Gasp! I am utterly shocked by this news. Who would've thought Blizzard would monetize their game this extreme. Surely not from the makers of the very generous Diablo Immortal.
Shill up called out the fact that he had to use a trial account for the review that would not persist to the game, and none of the monetisation systems where enabled for the review period as the first thing in his "review in progress"... How do you highlight details from a thing that is not visible for you? I would guess/hope he'll cover it when/if he'll do a proper review.
Why do people keep pointing to that as something? Is it seriously this hard for people to not posses every tiny thing in a game. People would start a war against a company if they had a rock that did nothing but take up inventory space in the games store.
Battle pass has two paid tiers. So two tiers of manipulative fomo. Otherwise it's "free" can't wait for the store to be fixed and they begin adding really unique looking glamour sets.
My only comment regarding the price of D4, was for me it was 110 aud for base, 139 Aud for mid and 159 aud for high. so yeh, sucks to be australian at times.
Monetization? In Blizzard game? You're first guy that pointed this out. Most reviewers I've seen at best brushed the topic most skipped because DIABLO HYPE. How can we have better industry when all that is needed is well known franchise to be absolved of sins and and scrutiny...
ultimate edition is a whopping $153 in NZ lol...for $153 i expect ALL expansion packs to be free and lots of dlc for free in the future lol. I think they just make games for millionaires now lol. I dont mean you need to be a millionaire to pay $153 for a SINGLE GAME. But Diablo is all about loot. If you have to BUY the COOL sht that use to come with just buying the game like Diablo 2, whats the point?. The cool sht in Diablo 1, 2, titans quest, torchlight. It ALL comes WITH the game , all inclusive. So to pay $153 THEN pay more for extra cosmetics in the shop or xtra sht down the line, the only reason this works is im assuming theres plenty of people that are happy to buy XTRA sht ontop of their purchase.
Oh, there are going to be pay-to-win mechanics. I have no doubt that Activision Blizzard is going to patch that shit in after they're certain they've suckered their customers into a sunk cost fallacy.
ill will be something they can have plausible deniability, like Bethesda did with 76, a 'quality of life' microtrsaction, something that objectively gives the player an advantage once you know the mechanics of the game but looks innocent enough from the outside to try and reduce the backash. I haven't played diablo 4, and I have no intention to, so I don't know exactly what it will be but most likely it will have something to do with allowing people to run end game content more often
@TheNzFox I can totally see them fudging with the XP gain like they've done in other games (AC odyssey, destiny 2 was it? etc) just to sell you XP boosters.
Diablo 4 is just proof that no matter how bad a company does their consumers, they will eventually forget. Just as you said, really nice campaign soured. People say it's optional and only cosmetics, yet it's so on in the face and aggressive notifications to buy it that is just annoying.
Just wait till the next Battlefield instalment. The very same BF fans who complained about Battlefield2042 will immediately buy the next Battlefield. Same goes for Starfield, the next CDPR game, etc. We are all slowly becoming like FIFA/Madden gamers.
@@serv-on Exactly this. TRUST ME, I am as skeptical of Blizzard as anyone and it borders on being cynical. But Blizzard has unequivocably created an amazing game, that is smooth on launch, with NO predatory microtransactions. I can't think of a AAA title in the last 5 years that offers more on launch that was this smooth. Maybe Elden Ring comes to mind. Anyone saying otherwise is being disingenuous or is uninformed. Period.
@@edrueter9 Smooth launch.... how's that 13hr of "unannounced maintenance" treating you? Did you lose 100+hrs of progress? Did you lose 150 members of your clan? Did your GPU get bricked? Smoooooooth sailing
So Blizzard took a page or two from another game called Path of Exile. Being a free to play title, their main monetization strategy was to sell skins and weapon effects and as a result most unique items lacked the particle effects which you would have to purchase from the store and apply it to an item to make it have that eerie glow of power. The main difference is now you have to do that on top of buying the game for 70.
Blizzard had to have paid monetization in their arpg. D4 will be free to play eventually. They'll tie supporting the store to making the expansions bigger. Also to fund the seasons. They did it when Activision owned Bungie. It's a good plan.
We've only just scratched the surface with paid early access. It's such a baby mode way to get extra revenue, and we'll see exponentially more of it in the future. If you're releasing a game that people are gonna buy anyway, push the release date back a month and let people play a month early for $500, and you will have plenty of people taking that offer. Will easily double or triple your revenue. It will become business malpractice to NOT do this.
Don't forget giving that early access for free to your shill streamer fanboys and social media "influencers". That helps tease the masses and create maximum FOMO.
Anyone who willingly pre ordered the $100 version of this game to play it 3 days early has no right to complain about the shop monetization. You are an enabler.
Seeing the game it seems that there are a lot of odd and convoluted things, like incrementing crafting costs the more you craft, that to me describe the shape of a not yet implemented monetization scheme. I'm pretty sure that the overpriced skins will be the most honest thing in this game's fully realized monetization. We'll see when reviews and initial impresions settle and season 1 come around. They will most likely make you pay to grind less.
I have spent $100 on stash tabs for POE because they are almost compulsory since its free to play but it is easy to ignore the cosmetic shit. However people do spend money on them because they know it funds new seasons and updates. If cosmetics and battle passes keeps the game getting updates. People who can afford it are subsidising the people who cant.
For me it's just another example of why I never buy day 1 or early access. To their credit they rolled out something like 3 hotfix patches day 1. It's cool they are actively patching stuff basically real time and it's clear the game works "fine". But why do I want a game that's going to be fairly different with all the nerfs and buffs in a couple months? All the little stuff adds up. See you in 3-6 months. I never want to "accidentally" find some silly OP glitch just for them to take it away, or vice versa something that gets buffed and I'm already half way through the game. Nah, I'll just be patient.
I think people trying to say not to buy the game for the monetization might be missing the mark. If you don't buy the game that tells companies you don't like the franchise or the gameplay or something directly related to the game itself. If people could keep their mitts off of the in-game store though, that might tell them something a little different.
Naive. Money is money. You think if you buy the game, but try to convince whales to not buy the overpriced cosmetics (lol), they will scrap the store? If people were to exercise restraint and not buy the game, they would try to release something that is more attractive and friendly to customers; but they know from Diablo Immortal, 4, and OW2 that people will still play, buy, and spend on an incomplete game.
Totally agree with ya. Heard lovely things about the gameplay, but the monetization is gross. I just don't know what can be done about it. Its really disheartening because, these companies don't give a shit.
I disagree about the plot. It was pretty solid up until the death of 2 characters. Return to typical shit writing blizzard did with WoW is just annoying at this point. We have no choice in what happens only to accept moronic decisions of characters. I would go more into it but it would be spoilers. I decline to agree that this sort of poor writing is good. I dont care if the start and middle are good if ending is bad
I pre-ordered the base game a while ago because I've been playing Diablo since the first, I knew I'd be buying it no matter what. Last week I upped that and paid $30 for early access - I figured the cost of a couple pints was worth me playing for a few extra hours over the last weekend and tonight and tomorrow. Cheaper than a trip to the cinema. And then I saw the price of the cosmetics, I literally laughed and thought they're having a laugh. I'm an old man that doesn't care about cosmetics, but fuck me that's a god damned joke.
While the prices are ridicilous there is never a pop up or prompt to check the shop. You only see it and are exposed to it if you open the shop yourself trough the main menu. To me it did not hurt the experience and I just beat the campaign. Assasisins creed with its 100 euro editions selling you in game resources to speed up progress is a lot worse IMO.
The last Diablo game I played was Diablo 2... when it launched 23 years ago. And since then, we've had a tidal wave of copy cat games that honestly do the genre better than Diablo does... So when I jumped into D4... found that nothing meaningful had changed in 23 years, and the story was basic, voice acting was kind of cheesy, dialogue sucked, and the combat was boring... Dont think ive been more satisfied with my decision to refund ever. I dont feel like im missing out on anything at all. if anyone reading this is enjoying D4 and thinks im wrong... thats cool, im happy you enjoy it.
As someone who is completely new to the Diablo Franchise, I enjoyed the story a lot (no clue how it ranks compared to previous iterations). I found myself learning to deeply care for the side characters, which is something I find myself rarely doing in games. I totally agree that the cinematics were absolutely incredible, it felt like watching a movie at times (speaking of which I would love one to be released, if that was ever an option!) However, I was blown away by how easy the game was? I didn't choose to play HC since I'm new, but decided to play on World Tier 2 for my first playthrough. However I didn't die once throughout the whole campaign. I don't actually know if that is the tiniest bit impressive or not but everything just seemed overwhelmingly easy. Perhaps this is more of a fault with the class balancing, or just lazy boss design. I currently play Druid and for 99% of the boss fights in the game I just stood still and tanked everything with ease. I didn't even have to use a health pot for the final fight against Lilith - which was incredibly underwhelming (mechanic wise). I thought I would have to be dashing about dodging waves of insane damage, when in reality she was easier than other bosses I fought previously to her. Unironically, the closest I have come to dying so far is completing a stronghold... Neverthless, I really enjoyed the lore/story and hope it is continued upon further in the future.
I've never played the newer Diablo but I'm more and more curious about this title, only this fight looks so chaotic and it's hard to understand what's going on
Honey, it's $109.95AUD for Base, $139.95AUD Digital Deluxe and $154.95AUD Ultimate edition remember!!! I'm not bothering. Might consider if it comes out sometime on special. Total rip off as far as I'm concerned.
To anyone who has played, you should know... But if the reviewer is HONESTLY reviewing this game, the monitization of this game should be nothing more than a footnote at best. It certainly shouldnt be the lead of the video or in the title of the video. I think this is trying to cash in on the negativity of the community based on the ill-will Blizzard created for themselves, in particular with Diablo Immortal. The package you are getting here for $70 is so overwhelmingly worth it, that it is surreal. They have the best campaign in an ARPG, a deep endgame system at launch, fully fleshed out classes, skill trees, and other progression systems, a huge open world shared map, and more free updates promised in seasonal content. Again, this is for $70. The monitization is OPTIONAL and COSMETIC. There is no pay for power currently. In the store RIGHT NOW there are articles of clothing for your character and mount skins. I will be the first to join in on the hate if they monitize power in the future. But, again, I can't express it enough, that it is simply not present in the game right now and shame on anyone making it seem as such. Bear in mind, I agree that $28 for costumes or skins is obsurd. But it can be completely ignored and will never harm your play or competitive advantage...
I haven’t seen anything that has to be bought in the game…other than the preorder I have made it to 90 so far and spent nothing outside of the initial purchase. Anyone that thinks that the skins cost to much just don’t buy them. They are not necessary in any way. When I hear people cry about it it just shows a lack of self control. This is a live service game that is going to be updated every 3 months. The amount of content you can play in this game without paying for anything else is more than a game like Zelda and others
I never played Diablo before but quite like it. But I do not see the point of cosmetics in this game; you can barely see your character so who cares what it looks like
I have loved the Diablo series since the original first dropped and I was running a Pentium 120. I don’t let the politics stop me from enjoying the franchise, and I ignore the shop. I enjoy the games. But I will never tell anyone how to make decisions on where to spend or not spend money. I know that when I’m not hindered by RL Work, family, choirs etc. I’ve been hitting this game hard and still will for a long time to come. This is a really amazing addition to the series. Hope to see more players on launch day.
The monetization is pretty much typical live service stuff, other than the prices being quite inflated. Ignoring the shop has been super easy for me fortunately, and frankly it hasn’t affected my enjoyment of the game at all.
Another skip for me. Another game that requires always-online even for single player. Plus Blizzard has been going down the drain for awhile, so after OV2 i have certain disdain for this company. Few drops of honey in bucket of shit simply does not make it worth it.
at the end of the day as long as its not pay to win......you don't have to buy anything if you don't want to 👀 what you need to be talking about is the login issues and the que loops that were happening.
Path of Exile $$$ < Diablo $$ < Grim Dawn $ I think Ralph was a little too objective in his review. Good game? Sure. But this is part of the game that shouldn't be dismissed. Glad you're keepin' watch, sheepdawg. (Your video is the first I came across regarding the monetization)
I heard its far bigger? I never played D3 however, D2 was all time great, but does that minimal thinking clicking combat holds up? I also hate dynamic scalling, I am single player person, I wont play it, it is not for me, but for those who enjoy endgame multiplayer based stuff, I guess its great.
@@TheRealUcanUwill not really because they seem to have got rid of randomised levels so everything will feel stale immediately. Not like that was a major part of Diablo 1 and its innovation or anything.
sorry i cant watch this whole video, top down games make me sick, seriously this just looks awful, think i'm gonna puke, catch you next time capn, they couldnt pay me to play this !
POLITICAL. No one wants to punish people just because they are russian. But they are citizens of Russia, they are the only ones who can stop their goverment's regime really, and all these bans, restrictions is basically do something poking stick, that is all. Russia destroyed my fellow country, I met a lot of their refugees here whose lives, history and even loved ones been destroyed, lets not act Russians are main victims. Those people wont do anything if they keep all their perks since all their local ans some slavic media is all a lie, just outside world can inconvenience and convince them somethings wrong.
Sanctions are a useful tool against most countries, but not Russia. Russia is food, energy, and raw material independent. The only things they import are luxuries, and furthermore, most of those luxuries have Russian counterparts. Sanctions only push civilians to overthrow their governments if it means they can't fill their bellies or heat their homes. Not being able to buy video game consoles is just a mild annoyance and just results in people going to the black market or piracy to acquire what they want. Clothing is a good example: Ban Russians from buying Italian fashion and they are now forced to buy Russian made clothing, which benefits Russian workers and designers. Sanctions that target consumer goods, only serve to benefit Russian manufacturers who can now replace foreign goods with their local brands, and have caused the Russian citizenry's opinion on western nations to sour even further. Unemployment in Russia has dropped to levels never seen before, because the sanctions have caused so many things to be made in Russia that used to not be, causing a huge number of blue and white collar jobs to crop up and causing wages to climb significantly due to higher demand for workers.
I feel it’s a bit rough to criticise the monitisation currently in the game. You pay for the game (regardless of version) and get a game which provides hundreds of hours of gameplay, with so many systems streamlined where they would normally be made tedious to incentivise some sort of paid feature (e.g. free unlimited teleports to lodestones). Sure skins in the shop are expensive, but who cares. Just don’t buy them. I play rogue, and yesterday I found pretty much the same helmet in-game as the one you can buy in the shop. I’d be slightly mad if I bought it and then found one in-game, but it’s great you can earn them in-game. I feel like on the scale Blizzard could have gone with monitisation on this one, we’re at like a 1/10. I’m honestly stoked this far.
Bro how is the company going to make money? At the end of the day its business ...its all cosmetic so who cares if they offer cosmetics ..just dont buy them.
Only idiots pay for mounts & skins, people need to focus on real terrible cancer like immortal. Please please please don’t whine about cosmetics, it means nothing.
"It'S jUsT cOsMeTiCs!" Is how we got to a place where Immortal was even a consideration, much less something that is executed. 'AAA' has always shown that they're willing to push monetization just a bit farther past the current standards then walk back a *tiny* but still more scummy then before. But then anyone who bought this game has already shown that they don't care about anything that might require them to consider their choices.
@@leadpaintchips9461 no because cosmetics are only for idiots that wanna burn their money. I want the game to be good, functional and not pay to win/progress, the pass he gives “free to play” is the reason we got here. Free to play is never free and will always be pay to win/progress and cost far far more than a game like Diablo 4. If someone wants to spend thousands to look like something i couldn’t care less, it means nothing. If the color red cost $100 i dont care, im not playing a Barbie fashion game. Now the rewards for the editions is pretty trash/worthless.
@@serv-on keep this same energy when this game goes f2p 😂 I'll head your cope off at the pass now. You didn't "get your money's worth!" You got suckered!
I honestly don't give a fuck about the skins costing a lot since they are just that Cosmetic, I've never given a shit about cosmetics and I won't now or ever.
Yeah. But the character selection screen was 4/5 women!!! You see how they use virtues to sell you things? The game is hardly the reason they want you to show up.
@@EnterTheFenix This loser is just a troll because something negative was said about his holy Diablo IV. Winter arrived early, and the snowflakes are everywhere.
