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Why the Diablo Immortal backlash so serious? Why did not Blizzard see it coming? Today on Kotaku Splitscreen, we are discussing.
KotakuMaddy Myers back to the show this week, joining Kirk and I to discuss the great Diablo disaster. First, we're talking about some of the games we've played, including Assassin's Creed Origins, Return of the dinn obra, and Red Dead 2. Then we enter the news of the week on Nintendo by removing a racist animation of the new smash, BlizzCon ads, and the big Diablo controversial. We talk about why Diablo Immortal frustrated fans and offer theories as to why marketing is such an important part of video game culture. Finally, off-topic discussion and Kirk's Choice of Music Week.
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Get the MP3 here or read an excerpt:
Jason: I can promise everyone that Diablo 4 is in development. I've talked to a lot of people who have worked on it, or seen or played it. The game is in progress. This does not mean that the game will not be canceled because we have no idea what will happen in the coming years, but the game is developing. So for people who panicked, and a lot of people have panicked about Diablo Immortal, thinking that he was going to replace Diablo 4, do not panic anymore.
So yes, there have been a lot of negative reactions from fans to Diablo Immortalfor many, many reasons. Everyone saw this guy who put on line at the Diablo After that, we asked, "Is it an April joke in the low season?" Everyone saw rabies, negative comments from YouTube, comments from Reddit. And so there are many questions about this rabies. Here's a question I want to ask you both and Maddy, I'll ask you first. Blizzard has created this atmosphere in which they organize BlizzCons every year and they say to themselves, "Hey, Blizzard family, get together." And they always ask the same questions at the beginning. How many of you is your first BlizzCon? Your tenth BlizzCon?
Maddy: And they started with this trailer showing all the smiling faces of the audience saying, "Welcome home!
Jason: So here is the question. And I do not say that to justify one of the terrible reactions that some people have seen online. But do you think Blizzard has facilitated this type of rage by creating that atmosphere where fans think they're part of the Blizzard family and that they should get what they want because they make part of the Blizzard BlizzCon family every year? Do you think that's part of that conversation?
Maddy: I think so. I do not know if I would say, "Well, Blizzard deserves it, because it makes it easier," because Blizzard is not the only organization to offer games like this and encourage that kind of mindset. . I think that's a good example, because it's a PAX-like convention but it's Blizzard-driven and there are only Blizzard games, and you get the feeling that if you're there, you're are really Blizzard game fans and you can walk from StarCraft bar at the hometheme bar. "You only play these games" is sort of the atmosphere of this convention, so it's unique compared to PAX.
But that evokes that feeling of "well then how much are the fans socially allowed to ask?" And is it acceptable for them to express these opinions directly during a Q & A session where they can literally talk to the developers and insult them in the face? And it's pretty socially, I suppose, now that people feel confident to do it, that they find it funny, that they can be on a Twitch clip and share it with their friends, which is rewarded. It's a little different, but it's also a bit the same as tweeting someone to drag it and get positive votes, etc., but now it's a Q & A session, which makes it a bit uncomfortable.
Jason: I think because people feel like they're part of that larger Blizzard "family," because of the way Blizzard created that atmosphere, they feel like Blizzard should create games in their own image. So, when Blizzard is like, "Hey, we want to make a game that will please the mobile audience," and it's clearly not for the BlizzCon audience, nor for Diablo Fans on the Internet, they feel personally attacked. "Hey, I took a day off, I crossed the country to go to the BlizzCon and this what are you giving me? And that sounds really interesting and deserves a conversation – Kirk, what do you think?
Church: I have a lot of thinking to do, because it encompasses many parts of this discussion about the video game culture that has always been going on. So there is a ton. I think maybe I'll try to focus on one thing. Over the years of video game coverage, I have noticed that some of the most angry and intense reactions tend to involve things that are not yet known. It's more like marketing campaigns and ads, and things that people have heard about but have not played for themselves or seen. I think in this case, it's definitely a marketing failure for many reasons, and the intensity of the anger that surrounds it.
Usually, if people are crazy about something that does not exist yet – in this case, it's a mobile game in development, and that's Diablo 4 that people do not really know. You reported[[[[Diablo 4]happens, but people have not heard of Blizzard, so they do not know what to think. There is nowhere to go this energy. So, it builds and lingers and worsens.
Thinking back to things like Witcher 3 to downgrade the controversy, which comes to my mind because I spoke about it three years ago. It was so similar because there was this impression of "OK, this game is now looking worse" and they go through trailers … Basically, everyone is talking about something that doesn is not [yet] real. And in this case, it's true too.
Of course, there were real things here – there was a real ad, there was a real event, there were real people on stage. But I get the impression that this is largely a by-product of the video game culture that is still built around marketing. It's a marketing event. Most people talk about ads, which are just marketing. And in this case, it was clearly a marketing failure, only because something as simple as putting[the[tea[la[theImmortals Diablo ad]at the end of a grand opening event …
Maddy: Treat this as the big highlight you build.
Church: Exactly. And then everyone says, oh it'll be Diablo 4It is surely … and then it's great. All this brings us back to the importance of the game culture in marketing: what you will buy and what people tell you to buy.
Maddy: As for the fact that people are crazy about something that does not exist and they can not really interact yet, they are crazy about the assumptions they make about what it will become. And maybe these assumptions are right, maybe it will be exploitation or something bad. But most of all, what I've seen is people angry at the idea of Diablo to be a mobile game. And some of his critics are more reasonable – this company is a known entity that I do not like – but some others are: "How dare you put Diablo on a phone, it does not make any sense, and it is not for me, a basic player. "So, there is certainly that too, and even that's the idea of something that does not exist, and so it's your own hypothesis about what it should be." It would be great if it was an incredible phone game, but I do not think that will be the case, so maybe part of that anger will end up happening. to feel as if it were "justified." And it also annoys me, because I feel that some of them are not based on reasonable feelings.
Church: Especially because we know Diablo 4 is done. When you described their blog post, Jason, you used the word "fundamentally". Diablo 4 was going to be there. But this "fundamentally" does a lot of work because he did not say that.
Jason: That's the big concern, right? It's not just the fact that Diablo on the phones, it's the fact that Diablo is on the phones and they have not said anything about Diablo 4. All they have used is this wave "We have several Diablo current projects. And if they would just say, and it's confusing, it's inexplicable to me that they would not say that. "We are working on Diablo game for PC. 'You will not even have to say the name – keep the headline for a cinematic, a teaser or something else. But just say, "We are working on a new Diablo game for PC. That's all you have to say.
Maddy: But this is not a precedent: will there be a cinematic at the BlizzCon the following year? Because once you've announced that you have a game, and that's a Diablo game, even if you do not say it's Diablo 4, I get the impression that it makes people feel good, OK, so we're going to find out about it next year. I think that's the way the expectations were created, and that's part of the way these events have been going on for so long-
Church: I wonder, it will be interesting to see how Bethesda announcing The Elder Scrolls VI 40 years in advance are played. Because there might be a new standard established there, and it could be: "Yes, we'll just tell people what we're working on," and then next year, it's: "Yes, we are still working on it, we are not doing it." I have nothing to show you, sorry, but we are still doing it.
Jason: It was great, because the reason is Fallout 76-Here is this multiplayer survival solution, but do not worry, we continue to create games at Bethesda. here is Starfieldhere is Elder Scrolls VIyou will not see them for a moment, but that's what we do, do not worry, we have not abandoned our main fans. "
And that's what Blizzard did not do, and that's why basic fans, who feel betrayed by Blizzard, panic. It's very interesting to see and I feel that everything could have been easily avoided.
For many more, listen to the entire episode. As always, you can subscribe to us on Apple and Google Play podcasts to get each episode as you go. Leave us a comment if you like what you hear and contact us at [email protected] for any question, request or suggestion.
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