D4 had over 1 million closed beta access players, with multi-millions expected this weekend. Wow.

That's... a lot of players.

https://www.eurogamer.net/beta-has-become-a-twisted-word-blizzard-responds-to-diablo-4-early-access-feedback

Edit:

Final Open Beta Figures:

https://us.forums.blizzard.com/en/d4/t/some-d4-beta-numbers-were-posted/13777

Edit: really good article too. Addresses a lot of things I saw on the subs, legitimate concerns and dislikes.

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A million players, and more this weekend. For an ARPG, a genre generally considered dead or niche thanks to the current offerings.

That is a reality check, a check many Exiles happily and willingly fail.

And hell, good for them. Harmless culture bubbles are great. Most of us have been resorting to them for the bulk of our lives. Shit -- Diablo 1/Battle.net was my first real online bubble, an escape from all sorts of late teenage related stresses and pressure. Another was Dungeons and Dragons weekends, wherein I would be the party scribe, the DM was a total control freak, the bard was a stoner and occasionally we would have a ring-in couple who played quite well when they weren't busy playing with each other.

...and here we are, 25 years later, with the latest iterations of both about as mainstream as they could possibly get. DIV is going to utterly crush the sales and Hobour Among Thieves is all over the billboards and buses here.

And dude, I am so for it. Spent LONG ENOUGH in those bubbles, thinking not how superior I was for being in them (I always knew it was escapism, not elitism) but instead always wanting more people to enjoy it as I did. I mean it was never all roses and perfume (no bubble is) but it was, overall, fun.

I guess I was thinking inclusively long before it became a buzzword.

So fuck yeah, let the age of mainstream nerdery continue. And may it have far less titillating rapey moments in the wake of Martin's necessary but not entirely palatable ascension. HAT looks like a great romp and DIV is, at least narratively, a nice return to gothic horror in which villages are compromised and going to church is a rather dangerous notion. That prologue gave me serious Midnight Mass vibes and fuck yeah to that.

You can tell a lot about what sort of person someone is when their "thing" goes mainstream.

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Here's another reality check: a common complaint I saw was that the game's approach to passives was TOO MUCH like PoE's, incremental tiptoe nudges that feel less like meaningful power growth and more like bloat. I found that an interesting contrast to the sentiment around here, that being the game is insufferably simple and dumbed-down. Perspective is a funny old thing, isn't it?

I had a great time with the beta, and all I'm left with is wanting to play more. A lot more. That's a pretty good sign. How long will that last? I have no idea based on what I played, but fuck all if I'm not going to enjoy the ride. All of it.

For the article, I do think the subtext of what he was saying on balance was that they will be careful on what is done until the game is out for a bit (character specific concerns). While there were understandable and legit criticisms, some of the things I saw and heard from videos and hot takes were ridiculous. For example, not liking some fonts on items, or the emotes. Like what the fuck are we even talking about? And just playing the beta, the flexibility they will have with this open world and live service cannot be understated. It could be narrative quests, events, region or environment changes, surprises (like the Butcher), and more. And whether you liked scaled leveling or not, this will allow their live service to impact every player in the realm, in any act, at any point.

Anyways, those metrics are astoundingly high. I mean eye popping, for ANY game, let along an arpg. That sort of of number is normally reserved for FIFA, Fortnite (back a few years), CSGO, and LoL. Crazy town really when you start speaking in terms of Millions.

We are looking at a historic situation developing in June it appears. I have no idea how their servers will handle a scale like that, but hopefully this beta stress test helps. Also the early-access looks pretty smart both on the business side, and the performance side. Having a staggered launch, with premium players starting on a weekend, and then scaling up to a Tuesday launch, makes a lot more sense given this scope.

June is the month of epic Roman Numerals. Three games from three of the biggest genre-defining franchises dropping core titles. The OG brain off kill shit genre, the epic Japanese RPG genre, and the azooooken genre.

It's not even low key bonkers. It is just bonkers. I am not buying any day one (okay this weekend might change that) but it is impossible to ignore just how momentous June is for gaming in a historical context.

And then in July PoE TWOOOOOOOooooOooooo will make us forget all about that, I am sure.

Fuck dude, Exilecon might be awkward as hell for anyone that goes. Granted those dedicated Exiles probably wont care anyways, the reality of the situation very well could be an extreme low point for PoE, which makes for some odd convo in general.

As for PoE2: Electric Boogaloo, whatever they have to showcase in July better be legendary or it will be swallowed into the abyss until whenever in 2024 the patch arrives.

hoho

Awkward isn't the word I would use. GGG are good people and I have never met an Exile I didn't like. In my experience we use PoE as the ice breaker but before long could be talking about anything from motorbikes to opera. Beer certainly helps.

But the event itself? My gut told me the 2019 one was going to be "awkward" for me as a weird mix of uber supporter and jaded hasbeen, and given what I felt about their big reveal, yeah I am glad I cancelled. As you said though, for those who have wisely realised PoE is their thing and other games don't really matter, it's going to be a blast anyway. Any news for them is good news. Cheer-worthy stuff.

There are far worse collectives than a gathering of Exiles. Blizzcon would certainly be one of them. I am so glad that I was part of the PoE RL scene; I wouldn't be caught dead at a Blizzcon, even though pound for pound I am a much bigger fan of their games. They make good games. They do not make good communities. Arguably PoE is the opposite, but only once you dig past the incredibly bad behaviour online. Then again my last RL interaction with Exiles was 7 or 8 years ago...much may have changed, but I suspect people generally don't. There are some going to Exilecon 2023 I would love to meet and harass, and I think it'd be an awesome atmosphere for that alone. This is something a more commercial venture like a Blizzcon cannot replicate.

But do I think PoE ever actually deserved a con? Not really, no. Feels a bit overly ambitious honestly. The game just isn't that big. But if it facilitates fan meets, that's a good thing. Otoh a Pax usually did the same thing and without the slightly weird feeling of playing dress ups as a triple A product.

Too bad the Double Down sandwich did not come with a Hellfire sauce.

Hey I enjoyed Hellfire. There were dozens of us.

Also damn US only promotions. I would totally eat a Dirty Bird burger to play some DIV.
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The game just patched on ps4/5. Man this is dumb exciting. I know it will be a true stress test and logging in will take ages but I don't care. I have a tablet. I have books. I am just happy to be a part of the test at some microscopic level. :)

Honestly, it's amazing for me to witness how short a memory people have. I mean just half a year ago everyone was swearing never to buy Blizzard stuff again. I know, I know, this is always the case with gamers, reason why we have shit games. So Blizzard selling millions of copies before launch is not as surprising as some would think.

That being said, I don't see the fuss. It's an OK game for what it is; honestly, I think this is what Diablo Immortal should have been.......I might play it at some point, but the hype is a bit too overturned.