Anyone else been following this story about Blizzard being in hot water with fans over that Diablo Immortal they recently announced?
The flak EA got over Star Wars Battlefront in the Spring was justified and ended up being a big win for the consumer (which was a direct backlash to predatory microtransaction practices) but I gotta say that there's more than a whiff of 'fan' entitlement around this latest Blizzard stuff. There'll be a nerd uprising soon enough lol
Nah it's not entitlement as such - it's more of a tipping point and the end result of how Blizzard communicated it.
After
Dungeon Keeper Mobile, Final Fantasy: All The Bravest, Command & Conquer Rivals etc. utterly milking classic licences for a scummy mobile transaction laden cash in, whether Blizzard like it or not, mobile gaming is now a toxic wasteland of crap rather than a serious gaming platform.
It's how it was announced too - as the 'big' announcement at BlizzCon; an audience that consists basically exclusively of PC and console fans only. An event, by the way, people paid to be at and view online because of their love of the franchise. If publishers are happy to profit off the connection fans have to certain IPs, then they should expect a backlash when they kick them in the teeth for having that loyalty.
If Blizzard had announced a brand new IP or an obvious spin-off for mobile (like Hearthstone was to WoW, for example), nobody would bat an eyelid at it. But it's the exploitation of a beloved IP that's the kicker.
It's like selling people a ticket to see what's in the mystery box, and inside the box was a steaming turd. Sure, you might have been expecting to be somewhat disappointed by what was inside the mystery box as it was a gamble going in, but you didn't expect a steaming turd.
All that said, while I understand the backlash, I don't understand the surprise at Activision Blizzard doing it. These people seem to think these billionaire companies are their mates. Indeed, I find the entire concept of a 'BlizzCon' laughable.