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Mists of Pandaria opening cinematic will premiere at Gamescom 2012
Folks attending Gamescom 2012 in Cologne, Germany, will be the first to feast their eyes on the opening cinematic for World of Warcraft's next expansion, Mists of Pandaria. Blizzard will also be showcasing the game itself as well as Diablo III and StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm. Players can check out the games and also meet members of the development team. If you happen to be at the convention, be sure to check out the company's booth in Halle 6.1 (B21) at the Koelnmesse.
Diablo III restrictions for unverified players changed slightly
Digital purchasers of Diablo III face a special sort of torment. No, it's not extra content; it's the game restricting players whose credit card information has not yet been verified. Unfortunately, when these restrictions were first put into place, they had the unfortunate side effect of hard-capping the player level at 13 and preventing any progress beyond the first boss of Act I. That was acknowledged as a bug, one that has now been corrected, to the great relief of players everywhere. The other restrictions on unverified players are quite intentional and remain in place, including a prohibition on any use of the auction house and an inability to join public games. Players will find these restrictions lifted as soon as their information is verified, but the official post outlining the prohibitions states that this process can still occasionally take up to 72 hours. So if you need to dive right into the game and can't risk having some restricted play, maybe you should go ahead and buy a boxed copy.
The Art of Blizzard is captured in new book
While some might argue the artistic merits of games themselves, few can deny the artistry of the concept art and sketches behind their development. And those who love the artistic style of Blizzard games will now be able to enjoy the inspiration behind their favorite games in a new hardcover book. The Art of Blizzard offers an exclusive look at many of the ideas and images that influenced and defined the various game universes, including World of Warcraft and Diablo III. It covers the timeline of the company from its origins as a three-person console-game development studio to its present day success. It is composed of almost 800 pieces of concept art, paintings, and sketches as well as commentary from VP of Art and Cinematic Development Nick Carpenter, Senior Art Director Sam Didier, and Senior VP of Story and Franchise Development Chris Metzen. The 352 page book will retail at $75.00 US; pre-sales will be available at San Diego ComicCon from July 12th through the 15th. The book can also be pre-ordered on Amazon.com for a discount. [Source: Blizzard press release]
Diablo III forces digital consumers to wait up to 72 hours to access full game
Chalk this up to another great moment in customer service history. With Diablo III's 1.0.3 patch came an interesting change that's hurting those who purchased the title as a digital download. Blizzard's made it so that only a small part of the game is accessible for up to 72 hours following its purchase, after which the rest of the game will unlock. Digital download customers are now restricted to the starter edition section of the game: part of Act 1, a level cap of 13, no auction house access, and limited interaction with other players. These restrictions do not apply to those who purchased the retail box of the game. A Blizzard employee explained the unlock delay in a forum post: "Outside of the issue that we fixed, digital purchases do require a review period before they kick over from Starter to Full editions. We apologize for the inconvenience, but it is a necessary step to combat fraud and other malicious activities that can weaken everyone's play experience. The delay is no longer than three days, and is often much quicker than that. Hang tight." This follows this morning's news that the South Korean government is twisting Blizzard's arm to make the studio issue refunds for dissatisfied customers. [Thanks to Marc for the tip!]
South Korea forces Blizzard to give Diablo III refunds
After investigating numerous complaints that Blizzard wasn't granting refunds to dissatisfied South Korean Diablo III players, the government there demanded that the studio do so anyway. The South Korean consumer protection law ensures a refund if there's a problem with the product that isn't related to the customer. Many South Korean players were angered due to massive server crashes and high latency while playing Diablo III. The Wall Street Journal reports that 66% of Diablo III online traffic in Asia comes from the country. As for the refund itself, there are a few stipulations. It currently extends to players who haven't reached level 40. If eligible, the customer has to file for a refund between June 25th and July 3rd. Past that date, Blizzard said that it will offer refunds for any players under level 20 within 14 days of their purchasing the game. The studio is also extending an olive branch to upset gamers by handing out 30-day trials to StarCraft II.
Patch 1.0.3 released for Diablo III complete with an interesting new bug
The pseudo-MMO nature of Diablo III makes it unsurprising that the development team is still hard at work with polishing patches. The newest patch, 1.0.3, has just been released, bringing with it several adjustments to classes and individual boss battles. It also expands the range for potential high-level item drops, allowing players a better chance at seeing top-end items without reaching Inferno Act IV. Along with the usual bug fixes, it should be all good news, right? Unfortunately, it looks like the patch has brought an odd glitch along for some players -- namely, a glitch preventing them from gaining any experience. Player testing seems to reveal that changing your password fixes the issue and allows you to gain experience once again, and the issue is only affecting players with a digital version instead of the game discs. While no official word has come down from Blizzard as of yet, it wouldn't be surprising to see the issue hotfixed in the near future.
Wii U tech won't circumvent used-game sales; first-party titles in 1080p
Nintendo hasn't incorporated any features in the Wii U to discourage used-game sales. Nintendo's Executive VP of Sales and Marketing, Scott Moffitt, told Gamespot at E3 that Nintendo isn't overtly concerned with combating used-game sales: "I don't know if we have a formal position on used-game sales. It is a reality in the marketplace," Moffitt said. "We're not trying to circumvent that." He didn't mention any specifics about online passes or DLC in Nintendo titles.The Wii U's online strategy begins with the Miiverse, as Moffitt describes it, and Nintendo is focused on using its online capabilities to enhance social features, gameplay and "the connectedness gamers feel with one another."Online multiplayer is a part of Nintendo's online strategy for Wii U, but not its entire focus. "Online multiplayer is one part of it, and certainly Wii U will enable the same online multiplayer features that have become popular in some of the competing consoles, but that's really one piece of the online gaming network," Moffitt said. "Our vision is broader."Apparently Nintendo's vision isn't broad enough to include online multiplayer for Pikmin 3 – though perhaps that's a case of not seeing the forest for the Pikmin.The Wii U's output ranges from 480i to 1080p, and Moffitt said he thinks Nintendo's first-party titles will run at 1080p.
Five Diablo III Wizard myths tested and debunked
When building your Diablo III Wizard, you have two main schools of thought on weapon type: use a high-damage two handed weapon with low attack speed or use a one-handed weapon and offhand and stack as much attack speed as possible. Items with increased attack speed on them greatly increase damage per second on paper, but there is some confusion in the Wizard community as to which spells are affected by it. Some players contend that Blizzard and Hydra are unaffected by attack speed; others report that channeled spells ignore both critical hit chance and attack speed. To find out the truth, I bought a two-handed weapon with 0.9 attack speed and a one-handed weapon with 1.6, both with the same rated damage per second. I then tested every spell on the zombies at the start of Act 1 in hell mode dozens of times and checked the damage difference, finally adding attack speed rings and amulets and re-testing both weapons. For almost every spell, the one-handed setup dealt lower damage but hit more frequently, averaging to the same damage per second. But the story was a little different for Hydra, Blizzard, and channeled spells. In this guide, I put five popular Diablo III Wizard myths to the test and discover the inner workings of Energy Armour, Hydra, Blizzard, Critical Mass, and other abilities.
Max Schafer claims Diablo III was originally an MMO
It always requires you to be online. It lets friends drop in, often without warning, to take part in whatever you're doing. It has an elaborate auction house, complete with microtransactions. Diablo III isn't an MMO, but in the eyes of many fans, it certainly seems to be aping the style of MMOs, and whether or not that's a good thing depends on your point of view. But according to recent statements from Runic Games co-founder Max Schafer, that's no accident, as many years ago, the game was an MMO. Schafer states that prior to his departure, the team was essentially aiming at doing for the Diablo franchise what World of Warcraft did to the Warcraft franchise. Changes in upper management prompted Schafer's departure, and his current studio Runic Games is known for its very Diablo-like Torchlight franchise. While it's been a long time since development on a Diablo MMO was in the cards, it seems some of those roots wound up making it to launch after all.
South Korea to make virtual item trade, bots illegal
Do you want to buy and sell virtual items? Do you live in South Korea? If you answered "yes" to both of those questions, you'd better get it out of your system prior to next month (or be prepared to do it illegally). A new law is being developed that will ban real money trading and block gold- and item-farming bots. The South Korean Ministry of Culture says that "the main purpose of games is for entertainment and [they] should be used for academic and other good purposes," according to a report at Eurogamer. This is bad news for gold farmers, RMT fans, and Blizzard, which has come under fire for Diablo III's real-money auction house over the past few weeks. The Ministry of Culture went on to say that RMT "contribute[s] to many problems in society, including teenage crime."
Pikmin 3 lacking online multiplayer because ... there are a bunch of Pikmin
Nintendo's upcoming Wii U console will be the company's most internet-enabled yet. Its Miiverse intends to greatly expand on the Wii's Mii Plaza, its Friend Codes will be "a lot simpler" than previous versions of Nintendo's online buddy system, and many of its retail games will also be available digitally. In that context, it's hard to understand why the Wii U's flagship first-party title, Pikmin 3, won't include online multiplayer."In the situation of Pikmin, for example, since you would have lots of individual, small creatures, the Pikmin, whose every movement and location is going to be really important in the game, it would be very difficult to sync up over an internet connection," Nintendo design lead Shigeru Miyamoto told IGN in a recent interview. While Miyamoto acknowledges that games like, say, Mario Kart Wii were online-enabled, it apparently wouldn't be possible with Pikmin 3 on Wii U.Mario Kart worked, he said, because Nintendo was able to make up for any dropped frames over an internet connection. The issues with Pikmin 3 going online are different, and apparently insurmountable. "Unfortunately, no online multiplayer for Pikmin 3," he said."But the co-op local multiplayer is really fun."
Diablo III pulls trigger on NA real-money auction house
While Diablo III released weeks ago, Blizzard's held off from launching the game's controversial real-money auction house in North America for its own reasons. All must be good on the studio's end, however, because the auction house has gone live in the game as of today. Unlike the traditional in-game auction house, the real-money variant deals in actual currency (such as USD). Players can sell their hard-won goods for cash, which can then be either spent on the auction house, sent to their own personal PayPal accounts, or converted to Battle.net Balance credit. The real-money auction house requires additional setup if the players have not attached a PayPal or authenticator to the account. Blizzard does take its cut, and business must be good: There are reports of items going for over $200 already.
More details on Diablo III's real-money auction block
It's controversial, it's unique, and it's still not actually running in the game proper. It's Diablo III's real-money auction service, and it's getting a new wrinkle added: In order for players to use the service, they'll need to have an authenticator attached to their accounts. This is being done to help ensure that the auction house is as safe as possible for all players. It also means that players will need to accept a new set of agreements when the feature finally goes live. Community manager Kaivax has also chimed in on the real-money auction house, noting that it's possible that the feature will launch with only item-trading functionality rather than allow players to buy and sell commodities. This is largely based on trying to ensure that the latter market remains active and fair for all players, and if the team decides to go this route, the commodity functionality will be added at a later date.
Infographic shows the numbers behind Diablo III's opening day
A couple of weeks ago, we told you how Diablo III was rewriting the PC game sales record books. Today Forbes has posted an infographic that illustrates just how ridiculous some of those numbers really are. Would you believe that all of the box copies of D3 sold on day one would stretch from the earth to the international space station and back if stacked end to end? Did you know that D3's $210 million first-day take is enough to give every Blizzard employee a cool $42,000? These and other absurd facts are yours for the viewing courtesy of the graphic design wizards at Video Game Design Schools. We've also embedded the infographic for you after the cut.
Diablo III to benefit from big brother World of Warcraft's features
Over on the Diablo III forums, player Matthest posted a thoughtful list of 35 improvements that he wanted to see added to the game. Lo and behold, his list was picked up by the game's CM and treated to a point-by-point response that revealed several upcoming changes, including those inspired by World of Warcraft's design. Coming to the game is a lock for the action bar, font size changes, the ability to sell damaged items, social and quick join improvements, and tweaks to the game's auction house interface. The team's also considering allowing players to resize and move the chat window. Not all ideas were embraced, as the devs had reasons for keeping them out: "We're really trying hard to avoid quickly bloating the game options, and since [numerical countdowns] would be an option, we're cautiously approaching it and a few other toggle/option requests."
EA Canada creating a new action franchise, job listing suggests
EA Canada, whose last shipped product was this year's SSX reboot, is looking for somebody to help out on a new franchise, according to a job listing for a lead gameplay designer. "This is a major opportunity to lead the gameplay of an exciting new intellectual property that will entertain millions of people around the world," the listing reads.Some of the wording also suggests this new IP is either a shooter or an action game – likely both. Either way, it's a game with a heavy online component: EA is looking for somebody with a "proven track record of designing and balancing combat, player controls, and AI for AAA shooters or action games," and who has a "deep knowledge of the action/shooter game genre." This person must "drive the player progression experience to ensure a deep and addictive persistent online experience."With E3 going on this week, it wouldn't be a bad bet to say we'll hear more during the show; however, some of the wording suggests that this project hasn't gotten too far off the ground yet and might be too early off for an announcement. EA is still looking for someone to "plan and define all components of the game, including its setting, structure, rules, story flow, characters, objects, vehicles, interface design and game modes."
Korean government raids Blizzard over alleged Diablo III wrongdoing
Blizzard is on the hot seat as the Korean Fair Trade Commission raided the studio's Seoul office to gather evidence as to whether or not Blizzard violated the country's law. The FTC performed the raid due to allegations that Blizzard is refusing to refund players who purchased and were attempting to return Diablo III. Dissatisfied customers who couldn't log into the game were denied a full refund by Blizzard, which said that it was under no obligation to do so under the game's contract. The studio claims that it has a strict policy of "no refunds" in the country if a product is used. The players turned to the FTC for help, and the commission responded by launching an investigation. The investigation will sort through the seized documents and evidence to see if there is a possible violation of Korea's electronic commerce and commercial contracts law. The FTC confirmed that it had received "many complaints" from Diablo III players but did not comment further on the investigation. Blizzard has since vowed to increase server capacity but is not budging on the refunds.
The Soapbox: Games-as-a-service sucks for the consumer
Disclaimer: The Soapbox column is entirely the opinion of this week's writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of Massively as a whole. If you're afraid of opinions other than your own, you might want to skip this column. If you pay close attention to game industry marketing-speak, you've probably heard of something called games-as-a-service. It's an initiative that's been gaining momentum in recent years, as publishers and development houses look to increase revenue, strangle used game sales, and clamp down on both PC and console piracy. It's also championed by a few of our more clueless game "journalists," more often than not due to their (desire for a) cozy relationship with the aforementioned industry players. Put simply, games-as-a-service seeks to change both the definition and the public perception of the phrase "video game" from a product that you buy to a service that you rent, thereby granting developers and publishers complete control over the end-user's experience. If that sounds somewhat nefarious, that's because it is. It's also something that MMORPGs have been doing for two decades.
Blizzard talks Diablo III hotfixes, delay of real-money auction house
In a post on the official Diablo III forums earlier today, Community Manager Nethaera addressed a few of the concerns that have been brought up in the game's momentous first week. Neth first linked to an up-to-date list of hotfixes that have been implemented thus far. For the spoiler-wary among you, be warned that if you haven't completed the game on Normal difficulty, some of the hotfixes might be spoilerific. Now that you're thoroughly warned that there may be spoilers, head on over to the list of hotfixes if you dare. Neth also advised players that additional server maintenance will be required in time and that there's a game patch inbound for sometime next week. She also took the time to address the real-money auction house. Although Neth states that the service is "coming soon," it's been delayed due to post-launch difficulties. The team apparently needs "a bit more time to iron out the existing general stability and gameplay issues" before the real-money auction house is ready for launch. Players shouldn't expect the auction house to be ready in May despite initial plans for it to go online on the 22nd, and there wasn't a solid date to look forward to. Neth went on to assure players that neither D3 nor Battle.net servers have been compromised, despite all the hubbub about security concerns that's been filling the air the last few days. In all of the individual Diablo III-related compromise cases we've investigated, none have occurred after a physical Battle.net Authenticator or Battle.net Mobile Authenticator app was attached to the player's account, and we have yet to find any situation where a Diablo III player's account was accessed outside of "traditional" compromise methods (i.e. someone logging using an account's login email and password). She reminded players to exercise constant vigilance by practicing smart password management, scanning for malware and viruses regularly, and generally being savvy.
Diablo III vs. Torchlight II: Battle of the dungeon-crawlers
We know you're all still enthralled by Blizzard's latest blockbuster, Diablo III, but it's important to remember that it's not the only major dungeon-crawler hitting the market this year. Runic Games' Torchlight II is also slated for release, and it's sure to offer plenty of dungeon-delving, loot-gathering goodness as well. But the real question is, how do the two games stack up against one another? The Ancient Gaming Noob has decided to pit the two titles against each other in a no-holds-barred Thunderdome deathmatch to see which game emerges victorious! On one hand, you have Diablo III's simplified method of character progression utilizing runes and a number of skill combinations, and on the other hand, there's Torchlight II's more traditional talent trees and attribute points. Atmosphere (bright and colorful vs. dark and dreary is a battle for the ages), story, and gameplay are all matters of contention between the two, and each category receives ample coverage, providing a detailed look at the similarities and contrasts between the titles. If you're unsure which dungeon-crawler you want to swear allegiance to, head on over and give the full piece a read for a bit of help in the decision-making process.
