Diablo 3 - Blizzard Delays Expansion Until 2014?

Couchpotato

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GamesBeat has a small article about the expansion for Daiblo 3 and it's being delayed to 2014. Surprisingly this is nothing new as they delay every game if this is true.
LOS ANGELES — Blizzard Entertainment has delayed its expansion pack for the action-role-playing game Diablo III until next year, GamesBeat has learned.
A Blizzard spokesman declined to comment to GamesBeat.
The delay is a big deal because expansion packs can generate a lot of revenue for the company, which is a division of Activision Blizzard and the publisher of huge games like StarCraft II and World of Warcraft. When the StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm expansion pack launched in March, it quickly became the top-selling PC game for that month.
The Diablo III expansion was never announced with a specific launch date in mind, but many were expecting that it would arrive in 2013. We have learned from a source that it has definitely been delayed. And even with some reassigned employees who came over from another project, it’s clear that the expansion will not arrive until 2014.
More information.
 
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Delays, delays, and more delays.

In the past, I used to appreciate Blizzard's approach to these things. But the more I see and hear from them these days, the more I believe they really don't know what the hell they're doing anymore.
 
Delays, delays, and more delays.

In the past, I used to appreciate Blizzard's approach to these things. But the more I see and hear from them these days, the more I believe they really don't know what the hell they're doing anymore.

I sympathize with them. It must be one hell of a job to successfully complete a multi-year tech project in a rapidly changing market and platform with such a large team and hundreds of other stakeholders involved. It really makes my skin crawl to think about it.
 
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Blizzard swims into money. And with the affirmative action reform they brought to the WCS ensuring that easier to associate with champions will emerge to the scene,they will swim into money even more. They can delay.
 
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I sympathize with them. It must be one hell of a job to successfully complete a multi-year tech project in a rapidly changing market and platform with such a large team and hundreds of other stakeholders involved. It really makes my skin crawl to think about it.

They have a money-making machine and one of the most luxurious development processes in the industry - where they can iterate over every little change for an unprecedented amount of time.

Basically, they're in an extremely comfortable position all things considered.

They simply don't have the vision to match their resources.

I can sympathise with a lack of competence and a complacent attitude - but not much.

It takes but a single visionary with enough hunger to make a near miracle with the kind of resources they have available - but it's not happening. They could fail big several times in a row without being in danger, which is almost unheard of in this industry.

I think they've become full of themselves and they have a serious lack of hungry people in charge.

Craftsmanship can only take you so far. You need someone inspiring to lead.
 
They have a money-making machine and one of the most luxurious development processes in the industry - where they can iterate over every little change for an unprecedented amount of time.

[…]

They simply don't have the vision to match their resources.

Yeah, you need to step away from the idea that you can solve any problem by throwing more resources at it here. Projects like these can easily continue indefinitely until they get cancelled. Or they just collapse in on themselves. They are in a comfortable position and have plenty of experience, but without strong leadership and clear boundaries on the scope, a tight planning, etc. it is bound to fail. I'm just a mere software development mortal, but it's very hard to find competent project leaders on this scale. Any project of this size that gets finished is a small miracle.
 
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Yeah, you need to step away from the idea that you can solve any problem by throwing more resources at it here. Projects like these can easily continue indefinitely until they get cancelled. Or they just collapse in on themselves. They are in a comfortable position and have plenty of experience, but without strong leadership and clear boundaries on the scope, a tight planning, etc. it is bound to fail. I'm just a mere software development mortal, but it's very hard to find competent project leaders on this scale. Any project of this size that gets finished is a small miracle.

Exactly - and for once we agree :)

They could put me in charge and they wouldn't even need to pay me. Give me near-unlimited resources for 5-10 years - and I'll give you a game you've never seen before ;)

Of course, it might not sell zillions of copies - but it'd be something new!
 
Exactly - and for once we agree :)

They could put me in charge and they wouldn't even need to pay me. Give me near-unlimited resources for 5-10 years - and I'll give you a game you've never seen before ;)

Of course, it might not sell zillions of copies - but it'd be something new!

Hahaha, I guarantee you that this will not happen if you don't already have some great experience in management. :p Well, ah, you did indeed say I'd see a game I've never seen before, so that could be a monstrosity of crazy wacked out ideas held together with duct tape and spit! :) You could pick up some management skills during that time. Still, it would be a major victory regardless!

I'd like to see you try and hold an unchanging vision in your head for three years and not succumb to new discoveries, technology, new knowledge and business partners, not to speak of internal disasters like your leads leaving or dealing with rebelling worker slaves who don't like how you're handling things!

Make a mockumentary out of it, it would be hilarious. :p
 
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Hahaha, I guarantee you that this will not happen if you don't already have some great experience in management. :p Well, ah, you did indeed say I'd see a game I've never seen before, so that could be a monstrosity of crazy wacked out ideas held together with duct tape and spit! :) You could pick up some management skills during that time. Still, it would be a major victory regardless!

I'd like to see you try and hold an unchanging vision in your head for three years and not succumb to new discoveries, technology, new knowledge and business partners, not to speak of internal disasters like your leads leaving or dealing with rebelling worker slaves who don't like how you're handling things!

Make a mockumentary out of it, it would be hilarious. :p

I was being very serious indeed ;)

I have zero interest in the AAA industry - as I'd vomit all over the executive suits trying to tell me how to design a game - or the Blizzard peons trying to tell me to iterate for months over whether I should have a green or a blue icon for spells.

As for my managment skills and your opinion of them - I'll take them seriously to the degree that best matches your level of insight.
 
If Blizzard let me make their next game I would make the game I have designed over the last 15 years. It likely would take every bit of money they could give for the budget and would be the biggest project ever made and would be something entirely different then anything that has been made. That is the reason why it will never be made though.
 
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If Blizzard let me make their next game I would make the game I have designed over the last 15 years. It likely would take every bit of money they could give for the budget and would be the biggest project ever made and would be something entirely different then anything that has been made. That is the reason why it will never be made though.

Hmm, the imagination runs wild :).
 
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So this is a non-article about a non-delay, because there was never a release date in the first place... free press for Blizzard I guess :p
 
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I believe the delay is because they are focusing on the release of the console versions of Diablo 3. It would be pretty cheesy if they released the expansion for D3 at around the same time the console players would just be getting the vanilla version of the game
 
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I was being very serious indeed ;)

I have zero interest in the AAA industry - as I'd vomit all over the executive suits trying to tell me how to design a game - or the Blizzard peons trying to tell me to iterate for months over whether I should have a green or a blue icon for spells.

I thought we were talking about huge budget, AAA+, 100+ team, multiple-year, international, high-stake projects here. If I knew you were talking about a small indie title, I wouldn't have questioned your implied claim to handle such projects.

As for my managment skills and your opinion of them - I'll take them seriously to the degree that best matches your level of insight.

Thanks? :)
 
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I thought we were talking about huge budget, AAA+, 100+ team, multiple-year, international, high-stake projects here. If I knew you were talking about a small indie title, I wouldn't have questioned your implied claim to handle such projects.

We were talking about that - but it was a joke.

You're not the tastiest sandwhich in the fridge, are you? ;)


Oh, you're quite welcome ;)
 
This will be first non WOW product from Blizzard that I will not buy.

Agreed. D3 marked the last Blizzard product I will ever play. Which is almost surreal, considering how many years that they were my favorite game company.
 
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