RUMOR CONTROL: Diablo 3 coming soon?

[Brixtan]

(changed the topic from April 17 to soon since all the rumors keep flying around)

Could the launch date be fast approaching? There is a lot of rumor and speculation going around the various fansites the past week.

First, on 3/2, Jay Wilson was asked to put D3's release date announcement on a scale from 1-10, being 1= way far off and 10=imminent:
http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/bashiok-will-be-traveling-again

The next day, 3/3, an Italian branch of Activision/Blizzard claims to have given the official release date to an Italian site:
http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/italian-branch-leaks-diablo-3-release-date

Jay was asked about this rumor yesterday and he tweeted the following response:
http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/jay-wilson-wont-debunk-or-confirm-diablo-3-17-april-release-date-rumour

...and now quite possibly the last patch for beta before release?
http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/jay-wilson-patch-14-possibly-the-last
/tinfoil hat

[Zidders]

You ought to make a release date contest thread and give away a copy of Diablo III

8)









What?

[Brixtan]

NO U

[Sekkurel]

Diablo 3 released ??? Mega discussion about its validity ???? Does this smell like 21/12/12 to you ??? It sure does to me ...

[hawkn]

Silly Europeans, and their date system that actually makes sense...

[Mivo]

Silly Europeans, and their date system that actually makes sense...

Indeed!

[Kukuku]

We use British spelling and dates, while also using American measurements here.

No confusion.

[adoomgod]

Diablo 3 is coming out soon, unfortunately for Blizzard fans. This is evident in the increasing masses of Beta keys they are giving away. It's sad because it seems they are buckling under the pressure of TL2 as a competitor, and going to release before the game is as good as it could/should be, IMO.

Then again, if hell nightmare and inferno difficulty are really hard, I'll be satisfied.

[Brixtan]

Diablo 3 is coming out soon, unfortunately for Blizzard fans. This is evident in the increasing masses of Beta keys they are giving away. It's sad because it seems they are buckling under the pressure of TL2 as a competitor, and going to release before the game is as good as it could/should be, IMO.

Then again, if hell nightmare and inferno difficulty are really hard, I'll be satisfied.

I dunno, Doom. After playing the beta forever, it feels perfectly polished to me. It was delayed this long in part because they completely gutted and redid the rune system.

[Webbstre]

I'm gonna say after playing the beta it looks like it will be an awesome game. It just doesn't feel (Gameplay-wise, not lore-wise) like a sequel to Diablo 2. That's a good thing in my opinion.

[Seer]

I cannot debunk or confirm

It's in the same category as

[Mists of Pandaria is] wildly overhyped." He added, "if you look at traditionally how we've handled that race it's been in those secondary products because we haven't realized it in the world. Most of the time when we do anything panda-related it's going to be a comic book or a figurine or something like that.

[Perictione]

[The 'Diablo 3' beta] just doesn't feel (Gameplay-wise, not lore-wise) like a sequel to Diablo 2. That's a good thing in my opinion.

I'm hoping you'll soon be explaining why this is, Webbstre. I often check the Runic Games Fansite, hoping to discover an opinion piece written by yourself or Jerich (or both of you guys) examining the relative merits and drawbacks of 'Diablo 3' and 'Torchlight 2'.


- P.

[AttackGorilla]

I wonder what there determining factor is for releasing the game? Is it based on 70% beta player satisfaction, 70% known bugs resolved, 70% of Blizzard profits dwindling, or what? Has there been any specific reason Blizzard has provided for delaying the game at this point?
I will probably play it eventually, but I was just curious because it seems like the beta has been the longest beta ever. Or is this going to be like a google release where everyone eventually gets to play the beta and then at some random cut over time someone will just say "oh, did anyone notice the title still says beta?"

[Brixtan]

I wonder what there determining factor is for releasing the game? Is it based on 70% beta player satisfaction, 70% known bugs resolved, 70% of Blizzard profits dwindling, or what? Has there been any specific reason Blizzard has provided for delaying the game at this point?
I will probably play it eventually, but I was just curious because it seems like the beta has been the longest beta ever. Or is this going to be like a google release where everyone eventually gets to play the beta and then at some random cut over time someone will just say "oh, did anyone notice the title still says beta?"

I can't speak with any facts to back me up, but I do know that when the beta launched they were still trying to complete the runestone system and put it into the game. Somewhere along the lines, late winter or early 2012 perhaps, they realized that the runestone system as they had originally envisioned it and pitched it, wasn't going to work. They scrapped it and had to redo many of the skill/rune combination mechanics. I know that took a couple months on it's own - who knows how many additional months were eaten up internally by their iterative design philosophy?

They've stated recently that the rune system as it stands now is how the game will ship - they're happy with it. Beyond that, I'd guess that perhaps additional battle.net 2.0 modifications were the other cause of the delay. Both of which seem to be resolving at this point based on the tidbits of news I glean from http://diablo.incgamers.com/

[hawkn]

There were a couple other sites who reportedly got the 4/17 tip, and Blizzard still refuses to confirm or deny the date, so it's seeming a lot more likely.

[amb2010]

So either it's right and was leaked, someone said it and all the hype it's generating is causing Blizzard to wonder if they should release then or it's totally false.

I think #1 is a bit of a stretch and I'm betting on #3 but #2 is also possible...

Conclusion: Dunno, time will tell.

[Ingmartin]

Neither confirm nor deny...which is a lot more vague than NO, it's wrong, something that Jay Wilson has said in the past over release date speculation.

I am guessing that the date is valid. Whether that date sticks is in question...we all know Blizzard and their corporate ways.

Which means what, exactly, for Torchlight 2?
Q3?
Tomorrow?
April 16th?

Regardless, I think it is looking like TL2 wont be out before the Diablo 3 madness begins.

[Lunasky]

Unlikely Bashoisk seems to want to milk a bit more income from wow in it's latest promo spectral mount for for the recommending person n the inactive account holder free cataclysm + 1 free character to 80...
I still say may to july

[Brixtan]

Unlikely Bashoisk seems to want to milk a bit more income from wow in it's latest promo spectral mount for for the recommending person n the inactive account holder free cataclysm + 1 free character to 80...
I still say may to july

Dude, don't knock the free lvl 80 until you try it! LOL!

[Lunasky]

Unlikely Bashoisk seems to want to milk a bit more income from wow in it's latest promo spectral mount for for the recommending person n the inactive account holder free cataclysm + 1 free character to 80...
I still say may to july

Dude, don't knock the free lvl 80 until you try it! LOL!

It was fun in wow beta vanilla and burning crusade .... i did try lich king for bits and pieces but never again lol ...