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Diablo IV Monetization Explained - No Pay-To-Win

DeepEnigma

Gold Member
Ten years ago we had paid expansions and map packs. As long as the base game is solid im fine with buying a season pass or a wand shaped like a dildo skin for ongoing updates and support.
And 5-10 years before that, devs game those map packs, characters and skins away for free in their nice meaty bug patches and adjustments. As a thank you to their fans.

And then... then we had horse armor. And name changes from skins to cosmetics, etc.. For that "personal feel."
 
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Ten years ago we had paid expansions and map packs. As long as the base game is solid im fine with buying a season pass or a wand shaped dildo skin for ongoing updates and support.
Not sure why people are hung up on cosmetics, if anything the free season boosts concern me, sounds like an artificial way to increase playtime
 

KyoZz

Tag, you're it.
Ten years ago we had paid expansions and map packs. As long as the base game is solid im fine with buying a season pass or a wand shaped like a dildo skin for ongoing updates and support.
Yeah you do you, I prefer expansions with solid content. I honestly can't stand this kind of practice in a full-priced game.

Not sure why people are hung up on cosmetics, if anything the free season boosts concern me, sounds like an artificial way to increase playtime
As I said: "cosmetics can be a big part of those games, I know they are for me. The fact that some things will be locked behind a paywall is a freakin dick move"
This is not a F2P.
 

DeepEnigma

Gold Member
"Very legal & very cool." -Todd Howard
LnBuZw
 

clarky

Gold Member
Blizz altered loot/droprate in DIII to make the auction house more desirable. Had to backtrack after the backlash... These fucks have no shame.

Its a full priced game, I want all the content available in decent playtime including skins.

A game specific currency is also a fucking bad practice. "Oh the skin costs 699 plain, damn you can only get 799 for ten dollars... well better buy another back again since I have some left over in my stach" etc.

Its the whole scum playbook.. Also what's up with the whataboutism in here. "COD and Destiny are going it so..." Its a shitty thing regardless of how many games do this.
Like i said above if the base game is solid then i have no issue with it. D3 auction house was shitty no question. Id like to think they learned a lesson there. We'll see. ill be game passing this so nothing lost if they want to be cunts.
 

sankt-Antonio

:^)--?-<
Like i said above if the base game is solid then i have no issue with it. D3 auction house was shitty no question. Id like to think they learned a lesson there. We'll see. ill be game passing this so nothing lost if they want to be cunts.
Did you read the news of how much money they make from a mobile Diablo game per week? You think they care about the backlash from ten years ago?
 
Honestly i have absolutely no problem with battle pass if there is nothing "pay to win" in it... If it give us more content for everyone every season for "free" im happy with it... And paying 10$/€ every 3 month, what that wrong ?

I hate season pass for exemple...
 

clarky

Gold Member
Yeah you do you, I prefer expansions with solid content. I honestly can't stand this kind of practice in a full-priced game.
Ill do me don't worry.

Sounds like this wont be for you.
And 5-10 years before that, devs game those map packs, characters and skins away for free in their nice meaty bug patches and adjustments. As a thank you to their fans.

And then... then we had horse armor. And name changes from skins to cosmetics, etc.. For that "personal feel."
20 years ago? what games gave away free expansions, maps, skins and cosmetics away? And didnt want you to put your hand in your pocket ? i cant remember any.
 

clarky

Gold Member
Did you read the news of how much money they make from a mobile Diablo game per week? You think they care about the backlash from ten years ago?
Not a paid game.

D3 was awesome sold a ton. This also looks fantastic. Looking forward to it myself.
 

DeepEnigma

Gold Member
Ill do me don't worry.

Sounds like this wont be for you.

20 years ago? what games gave away free expansions, maps, skins and cosmetics away? And didnt want you to put your hand in your pocket ? i cant remember any.
I said 5-10 years before that. Almost every single arena shooter, from Quake, to UT, and even Rainbow 6 games, etc, gave away free map packs, skins, characters, etc, almost twice a year at minimum with their "content updates and fixes."

I am not talking about the $20-$30 expansions for games (there were those, and they were FAR meatier than these sad season/battle passes). But the cosmetics aspect and professionally designed maps. Hell, the community designed ones till this day still rock. The great days of running your own dedicated servers and mods/mutators, etc.. in them.

Epic Games even wanted to give away the map packs for free for the first Gears of War (since it was their tradition from the PC side) and MS refused to allow it.
 
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MiguelItUp

Member
Gotta love how certain people have been conditioned to think this is good news 😂
It's not so much as being "conditioned", I think some people just want to hope for the best because the series meant a lot to them at some point in their lives. I don't think there's anything wrong with that.

Since Diablo has existed the games industry has gone through SO many changes and fads. There's obviously bound to be modern gaming standards present here. As long as they're done... well, it could be alright. But again, who knows. I'm curious to know more, but I'm reserving my hype completely for obvious reasons.
 

clarky

Gold Member
Gotta love how certain people have been conditioned to think this is good news 😂
Gotta love how certain people just follow the latest outrage on the internet. Can't wait for the concerned about D4 in massive caps and shocked/outrage face thumbnails all over my YouTube feed tomorrow.

This comes as zero surprise to no one, id say a few are even disappointed theres no pay to win to be pissed at for a week.
 

Tommi84

Member
So basically they're just selling cosmetics. It's not the Diablo Immortal system some people were FUDing it would be.
Let's wait for the game to be out and all reviews are in, shall we?

Because I'm pretty sure they will add p2w AFTER
 
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MagiusNecros

Gilgamesh Fan Annoyance
Let's wait for the game to be out and all reviews are in, shall we?
That would be the right thing to do. But history and Blizzard tends to repeat itself by making the same mistakes. Or doing the exact opposite of what their playerbase wants and goes and does what their corporate leadership wants.
 

Relique

Member
Is this a $70 game? GTFO.

I'll probably wait for Gamepass if this is the kind of thing they want to talk about right now.
At the risk of sounding like a pessimist, I have a feeling that even if the Actiblizz/Xbox deal were to close today, we aren't seeing Diablo or COD day one on gamepass. I am sure it will show up eventually though if you are willing to wait.
Another game that's going to bombard me with season pass bullshit

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Yeah it sucks. Another game with FOMO where you feel compelled to grind to get the one item before it's gone. I already deal with that in Destiny and hate it.
 

Fbh

Member
So will the monetization come with free content and expansions or is it just a "fuck you give me more money" scenario?

Cmon, its just cosmetic. Just hope some cool looking transmog will be offered at some point without paying extra.

Nah I hate the "it's just cosmetics" excuse in a full priced game.
Cosmetics and the look of your character are a part of the experience, specially in RPG's. Go to any Elden Ring thread and you'll see a ton of people (I'm inclined to say a majority) using armor sets or combinations that they think look nice (or funny, or unique) instead of just going for optimal stats. Look at how some form of transmog is usually a highly requested feature in games that don't have it....because people like making characters that look cool.

If some of the best looking armor sets and cosmetic items in the game are paid it sucks, specially if I'm being charged full price for the game.
 
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clarky

Gold Member
I said 5-10 years before that. Almost every single arena shooter, from Quake, to UT, and even Rainbow 6 games, etc, gave away free map packs, skins, characters, etc, almost twice a year at minimum with their "content updates and fixes."

I am not talking about the $20-$30 expansions for games (there were those, and they were FAR meatier than these sad season/battle passes). But the cosmetics aspect and professionally designed maps. Hell, the community designed ones till this day still rock. The great days of running your own dedicated servers and mods/mutators, etc.. in them.

Epic Games even wanted to give away the map packs for free for the first Gears of War (since it was their tradition from the PC side) and MS refused to allow it.
Pretty sure all those games you mention had paid for expansions and/or map packs.
 
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I'm sure it'll stop there.
I'm not saying it shouldn't be pushed against, and I'll do it in the best way, with my wallet.

I'm not sure why the fuck people are so hyperfocused on the the monetary cost of cosmetics, opposed to the time cost of grinding to hit the next level of the free battlepass

They're already talking about xp boosts in the pass, leveling is going to be a fucking slog and the free xp boosts are a means to keep you hooked
 

Mr.ODST

Member
Why are people still shocked games adding battlepasses and cosmetic items, its been happening for years, this is the new norm get over it

"Im not buying it because of cosmetics shop" stfu
 
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clarky

Gold Member
So will the monetization come with free content and expansions or is it just a "fuck you give me more money" scenario?
Its a live service game with content updates seasons etc the usual stuff. Looks like a lot here just expect a fairly sizable team to work for free for a couple of years after the game ships.

If the base game is shit then fair enough but if the base game is great then i really dont see the issue.



 

DeepEnigma

Gold Member
Pretty sure all those games you mention had paid for expansions and/or map packs.
UT and Quake always gave away map packs, skins, etc., as well as many other shooters. Especially Epic Games. That was their signature back then. Not to mention the free UnrealEd so people were building maps and custom skins all day long.

There were other games that had expansions, I said that, and most of those expansions had more content than these battle passes. They were practically games within themselves.
 
At the risk of sounding like a pessimist, I have a feeling that even if the Actiblizz/Xbox deal were to close today, we aren't seeing Diablo or COD day one on gamepass. I am sure it will show up eventually though if you are willing to wait.
Not so sure about that, Microsoft knows that gamepass is HEAVILY carrying them in the court of public opinion.... Dropping their promise of first party releases coming day one is ghastly optics.

Only situation it makes sense is if Sony had an existing deal preventing it.... Why would Microsoft sabotage their own service right after Sony dropped theirs? Lol
 

Relique

Member
Not so sure about that, Microsoft knows that gamepass is HEAVILY carrying them in the court of public opinion.... Dropping their promise of first party releases coming day one is ghastly optics.

Only situation it makes sense is if Sony had an existing deal preventing it.... Why would Microsoft sabotage their own service right after Sony dropped theirs? Lol
That's exactly why I think we won't see it. Sony multi-year marketing deal is probably going to prevent COD from being on gamepass. We've seen a couple of these contracts leak before and they all had a clause that prevented gamepass or other subscription services. I think that's what Microsoft meant when they said Sony pays to keep things off gamepass in the recent Brazilian court filings.

I am not sure if Diablo falls in the same category. So far it hasn't seemed like Sony has any marketing rights to it. With that being said my gut feeling is that it won't come day one to gamepass either.
 
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At the risk of sounding like a pessimist, I have a feeling that even if the Actiblizz/Xbox deal were to close today, we aren't seeing Diablo or COD day one on gamepass. I am sure it will show up eventually though if you are willing to wait.

Yeah it sucks. Another game with FOMO where you feel compelled to grind to get the one item before it's gone. I already deal with that in Destiny and hate it.
I dont expect it day one on GP. They would have said so at E3. I agree
 

clarky

Gold Member
UT and Quake always gave away map packs, skins, etc., as well as many other shooters. Especially Epic Games. That was their signature back then. Not to mention the free UnrealEd so people were building maps and custom skins all day long.

There were other games that had expansions, I said that, and most of those expansions had more content than these battle passes. They were practically games within themselves.
Not disagreeing with you here just saying those games in the past had to keep the lights on as well, and they did it via map packs and expansions. You get tons of free shit in games these days as well. Just they extract cash in a different way. Personally especially with shooters i prefer the modern method as it doesn't split the player base or leave anyone behind. Not saying its perfect but mtx done well isnt some evil people make it out to be.

Each to their own of course.
 

HF2014

Member
So will the monetization come with free content and expansions or is it just a "fuck you give me more money" scenario?



Nah I hate the "it's just cosmetics" excuse in a full priced game.
Cosmetics and the look of your character are a part of the experience, specially in RPG's. Go to any Elden Ring thread and you'll see a ton of people (I'm inclined to say a majority) using armor sets or combinations that they think look nice (or funny, or unique) instead of just going for optimal stats. Look at how some form of transmog is usually a highly requested feature in games that don't have it....because people like making characters that look cool.

If some of the best looking armor sets and cosmetic items in the game are paid it sucks, specially if I'm being charged full price for the game.
Look , if all these mtx non-sence was out of it, i couldnt be happier. Hell in D3 if my specific wings make me look cool, i love it and yes ad you said its part of the experience. Paying for them in D4 is going to blow big time. And if its just that well, it suck , but wtf can we do, not play it and miss a great game? I came and go with D3 passing some seasons, and missed a few cosmetic stuff, do i hate the game because of it?

Only thing im scared is that all cool looking stuff is lock behind a paywall. I just hope that we still get like 90% of cosmetic like available, and only a few items will be for purchase. If its the contrary, oh yes i will not be happy, and im sure ( i hope ) blizz are not to dumb about this. Or else it might receive the same response of auction house.
 

DeepEnigma

Gold Member
I dont expect it day one on GP. They would have said so at E3. I agree
I don't think they could announce that at E3, since they have yet to own them.

The monetization is a little more aggressive than Path of Exile, which is F2P, so that side would shine on their service.

Not disagreeing with you here just saying those games in the past had to keep the lights on as well, and they did it via map packs and expansions. You get tons of free shit in games these days as well. Just they extract cash in a different way. Personally especially with shooters i prefer the modern method as it doesn't split the player base or leave anyone behind. Not saying its perfect but mtx done well isnt some evil people make it out to be.

Each to their own of course.
Agreed about userbase being split with expansions, UT wasn't like that, however. They were included with their patch updates, so everyone had those maps/skins, etc.. And then when you logged into a server to play, and you did not have a custom map, your game would quickly download the map, mods, etc..

For ... Free. I miss the days of user dedicated servers.
 
That's exactly why I think we won't see it. Sony multi-year marketing deal is probably going to prevent COD from being on gamepass. We've seen a couple of these contracts leak before and they all had a clause that prevented gamepass or other subscription services. I think that's what Microsoft meant when they said Sony pays to keep things off gamepass in the recent Brazilian court filings.

I am not sure if Diablo falls in the same category. So far it hasn't seemed like Sony has any marketing rights to it. With that being said my gut feeling is that it won't come day one to gamepass either.
The more I read about it, the more I agree with your line of thinking regarding this cod, possibly the next one as well.

But as you said, Sony doesn't seemingly have a marketing contract for D4, don't get me wrong it's still coming to playstation, but I have a hard time seeing Microsoft try to finagle their way out of it if they could drop d4 day one on a legal level
 

Robb

Gold Member
I’ll wait to judge until it’s out. The game looks super fun so I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt.

Hopefully they won’t manage to ruin it with all this stuff.
 
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