Finally getting it

In my last post about Diablo Immortal, I linked twice to Forbes: First, as an example of clueless, out-of-touch media coverage that was more interested in scoring easy points against gamer entitlement and misogyny, neither of which were the source of the DI backlash; and second, as an example of that same clueless, out-of-touch media finally trying to get a clue, but still failing to do so. Both of those pieces, by they by, were penned by the same author: Paul Tassi, Senior Contributor.

Today, I can add the third link to the media evolution on this story: one of Forbes' other writers, finally getting it. Ladies, gentlemen, others, I give you Erik Kain, likewise Senior Contributor:

Blizzard announced a new mobile game during BlizzCon this year. Diablo Immortal was the big reveal during the publisher’s keystone event and gamers were not happy.

The reveal was not met with applause and excitement. Rather, a collective sigh filled the room, followed by stunned disbelief and then, later, roiling anger.

Gamers were so unhappy that one even asked the studio if this was a delayed April Fool’s joke: A question many deemed inappropriate but which I find not only fitting but quite funny. After all, Blizzard is either joking or completely out of touch to announce this game in this fashion in front of this audience.

It’s not that a mobile Diablo game is a bad idea in and of itself. It’s the combination of many factors conspiring to upset Blizzard’s most ardent fan base. Let’s look at the biggest missteps, overreactions and other assorted problems with this whole fiasco.

Finally. They finally got there. Well done, Forbes; it's nice to see the gaming media remember that actual gamers really do still matter, when it comes to covering the video gaming industry.

The five-point list that Kain came up with shouldn't surprise anyone, either.

1. The announcement itself.

Honestly, what the hell was Blizzard thinking announcing a mobile game as the capstone announcement of the BlizzCon keynote event in front of its most passionate fans---all of whom are PC and console players first and foremost? It’s almost like Blizzard has grown completely out of touch with its fan base as it chases profitability over everything else.

2. The reaction to the reaction.

No, it is not being entitled to expect the company you've supported for years to announce something geared toward you at their biggest event of the year. That's not entitlement or toxic or anything else, and anyone saying so has their finger so is missing the point very badly indeed.

3. We know next to nothing about the game.

Adding injury to insult, we know virtually nothing about Diablo Immortal. Some people were able to demo it at BlizzCon, but they came away with no knowledge of the most important systems like how gear and loot works.

We also have no clue what kind of monetization Blizzard plans to use, but given the dismal state of the mobile industry and the way it plays to whales and the Asian market where microtransaction, pay-to-win schemes and other dubious revenue practices are much more widely accepted, we can be forgiven for our skepticism.

4. It sure looks like a reskin, and even if it isn’t the concept is horribly dated.

Another issue with the game is that Blizzard isn’t even developing it on its own. Mobile publisher NetEase has that honor. And that not only justifiably worries many gamers, it got some cyber-sleuths digging. They discovered that Diablo Immortal looks an awful lot like NetEase’s Endless of God, another hack-and-slash mobile loot game that’s essentially a Diablo knock-off.

While Blizzard has denied that this is a reskin, it certainly wouldn’t be the first time a mobile developer has essentially taken assets, systems, UI and other design elements from one of their other games and then just changed a few things (art, story, some mechanics) and called it a new title.

5. Blizzard made its own bed.

Diablo Immortal is a disappointment to fans not just because it's a mobile game but because this is Blizzard. This isn't EA or any number of other companies we expect this kind of thing from. Blizzard has spent decades cultivating a fierce following based on the quality of its games. Blizzard doesn't put out games constantly, but when it does we get titles like Overwatch, Hearthstone and World of Warcraft. Pillars of gaming.

Having a mobile developer like NetEase take the lead on this game is galling enough on its own, announcement foibles aside, press overreaction aside, and lack of Diablo 4 news aside.

Blizzard is supposed to give fans a taste of the great things it has coming down the pipeline at BlizzCon. Instead, they served up a mobile game announcement as the big news and then scoffed at their fans when they reacted with anger and disappointment. This is not the Blizzard fans have come to know and love.

It reminds me of so many other beloved developers who inexplicably changed, the spirit of the company and the games left in tatters and only a brand remaining. I'm not saying that's what will happen with Blizzard here, but this is the kind of bad move that leads down that dark path. It's troublesome to say the least.

Will Blizzard respond by giving fans what they're asking for? Will the company show us that we're wrong and that they have quality games in the pipeline that can excite the hardcore fans? Or will they set all that aside and chase profits at the expense of what has made this company so beloved to begin with? These are the questions that need to be asked. Not whether gamers are "entitled" or "asses" or "toxic" or whatever other ludicrous scapegoat has been thrown their way.

Well done, Mr. Kain; those five points sum up the reaction to Diablo Immortal almost perfectly. (Also, #fuckKonami.) Now, if only the rest of the gaming media would get the memo, rather than continue to plug the pro-corporation message about "entitled" gamers and the need to "manage" them. Yes, I'm looking at you, GamesIndustry.biz and VESports.com! Time to stop playing apologist for Blizzard and remember that the consumer also matters in this relationship. Why Blizzard uniquely merit a pass for having done this at BlizzCon, when EA got roasted by the games media for doing essentially exactly the same thing at E3 just months ago, is beyond me. (Microsoft, by contrast, got it right, following the announcement of Gears Pop! with the announcement of the real Gears of War 5.)

Command and Conquer: Rivals, incidentally, is actually out already, something which I'd missed entirely because nobody cared or noticed when it happened. The consensus of reviews, so far, seem to range from "not that bad, actually," to "not what fans wanted, but fun," clarion calls to consumer action if I've ever heard them. Sarcasm aside, it will be interesting to see if this gains any sort of fan base at all; I'm betting on "no."

I'll say it again, the level of consumer outrage that greeted the announcement of C&C:R and D:I can absolutely kill even an apparently-can't-miss game; just as Star Wars Battlefront II, or Destiny 2, which launched under a similar burden of loot box controversy, and which Activision is now giving away for free in a desperate attempt to rebuild their Destiny player base after consumers weren't interested in spending money on it. Somehow, I doubt that Eververse is making enough money to offset all these lost sales for Activision; coverage like Polygon's, "Destiny 2’s Eververse economy is still horrible," won't help, either.

The story of the gaming industry's past year is a non-stop litany of these sorts of consumer-hostile faceplants, failures, and outright fuck-yous to their paying customers. The gaming media seems to finally be starting to notice, but there's still a long way to go. Hopefully, Erik Kain's piece will be the first of many, and not just a notable exception.

I've quoted quite liberally from Fobes' latest piece on this, but I've really only scratched the surface; there's a lot more there, and if you care about this story at all, you owe it to yourself to read the entire thing.

UPDATED Nov. 7th:

I have give a shout-out to Jake Magee GazetteXtra for also getting it:

While I don’t condone the guy who asked the developers if “Diablo Immortal” is a joke (though you have to admit, it’s a pretty funny way to summarize fans’ ire for the project), I think it’s pretty foolish to dismiss fans’ criticisms as “entitlement.”

First of all, Blizzard teased “Diablo” news to hardcore fans who love the company enough to pay to go to a convention about its products. When those fans have been expecting news on the next main entry in a longstanding series, bait-and-switching them with a mobile game is going to tick them off. Blizzard walked right into that one, and they have no one to blame but themselves.

But beyond some fans feeling they were tricked, I doubt there is little crossover between fans of “Diablo” and those who play mobile games. By their very nature, mobile games are overly simple and scaled down to be playable on phones. To give that treatment to a hardcore series with tons of depth I’m sure is a slap in the face to many fans who have been playing the series for years. It’s clear “Diablo Immortal” is trying to reach an entirely different market than the one that gave the series its success in the first place.

Mobile games also tend to be cash grabs, which has given some gamers pause about the direction Blizzard is going. In an industry that is already rife with developers trying to squeeze every penny out of players with microtransactions and loot boxes, some are rightly worried Blizzard is now following that same path.

Whether you agree with fans’ concerns or not, they are valid, reasonable, understandable criticisms, and it’s dangerous to dismiss them. Blizzard is a company that relies completely on having a market to which it can sell its games, and when that core market is loudly saying it doesn't like something the company is doing, the company better listen for its own sake.

That’s not “entitlement”—that’s basic business.

Nice job, there, splitting the difference between the obligatory tut-tut at Red Shirt Guy, and cheering on Red Shirt Guy. It's like the games media equivalent of Mr. Incredible's parenting style. The fact that he ends up with the obvious conclusion, i.e. that it's just bad business to piss off your customers, while also acknowledging that consumers' leeriness about mobile gaming is reasonable and well-founded, and not just about hating on women who play mobile games, is also praiseworthy, Good job.