Jimquisition: You Should Be Mad at Diablo III's Always Online DRM

[xPixelatedx]

We all know how fan boys react to criticism of their beloved fixations, how sad it is that this newer generation of gamers are not fan boys of consoles, but instead fan boys of corporations and suits. I imagine them having trading cards of every stock holder in EA. This is the only logical explanation to their illogical behavior. No sane person would defend companies who try to so thoroughly and publicly screw the consumer.

I blame Kevin Butler

He apparently convinced an entire generation that the corporate guys in the gaming offices are all a bunch of wacky fun-loving man-children who are only here to have a good time with you. I cannot believe how thoroughly this worked on the drooling masses.

 

[Voltano]

I'm sort of mixed on whether I should call this plan "DRM" for myself, but I can't deny that some people would see this as DRM. I think the security features are here to protect people's credit card information/identify from malicious users since the auction house system in this game is the biggest feature advertised (so far). However, from what I heard the auction house system isn't even available yet. So...Yeah, right now, I can see this being DRM. Broken, annoying, and pointless DRM.

But even if the auction house system is implemented, this is still Blizzards' problem to protect the identity of their customer base, as Sterling stated here. We expect a great, *secure* service from Blizzard when we put down money for this game, but not something that would restrict us from getting into the game. I haven't played the game myself--lack of money and interest being my only reasons--but everything I hear is that its a good game. I just don't see how its justified to put down any money for a game that has a service plan as restrictive as it is right now.

Maybe in a few weeks (Months? Years?) this problem will be resolved. But for now, this does serve as a good example that even high quality games from highly respected developers could be broken from DRM.

 

[ShinobiJedi42]

I'm not really a big fan of Diablo and it doesn't really interest me, but I have to admit that I am on the fan's side. There is no reason players who bought the game should have to deal with that crap. I remember the first time I got the first half-life and had to install steam and at the time they did not have an offline mode option. It was very frustrating because my family had crap dial up and so it was difficult to play.

I will also admit that as an "entitled, whiny" Mass Effect fan who raged over the game's ending, the Diablo III fans have more legitimate complaints than I did. I complained about a great, playable game's ending while Diablo fans can literally not play the game they paid for. It certainly makes me feel as though my nerdrage about the ME3 ending was not as big a deal.

 

[wooty]

I am seriously thinking about getting D3 but I cant be arsed with all this mess personally.

I get enough grief with Steam and its unavaliable server shit without adding this to my list of possible future stroke aggrevators.

 

[Fappy]

Thank god for Jim, and thank god for the erection he just blessed me with. Jim's been knocking them out of the park lately.

 

[42]

I'd like to take a moment to point out another game that came out. Max Payne 3.

When you got it, you put it in the machine, (ok for ps3 you had the shitty install thing but shut up I'm making a point) and once it was loaded, it just worked, you could play it, you could go online, there was no barriers. If anything i praise rockstar.

I bring this up to compare it to D3. and in the end which one would you pick? functionality and quality over quality thats held back by the bad business practices of the industry? i'll go with the one that just plays.

 

[jehk]

O.K., what it has is magic pixie fairy dust. That makes the game unplayable at times. The game you bought. For $60. In the single-player mode that should require no internet connection whatsoever.

Wait, I'm sorry, what was your point again?

Creating a new game in D3 is the same as zoning into a dungeon by yourself in WoW. That is not DRM.

 

[hooksashands]

"When we love something, criticizing that which holds it back is the best thing we can do."

I feel the same way about my country.

 

[MrMajenta]

i saw this coming, that's why i didn't buy this game in the first place. i mean, think about the similarities between this and the Ocean Marketing saga. mass amounts of preorders amounting in broken launch day promises. if you pay for something, you are entitled to complain about not receiving the product and service you paid for. it's theft, plain and simple

 

[ljackstar]

You should have just been smart like me and paid 40$ more for the collectors edition so you can look at the artwork, listen to the soundtrack and play diablo 2 while waiting!

 

[Kekkonen1]

Dammit Jim I just love you more and more every week!! I remember how I didn't like you at all in the beginning when I saw you at the Escapist, but damn you have grown on me. When gamers seem so eager to roll over and take any crap their favourite gaming companies give them and even defend them on forums it is nice to have someone that recognizes that it doesn't matter what company you are, there is no excuse for this crap!

Quite frankly I am appaled at the level of hate towards the people whom actually call Blizzard out on this crap. I absolutely LOVED Blizzard, I grew up with Warcraft 1 and 2, Starcraft and Diablo 1 and 2. I played these games for hours upon hours, but that does NOT make Blizzard immune to criticism when they screw us over like this!

1: I do not want to play Diablo online ever! I just dont find playing online with others enjoyable, for those of you that do, GREAT! But please respect that I dont. And yes I did indeed have GREAT fun playing both Diablo 1 and 2 singelplayer only, so why should I not expect the same for Diablo 3?

2: I HATE lagging and will never ever ever put up with lagging in my singel player game!

3: YES I know that I was aware of this always online DRM-crap before the game was released, that is why I didn't buy the game. However, many of you seem to mistake this awareness as a reason not to complain. Just because I knew about it does not mean that I have to like it.

4: And to tell me to just not play the game is kind of contra-intuitive. Being a huge fan of Diablo 1 and 2 I have waited for this game for over 10 years just as you online-lovers have. I want to play it, but not always online, lagging and at the mercy of Blizzard Servers.

I cannot understand why this is so hard to understand for some. I am not saying that Diablo is not a good game, I just dont want to have a game that I just want to play in singelplayer being unplayable at times.


Finally, just some wonderful irony. Blizzard put up a homepage to show if the servers are up or not, but I couldnt get into the homepage. They should put up another homepage that shows if the homepage that shows if the servers are up are up.

 

[loa]

I wonder if the console versions of Diablo 3 will be always-online too.
Maybe Diablo 3 is the apocalyptic harbinger of always-online-required console games.

 

[Eric the Orange]

D3 doesn't have anymore DRM than WoW. Calling it DRM is either dishonest or ignorant on your part.

I think your definition of DRM and the world's definition are different.

DRM: "Short for digital rights management, a system for protecting the copyrights of data circulated via the Internet or other digital media by enabling secure distribution and/or disabling illegal distribution of the data. Typically, a DRM system protects intellectual property by either encrypting the data so that it can only be accessed by authorized users or marking the content with a digital watermark or similar method so that the content can not be freely distributed."

In this case, it works by forcing players to have an always online internet connection to play.

THAT IS DRM.

Ah see that is the thing, your assuming this is about anti-piracy measures. And I believe that can be debated. My guess would be that it's to try and make everyone use the real money Auction House. So the end goal is the same, more money, but what they are getting money from is what's different.

Now don't get me wrong I'm not defending there choice, And I agree with Jim that they shouldn't have done it. But I'd argue that it is not DRM in the technical sense. Which, I admit, is splitting hairs.

 

[Epona]

I'm sort of mixed on whether I should call this plan "DRM" for myself, but I can't deny that some people would see this as DRM. I think the security features are here to protect people's credit card information/identify from malicious users since the auction house system in this game is the biggest feature advertised (so far). However, from what I heard the auction house system isn't even available yet. So...Yeah, right now, I can see this being DRM. Broken, annoying, and pointless DRM.

But even if the auction house system is implemented, this is still Blizzards' problem to protect the identity of their customer base, as Sterling stated here. We expect a great, *secure* service from Blizzard when we put down money for this game, but not something that would restrict us from getting into the game. I haven't played the game myself--lack of money and interest being my only reasons--but everything I hear is that its a good game. I just don't see how its justified to put down any money for a game that has a service plan as restrictive as it is right now.

Maybe in a few weeks (Months? Years?) this problem will be resolved. But for now, this does serve as a good example that even high quality games from highly respected developers could be broken from DRM.

The RMAH was created to put more money into Blizzards pocket and the DRM is forced on us to protect the RMAH.

 

[rembrandtqeinstein]

I've been saying it forever. Even though I probably played d2 on bnet 90% of the time it doesn't matter. Not having the option to play offline single player, or lan multiplayer lost ac/blizz a sale.

Not providing that options is a dick move on the developers part and I'm not going to financially support it.

Their excuse that "well some people are too dumb to read a warning that you can't use offline characters while online" is a load of shit and every should mock the poor schulp who the corp made to spew that line.

 

[Naeras]

Creating a new game in D3 is the same as zoning into a dungeon by yourself in WoW. That is not DRM.

Uh, what?
Are you seriously claiming that D3 singleplayer should be compared to WoW, a game largely based around interacting with other players? A game where a large portion of the content is restricted to multiple players only? Because in case of WoW, online only makes sense. That game is shitboring without other people to play with. D3 has a single player component that simply shouldn't require always online.

 

[Grey Day for Elcia]

Oh man, the people trying so very hard to tell us it's not DRM and failing in epic amounts to realize everything on the server could have been on the disc, is making my night. I should be in bed, but I kind of want to stay here for the laughs.

 

[TitsMcGee1804]

Blizzard said sorry and thank you for your patience.

I dont think thats enough though, it needs to be 'We really fucked up bad and made alot of people deservedly pissed at us and youre all justified, heres a free ingame pet or something'

They wont

 

[ToastiestZombie]

I was going to get Diablo 3, but then I wised up and spent my money on something that I could sit back and play whenever my internet goes down. That game in question was the MGS HD collection, 3 games I've never payed before for less money and with less shitty DRM. But really, it drives me insane that if a perfectly playable, actually very good game such as ME3 has a lacklustre ending EVERYONE gets mad. Whereas an otherwise great game has a system that makes it unplayable for a LOT of people, people don't get mad. Why isn't anyone filing complaints, or making petitions? Because us as gamers are too fucking apathetic when it comes to DRM in good games.