Feedback for Sales and Marketing:
I have been playing Blizzard games for a long time. Diablo was a game that massively influenced my life and my career. Since over a year, I was waiting for the Collector’s Edition of Diablo 4 and sure to preorder it …
I own the collector’s Edition of Diablo 3 and Heart of the Swarm.
When I watched the Stream on December 15th for Diablo IV, I realized that the game itself is: “not included” in the so-called “collectors box.” So its basically a “merchandise box.”
So if am a super fan that wants to buy the most expensive Version of the game, but no the game is not included because this is not the most expensive version of the game it’s a merchandise pack?
Why is this so disturbing for me:
1. It is called: “collectors…” which makes me think “collectors edition” but its “box”, that might cause confusion, don’t you think?
2. Just raise the price of the collector’s box from 100 to 160 and add the game, (or even higher), I would have bought it!
3. Because I have several collectors editions from blizzard (-> and they have the central piece: the game inside) it just feels wrong to me that I know have to buy the game also. Who would buy this box and NOT buy the game!?
4. The reason I would want the merchandise is the game, and technically it is no problem to send a digital key for the account that bought the game in the gear-store, so a “first-day delivery” is not a problem.
5. Some people will just blindly order the “collector’s box” and realize later that the game is NOT inside! I guess they will be “very happy” when they realized that. Also read the comments underneath some posts about the “collector’s box”, this is bad communication!
Personally, Diablo 4 will be making it or breaking it for my relationship with Blizzard, and I am confident that gameplay, graphics, sound and game-code will be hq! I really liked what I saw, it’s gritty it’s dark, it captures the feeling of D1 and D2, really what I want in a new Diablo.
What I fear is that this great brand “Diablo” will be suffocated completely by monetization that is too aggressive.
At the end it is not about season-passes, microtransactions, preorders or all the other stuff; it is about the Games.
I understand that money is needed to keep the machine running on live-service, but if you alienate your core fan base too much the whole machine will stop, as the people leave to other products where they feel less taken advantage off.
I decided to not buy the collector’s box and also not to preorder, but I still believe in the game and have hope for it, and friends of mine even make fun of me for it. … let that sink in for your brand-building.
Blizzard got big in the first place because they made hq games that then made a lot of money, they did not get big by making a lot of money and then making hq games.
I hope you have a good release of D4! And that someone from Sales or Marketing reads that. thx for your time