Blizzard Supports Their Games, Unless It's On Older Consoles

It is ironic that just when I write a post about Blizzard supporting their games that they come out and say they won't be supporting Diablo 3 for the PS3 and Xbox 360 with patches. This means that features like seasons and their associated items, greater rifts and probably skills and items balances might not come to these older consoles, even though I'd guess that more people will be playing on these than the new consoles

I understand it when they say that it takes more to code for older consoles, especially the PS3 which uses a totally different architecture. That, and the fact that patching on consoles is pretty costly and time consuming thanks to having go through a testing process set by Sony and Microsoft, means that it really isn't worth the effort for a game that will not continue to make money, unlike an MMO with sub fees.

Granted, Blizzard is primarily a PC developer, but this is still a slap in the face for console gamers itching to support a game company whose games they rarely get a chance to enjoy and a taint in Blizzard's stellar record of game support. If Blizzard would support Diablo 3, even if it's just for another year or 2, it would be likely that these gamers will still buy the new version when they eventually move on to the new consoles and they would made a bunch of new fans.

Gamers should be treated equally, whether console or PC gamers, and all developers should give their customers value for their purchase. I hope Blizzard can rethink their choice, even if the patches can only be deployed later than the other systems, building up brand loyalty, especially on a platform that's relatively new to their products, is a plus for them.

Console Digital

XBone, how have thee changed over the months. Microsoft had tried, without much understanding from gamers, to curb down on used ga!es and shift focus onto its online store. Why has it failed while Steam has succeeded? Why didn't Microsoft, or any other online distributors for that matter, learn anything from Steam?

If Microsoft or Sony wants people to be invested in their online store, deep discounts for older games !might be the way to go. Once people start to buy their first game, they are more likely to commit. Of course, the store must be able to advertise such sales well. I have no idea if Microsoft does that, but Sony's Plus system with free games is actually getting people into their ecosystem. I started buying games on PSN because of that, and on GoG because of free games as well.

But an issue with Sony's store is the extremely slow download rate. If your infrastructure is poor, it's not going to be pleasant experience, and people are going to be turned off. And the consoles should be designed with that in mind. Considering we're in the 'next gen' now, I'm surprised the hard disk drives are only 500gb. If you're expecting people to buy and download games, especially now that games are expected to be a lot larger, did you think that would be enough?

If console makers are hoping that digital sales might be the answer to used games, this might be their chance to get people in. That already made a mistake with their launch consult hard drive size, but hopefully they can make good changes to their online stores and future editions to their consoles so by the time the next generation rolls out, gamers will be less resistant to the changes. But, always, always leave the choice for disk based used games for gamers.

New Consoles

The PS4 has been announced, and we're awaiting Microsoft to give more details. Having already gotten our hands on the Wii U and also hearing about the Steam box and PS4, the new age of consoles is upon us.

 

However, will the consoles be able to rid through the tough initial period where the lack of games will hinder the adoption rate of consumers? That and the lack of backwards compatibility of the PS4 (streaming PS3 games is not ideal) and most likely the next Xbox will definitely be a factor as well. The wise console maker will actually embrace this if they want to draw gamers from the other camp into their family because gamers who do not own a PS3 and missed out on the PS3 exclusives will be glad too pick up a PS4 early to play those games if there was backwards compatibility. As it stands, there's little to no reason to pick up a PS3 now and if the next Xbox were released at approximately the same time as the PS4, they might still stick to Microsoft.

 

There is no news as of yet if Sony will charge a mandatory subscription fee for online access, but if they do, it will not sit well with the gamers. Seeing how gaming companies like money (who doesn't?) over consumer goodwill, it is not impossible that they will go this route. I don't know if brains are needed to run a company, but I guess not since companies tend to cancel out all the good that they do pretty quickly, apologize, try to fix it, and then going back to screwing themselves and their consumers over.

 

We're moving into the next generation and actually do have more of a choice in our consoles this time (including a PC console-wannabe) so we probably should see what the console makers are up to before settling for one. Take into consideration the online sub and also whether they are punishing you, their consumers by banning used games and such. Vote with your wallet and perhaps, they will take notice.

 

On a side note, here's an abridged version of the PS4 conference that everyone should watch.