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Hitting the Books: The slow death of the strategy guide
Welcome to Hitting the Books. With less than one in five Americans reading just for fun these days, we've done the hard work for you by scouring the internet for the most interesting, thought provoking books on science and technology we can find and delivering an easily digestible nugget of their stories.
Engadget UK giveaway: Win a 'Diablo III' edition Switch courtesy of Blizzard
'Tis the season to wear silly jumpers, consume too much of everything and spend cold weekends catching up on all the games you didn't play over summer. And this week, to stave off boredom during the long nights, we're giving away a limited edition Diablo III Nintendo Switch thanks to our friends at Blizzard. The bundle includes a Switch with gothic decals, a download code for Diablo III: Eternal Collection and a themed carry case. We also have five extra cases to send to the runners-up, in case you can get away with taking your Switch to your aunt's house on Boxing Day. You can get your no-strings-attached entry in via the Rafflecopter widget below, but don't forget to give the rules a quick look first.
'Diablo Immortal' brings Blizzard's action RPG to iOS and Android
On the same day it released Diablo III on Nintendo Switch, Blizzard announced it's bringing the Diablo franchise to even more platforms. The studio revealed at Blizzcon that Diablo Immortal, which is coming to iOS and Android, will be the first mobile game in the series.
Nintendo is making an artwork-clad ‘Diablo III’ Switch
In a hellion cross-promotion, Activision Blizzard and Nintendo have partnered up to release a special edition Switch console for Diablo III exclusively at GameStop. The bundle will include the 2012 game, plus its two expansions, Rise of the Necromancer and Reaper of Souls. Included in the set will be a black and gray Switch console -- and dock -- featuring Diablo III artwork, a carrying case, as well as the standard trove of of items and accessories, like Joy-Cons, a grip and an HDMI cable. But it wouldn't be a third-party Nintendo cross-promotion if it didn't include some iconic, (and somewhat out-of-place) character cameos. These include items from The Legend of Zelda, such as Ganondorf's Transmog Armor, a companion Cucco pet, and a Golden Triforce Portrait Frame. Of course, these in-game items will only found in the Switch version of the game. Regardless of the non-canon items, the game itself is a faithful port, and will likely be a fun romp on a flight. Hopefully it will be enough to hold you over until the next Diablo thing comes out. The Diablo III: Eternal Collection Switch bundle will be available at GameStop on November 2nd.
Blizzard CEO and president Mike Morhaime steps down
Mike Morhaime has been a part of Blizzard since it was founded in 1991 as Silicon & Synapse, Inc., and now he's stepping down from his role as president and CEO. Former executive producer and senior VP for World of Warcraft J. Allen Brack will take over as president, while Ray Gresko (Overwatch, Diablo III) will step in as chief development officer, while co-founder and former WoW lead designer Allen Adham will join the executive leadership team. In a statement, Morhaime said "After many years of working with some of the industry's most talented people to create games and worlds for you to play in, I've decided it's time for someone else to lead Blizzard Entertainment. I will now serve as an advisor to the company I so love and admire...I truly believe that this amazing community has the potential to be a shining light to the rest of the industry by setting a positive example of inclusivity, tolerance, and acceptance toward others. In the words of one of Blizzard's core values: remember to always play nice; play fair. "
'Diablo III' sends your Switch to Hell on November 2nd
You'll have to wait several weeks to slay the minions of Hell on your Switch. Blizzard has announced that Diablo III: Eternal Collection will launch on Nintendo's hybrid console November 2nd for $60. As promised, the isometric slasher includes the Reaper of Souls and Rise of the Necromancer add-ons, Zelda-themed exclusives. Moreover, it's the version to get if you like the thought of local co-op play -- up to four people can adventure together on a single Switch, and there are two- and four-Switch options if your friends have their own systems.
'Diablo III' on Switch is a comprehensive, faithful port
Rumors were swirling for weeks ahead of Blizzard's heavily hyped Diablo announcement on Wednesday. Were we to see a potential spin off series, perhaps an all-new sequel to the long-running franchise? Nope, because Diablo III is coming to the Nintendo Switch this fall.
Three years later, 'Diablo III' Seasons mode heads to consoles
It might be time to rekindle your love for the loot-fest of Diablo III. A big new patch with a ton of tweaks for the hack and slash dungeon crawler will land on March 31st. The update finally brings the popular Seasons mode to Xbox One and PlayStation 4. Seasons has been available to PC players since 2014 and now console players will finally get to join in the fun. We've asked Blizzard why it took so long to bring Seasons to consoles and will update if we receive a response.
Blizzard marks 20 years of 'Diablo' with events across its games
Believe it or not, Diablo is turning 20 years old on December 31st. Yes, the classic clickfest has been around for long enough that some adults weren't even alive when the first game launched. It's a historic moment for gaming -- and Blizzard is marking the occasion by bringing Diablo-themed events and extras to several of its games. Diablo III, unsurprisingly, gets the most lavish treatment. It's going to get a Darkening of Tristram event that lets you visit a "reimagined" version of the original game's cathedral, including some familiar pick-ups.
What's on your HDTV: 'Doctor Who', 'Bojack Horseman', 'Diablo III'
Shark Week is no longer upon us, and real NFL action is almost here. But first, we've got a few more things to get around, including the premiere of a new season of Doctor Who, with Peter Capaldi taking over the title role of The Doctor. Netflix also has a couple of premieres this week, with its new series starring Will Arnett as the voice of Bojack Horseman plus a US/Canada premiere for the BBC drama Happy Valley. The F1 series continues in Belgium, and on HBO fans will be able to see the last episode of True Blood. Diablo III: Reaper of Souls - Ultimate Evil Edition brings the series to next-gen consoles this week as well (in 1080p on Xbox One and PS4) and with some options for cross-platform saves. On Blu-ray there's The Amazing Spider-Man 2, and a new Y Tu Mama Tambien release from Criterion. Check after the break for a list of what's new this week plus a few trailers, and drop a note in the comments if you see any highlights we've missed.
gdgt's best deals for October 23rd: Canon VIXIA HF-G10, Klipsch Synergy S-10 speakers
Ready to save some cash on your tech buys? Then you've come to the right place. Our friends at sister site gdgt track price drops on thousands of products every day, and twice a week they feature some of the best deals they've found right here. But act fast! Many of these are limited-time offers, and won't last long. The holiday season is rapidly approaching and to kick off this Halloween, you may want to battle the forces of evil from your PC instead of your doorstep. Monsters are much easier to handle from the comfort of your own couch, too, so stay inside, enjoy a long session of Diablo III and follow that up with and an Evil Dead marathon in full surround with some Klipsch Synergy S-10 speakers. Join gdgt and add the gadgets you're shopping for to your "Want" list -- every time there's a price cut, you'll get an email alert!
Blizzard releases details for Diablo 3's big 1.0.4 patch
Blizzard has been promising for a while that Diablo III's patch 1.0.4 would be a Capital B D Big Deal for the game, and a blog post from developer Wyatt Cheng seems to reinforce that notion. What's missing from this particular post is specifics about the sweeping class changes the devs have been talking about, but apparently that's going to be a whole 'nother blog, so fear not. Some major features of the patch are below, with the whole blog after the cut. Magic find and gold find will no longer be averaged in multiplayer games. Monster health will now be a flat increase of 75% health (per player), regardless of the game's difficulty level. No more Out Of Time enrage timers on elites or healing to full after you die a few times. Normal monster HP is increasing by a slight amount, but the chance of finding rare items on normal monsters is being increased by a factor of four. To close the gap between normals and elites, elite HP will be reduced slightly. Weapons of ilvl 61 and 62 can now roll weapon damage that extends to numbers currently reserved for ilvl 63+. Use of two-handed weapons will be encouraged by new sets of affixes. Repair costs of high-end items will be reduced by about 25%. Problem affixes like Fire Chains and Shielding are being adjusted, and Invulnerable Minions is gone, baby, gone. A tentative release date of the fourth week in August.
You cannot get hacked by playing public games in Diablo 3
After years of keyloggers and trojans from unsafe browsing, unsecured computers, or just plain bad luck, WoW players should be pretty used to the concept of a compromised account and how said compromises happen. Unfortunately, Diablo III players don't appear to be as familiar with them, which has resulted in some pretty maddening discourse on the official forums and across the internet. Just like WoW accounts, Diablo III accounts are worth real money. Blizzard has had experience dealing with compromised accounts for years. This is why it introduced the Battle.net Authenticator, a second level of security that makes it very, very difficult to get your account compromised. Authenticators don't make it impossible to get your account compromised, but they do make compromising your account much more trouble than it's worth in the face of mass keylogging, which is how accounts are normally stolen. Some people who haven't had a WoW account before but bought Diablo III were undoubtedly surprised when their accounts were compromised, which is understandable. An editor at Eurogamer had his account hacked and responded with an article suggesting that players were getting their sessions hijacked by joining public games and that people were getting compromised with this method even with authenticators attached to their account. Unfortunately, sites all over the internet picked up the story and also reported the session hijacks and bypassed authenticators as fact. The problem is that neither of those things were correct. In fact, Blizzard says it's actually impossible to do with Diablo III due to the way the infrastructure is set up.
Diablo III becomes fastest-selling PC game ever, deluge of broken PC mice likely to follow
Chalk one up for an at least temporary resurgence in PC gaming. Blizzard can vouch that Diablo III has set a new record for the fastest-selling PC game to date: at 3.5 million copies trading hands through Battle.net downloads or retailers in the first 24 hours, and 6.3 million after a week, that's a whole lot of people battling the biggest of Prime Evils in a very short time. Naturally, a Blizzard-obsessed South Korea is accounting for even more activity, where over 39 percent of play at local gaming houses can be pinned on the action RPG, and the tally doesn't even include the 1.2 million bonus copies coming through a World of Warcraft annual pass promo. Before console gamers start packing up their PlayStations and Xboxes in symbolic resignation, D3 isn't the record-setter for the most copies of any game sold in one day -- that distinction goes to Modern Warfare 3's 6.5 million copies spread across multiple platforms. That's still enough to spur on some furious clicking and possibly a glut of dead mouse buttons, but you'll be glad to know there are suitably-themed replacement mice waiting in the wings.
6 blue posts you need to read before the release of Diablo 3
Evil is returning in just a few days, and if you want to be ready for all the death and destruction that's out there, you'll want to be sure to read up on what the blues are saying. We've collected some of the more important posts over the last week to share with you. Keep in mind that when Diablo 3 does finally release this Tuesday, all WoW Annual Pass subscribers will get instant access. You can upgrade your account later to the Collector's Edition if you've ordered that. Also remember that you can download the client files now so you won't have to wait around much on release night. We're also planning on having some Diablo 3 lore material for you to enjoy on Monday, so stay tuned for that. Hit the jump to learn about special beta titles, known issues in the D3 release, and why feeling like a total overpowered badass is a good thing.
Razer Naga Hex mouse gets Wraith Red edition for manic Diablo III clicking
Razer looks to be the latest getting into the Diablo III-themed peripheral game with a special version of the Naga Hex, even if it won't mention the click-and-slash title by name. The Wraith Red edition keeps the same six mechanically-driven side buttons as the original, but drapes the top shell and lights in an infernal red. It's otherwise functionally similar to the Razer-green Naga Hex we had mixed feelings about last month. Gamers who like what it offers don't have to wait for Blizzard's action role-playing game to show, as it's shipping now in the US for $80 and should be ready for the rest of the world by the end of the spring.
What are the implications of a real-dollar auction house?
It was just revealed that Diablo 3 will feature a dual-currency auction house for in-game gold and for real currency, allowing players to spend real money for Diablo 3 items. Blizzard will not sell those items directly but rather will facilitate auctions between players. Players will receive real currency for their sales, and Blizzard will take a cut off the sales of real-currency items. Blizzard is entering some pretty crazy territory with the Diablo 3 auction house, and the implications may be even more huge for the massively multiplayer market than for the Diablo multiplayer experience. One of WoW's biggest issues that currently plagues Blizzard (as well as the MMO genre in general) is the existence of a gray market in which companies sell in-game currency to willing buyers against the game's terms of service. Many free-to-play MMOs and online games combat this market by selling their own currencies for use in-game, making the currency non-tradeable, or selling items in a microtransaction marketplace. Blizzard has not yet made a free-to-play MMO where these concepts could come to any kind of fruition, and WoW's virtual goods store is very limited in scope and price point.
SteelSeries Diablo III headset and mouse: demon slaying flair for your skull and desktop
Sure, there are plenty of great gaming goodies to be found on the floor at E3, but some of the best stuff is much harder to find. For example, SteelSeries' new Diablo III Mouse and headset, which were revealed to us when the prototype devices were pulled from a backpack. The headset packs the same 50mm drivers, retractable boom mic, and overhead suspension design of its Siberia V2 stablemate, but adds some sinister-looking design tweaks. These cans come murdered out in matte black with lava red accents (which can be turned off) courtesy of 18 LEDs, plus matching red external speaker grilles. There's also a braided cord that plugs into your Mac or PC via USB. %Gallery-126062% We got to see the Diablo III mouse as well, and found it sports an ambidextrous design similar to the SteelSeries Xai. Its inky exterior is cloaked in smooth, soft touch plastic sporting silvery tribal accents, and a glowing ember Diablo III logo and trim around the scroll-wheel. Given Diablo's click-happy gameplay, Steelseries gave the mouse beefy Omron switches that are good for 10 million presses (which are backed by a five year warranty). All those clicks are tracked by custom driver software that also lets users tailor the pointer's button layout by dragging and dropping character-specific commands to the button of your choosing. Now that your appetite has been whetted with the design descriptions, here are the details that matter most: the mouse will cost $69 and the headset $119 when SteelSeries starts selling 'em at BlizzCon in October. %Gallery-126063%
BlizzCon 2008: All Blizzard games playable including Diablo 3
Though the WoW Insider team has arrived en masse to cover all things WoW at BlizzCon 2008, our eyes can't help but wander over what other shiny offerings Blizzard has to display. Our sister sites Joystiq and Big Download will be covering Starcraft II and Diablo 3 extensively, but having already been to the Anaheim Convention Center today to get our press badges we couldn't help but notice in the program (see above) that a playable demo of Diablo 3 will be available for the first time.Don't worry we won't let it distract us from -- is that the new class for Diablo 3? It's class weapon does what?? Shoot witches!? Sorry. What were we saying?
Blizzard announces Diablo III for Mac
Blizzard has always been a (the?) Mac-friendly game developer and they have now officially announced the forthcoming release of Diablo III. Nearly a decade after the last installment of the popular action-RPG, Blizzard plans a simultaneous release for Mac and PC (just like StarCraft II).As of yet the details, including release date and system requirements, are sketchy. However, the game will run a custom 3D graphics engine and return players to familiar territory and stories from Diablo II. I really think Blizzard deserves a hand for their commitment to bringing such A-list titles to the Mac day and date with the PC versions.[via MacNN]
