Andrewp30
Member!
- Joined
- Jul 25, 2005
- Messages
- 157
- Reaction score
- 0
Diablo studio closed; remaining staff relocated to Southern Calif HQ, put on "unannounced project"--likely Diablo 3.
The team behind the enormously popular Diablo franchise--most recently known as Blizzard North, the Bay Area outpost of Irvine, Calif-based Blizzard Entertainment--has been officially shuttered. Arguably, the office was moribund for months, those with ties to the Diablo franchise having departed months or even years ago to form studios of their own.
In a statement today, Blizzard president and founder Mike Morhaime said the relocation will "improve our efficiency as a company" and "represents an opportunity for all of our teams to have regular, direct input on each other's projects."
Those from Blizzard North who were offered relocation packages "will continue work on an unannounced project," which most believe is the third installment in the hugely popular Diablo series.
The studio that came to be known as Blizzard North was founded in 1993 by David Brevik and brothers Erich and Max Schaefer. The team--known then as Condor--pitched and sold Diablo to Blizzard. In 1996, the studio was fully acquired by Blizzard.
Blizzard North alumni have gone on to form at least three independent game studios of note: ArenaNet, formed in March of 2000 by Mike O'Brien, Patrick Wyatt, and Jeff Strain (and since acquired by NCsoft); Flagship Studios, founded in 2003 by Brevik, the Schaefer brothers, and Bill Roper (among others); and Castaway Entertainment, also founded in 2003 by brothers Stefan and Mike Scandizzo.
-taken from http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/08/01/news_6130138.html
Diablo 2 related activity leading up to Diablo 3 announcement?
I'm no expert, and my opinion may be a little biased but it looks to mean that all this Diablo 2 activity from Blizzard could be leading up to a Diablo 3 announcement. Lets look at a little time line of announcements from blizzard.
June 28th, 2005 - BlizzCon Gaming Festival Announced
"Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. is proud to announce the very first Blizzard Convention, to take place on October 28 & 29 in Orange County, California. BlizzCon is a celebration of our Warcraft, StarCraft, and Diablo franchises and the players who have helped make them so popular around the world. Attendees can look forward to a variety of events, including participating in question and answer panels with the developers of World of Warcraft and StarCraft: Ghost, playing Blizzard games live with friends, and watching the world's best Warcraft III and StarCraft pro-gamers compete in the BlizzCon Invitational tournament."
Blizzard announces a Blizzard Convention, in celebration of their main franchises, Starcraft, Warcraft and Diablo. There will be a variety of events to do with every game they have... except Diablo... is it just me that finds it weird Blizzard will be celebrating all their franchises, but there is no mention of any Diablo activities, unless of course they are saving something huge.
June 30, 2005 - Five Years of Diablo II
"Through the tortured body of a possessed hero, Diablo, Lord of Terror, made his way east from Tristram across the vast deserts surrounding the ancient city of Lut Gholein and ultimately into the bowels of his domain in Hell, where his horrific army was amassing. It was five years ago today that he reunited with his brothers, Mephisto and Baal, in a nefarious new plot to enslave the world of mortals. Despite the awe-inspiring power of the Prime Evils, it seems the sheer will of humanity had been underestimated. For across the world, legions of Necromancers, Amazons, Paladins, Sorceresses, and Barbarians rose to the challenge and again confronted the forces of evil head-on. Blizzard, and indeed the whole of mankind, thank you for your five years of dedication to this noblest of causes. "
The main thing I find here, is it goes to show that Diablo was a massive game for blizzard. After 5 years there are still tens of thousands of Gamers logged into battle.net and playing this game at any given time. Do you really think after having such a successful game series they would just let it die?.
July 29, 2005 - A Call to Heroes!
"Great evil has returned to the world of Diablo 2. Will you answer the call to save Sanctuary?
Patch 1.11 is coming.... "
Just a little heads up that Blizzard is working on a Patch for a game that is 5 years old now....
August 1, 2005 - Diablo 2 Patch 1.11 is now LIVE!
"The Lords of Terror, Hatred, and Destruction lurk once more in the bowels of the world, their vile blood galvanized with the thirst for revenge against the Heroes who have thwarted their dark reign."
Can the stalwart Paladins, lightning-quick Assassins, and ferocious Barbarians rise to this new challenge? The call has been made, so come join the adventure once again! "
Diablo 2 gets patched, the main thing to focus on here is the line at the end "so come join the adventure once again!" Blizzard is clearly trying to get people involved with Diablo 2 once again. Maybe blizzard just got really bored and decided to do all this, or maybe they are trying to get the Diablo 2 community rocking again for a big announcement.
August 4, 2005 - Diablo 2: Ladder Reset Announced!
"Right on the heels of our new Patch 1.11 comes the next great Ladder season for Diablo 2. Got what it takes to be the first to climb to the top of the Ladder? Hardcore players ready to be number 1 and stay on top? The new Ladder season for Diablo 2 will commence, starting this Monday, August 8th."
Another big move that will get a lot of players involved in Diablo 2 again. Why would this be?
August 8, 2005 - Diablo 2: A New Season Begins...
"The Diablo 2 Ladder has been reset, spawning a new and challenging season for our regular and "Hardcore" gameplayers. Who will be the first to climb to the top? Who will be the first to reach level 99? Diablo and his sinister agents await, so come join the adventure and begin your epic climb up our new Ladder!"
Once again I would like you to focus on the line "so come join the adventure". More wording telling players to get involved in the game once more.
So lets recap here. In a month and a half, Blizzard announced a huge Convention which includes celebrating the Diablo franchise, but has no official Diablo activities planned. Blizzard announced a new patch, and a ladder reset, and actually goes through with them in record time. Multiple times they use wording that is based around getting players back into the game.
Lets be fair about this, they are doing an awful lot of work on a game many people consider "dead". Maybe they are doing it to sell more games (games which are deeply discounted now). Maybe they want more people using battle.net which is a free service paid for by them. Or maybe they are trying to revitalize the the Diablo 2 community for a big announcement.
If you were in blizzards position, and wanted to announce Diablo 3, I think what they are currently doing is the perfect plan of attack. Announce a huge Convention, which would be the perfect place to announce the game. Second, revitalize interest in Diablo 2, get a ton of fans interested in the Game again. Show that even 5 years after the game is released, you are still providing new content for the game.
Announcing Diablo 3 fresh after the revitalization of the Diablo 2 community makes a lot more sense then announcing Diablo 3 when there hasn't been any patches for nearly 2 years and the interest has slowly fizzled out of the current Diablo game.
taken from http://www.diablo3.com/
The team behind the enormously popular Diablo franchise--most recently known as Blizzard North, the Bay Area outpost of Irvine, Calif-based Blizzard Entertainment--has been officially shuttered. Arguably, the office was moribund for months, those with ties to the Diablo franchise having departed months or even years ago to form studios of their own.
In a statement today, Blizzard president and founder Mike Morhaime said the relocation will "improve our efficiency as a company" and "represents an opportunity for all of our teams to have regular, direct input on each other's projects."
Those from Blizzard North who were offered relocation packages "will continue work on an unannounced project," which most believe is the third installment in the hugely popular Diablo series.
The studio that came to be known as Blizzard North was founded in 1993 by David Brevik and brothers Erich and Max Schaefer. The team--known then as Condor--pitched and sold Diablo to Blizzard. In 1996, the studio was fully acquired by Blizzard.
Blizzard North alumni have gone on to form at least three independent game studios of note: ArenaNet, formed in March of 2000 by Mike O'Brien, Patrick Wyatt, and Jeff Strain (and since acquired by NCsoft); Flagship Studios, founded in 2003 by Brevik, the Schaefer brothers, and Bill Roper (among others); and Castaway Entertainment, also founded in 2003 by brothers Stefan and Mike Scandizzo.
-taken from http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/08/01/news_6130138.html
Diablo 2 related activity leading up to Diablo 3 announcement?
I'm no expert, and my opinion may be a little biased but it looks to mean that all this Diablo 2 activity from Blizzard could be leading up to a Diablo 3 announcement. Lets look at a little time line of announcements from blizzard.
June 28th, 2005 - BlizzCon Gaming Festival Announced
"Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. is proud to announce the very first Blizzard Convention, to take place on October 28 & 29 in Orange County, California. BlizzCon is a celebration of our Warcraft, StarCraft, and Diablo franchises and the players who have helped make them so popular around the world. Attendees can look forward to a variety of events, including participating in question and answer panels with the developers of World of Warcraft and StarCraft: Ghost, playing Blizzard games live with friends, and watching the world's best Warcraft III and StarCraft pro-gamers compete in the BlizzCon Invitational tournament."
Blizzard announces a Blizzard Convention, in celebration of their main franchises, Starcraft, Warcraft and Diablo. There will be a variety of events to do with every game they have... except Diablo... is it just me that finds it weird Blizzard will be celebrating all their franchises, but there is no mention of any Diablo activities, unless of course they are saving something huge.
June 30, 2005 - Five Years of Diablo II
"Through the tortured body of a possessed hero, Diablo, Lord of Terror, made his way east from Tristram across the vast deserts surrounding the ancient city of Lut Gholein and ultimately into the bowels of his domain in Hell, where his horrific army was amassing. It was five years ago today that he reunited with his brothers, Mephisto and Baal, in a nefarious new plot to enslave the world of mortals. Despite the awe-inspiring power of the Prime Evils, it seems the sheer will of humanity had been underestimated. For across the world, legions of Necromancers, Amazons, Paladins, Sorceresses, and Barbarians rose to the challenge and again confronted the forces of evil head-on. Blizzard, and indeed the whole of mankind, thank you for your five years of dedication to this noblest of causes. "
The main thing I find here, is it goes to show that Diablo was a massive game for blizzard. After 5 years there are still tens of thousands of Gamers logged into battle.net and playing this game at any given time. Do you really think after having such a successful game series they would just let it die?.
July 29, 2005 - A Call to Heroes!
"Great evil has returned to the world of Diablo 2. Will you answer the call to save Sanctuary?
Patch 1.11 is coming.... "
Just a little heads up that Blizzard is working on a Patch for a game that is 5 years old now....
August 1, 2005 - Diablo 2 Patch 1.11 is now LIVE!
"The Lords of Terror, Hatred, and Destruction lurk once more in the bowels of the world, their vile blood galvanized with the thirst for revenge against the Heroes who have thwarted their dark reign."
Can the stalwart Paladins, lightning-quick Assassins, and ferocious Barbarians rise to this new challenge? The call has been made, so come join the adventure once again! "
Diablo 2 gets patched, the main thing to focus on here is the line at the end "so come join the adventure once again!" Blizzard is clearly trying to get people involved with Diablo 2 once again. Maybe blizzard just got really bored and decided to do all this, or maybe they are trying to get the Diablo 2 community rocking again for a big announcement.
August 4, 2005 - Diablo 2: Ladder Reset Announced!
"Right on the heels of our new Patch 1.11 comes the next great Ladder season for Diablo 2. Got what it takes to be the first to climb to the top of the Ladder? Hardcore players ready to be number 1 and stay on top? The new Ladder season for Diablo 2 will commence, starting this Monday, August 8th."
Another big move that will get a lot of players involved in Diablo 2 again. Why would this be?
August 8, 2005 - Diablo 2: A New Season Begins...
"The Diablo 2 Ladder has been reset, spawning a new and challenging season for our regular and "Hardcore" gameplayers. Who will be the first to climb to the top? Who will be the first to reach level 99? Diablo and his sinister agents await, so come join the adventure and begin your epic climb up our new Ladder!"
Once again I would like you to focus on the line "so come join the adventure". More wording telling players to get involved in the game once more.
So lets recap here. In a month and a half, Blizzard announced a huge Convention which includes celebrating the Diablo franchise, but has no official Diablo activities planned. Blizzard announced a new patch, and a ladder reset, and actually goes through with them in record time. Multiple times they use wording that is based around getting players back into the game.
Lets be fair about this, they are doing an awful lot of work on a game many people consider "dead". Maybe they are doing it to sell more games (games which are deeply discounted now). Maybe they want more people using battle.net which is a free service paid for by them. Or maybe they are trying to revitalize the the Diablo 2 community for a big announcement.
If you were in blizzards position, and wanted to announce Diablo 3, I think what they are currently doing is the perfect plan of attack. Announce a huge Convention, which would be the perfect place to announce the game. Second, revitalize interest in Diablo 2, get a ton of fans interested in the Game again. Show that even 5 years after the game is released, you are still providing new content for the game.
Announcing Diablo 3 fresh after the revitalization of the Diablo 2 community makes a lot more sense then announcing Diablo 3 when there hasn't been any patches for nearly 2 years and the interest has slowly fizzled out of the current Diablo game.
taken from http://www.diablo3.com/
