Support NeoGAF

[01011001]

Diablo III is fucking trash. If you had said Diablo II Resurrected then maybe you would have had a point.

Diablo 3 is better than this very VERY bad game is my point

 

[Wildebeest]

Diablo games always appealed to people who were vulnerable to gambling addiction. Sadly I expect plenty of them will outright defend these practices if getting their fix, or will just "ironically" pump cash into the game while mocking the design.

 

[WitchHunter]

The fact that more than half the people in this thread think this is fine IS THE PROBLEM that we've been forever warning you about. We're now at the point where you're just accepting this shit. Gaming is officially dead

A lot of F2P games have "whales" who spend an insane amount of money on these games compared to the average user. Why? Because they earn 100x as much per month as the average user. Why not give them the opportunity to spend a few ten thousands here and there and make them feel special?

 

[Robb]

Eh, if people want to play it or pay for it that’s up to them. I’m not even touching this one despite it being “free”.

 

[niilokin]

You can buy legendary crest and legendary gear every month for hilts (which you get a shitload from doing anything) , daily reward gives legendary helm, free battlepass rank 10 or so gave legendary weapon, I got legendary gem from elder rift by using the legendary crest I bought with in game currency...

 

[Ellery]

Always remember the more you spend the more they will "allow" you to spend on the next game and the more data they will have to exploit the psychology of weak minded people in the future.

Diablo Immortal is what people mean when they talk about "vote with your wallet" and in this case it means if you spend money on a game like this you vote for a future where those practices are commonplace.
I'd bet that most people who are actively spending money on the game now will regret it in the next few years. You will own absolutely nothing and are at the mercy of Blizzard Activision to have access to your digital nothingness.
Eventually there will be new content and everything you paid for will be worthless. Worth less than it already is, because all of those digital things are on servers you have no say about and Blizzard probably doesn't allow you to sell things.

Of course you are allowed to do whatever you want. You can spend all you want and play as much as you want. Unless you are in Belgium or Netherlands where this game is actually banned because it is so vile.

 

[Black_Stride]

You can buy legendary crest and legendary gear every month for hilts (which you get a shitload from doing anything) , daily reward gives legendary helm, free battlepass rank 10 or so gave legendary weapon, I got legendary gem from elder rift by using the legendary crest I bought with in game currency...

That sounds like a free to play game?
For shame!

 

[Darchaos]

I am always astonished how people play these games... it's not even a good game if it didn't have this p2w shit, it's like Diablo Shit Edition from the gameplay side of things.

JUST BUY FUCKING DIABLO 3... like... wtf?

This, why tf are people playing the lidl version of games? Why are people playing mobile games at all in a serious way? Its like im going to buy a new motorcycle, but instead of buying one with 2 wheels i buy one without wheels and there is slotmachines gaffataped to it.

 

[The Eradicator]

A lot of F2P games have "whales" who spend an insane amount of money on these games compared to the average user. Why? Because they earn 100x as much per month as the average user. Why not give them the opportunity to spend a few ten thousands here and there and make them feel special?

Really THINK about what you just said. That's insane! Thinking that ANY game should have the right to pry thousands of dollars off of anyone, is just proof of how desensitized you've all become to this. Just because some people are stupid enough to do this is irrelevant. We should not be sitting around acting as though this nonsense does not effect games throughout the entire industry. Even devs that don't monetize this way still study the data to determine when to give players the right amount of dopamine hits to keep them playing for more time than they normally would. This stuff trickles into other aspects of our games too.

 

[killatopak]

A lot of F2P games have "whales" who spend an insane amount of money on these games compared to the average user. Why? Because they earn 100x as much per month as the average user. Why not give them the opportunity to spend a few ten thousands here and there and make them feel special?

Imagine playing a game to get away from how unfair the real world is only to get fucked up by the real world again inside the game.

I don't want to deal with that shit. Worse still if the game has PVP.

 

[BlackTron]

A lot of F2P games have "whales" who spend an insane amount of money on these games compared to the average user. Why? Because they earn 100x as much per month as the average user. Why not give them the opportunity to spend a few ten thousands here and there and make them feel special?

I find it hard to believe that anyone who actually earns that much money would spend it in a way like this to "make them feel special".

Maybe people who HAVE that much money. But there's a difference between having it and having earned it.

 

[hemo memo]

I've never payed a cent to any F2P game so even if I was going to play it I would just delete it when the grind hit. "Support the dev" well, I'm not a charity. The dev can produce a product that I can buy fully. It is a business. They want my money then they need to change their model. No one forced them to make the product F2P.

 

[Smokken]

That’s it? let me sell some bitcoins before they are completely worthless

Oh I'm soooo gonna quote you in 5 years if you actually went through with this haha.

 

[Reizo Ryuu]

Nobody in here is "defending" anything, but the reality is that this is how this business makes money.
You can go around saying this is bad or whatever, but at the end of the day it doesn't matter; you could boycott or "vote with your wallet" all you want, but these games don't stay afloat because of small or incidental spenders, 90% of the money comes from big spenders, who will spend hundreds if not thousands to get a shiny new jpeg and they don't give a shit about your "concerns".

I mean boycott, become outraged, rally your people, organise petitions etc., you do you, but the end result is just you yelling at a cloud that doesn't know or care about your existence.

 

[OldBoyGamer]

Just to add that, the fact a game requires you to spend $100,000 a character doesn’t actually mean anyone is spending that.

I mean sure you may get the odd billionaire who who doesn’t give a shit about money. And that’s fine.

The bigger concern is when they use aggressive addiction based mechanics like gambling does. Because that’s when ordinary people with addiction issues get themselves into all sorts of trouble.

 

[OldBoyGamer]

And to follow that. There was a lot of talk about whales spending big on games several years ago. Not sure it’s a major money maker these days. I’d love to see some stats but very few f2p games break down their monetisation conversions.

My assumption is that these days, a lot of the f2p money is made off teen to mid 20’s players who have grown up on f2p games and are happy to drop £10 here or £50 there.

I could be wrong but as I said, stats are very difficult to come by.

 

[CuteFaceJay]

I thought the plan none of us were going to play it because it's a pissing mobile game.

 

[The Eradicator]

Let's eradicate your outdated vision of 'how videogames should be'. Don't be afraid of burst your bubble; you will be amazed how amazing this industry and medium is. (Better than ever in fact)

It's not outdated, as there's still games like Elden Ring that launch without this crap. But there's WAY too much of it in gaming for you to suggest that 2022 is better than it has ever been. It's not.

We are paying more and getting less than we were before. Explain why exactly that is "better".

 

[Rocco Schiavone]

Good thing I don't have a phone.

Good thing that I don't give a fuck about Diablo.

 

[WitchHunter]

Really THINK about what you just said. That's insane! Thinking that ANY game should have the right to pry thousands of dollars off of anyone, is just proof of how desensitized you've all become to this. Just because some people are stupid enough to do this is irrelevant. We should not be sitting around acting as though this nonsense does not effect games throughout the entire industry. Even devs that don't monetize this way still study the data to determine when to give players the right amount of dopamine hits to keep them playing for more time than they normally would. This stuff trickles into other aspects of our games too.

I just don't play games that are below threshold and don't need a shit looking dingleberry for 100 bucks to elevate my mood a bit. But that's me, there are other people on the spectrum who are willing to spend a lot. Btw, "They" do the same with gaming as they did with porn. Monetizing it, squeezing every inch of fun out of it. Just as Bobby Kotick said.

 

[SirKicksalot]

You can buy legendary crest and legendary gear every month for hilts (which you get a shitload from doing anything) , daily reward gives legendary helm, free battlepass rank 10 or so gave legendary weapon, I got legendary gem from elder rift by using the legendary crest I bought with in game currency...

There's also the platinum system which enables you to obtain legendary gems and other ingredients.

 

[WitchHunter]

I find it hard to believe that anyone who actually earns that much money would spend it in a way like this to "make them feel special".

Maybe people who HAVE that much money. But there's a difference between having it and having earned it.

Above a certain amount, you just don't care. All that matters is that they spend it. And if there's market for it, they would be insane not to milk the audience. Well, there are a lot of good games out there, so why cry a river, especially for a Blizzard game?

 

[EverydayBeast]

Spending extra $ in video games is a concern.

 

[BlackTron]

Above a certain amount, you just don't care. All that matters is that they spend it. And if there's market for it, they would be insane not to milk the audience. Well, there are a lot of good games out there, so why cry a river, especially for a Blizzard game?

I guess. There are exceptions to every rule, but generally I don't get the idea that people who earn a lot of money have the mentality to be wasteful on garbage.

I can see them spending gobs of it sure, but in a discerning fashion.

 

[LazyParrot]

It's not outdated, as there's still games like Elden Ring that launch without this crap. But there's WAY too much of it in gaming for you to suggest that 2022 is better than it has ever been. It's not.

We are paying more and getting less than we were before. Explain why exactly that is "better".

This is only true if you're limiting yourself to AAA games. They have gotten so huge and expensive over the past decade that publishers and developers are incentivized to forego innovation, stick with what has worked before (but bigger and prettier this time), and extract as much money from gamers as possible using whatever tricks they can get away with.

Ditching that mess and switching over to playing mostly AA and indie releases essentially saved this hobby for me.

 

[levyjl1988]

This is why many gamers disregard mobile. The system is pretty much a psychological exploit of a trap. People who game on PC and dedicated consoles can mostly expect a great experience utilizing its hardware and high production. Any games known to be free to play in the end will cost you.

And with mobile, once the servers go down there goes your time spent, effort, and money. Might as well use that time wisely and work out or play other games where the returns are greater.

Fuck mobile gaming.

 

[Makoto-Yuki]

just think, someone sat there with a calculator and spent some of their weekend counting up exactly how much you could spent on this game just so that they could go on the internet and be so negative about something because they don't like others doing things they don't enjoy

This is why many gamers disregard mobile. The system is pretty much a psychological exploit of a trap. People who game on PC and dedicated consoles can mostly expect a great experience utilizing its hardware and high production. Any games known to be free to play in the end will cost you.

And with mobile, once the servers go down there goes your time spent, effort, and money. Might as well use that time wisely and work out or play other games where the returns are greater.

Fuck mobile gaming.

i play primarily on PC and still can enjoy mobile games

 

[Malio]

I am re-playing my $5 Torchlight II for the first time in 8 years and have already uttered "Better than Diablo" at least twice.

DI can go fuck itself.

 

[DonkeyPunchJr]

You know what? I honestly don't mind. If someone is that retarded to spend that kind of money so be it. Hopefully those whales end up funding big AAA games from MS.

I’m less mad about the unethical business practice, more mad that I wasn’t the one who came up with such an effective way to fleece foolish gamers out of their money.

 

[Black_Stride]

This, why tf are people playing the lidl version of games? Why are people playing mobile games at all in a serious way? Its like im going to buy a new motorcycle, but instead of buying one with 2 wheels i buy one without wheels and there is slotmachines gaffataped to it.

Cuz I can play the game on my phone on the go and dont have to actually spend any money on it?

Using your own motorcycle analogy.
Someone can like bikes but also own a Unicycle....the unicycle is for all intents and purposes a budget version but it isnt serving the exact same purpose no?
So I can play COD on my PC "seriously" but I can also play COD: Mobile on my phone when im out and about.
Enjoying one doesnt make me enjoy the other one any less.
Heck I know people who dont have a console or capable PC who only play mobile games.
When did people become gatekeepers to gaming?
If someone only enjoys playing solitaire let them, if they enjoy idler games more power to them, if they want a Diablo-esc experience well theyve got one.
Its their time and money why does it concern you so how they spend it?

 

[Spaceman292]

These stupid clickbait outrage threads need to stop. You can play the entire game without spending a cent. The outrage here only applies to people who want to min/max in a PVE game.

Stop excusing this shit you chump

 

[Darchaos]

Cuz I can play the game on my phone on the go and dont have to actually spend any money on it?

Using your own motorcycle analogy.
Someone can like bikes but also own a Unicycle....the unicycle is for all intents and purposes a budget version but it isnt serving the exact same purpose no?
So I can play COD on my PC "seriously" but I can also play COD: Mobile on my phone when im out and about.
Enjoying one doesnt make me enjoy the other one any less.
Heck I know people who dont have a console or capable PC who only play mobile games.
When did people become gatekeepers to gaming?
If someone only enjoys playing solitaire let them, if they enjoy idler games more power to them, if they want a Diablo-esc experience well theyve got one.
Its their time and money why does it concern you so how they spend it?

I will never understand it,not even the play on the go bit, maybe 5 min on the shitter. But you are right, i dont have to understand.

 

[Spaceman292]

A lot of F2P games have "whales" who spend an insane amount of money on these games compared to the average user. Why? Because they earn 100x as much per month as the average user. Why not give them the opportunity to spend a few ten thousands here and there and make them feel special?

So it's okay to exploit people with gambling addictions because a few of them might be rich? Have you been sniffing glue?

 

[BlitzerRadic]

While you are correct don't you feel these kinds of systems can become addictive to certain people?

Any concern about addicted people is fake. People bitch about mtx because the design affects them and they are cheapos and dont want to pay.

Modern packaged food is very addictive to fatties but you dont see any outrage over that.

 

[TheKnownUnknown]

This "outrage" has made me download the game. Not a penny spent and enjoying it so far.

Thanks for putting this on my radar.

 

[Cyborg]

The game is forbidden in The Netherlands. I have no problems with mtx as long as they are reasonable. This is just batshit crazy

 

[names are for friends]

Any concern about addicted people is fake. People bitch about mtx because the design affects them and they are cheapos and dont want to pay.

Lmao yeah people are just mad because they want to play a good game without having to pass a simpery test (ie. "give us money. More money. No, even more than that you little bitch"), definitely don't see a valid concern there. Keep raging haters I'll just keep sending my money to Blizzard

 

[strange headache]

just think, someone sat there with a calculator and spent some of their weekend counting up exactly how much you could spent on this game just so that they could go on the internet and be so negative about something because they don't like others doing things they don't enjoy

Yes because clearly people informing themselves about the products they consume are 'pathetic losers'...
Always remember, it's people like @billyxci who are defending this crap, ignorant and uninformed customers who are unable to reflect critically on their consumer habits.

People getting fleeced by gameplay mechanics explicitly crippled by microtransaction schemes in order to maximize revenue? They don't care if gameplay is sacrificed on the altar of profit, as long as they get their gaming fix.
You people have no right calling other people losers.

 

[SmokedMeat]

Yes because clearly people informing themselves about the products they consume are 'pathetic losers'...
Always remember, it's people like @billyxci who are defending this crap, ignorant and uninformed customers who are unable to reflect critically on their consumer habits.

People getting fleeced by gameplay mechanics explicitly crippled by microtransaction schemes in order to maximize revenue? They don't care if gameplay is sacrificed on the altar of profit, as long as they get their gaming fix.
You people have no right calling other people losers.

Damn man, your hatred for this one game is crazy. Who cares if people are getting fleeced? People are getting fleeced daily in the entire mobile market. You’re getting fleeced paying for online console gaming. You're getting fleeced paying $10 for a PS5 upgrade of a PS4 game. You’re getting fleeced in every single game with a Battle Pass because you’re on a Hamster wheel, endlessly pouring your time into their ecosystem to unlock the dumbest fucking shit.

Every company wants whales now. They want at least a game or two where they can rely on money coming in from suckers. Look at the new Gran Turismo. Look at Fortnite. Hell, look at Ubi Soft trying again and again to come up with their own live service game to get some whales.

Blizzard wants some whales in their mobile Diablo. So what? What do I care if some dumbass with no self control spends a grand on some armor? Does it matter if they’re doing it in Diablo as opposed to Chinese knockoff #658?

I’d imagine those of us that don’t care, don’t care because the microtransactions don’t work on us. This is just a ftp Diablo to play on our work break. Nothing more. I don’t give a flying shit about maxing my armor set. If I can’t get through the campaign, I’ll uninstall it, and my life goes on.

This is what mobile gaming is. The time to get up on the soapbox passed by years ago.

But the customers are uninformed. Ok??

 

[Black_Stride]

I will never understand it,not even the play on the go bit, maybe 5 min on the shitter. But you are right, i dont have to understand.

Im going to hazard a guess you dont have a long commute to work or have longish lunch breaks or any free time outside the house or even free time in the house where you are just chilling.

Not understanding mobile gaming is some out of touch shit, but aye.

 

[AutumnLeaves]

Good thing that I don't give a fuck about Diablo.

It's a shell of it's former self. Play the first and second one and ignore the rest if you want to . Diablo 3 is pure trash compared to it's predecessors and this...this should just die.

 

[Jibran#one]

This hate against the game without playing absolutely sucks,
It's a ftp game u can finish the story without spending a single dime ,u can play it on the train in a car far from home , these click bait bs videos about its min max builds fucking suck.
If it had pay to progress in story or something I would've been raging with you.
But for fuks sake just play the game and then make a fucking opinion on it

 

[MadAnon]

Judging by the level of outrage, for some this is their first exposure to mobile game monetization. Gaming ruined? Where've you been for the past 5+ years? Now you see why mobile game industry shits on every other platform in terms of profits.

 

[UnNamed]

Do you wanna buy a game on a mobile phone? Disgusting.
Do you wanna play a free game and buy something? Disgusting.

 

[ANDS]

We definitely needed another thread on a click-bait, disingenuous video posted now in multiple threads. . .along with the misinformation (and outright lies) that go with it.

So it's okay to exploit people with gambling addictions because a few of them might be rich? Have you been sniffing glue?

Will no one think of the addicts?! Lemme guess, you're also opposed to "Buy 1 Get 1 Free" deals, or "Impulse Buys at 7 Eleven." I assume you also object to "Limited Time Events" (Black Friday's must be especially frustrating for you) or advertising for beer that isn't just the name of the beer on it (to stop enticing susceptible alcoholics of course). And my gosh, porn in general just must set you off the deep end, with how pervasive it is and destructive for sex addicts.

. . .we live in a world where we consume products responsibly that others aren't able to. Sucks, but this hand wringing that we have a product that just shouldn't be consumed because of what it might do to other people is funking mental.

 

[TGO]

How does Sony keep getting away with this...

 

[Dr. Claus]

Yup. There should be a limit of 1000$. (That might even be too high) Once that limit is crossed it unlocks everything.

Im not opposed to greed. But $110,000 for goods without full ownership is immoral.

I don’t even think there needs to be a cap. Just don’t have the ability to buy power. Keep the ability to buy fancy armor and weapon skins for transmog, pets, mounts - whales will still buy them as soon as they come out and you don’t jeopardize the actual gameplay.

While you are correct don't you feel these kinds of systems can become addictive to certain people?

He is just a console warrior, mate. His posts have already been linked when he was “crying” about GT7 and its MTX, but will gladly defend this one because it is from a company that his favorite plastic box maker purchased.

it's always funny hearing the talking points from the delusional. "You don't have to spend any money!"

dude, it's a game about min/maxing your gear. And the best gear are all locked behind a paywall. Sure, you can grind it technically, but it takes DECADES. The conditioning starts immediately as it forces you to visit the store to get daily login rewards. The core game design is tied around spending money, as it doesn't brickwall you until mid game to ease you in and give you that false sense of security. It's just part of the emotional manipulation.

No one is saying a f2p game shouldn't have monetization, but there are ways to do it that are less exploitative and predatory than this game.

A reminder that this game is made by NetEase (collaborating with Blizzard), a company notorious for heavy p2w schemes in their games.

Yep. Not to mention the game literally pushes you to buy within 4-5 minutes of playing. You will *never* catch up as you will start to hit a repetitive grind very, very early on with its absurdly low drop chances. While you *can* earn legendary items, they are quickly outclassed by any paid player which completely defeats the purpose of the item to begin with.

Always remember the more you spend the more they will "allow" you to spend on the next game and the more data they will have to exploit the psychology of weak minded people in the future.

Diablo Immortal is what people mean when they talk about "vote with your wallet" and in this case it means if you spend money on a game like this you vote for a future where those practices are commonplace.
I'd bet that most people who are actively spending money on the game now will regret it in the next few years. You will own absolutely nothing and are at the mercy of Blizzard Activision to have access to your digital nothingness.
Eventually there will be new content and everything you paid for will be worthless. Worth less than it already is, because all of those digital things are on servers you have no say about and Blizzard probably doesn't allow you to sell things.

Of course you are allowed to do whatever you want. You can spend all you want and play as much as you want. Unless you are in Belgium or Netherlands where this game is actually banned because it is so vile.

Exactly. Which is why we should continue to lobby for these predatory and cancerous titles to be banned in larger nations. There is literally no upside for the consumer for these titles to exist.

Yes because clearly people informing themselves about the products they consume are 'pathetic losers'...
Always remember, it's people like @billyxci who are defending this crap, ignorant and uninformed customers who are unable to reflect critically on their consumer habits.

People getting fleeced by gameplay mechanics explicitly crippled by microtransaction schemes in order to maximize revenue? They don't care if gameplay is sacrificed on the altar of profit, as long as they get their gaming fix.
You people have no right calling other people losers.

I wouldn’t even bother, Strange. There are a few folks around here such as billyxci and ANDS who are blatant trolls and will shill the hell out of cancerous crap like this because of petty console wars or sunk cost fallacy. They aren’t worth the time or day.

 

[Interfectum]

Someone has calculated how much it costs to fully upgrade a character in Diablo: Immortal

Alternatively, you can maximize your character without spending money, but it would take an average of 10 years to do so.

Mobile games are meant to be played over the span of years.

 

[Jibran#one]

I can bet u there would be events , raids and whatnot for f2p players to get the gear they want over the span of the game.
Mobile games are different than console games and how they are monetize , I think if u start clash of clans now it would take u literally close to a million dollars to max ur townhall and everything to max but if u have been playing over the years u wouldn't need to pay a single cent ,
Is this good ? Fuck no but this is how mobile gaming Is since forever

 

[Amiga]

Monetization rate needs to be a category in game reviews. Explaining more technically how payment is affecting the gameplay experience compared to traditional full price and done games. Show the progression rate for F2P games, when progression walls are encountered, and how that that changes after paying $40 - $60 - $80 - $100 - $150+