World of Warcraft vs Diablo 3

[SimbaTheLion]

Perhaps one of the biggest questions about Blizzard’s new release is just how similar it will be to World of Warcraft. Many fans have expressed specific frustration at the idea that Diablo 3 could simply become a clone of World of Warcraft, and this is not an unlikely idea considering how successful World of Warcraft has been, and the amount of money Blizzard have made from it.

Upon questioning about whether graphics and sprites in Diablo 3 would be similar to (or even copies of) those from World of Warcraft, a Blizzard representative had the following to say: “All of the Diablo III UI and icons are created by the Diablo III team, mainly our UI designer Mike Nicholson. We're not taking any art from other games; it's all created for Diablo III. It should also be noted that everything seen thus far should be considered placeholder, a lot of the UI has already changed fairly significantly.”

Another question at the tip of everyone’s tongue is the payment method for Diablo 3. If Blizzard makes another pay per month game like World of Warcraft, its popularity will be severed greatly; many players already feel like they are getting a tough deal by the amount they spend on World of Warcraft. Not only this, but if Blizzard do choose to make Diablo 3 a pay per month game, they will find that a lot of players switch entirely from World of Warcraft to Diablo 3. This will have a large impact on things like the World of Warcraft economy, and various other features and clans ingame. I am really hoping that Blizzard keep the ‘pay once’ ethos they had with Diablo 2 and Warcraft 3. If they do turn it into a pay per month game, I certainly will not be getting this game, and I am absolutely positive that the same will go for a lot of other gamers.

Hopefully Blizzard will refrain from milking our pockets too much with the release of Diablo 3, and will stick to their word that it will be nothing like World of Warcraft. However, it is entirely possible that Blizzard will note how successful World of Warcraft has been and as a result try to use a few key features from it in Diablo 3.