I've had some ideas that I think would make Book III far more enjoyable for everyone, and help us make a bit more revenue.

1) Require a constant internet connection. This will help us validate legal copies of the game.

2) Absolutely no modification of the game will be allowed. This way we can control all future content ourselves.

3) Only the best weapons and armor will be available for purchase with real money...you'll never find the best stuff in the game yourself.

Sounds good, yes? Just kidding...we're not doing this. But Blizzard is with Diablo III. Can't wait to play this one now.

Yes, please...i will even pay 10$ more if the game will also come with a 100 pages contract i have to sign to be able to play !

I started reading this and thought that it isn't April 1st.

I'm wait for Jeff Vogel's blog on why this isn't going to work.

Yeah it's a bummer because I've been anticipating Diablo III for so long now. The real money auction house, although disgusting in my opinion, wasn't a deal-breaker for me simply because I could avoid that feature altogether and if that meant I wouldn't have the uber gear some others did then so be it. The draconian, always connected even when playing single player DRM, reminiscent of Ubisoft's much maligned, and universally detested DRM, however is the deal-breaker for me. I didn't buy Assassin's Creed or Splinter Cell because of said DRM and I won't be buying World of Diablo... ahem, I mean Diablo III, either.

Oh well, them's the breaks. Instead I'll just look forward to Grim Dawn (spiritual successor to Titan Quest) and Torchlight 2 to scratch my aRPG itch.

It wasn't my most anticipated game but I would have bought it.

Now I won't.

Also, Eschalon Book III should be a FPS. Let's face it, that's what sells nowadays. Nobody cares about turn-based RPGs anymore. Those are like, in the past, man.

As for Diablo III, that's okay. The money I would have spent toward buying it can instead go toward Torchlight or one of Soldak's games, both of which are cheaper anyway.

This takes away the fun of looting a bit doesn't it? since it'll probably be a basic item. I mean, no chance on unique items?
Also, buying an unique item instead of fighting for it feels a bit like cheating to me

I got used to games requiring a constant internet connection since steam so that won't keep me from buying Diablo III

While there are definite similarities between Steam and the Ubisoft/Blizzard always connected DRM at least games in steam can be played in "Offline Mode". With the Ubisoft always connected DRM and, from all accounts presumably the Blizzard always connected DRM, if you're playing a game in single player and your internet connection gets interrupted at any time you get kicked out of the game. With Steam in "Offline Mode" an internet connection is not required beyond the authentication when you start the game up, so in that same scenario you would be able to keep playing when your connection got severed.

I'm just glad they threw out the idea of making Battle.net pay to play.

I'm sure Vivendi will return to that idea sooner rather than later.

all of the future mainstream games will have always on drm
after the always on drm is ok with people they will then have an always on ad base to advertise to.
mainstream games of the future will have ad space in game or on loading that will cycle

always on drm makes me sick and thus I do indeed opt to buying the games then getting the game again via a source without drm. but to have to go through so many hoops just to play a game I purchased and to lose control of where games are installed and what is active on my system is just not for me.

when steam first began with half life people outright boycotted it
however over time with add it has become the path to gaming
it is a brilliant business model but what is unlikable for me is the no offline mode and no way to get patches without steam or similar system.
They became gatekeepers and they soak up money for simply hosting data on servers and distributing it. Again brilliant business model like banking and percentages but akin to stealing in truth.

Ouch... What I read just hurt my small gamer soul inside me. I will still be purchasing this game, regardless of real world money trading (I thought this was Blizz's nemesis) and connection drm, although one of the worst gaming related events was when a construction team destroyed my internet cable for one and a ½ weeks (on the positive side, I used the time to play Eschalon. ).

ah, but as was said there will always be away around always on DRM, or any other DRM as long as their are hackers out there. I mean Skyrim is supposed to be Steam but there are copies of it out there on torrent sites cracked and free to play. Agreed, I bought then downloaded a cracked version. I don't want to havve to be stuck online to play a game. I mean really what about people who still have dial up, or no internet at all. Not everyone can afford that lux but can afford a new game now and then. So hail to Thom and his piracy protection vs the online DRM.

Oh mentioning Thom and Skyrim, did you ever get time to sit down and play it? Their should be a DLC out soon, too.

Looks like BasiliskWrangler is taking a few tips from Facebook social games?

I agree about having to buy in-game gold or credits or whatever with real money - why not allow people to earn the in-game money by doing in-game tasks for it?

Really glad that these revenue-spinning tips won't be implemented for Book III - um, they won't be, will they?

After Titan's Quest, Sacred 1/2 and all the iterations of Fate (and Torchlight) ... I am completely cooked on Diablo gameplay. So, they can do whatever they want.