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[The_Darkest_Red]

It's the first PC game I've purchased on day one in years and I'm loving it. The sales are well deserved, in my opinion.

 

[AHA-Lambda]

But PC gaming is dead?

Nah, apparently that's console gaming now seriously with games like this, steam and a revolution in indie gaming PC has never been healthier.

Congrats to Blizzard though, those are exceptionally impressive numbers. Unfortunately, I'm not much of a Diablo fan =/

 

[Zia]

But PC gaming is dead?

I don't think this is actually a "thing" anymore, in fact it's quite the opposite.

Deserved. Biggest surprise (yeah, I know) of the last few years for me. Wonderful game.

 

[Meier]

Wait, does that not include digital copies?

I'm sure it does since it references internal tracking numbers and research from their partners.

 

[StoppedInTracks]

Over 6 million copies sold already?

Only a week after launch?

For a PC game?

DAT SHIT CRAY

 

[Majine]

And Starcraft 2 sold *only* 4.5m in like 6 months. Now I'm kinda sad since I like that series more.

 

[TheMan]

After all the hype and the waiting, I kind of expected better numbers (not that 6.3 million isn't good). I guess I've been desensitized by COD-like numbers.

Good job blizzard.

 

[FieryBalrog]

Well, this pretty much blew SC2 out of the water. Not a surprise given the genres though.

After all the hype and the waiting, I kind of expected better numbers (not that 6.3 million isn't good). I guess I've been desensitized by COD-like numbers.

Good job blizzard.

For a PC only title? 6.3m in a week is insane for a PC only title.

 

[Nibel]

Well now I want to know what the console version will sell if it sees the light of the day

PC gaming is fucking breathing

 

[Des0lar]

Buying Blizzard was the most ingenious move activision has ever done. No matter how many series they milk to the ground, Blizzard will just drown them with money...

 

[BladeoftheImmortal]

How many queues is that?

 

[Confidence Man]

That's a shame.

 

[Elginer]

Blizzard won't go hungry tonight! Congrats to them, now add more servers!

 

[KingOfReading]

I'm glad they sold as much out of the gate as they did. It's certainly deserved. The game oozes quality...and it's just the same type of gaming-crack that the second game was. I love it!

 

[Woorloog]

Very impressive, especially given how even other Blizzard titles have performed in recent years.

How have they performed then?

 

[StoppedInTracks]

i wish some foolproof drm could be developed so that big time triple A high budget pc gaming could come back this shows the potential is definitely there if piracy could be beaten.

Always on DRM is just that. But it simply WON'T work on non super polished games, just like lack of it doesn't make every console game a huge seller: see Brink, Syndicate etc.

You have to have that special combination of huge fanbase + AAAA+ quality + always online DRM to achieve this kind of success in PC space.

The thing about network issues that no one seems to be considering is that Blizzard very well may be perfectly ok with how it launched. The first 2-3 days could likely have the most concurrent users throughout the entire game's lifespan and it wouldn't make much sense for them to purchase and configure hardware for those few days alone.

Uh that's why you rent the extra servers for say $2 million for the first 2 weeks. Blizzard dropped the ball BIG TIME here.

 

[x-Lundz-x]

Jaysus, that is amazing!

 

[2San]

I think this isn't really surprising. It draws from the MMO crowd, ARPG crowd, co-op gamer crowd and of course the existing Diablo/loves anything Blizzard group. Of course there's overlap here and there, but the segments it's intended for is pretty big.

 

[TheExodu5]

Always on DRM is just that. But it simply WON'T work on non super polished games, just like lack of it doesn't make every console game a huge seller: see Brink, Syndicate etc.

You have to have that special combination of huge fanbase + AAAA+ quality + always online DRM to achieve this kind of success in PC space.

Free to play titles have "always online DRM" and can be wildly successful without necessarily needing to satisfy the AAAA+ quality criteria.

 

[StoppedInTracks]

I think this isn't really surprising. It draws from the MMO crowd, ARPG crowd, co-op gamer crowd and of course the existing Diablo/loves anything Blizzard group. Of course there's overlap here and there, but the segments it's intended for is pretty big.

Uh what?

It is a Diablo game. People were dying to play a new Diablo game. And they cannot pirate it now.

 

[FieryBalrog]

How have they performed then?

SC2 sold 4.5m in it's first 5 months. The final numbers aren't known AFAIK.

 

[2San]

Uh what?

It is a Diablo game. People were dying to play a new Diablo game. They cannot pirate it now.

I was mostly referencing "for a PC game" it's done quite well. I just want to say the PC install base is quite huge. They just tend to focus on the niche's they enjoy, at least relatively to console gamers.

 

[Mithos]

It is a Diablo game. People were dying to play a new Diablo game. They cannot pirate it now.

You sure about that? Because I've seen working Diablo 3 servers on sites, sure might not be 100% like the official, but they are already around, just like Lineage 2, Aion, WoW servers.

 

[Enkidu]

Buying Blizzard was the most ingenious move activision has ever done. No matter how many series they milk to the ground, Blizzard will just drown them with money...

Considering Activision Blizzard is now owned by Vivendi, isn't it almost closer to the truth to say that Activision was bought?

 

[Ultratech]

Currently at Blizzard...

Still, that's pretty goddamn amazing. Blizzard gonna be drowning in money.

 

[Gowans]

Well done, totally deserved!

 

[oneils]

Buying Blizzard was the most ingenious move activision has ever done. No matter how many series they milk to the ground, Blizzard will just drown them with money...

Vivendi merged with Activision and they in turn developed a holding company called Activision Blizzard. So, not sure it is quite accurate to say activision bought blizzard. But, I get your point. Activision certainly did well by its shareholders by doing the merger.

 

[AdventureRacing]

After all the hype and the waiting, I kind of expected better numbers (not that 6.3 million isn't good). I guess I've been desensitized by COD-like numbers.

Good job blizzard.

6.3 million in a single week on one platform is just insane by any standards.

 

[Hoo-doo]

Uh what?

It is a Diablo game. People were dying to play a new Diablo game. And they cannot pirate it now.

I actually feel this has had a pretty size-able impact on sales.
This is one of those titles that PC gamers aren't going to miss out on, and it's impossible to pirate.

 

[StoppedInTracks]

I was mostly referencing "for a PC game" it's done quite well. I just want to say the PC install base is quite huge. They just tend to focus on the niche's they enjoy, at least relatively to console gamers.

So is consoles' install base... there are like 60 million 360s out there? And how many 360 gamers bought MW3. 6 Million? 8 Million? For sure close to ~10% of install base.

There is just no point in downplaying D3 sales.

6.3M sales in one week is just massive for every HW platform out there.

 

[Ptaaty]

I buy nearly all my games well after release for usually <$15. I bought Diablo III for full price and have no regrets at all.

I don't look at it as always on DRM....more always on so my friend and I have more drop in/out coop experiences.

 

[StuBurns]

It's worth it, congratulations to those involved.

 

[Auto_aim1]

Those are spectacular sales. Pretty impressive. Congratulations, Blizz.

 

[CountAntonius]

No lan support.
No offline support.
Always online drm.
Real money auction house
buggy launch
no pvp at launch.

6.3 million copies sold and nothing but cheers. Game must be pretty fucking incredible. Only Blizzard(and maybe valve) can do something like this and still get mountains of praise.

 

[cw_sasuke]

I said wow, even though I expected + six million shipped copies in week one.

 

[Goldrusher]

Impressive.

Now let's hope it stays exclusive to the PC.
I read somewhere it's only the 5th full-price PC exclusive to sell more than 2 million copies the past 5 years.

 

[V_Arnold]

No lan support.
No offline support.
Always online drm.
Real money auction house
buggy launch
no pvp at launch.

6.3 million copies sold and nothing but cheers. Game must be pretty fucking incredible. Only Blizzard(and maybe valve) can do something like this and still get mountains of praise.

None of these describe the actual act of playing the game, so yep, the game IS amazing.

 

[tycoonheart]

Blizzard knows how to make games that are accessible to anyone and everyone. A lot of other studios should take notice. This is how its done.

 

[StoppedInTracks]

No lan support. - doesn't matter in 2012, maybe for 0.5% of target base
No offline support. - see above
Always online drm. - see above
Real money auction house - you can make real money out of it. How is that a negative? See TF2 crafting.
buggy launch - happens to everyone, only first 2-3 days were buggy
no pvp at launch. - only valid point

6.3 million copies sold and nothing but cheers. Game must be pretty fucking incredible. Only Blizzard(and maybe valve) can do something like this and still get mountains of praise.

Game is incredible and the only real issues it has are tech ones which are disappearing with each passing day BTW.

 

[Killer]

INSANE.

PC gaming is dead.

 

[Wind's Howling]

I wonder how the console versions will sell.

If they sell just as well or even better you can bet your ass that they will try to go multiplatform.

 

[alexandros]

i wish some foolproof drm could be developed so that big time triple A high budget pc gaming could come back this shows the potential is definitely there if piracy could be beaten.

I don't think that piracy is the issue here, it would be wrong to attribute the number of DIII salessolely to the always-on system they used. In my opinion, a number of factors contributed towards this impressive result:

1) It's Blizzard, a developer with a long history of shipping great games.
2) D3 is a PC game through-and-through.
3) Diablo is a blockbuster franchise.
4) Longevity. People expect to be playing D3 for years.
5) Low system requirements. Practically anyone with a relatively modern PC can play this.

So here's my main point: Big-name PC games always sell well on PC. However, most publishers want to take the easy way out and ship multiplatform games with the minimum of effort. It just doesn't work that way. It didn't work for consoles in the early 00s when developers ported successful PC games on console: most of them died a horrible death at retail with abysmal sales. It doesn't work now. It's not the platform's fault, it's the publishers' and the developers' fault for not putting in the effort.

 

[awm8604]

Disappointing to see the DRM rewarded like this. I won't be buying the game because of it.

 

[Technosteve]

That's like half the population of WoW slamming the battle.net servers at the same time. Good Job blizzard but it's time fr you guys to buff Barbarians and give us loot that don't suck!

 

[Drkirby]

But PC gaming is dead?

Thats so 2009.

 

[Interfectum]

Disappointing to see the DRM rewarded like this. I won't be buying the game because of it.

Your loss.

 

[CountAntonius]

Just mentioning things Gaf and the internet had meltdowns over when details were announced. None of it seems to matter anymore I guess. I know most of my friends are Playing D3 as I type this.

 

[StuBurns]

Game is incredible and the only real issues it has are tech ones which are disappearing with each passing day BTW.

Yeah, I'd say PvP is the only real issue there, and even then I personally don't care about it.

D3 is amazing, it deserves to do amazingly.

 

[UnluckyKate]

Game is incredible and the only real issues it has are tech ones which are disappearing with each passing day BTW.

You can get real money out of it : you can't take the money out

 

[FLEABttn]

You can get real money out of it : you can't take the money out

Um, the paypal partnership?