I’m going to get a fair amount of abuse for saying this, but hell, I really don’t see too much of an issue with developers demanding that games require an internet connection to be played.
Via Diablo’s global director of community Adam Fletcher, Blizzard is introducing new measures to improve the quality of season launches in the future. Across both Diablo 4 and the aging Diablo 3, fans of Blizzard’s games should all benefit.
If they didn't let the cellphone guy touch the 3rd one in first place, they wouldn't have to dance around like clowns trying to make money.
We've been asking for less "boring" seasons... "boring"... not "buggy"... same ol' rehashed content just a different color is not working.
Who says a dud game can't have a video game comeback?
Cyberpunk and No Man's Sky have to be up there. We're lucky and cursed, equally, to have games that can be updated now. For folks old enough to remember the Sega/SNES into PS1 and even 2 eras, if a game came out that was half baked (*cough*Angel of Darkness*cough*) that was it, no redemption. At the same time, having the option for updates shouldn't be an excuse for half assing games.
Diablo III still works on modern PlayStation and Xbox consoles, and remains hugely playable a decade after initial release.
Are you comparing a continuously improved 10+ years old masterpiece with the... beta of an unreleased game?
The problem - the major problem - is that it gives companies the ability to "turn off" a game when ever they like. You're not such buying a game anymore, but rather renting it at the suffrage of the game makers.
Crap like this needs to stop.
Buying a game shouldn't be dependent on living in an area with an always-on connection, it shouldn't be dependent on the internet company being competent (not all of them are), especially considering that the people who want to pirate will probably find a work-around in a matter of weeks.
So who does it hurt? The people who would have paid for a copy and now don't really have that option.
I do see your point...but the rule is far too harsh on people who cannot get the internet. Its just dumb luck.
Annnnd publishers see crap like this as support.
No non persistent online game should be tied to a server to play. Even if its 10 years later I should be able to boot up my copy of a game and replay it like I'm doing with Deus Ex right now and not be stopped because the company went out of business or decided to shut down the servers, or if I lost my internet connection or they had server problems.
Too many problems with the idea and hackers bypass the security anyway making legit players the ones suffering.