But is it too late for Blizzard?
As someone who played a metric ton of Diablo III at launch, I made my way to the PAX booth pretty quickly to ask some questions about the console port.
The first thing I wanted to find out is the existence of the Real Money Auction House — a question that was answered with a resounding “no,” confirmed by a Blizzard representative. Additionally, there will be less loot drops for uncommon items so items don’t clutter the screen. Same screen (no split) co-op play was also reconfirmed, as was the ability to play the game fully offline.
A representative for Blizzard confirmed that it is “completely separate” from the PC experience, so there won’t be any connectivity to your account, Valve Portal 2 style. All of these confirmations are for the PlayStation 3 version of the game, as Blizzard is not talking about the PS4 at this time.
The two biggest issues people had with Diablo III was the DRM requirement, and the Auction House. Now that they’re eliminated, perhaps some people will be interested in this version of the game. Stay tuned for my full preview, when I get more hands-on time tomorrow.
