Diablo 4 does not have a chance to compete....

I would hope that Diablo 4 is competition for Pat of Exile and vice versa. Competition is not only good, it is essential. Games only grow, get better when there is competition.

Also, I think Diablo 4 will do very well (if Blizzard doesn't mess it up). Path of Exile is obviously the more complex game but that does not automatically make it the better game. For some yes, for others not so much. I have plenty of friends who play Diablo 3 but can't or wont play PoE, mainly because of the complexity. For those players, Diablo 4 doesn't only have a chance at competing with PoE, it is already doing so.

So, let there be competition, only good things will come of it.

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Dinovash wrote:

I would hope that Diablo 4 is competition for Pat of Exile and vice versa. Competition is not only good, it is essential. Games only grow, get better when there is competition.

I would hope that PoE has competition, but that it doesn't come from Diablo. Not cos I harbor unending hate for Blizzard, but I'd rather not have this game unseated thanks to brand value and franchise hype. Let Last Epoch or some other new IP challenge PoE. Preferably from a new studio as well, much like how GGG appeared on the scene to unseat the reigning kings.

Competition is nice, but so is change. The ARPG genre doesn't need to be slavishly associated with the Diablo name for all eternity. New names, new worlds, new stories and new styles can help move the genre to a new dawn.

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MaxEXA wrote:

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Let them do their own thing, I suppose. While I think GGG's product is superior, I don't see it as a reason to ridicule Diablo.

They brought it on themselves when they show items with ATTACK and DEFENCE attributes. Not even budget mobile games reached that level. And then further when they showed SLOW WEAPON and VERY FAST WEAPON.

And when they confirmed MTX for a game that might cost up to 100 euros for digital deluxe. You either charge for your game and expansions or do MTX you dont get to do both.

The monetization model works very well for blizzard for over a decade now. you buy the game, you buy each expansion, you buy in shop for pets and stuff and you buy for all kinds of account/character services. And yet WoW is the worlds most popular and most successful mmorpg.

The only reason PoE delivers new content every 3 months is its monetization model. They have to milk the cow. The peak in PoE is the first couple of weeks each league. If they would not bring new content, PoE would be dead - or you would have to pay.

I would rather pay 20 € a month and have a stable, bug-free, crash-free, desync-free game with new content every now and then, this league I was not even able to do uber lab cause in every single of my 12 attempts I got either kicked out of the game or it simply crashed after loading screen.

And to be honest, most players that actually play PoE regularly payed way more than they would have payed for a common monetized game. Thats for sure. Noone playing at least 3 times a week bothers himself with no-stash-tab organization or enjoys running around like a creepy homeless noob. You want to be efficient and look cool, thats what GGG perfectly implemented.

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Dinovash wrote:

I would hope that Diablo 4 is competition for Pat of Exile and vice versa. Competition is not only good, it is essential. Games only grow, get better when there is competition.

you see, that is the good thing about PoE being free.

GGG has to get those back to play every 3 months, that are willing to pay the MTX stuff. And this is the reason GGG has to be innovative and some kind competes against itself.

Good point.

Said bb to Blizzard after having played D3 for a while. Some forum member called it "dumbkidsgame". So true. I mean, it´s like everything else: telling fools something is great and rip them of. In the end people are proud of their unnecessary crap. Enjoy the "shared world"...

Still a pity after those years of D2.

Just a few thoughts on D4/PoE:

First, there's no true "competition" between the titles except for a few genre-players and, of course, a drawback GGG will see for Diablo fans drawn to PoE because of it's "roots." (PoE was basically designed around being a successor title to Diablo 2.)

Blizzard is determined for D4 to provide for more multiplayer experiences. Specifically, shared multiplayer zones in an "MMO'ish" sort of style. There could even be something of a shared "Lobby" kind of experience in towns. (Planning, hype, marketing stuff, etc, could be considered to be pretty much all over the place, so I haven't read any recent stuff where these design intentions might be shown to have changed.)

Obviously, Blizzard is going to be very interested in "ports." It's going to have some form of RMT and I'd think they'd want to copy PoE's kind of merchandising style with vanity items and QoL enhancements.

They are not going to limit either design or distribution to "Western" markets. That also means they're going to have to adapt their gameplay design to other markets. More RMT, more features that some players may consider to be unchallenging or undesirable. (There's no such thing as a "World PC Game Market." There hasn't been enough time to develop a game "comidity." Every market has its preferences regarding design/features.)

"Diablo 3" is much less demanding on its players than PoE. However, Diablo 3 is a heck of a lot easier and more rewarding in multiplayer play. It's easily the better of the two titles in that respect. It's also much more suitable for "competitive" play aside from the tendency to fall asleep while on watch concerning cheats and exploits... Diablo 4 will be nothing if not more robust in terms of the multiplayer experience it provides.

Right now, "Path of Exile" is, IMO, nearing it's "end-of-life" phase. That's why GGG is working on PoE 2. The issue is pretty clear, at least to a console player like me - PoE is about at its saturation point with graphics, mechanics, gameplay content, etc... There isn't much more than can be shoved or hammered into this game without breaking it. They can't continue on that track, so getting PoE 2 to market is a true necessity.

In contrast, the Diablo series has had great success in being simpler, by comparison. Diablo 4 has some luxury, there, in being able to rely on nostalgia and a pretty limited, by comparison, set of "new gameplay stuffs" than PoE. Blizzard can also take it's time - Blizzard is "Blizzard." It's a "Gold Standard" developer, not just a AAA developer.

Blizzard is likely going to have a ton of room that's been prepared for DLC and Expansions as well as RMT. Their game will not only be designed to incorporate it, but will be designed to handle it far into the future. PoE 2 will undoubtedly be designed for more smooth handling of added content, but Diablo 4 isn't set to the same demanding standards in terms of "game complexity" its audience expects.

I don't see a ton of worry for either set of fans. I do think we'll see a lot of players investing time in Diablo 4. Will it be enough to be concerning in the long-term for PoE2? That's really going to depend on GGG. I think both games will survive, but GGG will have to do a great job with PoE2 if they see themselves as a Blizzard "competitor."