations as far as what products they release.
The core issue is - unmet expectations create disappointment, and that is not Blizzards problem, people have to manage their own expectations
You think no one at Blizzard cares that this is happening?
I'm sorry but you're wrong. They are busting their balls right now trying to keep it quiet and minimize the damage. They would not be doing that if it didn't matter.
I am telling you that Blizzard knew about the backlash and was ready to do damage control months ago.
Well, the stuttering and stammering guys on the stage that everyone could see were stunned by the crowd's reaction would beg to disagree with you.
Follow that up by the utter lack of simultaneous PR spin in the media and it's clear to everyone that this was NOT a reaction that Blizzard expected.
Did they recently hire Scott Hartsman or something?
All time classic MY NEW FAVORITE POST! (Keep laying those bricks)
"I should point out that no other company has shipped out a beta on a disc before this." - Official Mortal Online Lead Community Moderator
Proudly wearing the Harbinger badge since Dec 23, 2017.
Coined the phrase "Role-Playing a Development Team" January 2018
"Oddly Slap is the main reason I stay in these forums." - Mystichaze April 9th 2018
Well, nobody here is saying their move does not make sense @DMKano We are saying we dislike it.
They have their right to opt to pull some candy crush fiscal year carnival move...
And we have the right to dislike it because as fans of their IPs it does not take our desires in consideration.
I don't get your point in trying to see their side. We know their side: Money. Edit to add: We just expected more from them. Because we like them. Such cheap move is something below them.
I am saying that us disliking it has zero impact on Blizzards bottom line in case of Diablo mobile.
This is literally none of Blizzards concern - they knew that Diablo mobile would have zero appeal to your average Blizzcon patron - these are not your mobile players.
They still chose to announce it at Blizzcon because they lose nothing if the crowd was disappointed, so might as well do it.
Mobile players are often unaware of upcoming games because every day there's a huge number of them released. The ones that bubble to the top have huge marketing campaigns behind them - Blizzard can do that no problem.
People have every right to be upset about whatever they want - it's a bit delusional to think that Blizzard has any obligations to live up to everyone's expectations as far as what products they release.
The core issue is - unmet expectations create disappointment, and that is not Blizzards problem, people have to manage their own expectations
You think no one at Blizzard cares that this is happening?
I'm sorry but you're wrong. They are busting their balls right now trying to keep it quiet and minimize the damage. They would not be doing that if it didn't matter.
I am telling you that Blizzard knew about the backlash and was ready to do damage control months ago.
Well, the stuttering and stammering guys on the stage that everyone could see were stunned by the crowd's reaction would beg to disagree with you.
Follow that up by the utter lack of simultaneous PR spin in the media and it's clear to everyone that this was NOT a reaction that Blizzard expected.
Did they recently hire Scott Hartsman or something?
Apparently their master plan is to keep removing and re-uploading the video on YouTube to flee the negative votes and removing all the negative comments. I'm glad they were ready to damage control for months, otherwise they might've ended up doing something silly!
and 1 other.
Constantine, The Console Poster
"One of the most difficult tasks men can perform, however much others may despise it, is the invention of good games and it cannot be done by men out of touch with their instinctive selves." - Carl Jung
Well, nobody here is saying their move does not make sense @DMKano We are saying we dislike it.
They have their right to opt to pull some candy crush fiscal year carnival move...
And we have the right to dislike it because as fans of their IPs it does not take our desires in consideration.
I don't get your point in trying to see their side. We know their side: Money. Edit to add: We just expected more from them. Because we like them. Such cheap move is something below them.
I am saying that us disliking it has zero impact on Blizzards bottom line in case of Diablo mobile.
This is literally none of Blizzards concern - they knew that Diablo mobile would have zero appeal to your average Blizzcon patron - these are not your mobile players.
They still chose to announce it at Blizzcon because they lose nothing if the crowd was disappointed, so might as well do it.
Mobile players are often unaware of upcoming games because every day there's a huge number of them released. The ones that bubble to the top have huge marketing campaigns behind them - Blizzard can do that no problem.
People have every right to be upset about whatever they want - it's a bit delusional to think that Blizzard has any obligations to live up to everyone's expectations as far as what products they release.
The core issue is - unmet expectations create disappointment, and that is not Blizzards problem, people have to manage their own expectations
You think no one at Blizzard cares that this is happening?
I'm sorry but you're wrong. They are busting their balls right now trying to keep it quiet and minimize the damage. They would not be doing that if it didn't matter.
I am telling you that Blizzard knew about the backlash and was ready to do damage control months ago.
Well, the stuttering and stammering guys on the stage that everyone could see were stunned by the crowd's reaction would beg to disagree with you.
Follow that up by the utter lack of simultaneous PR spin in the media and it's clear to everyone that this was NOT a reaction that Blizzard expected.
Did they recently hire Scott Hartsman or something?
Apparently their master plan is to keep removing and re-uploading the video on YouTube to flee the negative votes and removing all the negative comments. I'm glad they were ready to damage control for months, otherwise they might've ended up doing something silly!
The sad thing in Blizzard's mind is that they'll probably end up thinking people are disliking it just to see how many dislikes each get instead of disliking it cause its bad. I guess they can hire me for PR ideas if they haven't thought of that idea already.
Well, nobody here is saying their move does not make sense @DMKano We are saying we dislike it.
They have their right to opt to pull some candy crush fiscal year carnival move...
And we have the right to dislike it because as fans of their IPs it does not take our desires in consideration.
I don't get your point in trying to see their side. We know their side: Money. Edit to add: We just expected more from them. Because we like them. Such cheap move is something below them.
I am saying that us disliking it has zero impact on Blizzards bottom line in case of Diablo mobile.
This is literally none of Blizzards concern - they knew that Diablo mobile would have zero appeal to your average Blizzcon patron - these are not your mobile players.
They still chose to announce it at Blizzcon because they lose nothing if the crowd was disappointed, so might as well do it.
Mobile players are often unaware of upcoming games because every day there's a huge number of them released. The ones that bubble to the top have huge marketing campaigns behind them - Blizzard can do that no problem.
People have every right to be upset about whatever they want - it's a bit delusional to think that Blizzard has any obligations to live up to everyone's expectations as far as what products they release.
The core issue is - unmet expectations create disappointment, and that is not Blizzards problem, people have to manage their own expectations
You think no one at Blizzard cares that this is happening?
I'm sorry but you're wrong. They are busting their balls right now trying to keep it quiet and minimize the damage. They would not be doing that if it didn't matter.
I am telling you that Blizzard knew about the backlash and was ready to do damage control months ago.
Well, the stuttering and stammering guys on the stage that everyone could see were stunned by the crowd's reaction would beg to disagree with you.
Follow that up by the utter lack of simultaneous PR spin in the media and it's clear to everyone that this was NOT a reaction that Blizzard expected.
Did they recently hire Scott Hartsman or something?
Agreed. Kano is not correct about this. Blizzard honestly thought this would be better received. To think otherwise is naïve at best. Yes there is a ton of money in mobile and Blizz wants in on the action. Yet NetEase is doing all the heavy lifting on this title or did already with 'Endless of God' being what this title is.
Blizzard completely dropped the ball with this and most of their IPs.
Blizzard is a shell of their former self as are their titles.
Their recent 'dehype' is a testament to how low they have fallen. What other company has ever made an announcement to bar their fans of becoming excited about their upcoming product? The sheer lack of confidence was just pathetic.
Constantine, The Console Poster
"One of the most difficult tasks men can perform, however much others may despise it, is the invention of good games and it cannot be done by men out of touch with their instinctive selves." - Carl Jung
Well, nobody here is saying their move does not make sense @DMKano We are saying we dislike it.
They have their right to opt to pull some candy crush fiscal year carnival move...
And we have the right to dislike it because as fans of their IPs it does not take our desires in consideration.
I don't get your point in trying to see their side. We know their side: Money. Edit to add: We just expected more from them. Because we like them. Such cheap move is something below them.
I am saying that us disliking it has zero impact on Blizzards bottom line in case of Diablo mobile.
This is literally none of Blizzards concern - they knew that Diablo mobile would have zero appeal to your average Blizzcon patron - these are not your mobile players.
They still chose to announce it at Blizzcon because they lose nothing if the crowd was disappointed, so might as well do it.
Mobile players are often unaware of upcoming games because every day there's a huge number of them released. The ones that bubble to the top have huge marketing campaigns behind them - Blizzard can do that no problem.
People have every right to be upset about whatever they want - it's a bit delusional to think that Blizzard has any obligations to live up to everyone's expectations as far as what products they release.
The core issue is - unmet expectations create disappointment, and that is not Blizzards problem, people have to manage their own expectations
You think no one at Blizzard cares that this is happening?
I'm sorry but you're wrong. They are busting their balls right now trying to keep it quiet and minimize the damage. They would not be doing that if it didn't matter.
I am telling you that Blizzard knew about the backlash and was ready to do damage control months ago.
Well, the stuttering and stammering guys on the stage that everyone could see were stunned by the crowd's reaction would beg to disagree with you.
Follow that up by the utter lack of simultaneous PR spin in the media and it's clear to everyone that this was NOT a reaction that Blizzard expected.
Did they recently hire Scott Hartsman or something?
Agreed. Kano is not correct about this. Blizzard honestly thought this would be better received. To think otherwise is naïve at best. Yes there is a ton of money in mobile and Blizz wants in on the action. Yet NetEase is doing all the heavy lifting on this title or did already with 'Endless of God' being what this title is.
Blizzard completely dropped the ball with this and most of their IPs.
Blizzard is a shell of their former self as are their titles.
Their recent 'dehype' is a testament to how low they have fallen. What other company has ever made an announcement to bar their fans of becoming excited about their upcoming product? The sheer lack of confidence was just pathetic.
To be fair to Brack, he wasn't officially steering the ship at this point. This year was probably known to be a lackluster blizzcon year since probably last blizzcon, but they "had to hype it a little." Oddly, I only now know of 2 of the "multiple" diablo projects they were working on (maybe 3, I think the netflix thing got shelves?). Besides the mobile, the only other 1 I can think of is the comic. Was that really the "multiple projects" in the works?
Yeah, that's about the time the official transition started if I recall correctly. I really dont know what they could've done if those were the only 3 projects they meant by MULTIPLE. It just feels like something is off to me, especially with Diablo the supposed focus of this blizzcon. They have more stuff today dont they?
Yeah, that's about the time the official transition started if I recall correctly. I really dont know what they could've done if those were the only 3 projects they meant by MULTIPLE.
I have a feeling that those guys are "choking" on the other projects that they know are in the works but aren't allowed to speak about. I feel sort of sorry for the Diablo team.
This announcement was bad enough, but the timing of it is just ludicrous. If Blizzard had made this announcement at a mobile con as an offshoot project or as a lead in to a major expansion or new title there may have been some concern as to resources applied to developing it, but I think real objections would have been minimal. Instead they chose to announce it to their core player base, primarily PC player base, who had paid for tickets and travel costs to hear this tone deaf and insulting reveal. The whole thing is just so disappointing it makes my face tired.
Comments
Brand means a lot and loyalty means a lot. For me as an older gamer Blizzard = good products that I am willing to buy with minimal research if the concept appeals to me. After some recent moves: Diablo III, BfA etc. then a mobile Diablo. . they are now no longer any different than any other company for me.
I get that I am not their target market for this. . maybe it is strategic brilliance and will shift their demographic to younger players. There is a loss though.
Wa min God! Se æx on min heafod is!
/Cheers,
Lahnmir
Kyleran on yours sincerely
'But there are many. You can play them entirely solo, and even offline. Also, you are wrong by default.'
Ikcin in response to yours sincerely debating whether or not single-player offline MMOs exist...
'This does not apply just to ED but SC or any other game. What they will get is Rebirth/X4, likely prettier but equally underwhelming and pointless.
It is incredibly difficult to design some meaningfull leg content that would fit a space ship game - simply because it is not a leg game.
It is just huge resource waste....'
Gdemami absolutely not being an armchair developer
Wa min God! Se æx on min heafod is!
I also realize I'm not the target demo anymore; too old. I sound like my father now. "They just don't make anything worth a damn anymore...." (SIC)
Seaspite
Playing ESO on my X-Box
Your comments on this thread seem quite off base and skewed from reality.
This was a pure PR fuckup. Does that mean they will never make money with Diablo phone games? No. But even if you asked the stuttering and stammering guys on stage they would tell you in hindsight it was a fucking ridiculously bad idea.
All time classic MY NEW FAVORITE POST! (Keep laying those bricks)
"I should point out that no other company has shipped out a beta on a disc before this." - Official Mortal Online Lead Community Moderator
Proudly wearing the Harbinger badge since Dec 23, 2017.
Coined the phrase "Role-Playing a Development Team" January 2018
"Oddly Slap is the main reason I stay in these forums." - Mystichaze April 9th 2018
Follow that up by the utter lack of simultaneous PR spin in the media and it's clear to everyone that this was NOT a reaction that Blizzard expected.
Did they recently hire Scott Hartsman or something?
All time classic MY NEW FAVORITE POST! (Keep laying those bricks)
"I should point out that no other company has shipped out a beta on a disc before this." - Official Mortal Online Lead Community Moderator
Proudly wearing the Harbinger badge since Dec 23, 2017.
Coined the phrase "Role-Playing a Development Team" January 2018
"Oddly Slap is the main reason I stay in these forums." - Mystichaze April 9th 2018
거북이는 목을 내밀 때 안 움직입니다
https://www.mmorpg.com/diablo-3/news/diablo-devs-throw-ice-water-on-the-fires-of-blizzcon-expectations-1000050181
https://www.mmorpg.com/columns/blizzcon-2018-tempering-fan-expectations-1000013159
https://www.mmorpg.com/diablo-3/news/does-the-blizzcon-floor-map-fly-in-the-face-of-diablo-emphasis-hinted-by-convention-schedule-1000050134
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Raquelis in various games
Played: Everything
Playing: Nioh 2, Civ6
Wants: The World
Anticipating: Everquest Next Crowfall, Pantheon, Elden Ring
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