Over the last few years, constant updates, patches and an expansion, Reaper of Souls, have turned Diablo 3 into a must-have on both console and PC. Recently Blizzard have announced the latest patch for Diablo III will add a new microtransaction system to the game, but were quick to reassure users that it wasn’t for European or American regions.
This presumably means Asia will see the changes, which makes sense. Asia has been shown to be readily accepting of microtransactions, with free-to-play games like League of Legends owing most of their profit to the Asian region. In particular, China has a large PC gamer population, making it the perfect region for Blizzard to experiment with bringing microtransactions back to Diablo III. When you are looking for Diablo 3 items, you can visit! We are professional in offering D3 items at reasonable prices with fast and safe delivery!
The announcement has many gamers worried, given Diablo III’s sordid past with microtransactions. On its release, the game was, for want of a better term, a mess. Among connection problems and numerous glitches, the game hosted a microtransaction system called Auction House. Through the Auction House, players could use real-world money to purchase items like armor, weapons, experience boosts, and a plethora of other items that had in-game functionality. Being able to buy all of these items made gameplay essentially pointless – why spend all that time grinding for gold and experience when you can just buy it? However, Blizzard set a great example by working tirelessly to fix the problems. Three years after Diablo III‘s release, the game is considered one of the must-have titles for PC and consoles thanks to numerous patches, updates, and an expansion pack.
Although the deletion of the Auction House was paramount to turning Diablo III around, Blizzard are again dabbling into the murky waters of microtransactions. They went to some effort to make it very clear that the changes are not coming to America or Europe right now, but didn’t rule it out for the future. The new microtransaction system will create a new in-game currency called Platinum and seems to be focused mostly on cosmetic upgrades, including wings, non-combat pets, character portraits, and character slot expansions. Cosmetic upgrades like these are the least obtrusive ways a microtransaction system can be implemented, with no in-game functionality that would give players who pay any kind of advantage, so most people don’t have a big problem with this part. But Blizzard also announced the microtransactions can be used to purchase timed experience boosts, which can be used to level up characters faster. Although the size and extent of these boosts hasn’t yet been clarified, this news has given many players flashbacks to the days of the Auction House.
Diablo III is coming to the end of its life-cycle, with no more expansion packs coming and sales having already reached their peak, and Blizzard needs to find some way to continue to profit from Diablo III.
The game’s servers won’t run for free. Blizzard was praised for its efforts to fix Diablo III after its release, and it seems unlikely they would introduce a system too similar to the Auction House. It’s no wonder they’ve held off bringing the new microtransaction system to western regions after the initial disaster, but it seems inevitable that it will arrive there eventually. Blizzard needs to tread carefully and remember the lessons learned after the game’s release. Players will not react kindly to a microtransaction system that overreaches the gameplay.
It’s unclear when this update will go live, but right now Blizzard is just laying the groundwork so their playerbase doesn’t get freaked out when it gets closer. We will keep an eye on what exactly ends up being sold, and we will keep updating news if there is something new and useful! By the way, don’t miss out the Diablo 3 items for sale at our website!
