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Diablo III “Seasons” Might Hit the Consoles
It is a well-known fact that Blizzard understand their market well. They just identify what people need in their games and just go with it. It is part of what they made them successful and it is a factor that will keep them successful. But the company really likes investing in its games, and it looks like Diablo III is on their to do list.
The main difference in between the Diablo console experience and the PC experience is represented by seasons. Yes, there are some minor features like the different controls or the slightly better view, but the seasons are everything that counts.
A new season in Diablo means that a player can start a new character, build it up by gathering gold and better items and also get some season-specific loot. It stands for a totally new experience driven by continuity and competition, since players are also fighting for the best spot on the leaderboard.
The consoles, however, they have a different story. They have no seasons, Blizzard opting for an additional patch just to add the extra loot. There is no competition, just the endless grind in a world you know is not real and from which you derive no sense of achievement.
The main reason why seasons were not present on consoles up until now was because of the game’s design: Diablo did not require a constant online connection, so people could casually farm and cheat their way around the leaderboards, rendering them useless.
But this might soon come to an end. Not because Blizzard is ready to apply a constant connection feature, but because it will probably shift from leaderboards for good, just providing players with some new “bait” to start new characters.
Rob Foote, the senior game producer from Diablo III admitted that leaderboards are not exactly the essence of a new season, but just a reason to start fresh. This applies especially to console games, who are more willing to stay at home and play with a friend than developing an actual community within the game.
This might convince old console players who swept the game under their bed to go searching for it start playing again, but we casually warn you that it is not official. What is official, however, is that Blizzard recognized that things are not ok, so they will make some moves to get things up and running. And this might be coming quite soon, since the new patch is scheduled to air next week.
Photo Credits flickr.com
