Diablo 3 most pre-ordered Blizzard game ever, reports Q1 profits

[Rick]

In a quarterly earnings report by Activision Blizzard, the company reveals that Diablo III has become the most anticipated Blizzard game ever. Although no specific pre-order figures were given, better than expected Diablo III pre-sales are expected to lend themselves to a record setting Q2 for the game publisher. Diablo III is set to launch on May 15.

First quarter earnings were better than expected, although revenue was down by 106 percent when compared to last year's numbers. Additionally, profit is down by 86 percent when you consider last year's net income for the company. Of course, wildly fluctuating figures are not unusual for game studios and publishers though since revenue tends to coincide with game releases.

In the report, parent company Activision's sales were driven by strong sales of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. Activision boasted 40 million active, monthly users for the franchise with over 1.6 billion hours of gameplay logged in MW3 alone.

Despite World of Warcraft's gruesome subscriber blood-letting from last year, it seems Blizzard has managed to cauterize the wound. WoW subscriptions remained flat at roughly 10 million subscribers -- a number that still makes World of Warcraft the single largest MMORPG out there. As a point of reference, BioWare's hotly anticipated Star Wars: The Old Republic hovers around 1.3 million subscribers. That's actually down from 1.7 million from February, but that's another issue for another article.

Two games from Activision Blizzard also enjoyed the top-ten spot during Q1 2012 -- Modern Warfare 3 and StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty. 

The company is projecting sales figures as high as $4.53 billion for 2012.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/48547-diablo-3-most-pre-ordered-blizzard-game-ever-reports-q1-profits.html

 

[TomSEA]

I think Blizzard is the last developer of "how to do it right" in the gaming community. Their games are always top-notch, the highest quality and sell like hot cakes.

There was a time when Ubisoft put out non-stop, quality games, but they went to hell in a hand basket with some real duds as well as their over-the-top DRM. Crytek was another who couldn't miss until they came out with that very below average Crysis 2. And then the last was BioWare with Dragon Age II and completely screwing up Mass Effect 3 with the horrible ending.

Wish more developers would follow Blizzard's lead...

 

[Guest]

Yeah this article is pretty nice, This comment goes to my friend Andres G, he is a dumb a s s that wont buy diablo 3, my brother and I will buy it but Andres cant cuz he got no money and prefers battlefield 3. Gg thats all tody

 

[m4a4]

Wish more developers would follow Blizzard's lead...

Yes........ the always online DRM that Blizzard implemented is just awesome.... [/endSarcasm]

Anyways, I will probably wait until the price drops for this one as I WILL NOT pay full price for such a ridiculous DRM (Did the same for SC2).
I am saddened to hear this news as a lot of gamers are screwing everyone over in the long run by "supporting" these DRM's...

 

[Alpha Gamer]

I think Blizzard is the last developer of "how to do it right" in the gaming community. Their games are always top-notch, the highest quality and sell like hot cakes.

There was a time when Ubisoft put out non-stop, quality games, but they went to hell in a hand basket with some real duds as well as their over-the-top DRM. Crytek was another who couldn't miss until they came out with that very below average Crysis 2. And then the last was BioWare with Dragon Age II and completely screwing up Mass Effect 3 with the horrible ending.

Wish more developers would follow Blizzard's lead...

I think the other "how to do it right" developer is CD Projekt. They've been doing an outstanding job with Witcher 2. And the free GOG copy was a gift to remmber

 

[Guest]

Another good company that does it right also worked on diablo 2 and diablo before leaving blizzard, guild wars 2!

 

[Guest]

Seriously people! Stop supporting greedy publisher and lazy developer (worst looking graphic engine ever).

 

[treetops]

Hope it has a chat channel on release, it really killed a great deal of the sc2 launch excitement not being able to chat in a channel. Love blizzard 5 more days until chaos!

 

[ramonsterns]

It's worse than I feared. BlizzardActivision brainwashing is more effective than EA's.

Help us, Gaben.

 

[Guest]

I have never pre-ordered a game before now. Diablo III's lure is strong, even if it does have draconian drm (and this is from someone who has refused to buy any new EA or unbisoft titles until they clean up their acts.)

Also, I can't believe I paid $60. I haven't paid more then 20 for a game since I've started using steam.

 

[Guest]

Diablo 3 not containing an offline mode has nothing to do with piracy and clearly is not a form of DRM. It is for securing and maintaining the integrity of the online experience from being easily exploited; which is especially important now that there is a RMAH. Besides, most players have absolutely no interest in offline play anyway since it has no meaningful interaction with other players.

 

[treeski]

I used to looooove D2... but I'm not a fan of the company anymore, so I skip out on its products.

 

[ramonsterns]

I have never pre-ordered a game before now. Diablo III's lure is strong, even if it does have draconian drm (and this is from someone who has refused to buy any new EA or unbisoft titles until they clean up their acts.)

Also, I can't believe I paid $60. I haven't paid more then 20 for a game since I've started using steam.

Isn't that being a bit hypocritical?

 

[Guest]

Diablo 3 isn't even made by the same people that made Diablo 1 and 2. Blizzard North shut down, Diablo 3 was developed by Activision and the creators of World of Warcraft. They successfully created a brainless teen game with the Diablo name and story. If you were a Diablo addict looking for that thrill again, it's not Diablo 3. Look up some of the "Diablo clones". - Grim Dawn, Path of Exile, Torchlight 2...

Torchlight 2 while being more cartoonish than Diablo 3, it is actually made by the developers of Diablo 1 and 2. Check out Runic Games. You can now prepurchase for $20!

Path of Exile for many captures the thrill that you felt playing Diablo 1 and 2. It also has updated realistic graphics, not the drawn artsy graphics we see in Diablo 3. These realistic graphics really help you feel submerged in the game. Path of Exile Open Beta is expected to begin in June, however you can buy into the Beta right now for $10.

Grim Dawn is another ARPG to look forward to. Created by 2 of the lead developers for Titans Quest. They currently have a KickStarter going where you can prepurchase the game for $18 or pay a little more and prepurchase alpha/beta access. This game looks really promising. No DRM, offline, or co-op. Check it out.

If you were addicted to Diablo 1 or 2, or both, Diablo 3 probably doesn't do it for you. But Blizzard and Activision don't care. They think you'll buy Diablo 3 just because it is "Diablo", so they're basically saying "**** you, you're already sold, lets focus on everyone else and dumb down an already simple game, lets remove consequences, lets make this game attractive to the WoW crowd."

Anyways, if you don't agree with my ranting, that's fine. If you actually like Diablo 3, good. I'm not saying it's a bad game, it's just not true to it's predecessors, not true to what made Diablo such a great game. Don't forget, there will be no PVP at launch, and after there will only be Arena PVP - lol. Also there is no longer 8 person co-op, only 4 person co-op.

The game is clearly designed to be console friendly, after all where can Activision make the most money? It hasn't been announced, but it's clear as day. Why do you think you no longer add stats or why skills can be changed anytime. No consequences for your decisions takes the fun out of the game. I played Diablo 2 for years, not just for the loot, but for creating the perfect character, and being able to PVP randomly with a friend who you were just playing co-op with. Remember, screw the quest, lets fight.

I'm not looking for Diablo 2.5, I'm looking for Diablo 3. This game they made should have used a new story and called it Demon Slayer or something. I would not have been expecting Diablo. I mean look at the changes from Diablo 1 to Diablo 2. They were huge, yet most fans of Diablo 1 welcomed the changes as they didn't destroy what Diablo 1 was, they expanded upon the game. Diablo 3 is an entirely new game, yes it's still a hack and slash, but it's really not "Diablo".

Anyways, enough with my rant. Take it or leave. If you like Diablo 3, then by all means, enjoy it. If you're feeling like me, then take a look at Torchlight 2, Path of Exile, and Grim Dawn, maybe one of them will capture that nostalgia feeling you're looking for. Actually, even if you like Diablo 3, check out those games.

 

[Guest]

That is my precisely my point--the wait for this game has been so long that it's making many people go shut up and take my money regardless of their viewpoint on the drm. That and the fact that every child of the '90s will be playing this on launch.

 

[Guest]

One problem with torchlight 2 grim dawn etc.... none of them have release dates. D3 is out in 4 days. But, when torchlight 2 comes out I will certainly be playing that as well.

 

[yRaz]

People think Blizzard is a good developer? I think too many people have forgotten...

 

[TomSEA]

m4a4 "Yes........ the always online DRM that Blizzard implemented is just awesome.... [/endSarcasm]"

Get used to it dude, it's what's going to happen from here on out. It's the sole source mechanism to prevent stealing (piracy). And if you can download the game via internet, but are bitching about the constant internet connection then I think you have issues that no game can solve.

 

[Mister_K]

People think Blizzard is a good developer? I think too many people have forgotten...

Pandas.

Diablo 3 is fun, we buy games because they are fun and engaging. Oh and I actually played it then many who have only assumptions from watching videos.

Nuff said.

 

[ramonsterns]

People think Blizzard is a good developer? I think too many people have forgotten...

Pandas.

Diablo 3 is fun, we buy games because they are fun and engaging. Oh and I actually played it then many who have only assumptions from watching videos.

Nuff said.

I'm sure you had fun, and so did the people who bent over for $60 games and DLC.

 

[yRaz]

Pandas.

Diablo 3 is fun, we buy games because they are fun and engaging. Oh and I actually played it then many who have only assumptions from watching videos.

Nuff said.

Blizzard is a bad developer with worse business practices. They stopped making good games in the late 90s. D1 was great, D2 was overrated, D3 is over hyped. I would like to point out I never said anything about Diablo 3 initially, so where did your comment come from?

 

[MilwaukeeMike]

Do these pre-order numbers include the 'Free' copies given out for people who ordered the World of Warcraft annual pass? (If you paid for a year of WoW they gave you a free copy of D3). That might skew these numbers a bit.

 

[Littleczr]

Blizzard needs to ditch Activision fast.

 

[TorturedChaos]

Well I played the Open Beta weekend and liked the game. It did get a little repetitive after my 3rd play through of the same quest line back to back with different classes. but still fun.
I think it will be a good game. Maybe not quite the nostalgia people think it will be, but still fun.
I have it pre-ordered digitally, have it d/l and ready to install, and I'm taking Tuesday off work . Hoping its not a terrible game.

 

[Guest]

I'll just wait for Lineage Eternal if I want to play this style of game again.