The problem with that is, should I lose out on this game?
There is no game that you cannot "lose out on". If you think you can't, you are a prime example of sheep mentality.
The "vote with your wallet" argument is not a replacement for the need many of us feel to complain about a decision that is entirely gratuitous from where we stand as players. There's no reason why a SP mode has to be always online on a game like Diablo. Blizzard may bring all kind of justifications to the table, but they never reflect this simple fact.
I'm still very undecided what I will be doing with my wallet on this one. However, one thing is for sure, Glider: I vote with my mouth too. As many others do. If you want, our countries histories weren't built on silent protests. People actually voice their opinions. Companies actions aren't no different. We have the right to protest and influence political decisions. Why shouldn't we about commercial ones?
It's no doubt true that the most powerful decision is not to buy the game. But we know how that turns out. For every one doing it, there will be 10 who won't. And they may do it for entirely legitimate reasons, despite hating the decision. This is a business industry, here. It's quite legitimate to complain about a commercial decision but still not wanting to miss out on something that we know may still hold enough points of interest for us. Since when purchasing a product has been a tacit approval of every decision every made into producing it?
So the "vote with your wallet" is that type of inconsequential truth that serves only to mask the problem and deviate attentions from it and into a false accusation of hypocrisy. It's an actual straw man. As if we actually lead our lives buy purchasing things we were only 100% happy with... We don't.
Maybe everyone should get off their high horses? It IS a freaking game... Just because some people on a forum complain about it, isn't going to make Blizzard change its strategy. The only thing that can persuade a company is hard cash facts, and even then, it won't hurt them at all, probably...
I am not masking the truth, on the contrary, I seem to be the only one that is looking at it from a buisness perspective. Blizzard wants control over what happens with their intellectual property, which is their own good right. You are thinking the OSS way, my software, I do with it as I please. But unfortunately lots of softwares are closed source, so you don't have that freedom... The only freedom you have in there is, either not to use it, or use it as the developer has planned for it. I fully understand that a company, which has wages to pay and infrastructure to maintain, takes drastic measures to ensure that their product isn't stolen or used in an (for their views) inappropriate way.
If you want a game with lots of mods and player added things, good for you... There are plenty games that offer you that. This one just doesn't.
Now, it's a red herring. Let me get something straight to you here, because you don't seem to understand...
Should Blizzard maintain this decision and I decide to buy this game, it's a given fact there will be times when I will be barred from playing the game when I wish to. And this in single-player mode.
Can you understand that simple concept? It's not just your bubble. I have my own bubble too. And yours is just as weak as mine. It just so happens not on this particular issue. But if some commercial decision comes to haunt you, while having no effect on me, how will you like it if I come to you and ridicule your complaining?
The world is a better place with empathy, Glider. And not with the kind of disappointing detachment to the fellow human being you seem to display. I certainly appreciate the "I don't care much about it because it won't affect me". It's genuine and well understood. But what should trouble you is your total detachment and lack of comprehension of how this may affect others.
I don't expect you to hold our banner, for sure. But to see you gratuitously diminishing it... I'm taking notes.
Well, sorry to burst your bubble then, but you should open your eyes and look how many millions game producers miss by all the illegal software, millions that are mainly lost in single player mode. Those millions serve to pay costs, development is a huge cost for instance... You seem to completely miss the reason for measures like this. You think any company wants to invest in development and infrastructure to do stuff like this? You think all the development time that went into this is just because "Blizzard wants to mess with their customers"? I'm sure any company would rather invest that time and money into their core buisness, but yet they see that they lose a lot of revenue, which a company is all about, to illegal use of their software. So they take measures like these. Don't complain to me for defending that, complain to all those idiots that play illegal games and mess things up for everyone else. Because of these idiots, companies have to enforce things like this.
Also, if you actually read what will be on the box of the game you buy, you'll most likely see that an internet connection will be required to play the game. If you don't have one, you don't meet the minimum requirements, thus cannot play. When you purchased your game, you knew the requirements, you bought it, thus agreed with them. I can name hundreds of games I cannot play, because there is no Linux support for them, do you hear me complaining about it? No, I just grin, shake my head and not buy the game, I vote with my wallet...
Maybe I have a first hand addition to your notes. I have played D1 and D2 (and all the expansions) for years, since the first day all came out, on a more then dayly base even. A couple of months ago I moved homes and I decided to install D2: LoD again just for fun. The entire battle.net server was infested with duped items and annoying advertisement bots for their shops with "super unique items", and this was on the ladder! If that is your definition of "freedom to do as you please" with your game, I just find your definition wrong and annoying. If ANY game producer can get rid of those annoyences, bring it on! I've also been anticipating D3 ever since first word about it was spread on battle.net in LoD version 1.07 or so... 6 years later I still think about buying this game (and installing Windows again to play it) when it comes. So it does affect me.
[sarcasm]So thanks for the character analysis about me, it changed my day and enlightened me. But my lack of comprehension and empathy still fails to make me care about what any fellow human being thinks about me, but maybe you should put in your notes a little side note that I am holding no banner, I just see justified reasons for Blizzard to do things like this, like, keep their business going and not sacking their employees. How many bubbles would burst in that case?[/sarcasm]
But if you want to turn this into a discussion about who I am, please PM me, before you jump to wrong conclusions again...
