Gaming Why Blizzard's 'Diablo Immortal' Is The Biggest Rip Off In Video Game History

[The Helper]

Spoiler: A pretty negative review about Diablo Immortal especially the rampant Monetization in the game

Zizaran shares his experience playing Diablo Immortal on the PC release yesterday. Diablo Immortal is an extremely predatory mobile game with multiple tactics created to squeeze the players out of their money.

 

[Ghan]

Ah, the rousing conclusion to the saga of "Don't you guys have phones?"

 

[Wizard]

Ah, the rousing conclusion to the saga of "Don't you guys have phones?"

LOL.

That is such a meme.

 

[The Helper]

Here is another review of the PC Beta by the Immortal John Hancock

Spoiler: Diablo Immortal PC Beta First Impressions: Fun or Forget?

The last few days I have played Diablo Immortal on my computers. This version of the game is still in Beta, but I give you my thoughts about it.

 

[The Helper]

It Costs $110,000 to Fully Gear-Up in Diablo Immortal

Having launched ahead of schedule just a few days back, Activision Blizzard's Diablo Immortal has been making headlines for a wide variety of reasons, not least of which is its microtransaction model. Namely, Diablo Immortal is a free-to-play game and, as such, features a number of ways that players can support its continued development.

While this approach to sustainability is rather commonplace nowadays, Diablo Immortal may have taken things a step further than most players may have expected. According to YouTube channel Bellular News' calculations, the game's unique monetization system is set up in a way that makes character min-maxing an exceedingly expensive endeavor.

The crux of the issue, as per Bellular News' recent video, is that Diablo Immortal allows players to buy the so-called Legendary Gems. These are one of the characters' three progression pillars alongside regular gear and XP level, and they dictate one's endgame-tier progression beyond what is possible simply by reaching Diablo Immortal's level cap. As of right now, F2P players cannot earn top-rated Legendary Games, which are only available via some of the game's monetization options, and fully maxing-out a character effectively costs $110,000 in the game's current economy.

https://gamerant.com/diablo-immortal-pay-to-win-legendary-gems/

 

[Ghan]

Spoiler: Goodbye Diablo Immortal - The Psychology of F2P

 

[The Helper]

This is getting good now. A real popular twitch streamer has decided to play a Whale for Diablo Immortal and the community is reacting. Love it or hate it - any kind of attention a celebrity can get is good and Asmongold apparently is a celebrity. The Pay to Play or Pay to Win stuff is all total Win on the drama factor!

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Asmongold has long taken a vocal stance against pay-to-win video games. He even specifically called out Blizzard for including this model in their new mobile game Diablo Immortal.

Although he shared his distaste for Blizz’s handling of the APRG title, he still streamed his first playthrough and even decided to spend money on in-game currency every time the game prompted him to. Now, he faces a backlash from his community.

While streaming on his backup account zackrawrr on June 3, the 30-year-old streamer was caught deleting tons of negative posts on his subreddit, r/Asmongold.

All of the posts he can be seen deleting are ones calling him out for spending nearly $350 on Immortal in his first broadcast of the game.

Asmon apparently was trying to prove a point about spending money on free-to-play games, but that point was lost on those who already are aware of how predatory pay-to-win games can be.

Asmongold under fire for silencing critics of his Diablo Immortal pay-to-win stream - Dexerto

Twitch streamer Asmongold was called out by his community after being caught deleting tons of negative posts about him on his subreddit.

www.dexerto.com

 

[Ghan]

One of Asmongold's videos on Immortal:

Spoiler: Diablo Immortal Is DISGUSTING, Blizzard Should Be Utterly Ashamed

He's a big World of Warcraft player I think so that's why he's getting a lot of attention on a new Blizzard game.

 

[The Helper]

He is totally trolling everyone. He has the money to whale as he is quite popular and will probably take that all the way up to the whole limit because I can tell he does not give a F.

 

[The Helper]

I would do the exact same thing too just so you know. If I had a youtube or switch channel I was getting rich on I would totally focus all my money into Diablo Immortal and be a whale to video all of that. He is so popular he just needs the money to start and it will all be donated or earned and he will just make more on his journey. It will literally pay for itself. He is in a perfect position right now and should have no worries. Kinda like Internet Gamer Paradise congratulations Asmongold in your skill on riding that wave...

He could really f them all over by raising enough money to get the 110 thousand and max out and then videoing the experience. I guarantee you that Activision has not planned on keeping a whale on the later levels. I bet they are totally not ready or put some artificial hurdle there until they are....

 

[The Helper]

Diablo Immortal’s director comments on microtransaction ‘misinformation’

Amid criticism of Diablo Immortal’s approach to microtransactions, the game’s director has suggested that some negativity around the game is “based on misinformation”.

Months prior to the Blizzard game’s release, director Wyatt Cheng said: “In Diablo Immortal, there is no way to acquire or rank up gear using money.”

And while it may be factually accurate that “gear” itself can’t be purchased with real money, following the game’s release last week some players have labelled Cheng’s comments disingenuous.

That’s because Diablo Immortal lets players use real money in a bid to acquire powerful Legendary Gems, one of three progression pillars alongside regular gear and XP level, which can be used to upgrade a character in the post-game.

It’s been claimed that the highest tier Legendary Gems can’t currently be earned by players who don’t pay for them with real money, and it’s been estimated that fully upgrading a post-game character would cost up to $110,000 worth of gems.

And players can’t even purchase Legendary Gems outright. Instead, they are dropped from Legendary Crests, which are the game’s loot boxes.

Over the weekend, Cheng was asked on Twitter what had changed since his pre-release comments about players not being able to buy gear. “Or are the gems not considered gear?”

Diablo Immortal’s director comments on microtransaction ‘misinformation’ | VGC

The game has been criticised by some players who say it's ‘pay to win’…

www.videogameschronicle.com

 

[Ghan]

Streamer Spends Nearly $4,000 on Diablo Immortal and Doesn't Get Any 5 Star Legendary Gems

New Zealand Twitch Streamer Quin69 has been highlighting the frustrations of many Diablo Immortal players regarding its aggressive microtransactions model. After spending several thousand dollars on Diablo Immortal's shop, the streamer has yet to receive one of the coveted 5-star legendary quality gems.

In a way, this has shown that "pay to win" isn't always the case, as this streamer burns away an alarming amount of cash without success.

https://gamerant.com/diablo-immortal-streamer-spends-nearly-4000-dollars-no-5-star-legendary-gems/

As of last night, his spend was over 7,000NZD ($4,500) and still no 5-star legendary gems.

 

[The Helper]

A positive look at Diablo Immortal

Diablo Immortal Is Far Too Good To Be Free

Last week Blizzard launched Diablo Immortal, the next entry in its long-running, loot-driven action-RPG franchise. However, unlike previous games, this one is free-to-play, and was built from the ground up to be a mobile game first. While it did also come out on PC last week, the reality is this is a very different kind of Diablo. Between being a phone title, having F2P-style in-app purchases, and being part of a popular legacy franchise, it’s created a large debate about the game and its true cost.

Kotaku staff writer Zack Zwiezen and editor John Walker have both been playing, so got together to chat about the game, how much they’re enjoying it, and why it might not be the evil, money-sucking monster some have claimed. At the very least, it’s a perfect way to kill some time while watching old episodes of The Simpsons.

Diablo Immortal Is Far Too Good To Be Free

We sit down to chat about Blizzard’s latest ARPG after playing it for the past week

kotaku.com

 

[The Helper]

Diablo Immortal Player Reportedly Kicked Out of Clan They Paid Real Money to Start

Activision Blizzard released Diablo Immortal just days ago, and it's already the target of controversy and review bombing with its microtransactions exceeding what many players are willing to pay. However, one Diablo Immortal fan that was fine with the microtransactions paid money to start a Clan only to reportedly be kicked out of it when making a simple mistake.

Reddit user Mrcaruthers recently posted their early experience with Diablo Immortal and their frustration with Clans costing money despite a Diablo Immortal mechanic automatically kicking players from these Clans. Many players continue to create Clans and explore the time period between Diablo 2 and Diablo 3 in Diablo Immortal with their friends. Some players, including Mrcaruthers, have opted to join the Shadow Lottery in an attempt to become a Shadow and join a Dark Clan in Diablo Immortal, but the Reddit user wasn't entirely aware of what the limitations were before making the transition.

Mrcaruthers stated that they paid to start their own clan after leveling up in Diablo Immortal to reach level 30 and shortly afterward became a Shadow when a friend recommended the change. According to Mrcaruthers, becoming a Shadow immediately kicked them out of their Clan despite being its leader, and Diablo Immortal gave no warning or hint that such an important thing would be changed. As a result of this mistake, Mrcaruthers filed a ticket with Activision Blizzard, but the Game Masters were unable to assist the Diablo Immortal fan with their issue.

https://gamerant.com/diablo-immortal-player-kicked-out-clan-paid-real-money-start/

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I have a feeling that Blizzard will in some way compensate this guy because it is just stupid not to. Technically, whatever but they need to skip that technicality bullshit sometimes and just make it right. Kicking someone out of a clan they PAID to create without any warning is slimy. I know Blizzard does not want to be slimy. That is not the Blizzard I remember.

 

[Ghan]

> I know Blizzard does not want to be slimy.

I'm not so sure.

> That is not the Blizzard I remember.

You can say that again.

Also, last I saw, Quin69 is now over $11,000 NZD spent with no 5/5 star gems.

 

[The Helper]

> I know Blizzard does not want to be slimy.

I'm not so sure.

> That is not the Blizzard I remember.

You can say that again.

Also, last I saw, Quin69 is now over $11,000 NZD spent with no 5/5 star gems.

I saw that too. Activision laughing all the way to the bank.

 

[The Helper]

This has to be a joke... I am sure I am falling for something here but it is just too good to not post...

In wonderful news for all of the foodies out there, the recently launched and massively popular Diablo Immortal has announced that they are hosting a crossover with the fast-food chain Burger King in Korea to release a brand new food item as well as an in-game event too. This new menu item will be available specifically within Korea and will also allow you to access in-game rewards as well.

While this may seem a bit odd of a crossover, it’s not the first time Blizzard has created a new food item to celebrate the release of a Diablo game, as back when Diablo II: Resurrected dropped, they created a beer that was brewed specifically in honour of the title. This time, however, the new menu item for Korean Burger King stores also comes with a few in-game goodies as well, so you’re definitely getting a good bang for your buck.

For those of you curious as to what this new burger looks like exactly, the Diablo Ultimate Donut King as it is named will have doughnut-shaped chicken patties along with a beef pattie. Then, you’ve got your umami added with a specially prepared new sauce entitled the Diablo Sauce. It’s a safe bet with that name that this is likely to be a bit on the spicy side. Add all those ingredients to your normal burger toppings and you’ve got the new Diablo Ultimate Donut King available in Korean Burger King stores.

Diablo Immortal teams up with Burger King to launch the new Diablo Ultimate Donut King burger in Korea

In wonderful news for all of the foodies out there, the recently launched and massively popular Diablo Immortal has announced that they are hosting a crossover with the fast-food chain Burger King in Korea to release a brand new food item as well as an in-game...

www.pocketgamer.com

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This is most epic. This news right here, at least for me, wins the Internet. Fake or not thank you Internet for this

 

[The Helper]

After just two weeks, it seems that Diablo Immortal isn’t dissuading players from spending, despite a widely-criticized monetization system. Reports estimate that sales on both iOS and Android have reached approximately $24 million in just two weeks.

The data, from AppMagic, shows that approximately $13 million has been spent on iOS and $11 million on Android. This comes as the game has been praised for bringing Diablo to a mobile platform (while also deciding to adapt a bit to also launch on PC) but heavily criticized for its monetization scheme. Many have called it predatory, with criticism cover everything from the ramp up designed to hook you to the way gems are handled. Belgium and the Netherlands didn't even get a Diablo Immortal release over those countries' gambling laws covering loot boxes.

It does seem that the launch window has been quite profitable so far. While there's no data yet on sales through the PC Early Access version, starting from $24 million on mobile is already a significant baseline. The numbers show that the United States represented 43% of the revenue, and South Korea in second with 23% of that revenue. It is clear that players are spending, but this is still early data from the first two weeks. Criticism of the monetization system has been high and continuous, so it remains to be seen if this level continues.

Diablo Immortal Has Reportedly Made $24 Million on Mobile in Its First Two Weeks | MMORPG.com

After just two weeks, Diablo Immortal has reportedly made $24 million in revenue from its mobile release, despite its heavily criticized monetization system.

www.mmorpg.com

 

[Mahucharn]

Turns out that you do in fact, have phones.

 

[Ghan]

Mark Kern, a team lead for the original World of Warcraft, commented on this on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1538508066303320064