Ten Things I Like About You

It's been a long wait. August 20, 2001, was the last date a patch was released for Diablo II. Things have really changed since then. The scene has slowed down considerably; there are a few good sites around that are still active and kicking. Many other sites have died out or lost interest, which is a natural event in the course of a game, even one as popular as Diablo II was. When I look back at the insanity that followed the release of 1.09, I see a huge amount of interest. That waned as time when on and Warcraft III was released. The central focus of Blizzard moved on to the new game, and many fansites followed.

That's what makes 1.10 all the more surprising. If you've been reading this website for a long time, you know a couple of things:

1. I really like the Diablo series of games by Blizzard. Duh. Why would I be running this site if I didn't?
2. I often praise them for the work they do, polishing and refining their games to an incredible level in an attempt to achieve gaming "perfection."
3. I also often criticize them when I feel they're not living up to their standards (see my LoungeRants).

But this rant isn't one like the latter. In fact, if you don't like to read "Blizzard suck-ups", then move on to something else, because this is going to be one of those sickening articles that praises Blizzard over and over. Sorry! But there's some simple facts about 1.10 that have to be brought out into the open, in case people haven't thought about it. And then I'll get to my final point.

Blizzard is (gasp) a business. Businesses, usually, make it their goal to make money (unless they're horribly mismanaged, *cough* Enron *cough*). When you look at the economic model of a gaming company, you see that such a company's goal (unless selling a MMPORPG, which is continually updated or it stagnates) is to make a game that gets good reviews, sell a whole ton of copies, and move on. Blizzard has consistently shown that they want to go above and beyond that. The truth is, Warcraft III would have sold a ton of copies even if it were a pile of garbage. The company may have been shortchanging their future if that were the case, but in the short term they'd still have made their millions. Consistently making fantastic games guarantees great future sales. People buy Blizzard games on Blizzard's good name, and then enjoy them because they're great games.

Releasing 1.10 makes little business sense. So, I ask you, where is the profit potential in Diablo II version 1.10? None. Blizzard only stands to LOSE money by releasing this patch. They have to deal with the server bandwidth costs as the players download the new version. They have to deal with the support headaches as, with most every patch, the stupid cd-protection (that they didn't design) gets broken and some cd-rom drives refuse to acknowledge the game is in the drive. They have all the players screaming their heads off as various uber-characters they have are made less uber by skill changes.

Diablo II came out in June 2000. The game is over two and a half years old, and they could have let it rest with version 1.09 without any major complaints at all.

Blizzard employees are gamers too. And that's the heart of this patch. They decided to make another patch to clean things up, add items, change skills, and make the game easier to modify. The patch has a lot of fixes that come from Diablo II players' suggestions. Why do all this? Because it's their BABY, their creation, and they want ALL their games to simply rock. If you've ever been a programmer, you probably know the feeling. Sure, the wait's killing us. I started this site back up in July 2002 because I thought 1.10 was around the corner. Oops. So I've been waiting just as you have, because not only do I want to play 1.10 very badly, but I also want to get back into the swing of things, reading and archiving strategies, spreading the word of new bugs and discoveries, and having fun updating the site again.

So...

So what's my point? Other than Blizzard rules. :) Well, my point is that what other company but Blizzard releases such comprehensive, game-changing patches two and a half years after a game is released simply because they want to? From a financial standpoint, 1.10 is a horrible mistake; but they are going to do it anyway. 1.10 has used up a large number of programmers' hours, along with the QA time and tech support, but Blizzard North made that commitment long ago despite the knowledge of the work required. Add to that the fact that this patch will add a slew of all-new features including over 100 new items, and really help out the mod community. It's exciting.

So, when 1.10 comes out, and you find out that a certain suffix on shields no longer works the way it should, or some other small bug, I say, cut them a little slack. Bugs are inevitable in the software business, and 1.10 will introduce some new ones. Instead of complaining about the patch, realize that Blizzard is one of those few gaming companies that's doing the right thing. They're not taking a whiz on their customers like a few players believe every time a patch comes out; instead, they are actually putting time, money, and effort into making a great game better. They're the good guys! When the patch is released, let's get together to help Blizzard North nail down any lingering bugs in 1.10, make the final corrections, and ultimately put a final stamp on one of the best games ever made.

Are you with me?