Blizzard introduces Diablo 3

by Elizabeth Harper { Jun 28th 2008 at 6:30AM }

click to enter gallery

Joystiq will make any sacrifice to bring you the latest news -- even if it means flying to Paris, France in order to attend Blizzard Entertainment's Worldwide Invitational. Only seconds ago we were shown a cinematic from Blizzard's newest game: Diablo 3. We're currently being shown a live demo of the game (which we're reminded is a work in progress) by lead designer Jay Wilson. The look and feel of the game -- though graphically updated from its aging sibling -- looks a lot like the dungeon crawls we all know and love from the original series. We're promised more loot, more quests (and some old friends like Deckard Cain), and new environments. Classes demo'd include the familiar Barbarian and the brand new Witch Doctor (a master of disease and fire who will control pets). Says Wilson, the game is "primarily cooperative" and it will be quick and easy to form groups over Battle.net. Sorry, folks who were expecting an MMO, but it sounds like Diablo 3 will continue in the tried-and-true Diablo format.

Update: Blizzard's European site is now live with the cinematic teaser and gameplay footage for your perusal!

Gallery: Worldwide Invitational 2008: Diablo 3

Tags: battle.net, blizzard, blizzard-entertainment, blizzard-paris-invitational, BreakingNews, d3, diablo, diablo-3, paris, worldwide-invitational, wwi08

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

KC @ Jun 28th 2008 6:33AM

and i was hoping for lost vikings......

greatslack @ Jun 28th 2008 3:16PM

Me too, brother.

Foetoid @ Jun 28th 2008 6:34AM

Then the lord said "LET THERE BE DIABLO 3", and all gamers wishes came true. Starcraft 2 and Diablo 3 both in development? I just soiled myself.

Jakka @ Jun 28th 2008 6:50AM

...and for a short time, it all stopped.All fanboys-alike gave up on flame wars and hugged each other.They all watched as Blizzard announced Diablo 3 and tried to make the best out of their one-day-truce.

They gave each other gifts and presents and played their favourite games together.Even Tmacairjordan was seen playing SSBB, as Fernando tried to knock out enemies on MGS4 by jumping on their heads.

And they all took out their Guitars and copies of GH3 and played MJOLNIR MIX - The Anthem of Gaming.

Foetoid @ Jun 28th 2008 6:58AM

+1 to Jakka. Everyone should immediatly go to the blizzard site and check out the excellent splash screen now up!

Jakka @ Jun 28th 2008 7:05AM

http://eu.blizzard.com/en/splash.htm

Yep, it is beautiful.

Jakka @ Jun 28th 2008 7:08AM

Still, what happened to all the ice? The last time I checked it was barely melting and I reckon Blizzard should've made a much smoother transition between yesterday's and current screen.

I dunno, maybe an animation of the ice melting away really quickly?

Foetoid @ Jun 28th 2008 7:12AM

VIDEOS ARE ALREADY AVAILABLE. +1 TO BLIZZARD!

http://eu.blizzard.com/diablo3/

Mr.ESC @ Jun 28th 2008 1:48PM

Can it be hugz tiem nao?

Victor @ Jun 28th 2008 6:37AM

*orgasms*

Anti-Blizzard @ Jun 28th 2008 8:16AM

If by "Optimized" you mean incredibly poor lookin'!

Seriously.. maybe they'll approach 2001 graphical power levels this time!

Probably not.
Would be nice if they could make it to 2004 levels, but that's WAY too much to hope for.

joowan @ Jun 28th 2008 6:37AM

Oh man its finally the time to upgrade my GeForce FX 5200 running machine

Foetoid @ Jun 28th 2008 6:43AM

That terrible. Computers these days are so cheap its not funny. Here in Australia, i can build a full AMD dual-core system with 4gb ram, 500gb hdd, and 9600gt OC graphics card for less than AU$600 which is really quite cheap in our dollars.

Ghen @ Jun 28th 2008 6:48AM

I remember playing diablo 2 on a 333 Celeron it ran kinda chuggy. Then I upgraded to a PII 500Mhz and all was right with the world.

Jakka @ Jun 28th 2008 6:57AM

It's a Blizzard Game. Name me one of their titles that wasn't optimized well enough to run even on cards like Geforce 2.

GenBanks @ Jun 28th 2008 8:17AM

Why would you want a 9600gt, the radeon 4850 just came out and it's almost as fast as a 9800gtx for less than $200 ;)

Jakka @ Jun 28th 2008 8:34AM

@ GenBanks

I think he was talking about GF9600

Personally I'm using Radeon HD 2600XT because I was unlucky enough to get a modern PC with an AGP slot.And out of the best AGP cards, Radeon 1950 requires it's own power plant in order to run so I decided to go for my second best choice.

flameofdoom666 @ Jun 28th 2008 6:42AM

YES!!!!

Maverick Saturn @ Jun 28th 2008 6:43AM

Well colour me completly suprised :O

But at the same time, this has made my day ^^

Wooot!

Xoviet chiK @ Jun 28th 2008 6:45AM

Two years of Diablo sobriety for what?

Time to install it again, gotta warm up for the next 8 years of my *no longer able to be called a* life.

Awesome! (Glad it isn't an MMO too!)

Foetoid @ Jun 28th 2008 6:49AM

I will sit on the fence for the MMO argument. Personally i think it would have worked excellently having it like WOW or Age of Conan. At the same time i LOVE Diablo 2 and more recently, am obsessed with Titan Quest and just finished the expansion on legendary difficulty. Diablo 3 would have worked wonders as an MMO, but Blizzard want nothing, not even Diablo, to take away the WOW thunder.

Omega2k3 @ Jun 28th 2008 8:18AM

Except that they announced the creation of a new MMO that wasn't WoW...

Ghen @ Jun 28th 2008 6:45AM

YES! D3 WOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

Chase @ Jun 28th 2008 6:46AM

Where the heck is my Blackthorne MMORPG?!

Psaakyrn @ Jun 28th 2008 6:54AM

There's only one thing I want to know: What is the online multiplayer setup like? Meaning, more towards MMO, partial MMO (E.g. Hellgate London), or Diablo 2 style?

Psaakyrn @ Jun 28th 2008 6:55AM

There's only one thing I want to know: What is the online multiplayer setup like? Meaning, more towards MMO, partial MMO (E.g. Hellgate London), or Diablo 2 style?

Lord Bowser @ Jun 28th 2008 7:01AM

This isn't Super Smash Bros Brawl.

Foetoid @ Jun 28th 2008 7:09AM

Very perceptive of you! I'm so glad you straightened that out for us all. +1!!!

Parsnipzilla @ Jun 28th 2008 7:06AM

/sarcasm "Noone saw this coming"
/joy "time to upgrade!!"

Jakka @ Jun 28th 2008 7:14AM

To be honest, nobody did.

Blizzard is known for releasing one game at a time, without mentioning ANYTHING about their future projects let alone showing gameplay demos.

And now they have working versions of S2,D3 and new WoW all in one year.Gee, isn't that impressing?

Parsnipzilla @ Jun 28th 2008 7:34AM

Must be all those millions they earn from WoW daily

XD

Stimp @ Jun 28th 2008 7:09AM

Only one thing to say...

FUCKIN A!!!!! Cant wait!

whymog @ Jun 28th 2008 7:11AM

This is the best day I've had in eight years and one day.

Mike @ Jun 28th 2008 7:16AM

You filed it under PC, it should be PC/PS3 as announced at the show..

Rask @ Jun 28th 2008 7:47AM

What are you talking about? Nowhere on their website does this say it's coming to PS3.

Mike @ Jun 28th 2008 8:07AM

It was annouced at the show, as per my original comment, dumbass..

GenBanks @ Jun 28th 2008 8:23AM

You're the dumbass, no need to be insulting people randomly. Linkage to support that it's coming out on PS3??? Or should we just take the word of someone who post rude insults on blogs.

Xoviet chiK @ Jun 28th 2008 8:32AM

It wasn't. I saw the streaming announcement, there was no mention of any platform (though it's obviously coming to Windows, Mac, and ZX Spectrum)

tc @ Jun 28th 2008 8:32AM

seeing as i won't be using the net much today, i award my daily portion of the internets to you GenBanks!

Jakka @ Jun 28th 2008 7:21AM

The gameplay videos are up on http://eu.blizzard.com/diablo3/

Jack @ Jun 28th 2008 7:43AM

Okay now, THIS is what the biggest gaming company in the world should be doing ALWAYS: super hyper mega extreme fan-service to the max.

If you wanna get back on top, you better take notes, EA.

Bigfoot @ Jun 28th 2008 7:43AM

Best thing to wake up to, ever.

tamanchama @ Jun 28th 2008 7:45AM

i just made a boom boom in my pants, and im so happy, im just gonna sit in it for a while

hotrod @ Jun 28th 2008 7:45AM

@Mike - "Blizzard Entertainment is developing Diablo III for simultaneous release on the Windows® and Macintosh® PC platforms."

http://www.gamershell.com/companies/blizzard_entertainment/454714.html

mikemick @ Jun 28th 2008 7:53AM

Can we get a Starcraft 2 release date please? I'm dying over here.

Nastyvale @ Jun 28th 2008 7:57AM

Looks like these guys were right...

http://www.egcgames.com/content.php?id=844

Shaq-Fu @ Jun 28th 2008 7:59AM

So, has the Cow Level been confirmed yet?
Tauren Marine says Yes!

Maverick Saturn @ Jun 28th 2008 8:38AM

Its been replaced with the bull level, one step up the scale :)

Maverick Saturn @ Jun 28th 2008 8:38AM

Lol, logged into Diablo 2 online today for the first time in a VERY LONG TIME. The whole thing is abuzz with people, I'm seeing people I made friends with years ago, enemies, rivals, everything.

It looks like news gets around fast. Looks like I'll be playing diablo 2 today and maybe 2moro. :)