Mon, May 14, 2012 | 10:32 BST
Returning to Hell: Diablo III launches worldwide tonight
Just short of four years since its announcement at Blizzard’s Worldwide Invitational in Paris, Diablo III will finally launch worldwide from midnight tonight.
“The fire from the sky still falls – Diablo III
has not yet launched.” :’(
Blizzard will launch Diablo III tonight at midnight worldwide.
The game was announced at the company’s Worldwide Invitational in Paris on Saturday, June 27, 2008 by Mike Morhaime. The last game, Diablo II, launched back in June 2000. Expansion Lord of Destruction launched the following June.
Tonight, Blizzard will celebrate Diablo III’s release with a series of worldwide events. In London, the official midnight launch will happen on HMV Oxford Street. Already, going by Twitter chatter, there are some people queueing up. To those doing so, we salute you.
Sam Clay will be attending the launch and an official launch event from Blizzard in London today for VG247.
Blizzard will also host an event alongside GameStop in Irvine, California – where the company’s HQ is based – from 8pm PST tonight that’ll include giveaways and dev appearances.
Other events being hosted include those in France, Germany, Sweden, Poland, South Korea, Thailand, Singapore, and the region of Taiwan.
No stock for GAME AU, no refunds for pre-orders
One outlet that won’t be selling Diablo III tonight will be the Australian arm of GAME. After news of it going into administration emerged this morning, its now confirmed it won’t be selling the game and won’t be offering refunds to any pre-orders due to its current status.
“Due to the appointment of an administrator to our business this morning, it is with regret that I inform you all that our stores will not be receiving any stock of Diablo 3,” said the retailer in a text to pre-orders this morning.
“Because of this, we regrettably will be unable to fulfill any pre-orders. Also, we will be unable to refund any deposits paid towards a pre-order of Diablo 3. If you need any more info, please email customerrelations@game.com.au.”
Don’t expect many in the way of reviews come midnight, by the by: journalists have been locked out of the game until 12:01am, meaning we’re just as much in the dark with you lot.
After the release of D3 will come the potential console version. Blizzard’s said it’s currently experimenting with the game for consoles, but no official word has been made on if it’ll come or not.
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Posted in: Action, Activision Blizzard, Mac, PC, RPG
Tags: diablo III
33 comments
#1
Pytox
14/05/12, 10:34 am
I am ready
#2
BULArmy
14/05/12, 10:54 am
And my finals are just starting at the end of the week…
I am doomed…
#3
Fin
14/05/12, 11:11 am
Odd having no reviews.
Still, thoroughly enjoyed the beta so I’d no qualms preordering.
#4
Maximum Payne
14/05/12, 11:57 am
I think this picture represent all diablo fans
http://media.giantbomb.com/uploads/1/11572/2005849-fe2dc_ORIG-my_body_is_ready_super.jpg
#5
Erthazus
14/05/12, 12:02 pm
My body is not ready.
My issue with a game that i wanted a collectors edition but it is sold out in my place and i can’t buy it anymore.
All i have is a standard edition or Battle Net edition which i don’t want to buy.
Of course i can pre order from GAME collectors edition but this will be here after one week.
#6
Talkar
14/05/12, 12:30 pm
GL HF to those of you that are going to play the game
#7
Da Man
14/05/12, 12:46 pm
Butthurted mediocracy. I’m not falling for that.
#8
DSB
14/05/12, 1:55 pm
So they changed the launch time? I thought it was Pacific Standard Time, but now I’m seeing midnight CEST as well.
I thought that was pretty messed up. Having it launch at 2 AM or 9 AM in Europe would be pretty silly.
@3 It’s pretty much a staple with Blizzard. It was the same with Starcraft 2, and it’s the reason why the beta is so short. They want you to be surprised every time.
#9
viralshag
14/05/12, 2:41 pm
LIKE A DIABLOAWS!
#10
DaveTHX
14/05/12, 2:43 pm
Odd’s on that some part of battle.net breaks due to high volumes of people trying to authenticate their purchase.
*Waits patiently for his copy to be dispatched*
#11
Andytizer
14/05/12, 3:50 pm
For those Diabros who need to prepare, this is a page of bugs, fixes and workarounds for Diablo 3: http://pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/Diablo_III
#12
Erthazus
14/05/12, 4:18 pm
It’s 15.1 GB. DOWNLOAD STARTED FOR ME!
Ahh, Music from Diablo II is so perfect.
also, for noobs that never experienced first two games. Launcher tells a story about previous games.
#13
someguy2
14/05/12, 4:19 pm
@3 The reason why there is no reviews is because the press can’t play it yet because the servers won’t be up until tomorrow.
#14
YoungZer0
14/05/12, 4:24 pm
@13: That would be very unusual. Usually the press gets to play the game earlier, so the reviews are out earlier.
#15
DSB
14/05/12, 4:29 pm
@12 Good tip man, thanks.
It’s not Diablo 2 music though. It’s new, but I guess that goes to show that not everything about D3 has changed.
@14 Is that the case with Blizzard though? The Starcraft 2 reviews came out a week later in some cases.
#16
Johnny Cullen
14/05/12, 4:35 pm
Blizzard’s done that since StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty. Even I can’t play it (though you can now install it if you have the client downloaded – story soon).
#17
Erthazus
14/05/12, 4:36 pm
I’m in the game and…
“Your Login Information is incorrect.”
O________________________________________0
@15, Yeah, you are right. It’s not from D2 but it is so good.
#18
Phoenixblight
14/05/12, 4:43 pm
@12
You were able to download the game 2 months ago.
#19
DSB
14/05/12, 4:43 pm
Also worth nothing that the digital versions are already activated.
I was wondering where the hell my key was, but if you go to your Battle.net account, look at D3 and it says “Account Active” then you’re good to go.
Also, you know what you should check out while you wait? Krater.
http://store.steampowered.com/app/42170
http://www.kratergame.com/
I’m actually more excited about that than Diablo 3.
#20
back_up
14/05/12, 4:59 pm
max payne 3 killed diablo 3 hype
rockstar rules
#21
Da Man
14/05/12, 5:02 pm
Good point, #20. I agree.
#22
BULArmy
14/05/12, 7:38 pm
Yeah @20/21 Max Payne killed Diablo 3 . It is just a coincidence it is the most pre-ordered amazon game after the friggin’ WOW expansion Cataclysm. Just a coincidence… And it is a coincidence that Diablo 3 will most probably sell the same or even bigger quantity on 1 platform, compared to MP3 on 3.
I will wait to wait till actually noon EU time in order to play, because of the university…
#23
Da Man
14/05/12, 7:50 pm
It’s his opinion and he’s entitled to it.
I’m not butthurted even though I’m a huge fan of Diablo (I’m starting to dislike D3 already though, Blizzard are way too successful).
For sake.
#24
Maximum Payne
14/05/12, 7:53 pm
People still don’t know back up is troll ?
#25
BULArmy
14/05/12, 9:32 pm
I know, but actually feeding a troll with good arguments and he not answering is so much fun.
#26
Gekidami
14/05/12, 10:02 pm
Where are the reviews then? Not having any the day the game comes out or even a few days before seems a bit dubious.
#27
Erthazus
14/05/12, 10:09 pm
@26, that’s how it works with Blizzard. It was the same thing with Starcraft II
Because you can play only on their servers with this game which are offline right now, but should be online i think.
#28
DSB
14/05/12, 10:09 pm
It’s standard procedure, as stated above. Starcraft 2 did the same thing, ended up at 5 million sold and counting, with a 93 average meta-rating.
I don’t think it’s because they’re scared of the public.
#29
Gekidami
14/05/12, 10:22 pm
Sounds like some pretty retarded BS to me, so Blizzard simply arent going to submit their game to review in till is already available to the public, thus short circuiting the ability to get opinions on the game if you’re interested in getting it day one.
Its funny because if this was being pulled by a new IP, from a new dev, people would be calling this out. Can you imagine if Alpha Protocol or Rogue Warrior didnt have reviews out for launch? The trailers made them look good, right?
Also, found this:
“Diablo III Reviews: It’ll Be a While
I’ve heard from other writers that Blizzard didn’t offer early Diablo III review copies to the press. That means you won’t see any reviews of the finished game for at least a few days, as critics grind their way through the game along with the masses. You may see some reviews based on the beta, which only allowed characters to reach level 13. For more detailed reviews on the later stages of the game, be prepared to wait.”
Like i said, retarded BS.
#30
freedoms_stain
14/05/12, 10:26 pm
It is a dubious practice, but they DID let anyone and everyone play the beta, and the lvl13 cap was a good few hours of gameplay, it’s not like you get there in 30 mins with no real clue of what the game is about.
#31
DSB
14/05/12, 10:43 pm
A review copy is a privilege, not a right. Personally I don’t think they increase the quality of criticism at all, quite the opposite.
Really it’s the oldest PR trick in the book. If you deprive people of something, they’re going to pay more attention to it. This just ensures that more people will be looking for those reviews.
If you’re looking for help as a consumer, you’re fucked, but judging from other stuff I’ve read, people apparently only want reviews that cater to their foregone conclusions.
So the review doesn’t really matter. I guess it stands to reason that if you can’t wait a week to see a review, then you were probably gonna buy the game anyway.
#32
Erthazus
14/05/12, 10:48 pm
@31, exactly.
Not to mention that you had half-assed demo that recieved upgrades and changes.
#33
Da Man
15/05/12, 10:31 am
Diablo is indeed shit.
It’s just a mediocre Gauntlet clone.