No Diablo at E3

by Ross Miller { May 4th 2006 at 3:55PM }

'Twas a nice dream while it lasted. Despite an advertisement that hinted at coverage of Diablo 3 and this year's E3 2006, IGN has gone on the record to telling us otherwise. The perpetrator is a "gap in communication" between IGN staffers, and in fact they went so far as to give an official word from Blizzard: "The developer is focusing all of their energy towards promotion of the first World of Warcraft expansion ... and will save any announcements they may or may not have planned for a later date."

Make no mistake, there is a 110% chance Blizzard is developing -- or at least contemplating and designing -- a sequel to the mega-ultra-smash hit Diablo 2 (itself a sequel to the mega-ultra-smash hit original Diablo) ... it's a guaranteed seller. However, for now we will just have to wait.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Sabre @ May 4th 2006 4:22PM

It is indeed in development...just don't hold your breath on hearing anything solid for a while.

rsplatpc @ May 4th 2006 4:24PM

WOW! IGN posted false information without any facts to back it up? I don't believe it!

Rare Hare @ May 4th 2006 4:26PM

whoa whoa whoa.. where did you hear that Blizzard does in fact have a development team working on Diablo 3? cite your sources please.. i'm not saying anyone's lying, but i don't want to go into an excited frenzy only to be let down when i hear that D3 is still just a rumor.

Night Elve @ May 4th 2006 4:49PM

I love Diablo i have played Diablo 1 and Diablo 2 + Expansions, but to be honest i would prefer a StarCraft sequel.

Come on Blizzard we are getting from you a lot of WarCraft flavors, but what we really need and want is a new StarCraft.

Just my two cents.

Josh @ May 4th 2006 4:51PM

What's the big deal? Why did/do so many people like the Diablo franchise?

Honestly, it's no different than the multitude of other mediocre Western RPGs.

Isurus (at work) @ May 4th 2006 5:03PM

"What's the big deal? Why did/do so many people like the Diablo franchise?

Honestly, it's no different than the multitude of other mediocre Western RPGs.
"

Probably because they are great games that don't require the gamer to watch hour upon hour of crappy anime-style cutscenes that look vasty different from actual gameplay, thus killing the experience, like certain japanese RPGs.

The ZeroCorpse @ May 4th 2006 5:16PM

Diablo is not an RPG by any stretch of the imagination. It's a hack-and-slash game, similar to Gauntlet or the Baldur's Gate PS2 games. There's character-building, but that's not role-playing. You don't make choices about the construction of the character. You're stuck playing a stock character with a pre-determined name and background. You don't have choices in the game, either. You're on a track going from point A to point Z, and killing everything in-between.

I second the call for a new Starcraft game in the vein of Warcraft III. Diablo is too simplistic to deserve a sequel, let alone two. Jeez. Play Dungeon Siege or Untold Legends if you really want more of the same.

A western RPG would be something like Neverwinter Nights, ES4:Oblivion, or Baldur's Gate/Icewind Dale on the PC. These involve character creation from the ground up, choices in character morality, following different paths, freedom of action, and tweaking your character with more than just the latest magic item you find.

JodyAnthony @ May 4th 2006 5:43PM

Where's my World of Starcraft?

Sabre @ May 4th 2006 5:48PM

So to be fair...when is "rsplatpc" getting a negative star. He did what I did not too long ago and I got a negative star.

Anyways...(me personally) I never got into Diablo or any Diablo-style PC game. It always seemed to boring for some reason.

Fjolle @ May 4th 2006 5:51PM

Hmm.. It would really be weird if they only had one game to show...

Of course they will deny everything about any unreleased stuff before they release it..

Sabre @ May 4th 2006 7:18PM

"Hmm.. It would really be weird if they only had one game to show..."

Not really...they've done it in the past.

007craft @ May 4th 2006 7:52PM

"A western RPG would be something like Neverwinter Nights, ES4:Oblivion, or Baldur's Gate/Icewind Dale on the PC. These involve character creation from the ground up, choices in character morality, following different paths, freedom of action, and tweaking your character with more than just the latest magic item you find. "

Thats exactly why I hate MMORPGs and oblivion and all those games. I dont want to choose between classes, morality, and twekaing my character down to his mole on his left ass cheek. I enjoy the simplisity of zelda style games. If make me feel like im getting more powerful as I advance in the game. In all these MMORPGS, I just feel like im getting more confused and missing out on more stuff which is choice specific.

Sabre @ May 4th 2006 8:13PM

...plus you forgot that the whole elf vs. orc vs. goblin vs. human thing has been done a million times.

Rare Hare @ May 4th 2006 9:54PM

to TheZeroCorpse:

role-playing game
n.
A game in which players assume the roles of characters and act out fantastical adventures, the outcomes of which are partially determined by chance, as by the roll of dice.

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=role-playing%20game

Diablo is a role playing game.

player assumes the role of a character: check.
fantastical adventures: check.
outcomes partially determined by chance: check. (Diablos "dice" system is actually very complex, and fun to play with as all the mess that most gamers don't want to mess with is neatly packed away out of view.)

other elements contained in Diablo which define an RPG for many people:

-leveling up and experience points. in fact, you can even add to your statistics with point bonuses granted from each level up (5 points to spend per level) into 4 categories (strength, energy, dexterity, and vitality).
-items. (weapons, armor, potions, etc.)
-quests (given by NPCs or activated by some player action.
-skill trees. the Diablo franchise -- especially Diablo II -- possesses a very elaborate skill system.
-Hit points, Magic points (mana points), radius of attack, etcetra, etcetra, etcetra..

although it is most correctly referred to as a "hack-and-slash" rpg, or an "action" rpg, that does not keep it from being an rpg.

the year Diablo II came out, it was runner up for the "RPG of the Year" category in Gamespy's annual awards. i actually don't know why it didn't win, but oh well..

saying that the player has no choices is incorrect as well. there are many quests off the main path that don't require completion, and there are different way for the player to go about recieving a certain reward or achieving a certain goal.

concerning your character, it's ALSO incorrect that your character has a "per-determined name and background". you name your own characters and play the as you choose. also, while the history of the TYPE of character you are playing is written, the background of your particular character is always left vague and undefined.

so, in conclusion, saying that Diablo is "not an RPG by any stretch of the imagination" is just plain false. your complaints seem to be simply the lack elaborate character customization.

news flash, dude.. choice of gender does not an RPG make.

Bobill @ May 4th 2006 10:29PM

Wow...must of took some time writing that up, I bet you must feel good about yourself lol.

Yeah I'm still waiting for IGN's sources to give them intel on Duke Nukem Forever...I bet that was somewhere on their list of bs.

Stuff like that is quite hard to be mistaken, and from a 5star gaming site how can they with thousands of users visiting daily.