To say that last year’s announcement of Diablo: Immortal didn’t go over well would be somewhat of an understatement. The blowback the company received for daring to port one of most revered franchises to handhelds was frankly ludicrous – though it’s worth noting that most people didn’t have any issue with the idea of a mobile Diablo. Rather, they were angered by what they felt was Blizzard giving up on its primary platform, PC.
Speaking to Gamespot, Blizzard president J. Allen Brack – who stepped in when Mike Morhaim left – admitted that they got the messaging very, very wrong with that reveal.
“I think the thing that we did a poor job of when we announced Diablo: Immortal was contextualizing what we think the future can be and what we think of mobile in particular,” Brack said. “And I also think the key thing that was lost, that we did a poor job double emphasizing, is we are a PC developer first. And then we look for other platforms that we think are awesome that can support the types of game play experiences that resonate with the type of games and values that we want to put forth into the world. And the example of that is, there was a little bit of a backlash when we [announced] that we were going to port Diablo 3 to console as well.”
He does go on to say that he thinks Blizzard can make good mobile games without sacrificing the sort of quality that the company is known for. Honestly? When it was announced, I didn’t care for it, but now I’m actually a little keen on a mobile Diablo game – as long as it isn’t egregiously monetised and is actually fun to play without feeling like too much of a grind.
“If we think about what mobile was going to be for Blizzard in the future, we think that mobile doesn’t have to be a lesser-quality experience,” Brack said. “We think that we can make Blizzard-quality games. We think that we can have Blizzard values around monetization, and we think it can be a great experience. And Diablo: Immortal is a game that we’ve been working on for quite a few years at this point, and we’re happy with how it’s coming along. We’re looking forward to having the players see it whenever it’s ready to go.”
Last Updated: October 3, 2019
Admiral Chief
October 3, 2019 at 08:50
BUT I BOUGHT A PHONE FOR THIS!!!!????!!!!!
HvR
October 3, 2019 at 09:00
Don’t these guys have phones to check their own forums on what their user base wants?
HvR
October 3, 2019 at 09:00
Don’t these guys have phones to check their own forums on what their user base wants?
Original Heretic
October 3, 2019 at 09:07
If this stays as a mobile exclusive, I simply will not play it.
I prefer my gaming action on a big ol’ screen, I don’t wanna squint at everything.
HairyEwok
October 3, 2019 at 09:29
This is some kind of joke right? Is Blizzard really this bad now.
Raptor Rants
October 3, 2019 at 09:29
For the fans:
1) A game you enjoy has a flavor of it released on a platform you don’t use. That is really OKAY.
2) So you won’t play it there? That is OKAY. Others might.
3) No it’s not an attack on your platform or some ploy to move you away from your platform. Put away the tinfoil hat. no! Put it down! I said put… it… down! There we go. Now breath
For Blizz
1) Please consult PR before reveals. They are there to help you figure out the difficult questions. Stumbling on an easy question about the future of the PC games is something PR could have told you would come and help you prep an answer.
2) Please don’t make claims about being a PC first developer. Everyone can see that you created D3 from the ground up with consoles in mind. I recall videos about it as well on the home page of D3 when doing class and skill reveals etc stating how excited you were about the PC dev work as you were planning on getting this to console not long after launch and that the controls were being tuned specifically to allow this. Get your stories straight. Say it with me again: PR are your friends not food.
3) If you want to make a mobile / console or pc game of a franchise, go for it. Just don’t leave your original audience in the dust. *Looks quickly at tinfoil hat person* NO! I said no! Put it away! No conspiracy here! noooooo….. There we go.
I’m not sure why this should have to be asked but what exactly is wrong about expanding a player base by going wider to other platforms? Gamers freak out and get upset about anything that says “exclusive” but then when a game that has always been on one platform only gets opened for other platforms everyone gets upset? I recall when D3 launched people were more upset about the console being a focus point and calling the devs evil or something and never focused on the core issue of just not enough polish being put in.
Which way folks? Pick one or the other. Exclusive or not? Can’t have it both ways. Can’t pick and choose.
So now can everyone calm down, allow a dev / publisher to expand and talk about the real issues of the gaming world? Incomplete games, unpolished games, poor optomisations and toxicity etc.
Yahtzee
October 3, 2019 at 09:35
https://catmacros.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/tldr.jpg
Raptor Rants
October 3, 2019 at 09:50
pff
Alien Emperor Trevor
October 3, 2019 at 10:19
Technically his comment is even longer than yours because a picture speaks a thousand words.
Raptor Rants
October 3, 2019 at 10:19
lol
Admiral Chief
October 3, 2019 at 14:16
HAH
HairyEwok
October 3, 2019 at 09:42
The main reason why everybody freaked out over Diablo: Immortal is because it was revealed at Blizzcon…. Blizzcon, which is basically where they reveal all their AAA titles to their loyal fans (who primarily are PC players), they also did mention there will be a big reveal before Blizzcon for Diablo so everyone jumped on the hype wagon for a Diablo 4 reveal.
Raptor Rants
October 3, 2019 at 09:50
Yeah but that’s on the fans for putting down expectations for something that was never promised. Again, it comes down to – let a franchise grow if the owners want it to.
And no one said “Hey we at Blizz are now only mobile developers” yet that’s how everyone is acting. Just seems a bit silly to me. Putting the cart before the horse and all that
HairyEwok
October 3, 2019 at 10:00
I think if they revealed Diablo: Immortal for Nintendo switch the backlash wouldn’t have been as bad as for phones, and then turning and saying “do you guys not have phones” to an already irritated crowd didn’t help either.
Like you said, PR is your friend, they would have told Blizz, hey listen here, you use this convention to reveal your biggest and best games to your main market which is PC, maybe.. just maybe let this mobile game be revealed on a different convention or better your blizzard app.
Raptor Rants
October 3, 2019 at 10:10
PR are friends… Not food.
Exactly this. Just use the PR team and actively listen to them. Unless the PR team made all this happen, in which case… WHAT YOU DOING PR TEAM!?
Raptor Rants
October 3, 2019 at 09:50
Yeah but that’s on the fans for putting down expectations for something that was never promised. Again, it comes down to – let a franchise grow if the owners want it to.
And no one said “Hey we at Blizz are now only mobile developers” yet that’s how everyone is acting. Just seems a bit silly to me. Putting the cart before the horse and all that
Alien Emperor Trevor
October 3, 2019 at 10:10
tl;dr
Raptor Rants
October 3, 2019 at 10:10
*glares*
Yahtzee
October 3, 2019 at 10:18
Speaking as an actual player who played season after season, year after year the same content with a slight twist each time. First taste of a new expansion was teased at us. We waited. It turned out to be a paid for character that will be added you can use in current content (the same content we have grinded for years).
Some years pass and we get teased again for a Diablo reveal. This is it guys and girls! this must be the new ex-pack or maybe it’s Diablo 4… I mean it’s been almost 5 years since Reaper of Souls came out.
D-Day arrives. We have waited patiently, we are craving more. DIABLO 3 ON MOBILE!
Raptor Rants
October 3, 2019 at 10:19
11 years between D2 and D3. #justsaying
Yahtzee
October 3, 2019 at 10:19
We weren’t expecting a release, we expected an announcement that it was coming.
Raptor Rants
October 3, 2019 at 10:33
And an announcement there was.
Hammersteyn
October 3, 2019 at 11:06
True, but people thought the announcement would be something to do with Diablo 3 or 4. Instead they were blindsided with a mobile announcement. Then when they’re unimpressed they sarcastically get asked if they don’t have phones? Also how much does the Blizzcon tickets go for again? Couple of 100 dollars? I can see why they were upset. Ever wanted a toy for Christmas but you get clothes that doesn’t even fit properly? I gather that’s how most felt in attendance. Blizzard dropped the ball and it’s nice that they’re admitting it finally, which means the game should be out in a month or two. That’s normally when the PR people gets to work.
Admiral Chief
October 3, 2019 at 14:16
tl;dr
Pennywise The Dancing Clown
October 3, 2019 at 10:10
Diablows.
There. It is said.
Just kidding.
But I hated playing it on PC. PS4 rocked my world.
Look, no matter what Blizzard does, it will always be berated.
Guys, we are giving you Warcraft 4.
No. Ye Bastards. We want Diablo 4.
SagatatiaRZA
October 3, 2019 at 10:26
What? There would be orgies in the streets if Warcraft 4 is announced whatchutalkingboutwillis?
SagatatiaRZA
October 3, 2019 at 10:26
They did say that D4 was in development though so that’s good. Unless I listened with my ass.
Son of Banana Jim
October 3, 2019 at 11:14
Go away, Blizzard! You’re drunk!
Guz
October 3, 2019 at 09:22
.I use my phone for messaging and calls, IF I wanted mobile gaming I would get a switch,
Where is Diablo 4!!
HairyEwok
October 3, 2019 at 09:29
You could get an android apk program for PC and do things that way XD