Diablo III News
PlayStation 3 Diablo III Release Date in 2013
Activision Blizzard provides information about the upcoming PS3 Diablo III release
The PlayStation 3 version of Diablo III will be released this year, Activision Blizzard announced in their Q1 2013 earnings report conference call on May 8, 2013. The PC version of the game was also one of the top 10 best-selling PC games for the first quarter of 2013. Blizzard Entertainment President Michael Morhaime stated, "We announced that the game would come to Sony PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 and showcased the demo of the PS3 version at PAX East in March. Press on the PS3 version has been very positive, as we have put a lot of work into adapting the game to take advantage of the console platform's strength. The controls and interface have been modified to suit consoles and the game will have local and online multiplayer capability. We recently announced pre-orders for the PS3 version, which is scheduled to ship later this year." While the PS3 version is being actively developed to be released later this year, the PS4 version was not mentioned further in the investor's call.
The full contingent of Blizzard games was discussed in the conference call.
The full contingent of Blizzard games was discussed in the conference call.
World of Warcraft
World of Warcraft lost 1.3 million subscribers, or roughly 14% of the playerbase, over the quarter. As of the end of March 2013 it stood at 8.3 subscribers, and the company expects that decline to continue throughout the year as the Mists of Pandaria expansion is completed.StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm
The StarCraft II expansion was released on March 12, 2013 and sold 1.1 million copies within the first two days. It ended up being the best-selling PC game for the quarter. StarCraft II is expanding dramatically as an eSport, and the StarCraft II World Championship Series will culminate with the global finals at BlizzCon 2013.
The main priorities for Blizzard in 2013 are new content for World of Warcraft, the HearthStone beta and release, and the release of Diablo III on the PS3.
HearthStone: Heroes of Warcraft
The free-to-play digital trading card game HearthStone was announced at PAX East in March, and Blizzard is moving quickly with development. The Windows and Mac versions of HearthStone are expected to go into public testing this summer and released later this year, while the iPad version will come out shortly afterwards.Blizzard All-Stars, and the 'Titan' MMO Project
Both Blizzard All-Stars and the officially unannounced 'Titan' MMO are still part of Blizzard's "long-term" schedule. We may learn more about these games at BlizzCon in November, but perhaps not even then. With six different games or franchises in development, Blizzard Entertainment has a busier year in 2013 than ever before.Bonuses Calculator Unveiled
See the bonuses to Experience, Magic Find, Demonic Essence drop rates, and more!
A new Bonuses Calculator provides information about a wide range of bonuses in Inferno mode for level 60 Diablo III characters. To use the calculator, just select the Monster Power, Paragon Level, and other variables that fit your character. The calculator will show you the bonuses you will get in areas like Experience, Magic Find and Gold Find, Demonic Essence drop rate, and many more!
Along with the standard variables for characters at level 60, the calculator includes an option for the temporary buff provided until May 21, as part of the Diablo III anniversary celebration.
This is just the start for the Bonuses Calculator, and we will be expanding it in the future. If you have thoughts or run into any issues, feel free to send us feedback about it!
Update: We fixed a bug where the multiplayer monster Health bonuses were being calculated incorrectly, and they are now properly a higher amount.
Along with the standard variables for characters at level 60, the calculator includes an option for the temporary buff provided until May 21, as part of the Diablo III anniversary celebration.
This is just the start for the Bonuses Calculator, and we will be expanding it in the future. If you have thoughts or run into any issues, feel free to send us feedback about it!
Update: We fixed a bug where the multiplayer monster Health bonuses were being calculated incorrectly, and they are now properly a higher amount.
Monster Density Increase for Lower Difficulties
Blizzard Blues on fallout from the gold dupe, and updated Patch 1.0.8 Known Issues
The week-long celebration continues for the first anniversary of the release of Diablo III! Be sure to check out the special events roundup for the latest from the Diablo III community team, updated regularly. If you are celebrating by playing this week, you can enjoy the Anniversary Buff that provides extra Experience and Magic Find!
Here are recent Blizzard Blue posts, beyond all the celebration:
The reason we didn’t apply monster density changes to Normal, Nightmare, and Hell difficulties is because we felt this would be detrimental to the new player experience. Players who are just entering Sanctuary for the very first time have different needs and less skills and tools at their disposal, and they require the opportunity to get their feet wet before being assaulted with the additional challenges that higher monster density offers. At the same time, we also agree that this isn’t ideal for players who have already gone through the game and are looking to start up new characters and are ready to take on additional challenges and faster pacing from the get-go.
Along these lines, we’ve considered ideas such as enabling the higher density for MP1 and higher, or simply making higher density a checkbox option. We’re currently working on some other concrete ideas, but we don’t have anything to share just yet, but this is definitely an aspect of Diablo III that we’d like to improve in the long-term.
Just wanted to chime in and verify that everything looks good on our end, too! The email you received is technically out of date, and for any confusion (or mild panic attacks) that may have caused, I sincerely apologize. We're already in the process of updating the confirmation email so that it will reflect the new gold stack size, and it looks like it will get picked up and start circulating sometime this afternoon.
Here are recent Blizzard Blue posts, beyond all the celebration:
Increased Monster Density in non-Inferno Difficulties
The recent increase in monster density at Monster Power 1 or above, which was changed as part of Patch 1.0.8, is only available in Inferno difficulty. Some players would also like to fight more monsters while leveling up in Normal, Nightmare, and Hell difficulties. There may be an option added for that in a future patch, or some other way to have more monsters to slay as a lower level character.
Post by Blizzard (Blue Tracker, Official Forum)
Posted by: Piffle
Leveling up a new character is one of the most boring parts of this game. So much time spent running through dead zones. Why did they only apply this change to Inferno? I was planning on leveling up some of my other champs after 1.08, but now I don't know.
Great question!Leveling up a new character is one of the most boring parts of this game. So much time spent running through dead zones. Why did they only apply this change to Inferno? I was planning on leveling up some of my other champs after 1.08, but now I don't know.
The reason we didn’t apply monster density changes to Normal, Nightmare, and Hell difficulties is because we felt this would be detrimental to the new player experience. Players who are just entering Sanctuary for the very first time have different needs and less skills and tools at their disposal, and they require the opportunity to get their feet wet before being assaulted with the additional challenges that higher monster density offers. At the same time, we also agree that this isn’t ideal for players who have already gone through the game and are looking to start up new characters and are ready to take on additional challenges and faster pacing from the get-go.
Along these lines, we’ve considered ideas such as enabling the higher density for MP1 and higher, or simply making higher density a checkbox option. We’re currently working on some other concrete ideas, but we don’t have anything to share just yet, but this is definitely an aspect of Diablo III that we’d like to improve in the long-term.
Gold Dupe Investigation is Ongoing
Even though the primary gold dupe audit was completed last Saturday, there are still Blizzard internal teams reviewing the accounts that were involved. A member of the Blizzard Customer Support team provided info to one such player, whose account was penalized. It sounds like the accounts are still being reviewed even more completely than before, for final decisions about the account status.
Post by Blizzard (Blue Tracker, Official Forum)
Hi Frag, I just wanted to reach out briefly and let you know that I spoke to the internal teams that are addressing these accounts that were affected by the suspensions/rollbacks, and we're not quite done with our review of the RMAH transactions.
I wish I had more info to provide, but please know that we are not done looking at your issue. I don't have a specific ETA to give you - but if I had to guess I would think that we should have a more complete resolution here within the next week. This is just a guess - but I gauge that off of my conversation with those who are working on this right now - for whom the review of these RMAH transactions is their highest priority.
I sincerely appreciate your patience and understanding and apologize if we did not make that clear in our previous responses to you.
Regards,
Araxom
Blizzard Customer Support
I wish I had more info to provide, but please know that we are not done looking at your issue. I don't have a specific ETA to give you - but if I had to guess I would think that we should have a more complete resolution here within the next week. This is just a guess - but I gauge that off of my conversation with those who are working on this right now - for whom the review of these RMAH transactions is their highest priority.
I sincerely appreciate your patience and understanding and apologize if we did not make that clear in our previous responses to you.
Regards,
Araxom
Blizzard Customer Support
Wrong RMAH Sales Emails
The recent change to the amount of gold that could be sold in the Real-Money Auction House, has created yet another issue. The email that automatically is sent out when buying or selling in the RMAH was not updated to show the proper amount. Blizzard is updating the data used to create that email, since the amount of gold listed was wildly incorrect.
Post by Blizzard (Blue Tracker, Official Forum)
Yep, a few posts back I confirmed 2b was in my account. Like one of the people on the first page said, the email was simply incorrect. :D
Just wanted to chime in and verify that everything looks good on our end, too! The email you received is technically out of date, and for any confusion (or mild panic attacks) that may have caused, I sincerely apologize. We're already in the process of updating the confirmation email so that it will reflect the new gold stack size, and it looks like it will get picked up and start circulating sometime this afternoon.
Patch 1.0.8a Known Issues
Lastly, the current Patch 1.0.8 Known Issues List was updated for Patch 1.0.8a; some of the issues that had been on that list were removed, since they were fixed in the fast patch.
Post by Blizzard (Blue Tracker, Official Forum)
Hello everyone, and welcome to Patch 1.0.8a! Below you will find the Known Issues list for our 1.0.8 patch (Patch Notes are available here). Please do not report bugs that you see on this list, as we already know about them, and help out other players reporting bugs by referring them to this list.
As a reminder, this list will not list every bug that is active in the 1.0.8 patch. What it is listing are a select few issues -- chosen due to severity/impact -- that are active and confirmed as bugs by Quality Assurance with verifiable steps and an expected fix. We have hundreds of bugs in our database, so it would be impossible to list all known issues. Just because a bug is not on this list does not mean we don't know about it! In addition, potential exploits and the like will never be listed here.
Please note that documented bugs may not always be fixed in the order in which they were reported. In some cases, we may not have a timeline for a when a bug will be fixed and some bugs may not be able to be fixed at all. If we are able to verify that a documented bug cannot be fixed, it will be removed from this list.
Thank you for your continued reports, and enjoy Diablo III!!!
Achievements
Auction House
Combat
Mac
As a reminder, this list will not list every bug that is active in the 1.0.8 patch. What it is listing are a select few issues -- chosen due to severity/impact -- that are active and confirmed as bugs by Quality Assurance with verifiable steps and an expected fix. We have hundreds of bugs in our database, so it would be impossible to list all known issues. Just because a bug is not on this list does not mean we don't know about it! In addition, potential exploits and the like will never be listed here.
Please note that documented bugs may not always be fixed in the order in which they were reported. In some cases, we may not have a timeline for a when a bug will be fixed and some bugs may not be able to be fixed at all. If we are able to verify that a documented bug cannot be fixed, it will be removed from this list.
Thank you for your continued reports, and enjoy Diablo III!!!
Achievements
- The Demon Hunter achievement “Bleed, You Filth!” is not granted the first time you complete the criteria.
- The Demon Hunter achievement “Death Trap” is not granted the first time you complete the criteria.
- The “Self Sufficient” achievement is not awarded the first time you kill the boss and fulfill the requirement.
Auction House
- Starting a game the same time you post an item will prevent you from auctioning it.
- Spam clicking Show More Items will show duplicated entries of the same item in the completed tab.
- You’re given a nondescript error message when you try to buyout an item that is simultaneously cancelled by the seller.
Combat
- Some pets, such as Demon Hunter's Bat and Ferret, attack idle Treasure Goblins from a distance.
Mac
- Changing texture and shadow quality repeatedly after playing an extended amount of time can cause an assertion.
- You cannot return to the game after hiding the client and returning from sleep mode.
Diablo III First Year Retrospective
A look back at the big news, patches, and bugs for Diablo III in the first year of release!
Diablo III was released on May 15, 2012, which makes it one year old today. We are celebrating with special features this week, including this look back at the excitement and action throughout the first year of Diablo III's release! Stay awhile, and listen...
Read on to continue the history of the first year of Diablo III, starting with the first major patch!
- June 28, 2008 - Diablo III Unveiled - Diablo III was officially announced in June of 2008, at the 2008 Blizzard Worldwide Invitational in Paris, France.
- September 2011 to May 2012 - Beta Patch Notes - Although there were sneak peaks of Diablo III at Blizzcon events, the public beta was the first big opportunity to play the game. The game development progress can be seen through the changes in the beta patch notes, along with some discarded ideas. It was a lengthy beta, running through May 1, 2012.
- April 2012 to May 14, 2012 - Darkness Falls, Heroes Rise - A promotional website was put up by Blizzard in the month leading up to the Diablo III release. Details about all the classes, interviews with the developers, and other info was unlocked throughout the month. This all lead up to the release night Midnight Launch Events around the globe!
A look at the archangel Tyrael from the official Book of Cain,
as part of the Darkness Falls, Heroes Rise promotion.
- May 15, 2012 - Diablo III Released! - The day finally arrived when Diablo III was unleashed upon the world! It was an immediate hit, with millions of players lining up to play it. Diablo III set a PC launch record, selling more than 3.5 million copies within 24 hours, and garnered over 6.3 million players in the first week. In a later interview Blizzard CEO Mike Morhaime stated that Blizzard sold 10 million copies of Diablo III within the first month of release, which exceeded the sales forecast for the entire first year!
- May 15, 2012 - Error 37 - With the mass influx of players beyond the expectations of the Diablo III team, the servers were greatly overloaded. This showed up in a plethora of errors that included Error 12, Errors 3005 and 3006, getting stuck on "Retrieving Hero List" and of course the infamous Error 37. It was such a nefarious pest that a whole Error 37 meme developed, as it plagued players who were trying to get into Diablo III and start slaying demons! More servers were added and other work done by the production team, to get everyone playing.
- May 18, 2012 - May 2012 Hotfixes - The first Diablo III hotfix rolled out 3 days after the game was released, with more hotfixes over the next two weeks. A Game Design Update on May 28 gave interesting statistics about the playerbase, after nearly two weeks of release: at that time, only 1.9% of characters had unlocked Inferno difficulty, and 80% of characters were between levels 1 and 30.
- May 29, 2012 - Patch 1.0.2 - The first client patch landed with 1.0.2 at the end of May, but it wasn't a major patch. It did bring a number of bug fixes and some changes to skills, and was followed by "fast patches" 1.0.2a and 1.0.2b that had the same type of fixes.
Patch 1.0.2 was the first Diablo III client patch after release.
- June, 2012 - June 2012 Hotfixes - By June, a number of players had fought their way into Inferno, and the development team started the adjustments there. The hotfixes in June brought increased drop rates in Acts III and IV of Hell difficulty and Acts I–IV of Inferno difficulty. Bosses were given guaranteed Rare item drops, based on the number of Nephalem Valor stacks.
- June 4, 2012 - Diablo III Developer Q&A on Reddit - Game director Jay Wilson and senior game designers Wyatt Cheng and Andrew Chambers had a wide-ranging question and answer session on Reddit.
- June 12, 2012 - Real Money Auction House Goes Live - Patch 1.0.2c activated the RMAH in the Americas region, bringing the opportunity for players to buy and sell Diablo III items for real currency. The same day brought a round of Diablo III account bans, for players who were cheating by using bots and hacks in Diablo III. That process continues regularly, as Blizzard bans players who are found to be using outside programs that are not allowed within Diablo III.
Character Buff to Celebrate Diablo III's Anniversary
Play from May 15-21 and receive an Experience and Magic Find buff
This week is the celebration of the one year anniversary since Diablo III was released! Today marks the one year birthday date for Diablo III, and a new buff is provided in game for the next week. All characters playing between May 15 to 21 will gain an extra 25% bonus to Experience and Magic Find. Jump in and slay some demons, and your character will get even more from it!
The buff is now live on both the Americas and Europe Diablo III servers - happy demon slaying!
Post by Blizzard (Blue Tracker, Official Forum)
One year ago today, the gates of the Burning Hells opened and Diablo III was unleashed onto the world. Since then, millions of heroes have been created, billions of hours have been spent in games, and trillions of demons have been slaughtered without mercy. We've grown and improved a lot since release, both as a game team and as a community, and thanks to your feedback, passion, and unquenchable bloodlust, we expect the next year to be even more epic.
To celebrate this milestone and the community that made it possible, we're giving away free buffs! (Who doesn't like free buffs?) Players who log in to defend Sanctuary between May 15 and May 21 will receive a 25% boost to their Magic Find and +EXP stats. The buff is only available while logged in to the game, but it will apply to all characters as well as stack with other similar bonuses -- the +EXP bonus will stack multiplicatively and the Magic Find bonus will stack above the 300% cap!
Happy demon-hunting, Nephalem. Thank you for your continued support, and we wish you the best of adventures in the coming year!