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Somebody finished Diablo 3 in 12 hours [Update: Others did it in 7]
We wonder – when someone finishes an epic, sprawling title such as Diablo 3 in a matter of hours, does he experience the years of excitement, adrenaline and joy had by unrushed players as a super-compressed ball of electric hype? And if so, how does his heart not explode?Diablo 3 player Yoshichan would know the answers to these questions, as he posted final stats from Diablo 3 showing that he finished the entire game in 12 hours and 29 minutes. Yoshichan played as a Barbarian on Normal difficulty, reached level 32, had 8,368 Lifetime Kills, 412 Elite Kills and collected 168,481 gold during his run. He obviously didn't run into many Templar followers.We suggest Yoshichan pop an aspirin and give Diablo 3 another, heartier go, but only if he promises to stop and smell the brimstone along the way.Update: It appears a few more players have gotten past this dreaded "Error 37" monster we keep hearing so much about to finish Diablo 3 in just seven hours. A group of four Korean players ran through the entire title in seven hours on Normal difficulty, and a group of Chinese players did the same, Tom's Hardware reports. [Thanks, AlexLiebensfeld.]
The Daily Grind: Are you among the 10% who finish what they start?
Last week, CNN published an article declaring that video game attrition is significantly higher than we might have suspected. According to the post, 90% of gamers don't finish the video games they start. CNN lists several possible reasons for this phenomenon: the rising age of the average gamer (37), shortening attention spans, different life focuses, gaming platforms, game lengths, and a roster of new games -- particularly the more profitable and time-consuming multiplayer games -- that's becoming increasingly bloated. Setting aside the question of whether MMOs even have endings at all, we have to wonder whether MMO gamers suffer this same inability to see a game through to the finish line. Whatever you consider the "end" of your MMOs, do you ever get there? Are you among the 10% of gamers who finish what they start? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
The Daily Grind: When have you felt a sense of completion?
By their very nature, MMOs discourage being done. Not necessarily in an insidious sense -- but when your game relies upon people playing it for months on end, there's a natural emphasis on letting tasks stretch off to infinity. But while it's certainly possible to wind up with almost astonishingly long-running tasks, such as assembling the Relic Weapons in Final Fantasy XI, with enough persistence you eventually arrive at the day when you have your brand-new Excalibur. It's almost enough to just kill something with it and then declare yourself done. Even with an emphasis on long-term goals, there come certain points when you feel that your character has finished everything you want to do -- or perhaps points when the player behind the character just feels done. You are at the apex of power and knowledge, and there's no new challenges that won't be more of the same. In what moments have you felt a sense of completion and finality? Has that been your signal to quit, take a break, or just set a new goal for yourself? Are you happier with games that let you achieve several smaller goals, or one huge goal that feels more significant when you hit it?
Target bidding the Xbox 360 Core model adieu?
It wouldn't be a legitimate discontinuation rumor without an incredibly blurry picture as proof, now would it? In yet another disputable case of "is the Xbox 360 Core model on its way out," a certain Target employee apparently snapped a picture of horrific quality showing the "Xbox 360 Core Hardware Sys" with a "Discontinued" status. The shot was reportedly taken from one of the store's oh-so-knowledgeable PDAs, and while there's obviously no confirmation either way just yet, this tidbit does substantiate the questionable Best Buy slip. Ah well, it's not like we won't have yet another iteration coming up soon to ease the pain if this proves accurate.
Palm's LifeDrive getting the axe, marked "end of life"
In a move that could be considered somewhat insensitive to those still grieving over Palm OS' official departure, Palm has now gone and axed a little bit more of itself, as the firm's once-popular LifeDrive device has been marked "end of life." Not even two full years after seeing the device get legit, go on sale, get photographed, and hit the chopping block, the media-centric Mobile Manager is on its way out. Notably, the unit has also vanished from UK retailers after reportedly "having fallen foul of EU regulations on the use of hazardous materials." Yeah, we've still got a few Treos and whatnot to keep us occupied, and there's always an (admittedly dim) glimmer of hope that Garnet solves all the Palm-related woes, but it looks like the LifeDrive has finally suffered the same fate that so many other dedicated PDAs already have.
3 Final Fantasy XIII games; 2 just for PS3
Final Fantasy XII won't be out for the PS2 in the States until October, but we now have a glimpse of Final Fantasy XIII thanks to Square Enix's pre-E3 press event -- and this installment in the series won't be coming alone.Like the different titles in the Compilation of FFVII collection of games and movies, the initially announced installments in the FFXIII universe will span multiple platforms which, in this case, include both the PS3 and sufficiently advanced mobile handsets. Not much is known about the mobile-bound Final Fantasy Agito XIII, but the subtitle-less version of FFXIII will concern a gun-and-sword-toting heroine in a futuristic world, while Final Fantasy Versus XIII will focus on "a spiky-haired character," "extreme action elements," and a primary theme of "bonding" (whatever that means). Anybody ready to "resist the world"?The multiple titles might explain the earlier rumor reported in March that FFXIII was "practically close to being finished" (maybe only one of these games was nearing completion). Whatever the case may be, we're just happy that more than one not-so-Final-Fantasy will be hitting the next PlayStation in relatively rapid succession. RPG feasting: on the way.[Via Joystiq]
