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Blizzard Reveals Diablo 3 (Real Money) Auction House
trawg writes "At a special event at Blizzard HQ in California, gaming press were treated to the first look at the Diablo 3 auction house — featuring real-world money transactions across different regions allowing you to buy and sell items with real money. There'll be a listing fee and a sales fee for auctions, and while they're not talking dollar numbers just yet, Blizzard assures gamers that they're not looking to pinch pennies."
Update: 08/01 17:41 GMT by S :The other big piece of news about Diablo 3 is that it will require a persistent connection to Battle.net to play, even for single-player mode. Eurogamer has a detailed write-up about the current state of the beta.
tsia
Oh shit. You just KNOW the IRS will be getting involved here. Anytime you have money moving from person-to-person or business-to-person, the Feds will get their pound of flesh. This could get quite ugly for gamers.
Life is not for the lazy.
Cue the spam of...looking 4 2 soc 2 skill 20 fcr barb circlet
Blizzard jumped a shark.
Awesome new way to launder all of my illicit income.
That is, gamers should not be looking to pinch pennies. Get ready to break out the Sword of Visa and PowerSwipe(tm) the Master Card, and "here comes a new challenger," the PayPalHelm
Fuck everything about this...
I kind of have to agree...
I was a hardcore D2 gamer, almost failed out of college because of that game, and I've been looking forward to D3 Very Much.
But real money? No. I play games as an escape from thinking about things like my bank account.
Bliz, please rethink this.
Let a real money secondary economy evolve, but for the love of Pete don't enshrine it in the game.
"You worthless post!"
-Shakespeare, 2 Gentlemen of Verona, 1. 1. 147
If you can't beat 'em, monetise 'em.
I guess in principle it's probably not _all_ that evil.
Still, it makes me think the gameplay experience will be like a Free To Play game... but with a $60 USD (or $90 AUD, grrrr) barrier to entry.
Whichever currency is active in your region.
The Auction House is going to be divided into currency regions.
As opposed to in game currency.
- Don't do what I do, it's probably not healthy nor safe. -
So, Blizzard doesn't allow Real Money Trading in WoW, but is going to set up a system in Diablo 3 for that?
GLaDOS for President 2016! "Well here we are again. It's always such a pleasure." -- GLaDOS, 2011
Let a real money secondary economy evolve, but for the love of Pete don't enshrine it in the game.
Why? This means that you are less likely to get ripped off since Blizzard will be running it versus the third party sites where you are most likely getting scammed from. Why would you think the second choice is better?
According to the TFA, the fee is "nominal".
There is a list fee and a completing fee (when item is sold).
You get a few free listings per week.
- Don't do what I do, it's probably not healthy nor safe. -
More news to come out is their decision to mirror Ubisoft with an always online requirement. Players will require a Battle.net connection even to play single player. I certainly won't be purchasing it, and it seems that most of my friends won't either. Too much DRM and no LAN play make it a poor investment.
Blizzard seems absolutely intent on fucking Diablo 3 up in any way they can. The lack of LAN play and persistent Battle.net DRM wasn't already enough?
"He who can destroy a thing, controls a thing." --Paul Atreides, Dune
So, there's a good chance I'll never play the game. And if I did, I wouldn't spend real money to buy stuff for one of my game characters. However, a lot of people do this. It's amazing how much real world money changes hands over intangible things like this. I say good for Blizzard for taking advantage of it. It doesn't sound like they're going to charge a huge percentage (else players will continue to buy and sell elsewhere like they always have). It just lets Blizzard get that percentage rather than an outside company. And why shouldn't they? These people are going to do it one way or another. Why not integrate it into the game? It may even make the trading a little more secure. If the game system runs the transaction, there's less chance for fraud. The game can ensure that both sides of the transaction take place at the same time. The game can make sure items aren't misrepresented. At least in theory. If they do it right, this could be a significant improvement to the game.
Why?
It's an option you don't have to use, you know.
You don't HAVE to sell or buy items, you're free to trade like always.
I can't see how it disrupts your game, you can just simply choose not to participate in the auction house.
- Don't do what I do, it's probably not healthy nor safe. -
but will they tax in game gold and the gold auction house?
Let a real money secondary economy evolve, but for the love of Pete don't enshrine it in the game.
Well, if Blizz is set on doing this they should just fracture the community in half from the start. Establish 2 separate servers to play on, one supporting this RMT feature, and the other featuring an in-game economy only. Although the problem with the original D2 economy was that gold was worthless and you always had to barter item-for-item to get anything. So if there is going to be an "in-game" economy at all, they really need a medium of exchange that isn't worthless.
Fear is the mind killer.
Is it just me or does it sound like that is exactly what they will be doing. So much of WoW has been homogenized moving toward a seemingly arcade style game, the auction house does not play as big a role for obtaining materials or items as it did years ago.
Just about sums it up. This isn't much different than anything else online. I pay taxes on my XBox 360 purchases, this shouldn't be any different just because it is online.
That's a very nice thing btw. Since the dollar value has sunken like a stone, everything I buy from abroad is really cheap. Keep up the "international standard" and worthless currency.
Realistically lack of LAN play in today's market will only upset geeks, and only a very small subset of them. Battle.NET DRM is indeed annoying in it's own way, but it's also kind of cool - namely in that Blizzard will let you redownload all your games at will. I managed to find my Warcraft III jewel case in a drawer - no clue where the CD is, but it had the CD-key on the case. I logged into my Battle.NET account, registered that game, and poof. Instantly download ability. That's a benefit that I can live with a few negatives to get.
"People who think they know everything are very annoying to those of us who do."-Mark Twain
My thoughts exactly, in D2 I played hardcore exclusively after the first year and only played with a fairly large group of friends who were into legit gaming, the SOJ and ZOD hacking never affected me because I simply never traded with anyone outside my group, I'm sure I'll do the same with D3 and so the real money auction house will never affect me.
There are 4 boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order. Starting now.
It just lets Blizzard get that percentage rather than an outside company. And why shouldn't they? These people are going to do it one way or another. Why not integrate it into the game?
The general argument is that then Blizzard has a conflict of interest: will future additions and changes to the game focus on increasing fun, or will they focus on increasing transaction profit?
It's easy for any person or organization to say "this is just something on the side and we will always focus on our core intent rather than generating extra profit". This is much harder to do in reality.
It's much easier to restrain oneself from entering a situation with a conflict of interest than getting involved and making questionable choices, perhaps without knowing you are making a tradeoff.
I was a hardcore D2 gamer, almost failed out of college because of that game, and I've been looking forward to D3 Very Much.
Maybe you are the one who needs to do the rethinking. D2 almost destroyed a very expensive education/life for you and you are looking forward to letting it try again with D3??
Why? This means that you are less likely to get ripped off since Blizzard will be running it versus the third party sites where you are most likely getting scammed from. Why would you think the second choice is better?
Frankly because I don't care if people doing an explicitly forbidden activity get ripped off.
Wrapping it into the game likely means that all the best items will get put in the cash auction house, and the in-game-gold AH will only have lesser items.
I'd love a separate server (cluster) for those who wanted to play in the real money economy.
"You worthless post!"
-Shakespeare, 2 Gentlemen of Verona, 1. 1. 147
***Whoosh*** that joke just flew over your head.
Because the guy who finds the BFG9000 he doesn't need/want is ALWAYS going to put it on the cash market, not the in-game one.
"You worthless post!"
-Shakespeare, 2 Gentlemen of Verona, 1. 1. 147
If you buy this game you are essentially going to work for Blizzard except you will be paying for the privilege. Blizzard is taking a cut of each auction when it is posted and again when it is sold (real money). So, you pay Blizzard to play the game (where you search for treasures) then you pay Blizzard (in real money) to trade/buy/sell these things you paid them for the opportunity to find. This is a digital diamond mine and you are a fucking slave.
Bitcoin?
Oh, don't get distracted by just this one piece of news when there's been so much more revealed!
Max 4 person multiplayer! Region locking for co-op games! No offline single player! No mod support what so ever!
Sure, this RMT auction house is the shitty icing on the shit cake, but lets not lose sight of the complete mess this game is going to be even without this feature.
Source: http://www.destructoid.com/preview-diablo-iii-beta-207543.phtml
I was a hardcore D2 gamer, almost failed out of college because of that game, and I've been looking forward to D3 Very Much.
But real money? No. I play games as an escape from thinking about things like my bank account.
I think it is because of D2 that you have to play games to not think about your bank account... maybe if you controlled your addiction you wouldn't be in that situation ;-) /sarcasm
I will admit that when I buy a game, I don't want to be repaying it over and over.
I understand paying for WoW, but with TF2 becoming a micro-transaction game where now servers can kick you if you don't own any hats to trade, then the game stops being fun.... I hope D3 doesn't become like this... requiring you to be part of something that has nothing to do with the gameplay...
Previewing comments are for sissies!
There's not even a release date yet and they're squabbling over how much to charge players for trading goods? Holy **** !!!
When the foot seeks the place of the head, the line is crossed. Know your place. Keep your place. Be a shoe.
I seem to recall one of the arguments against allowing RMT at all in the past was that if Blizzard acknowledged that in-game items had value then they could be held liable if there was a server issue that caused someone to lose their account. Was that just an excuse, or is Blizzard so confident in their servers that they don't think that will happen?
If there's a BFG9000 in Diablo 3 then Blizzard really did screw up the game.
Keep it up. Before the US dollar was the world's reserve, it was the British pound. Look how well that worked out for them. Currencies come, and currencies go. But actually paying for your imports for a change instead of just printing up money for them is going to be a real bitch for you. I can't wait to see how that works out.
Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
It's August 1st, not April 1st today. I know they both start with "A", but you really shouldn't post things that are so obviously untrue until April Fool's Day rolls around again, since it's just not funny. I mean, this is a joke, right?
No this isn't a black or gray market it is completely above the board so people could use real dollars.
Time to offend someone
Do you live under a rock? People have been doing this for years. Probably since the MUD days of yore.
This is fantastic. I personally LOVE how every WoW server's economy was total garbage, with huge variances in supply and demand, where low-level items are priceless and the highend stuff is vendor trash. I can't wait to see what happens when Blizzard applies real currency to their systems.
After all, you will be incurring real tangible monetary loss.
Mess up that pull? That will be $5 to cover my repair costs please.
This just went from the game I was most looking forward to, to now it being on my Do Not Buy list....
Is this different somehow than the EverQuest 2 Exchange servers? Other than the fact that it applies to all players and not just the ones who opted in?
Except it's not clear why you can't have the best of both worlds. Being perpetually connected and being able to download games with just a CD-Key are not mutually dependent.
Thunderclone: ONE MAN ENTERS! TWO MEN LEAVE! ONE MAN ENTERS! TWO MEN LEAVE!
Blizzard doesn't exist anymore, The conversion to a wholly owned Activison subsidiarity is now complete...
So I'm reading that there are three parts to what Blizzard revealed today.
1. D3 players must be always connected to the internet. I don't much care about this, as long as I can play single-player. All my Steam games are always connected already; I'm getting used to it. As long as I can have a game that outsiders cannot join and that is balanced for a single person, I don't care if my internet connection has to be on to play it. (Two years ago my answer would have been different, as I only had a flaky dialup connection, but they brought DSL out to my rural area so I'm good now.)
2. No mods. I understand the modding community was a big part of that game, but I wasn't into it very much. I played one mod: After I sucked all the enjoyment out of D2 that I could, I used a mod that gave me the ability to create max-level characters with perfect ability scores and infinite cash, just to wring a little more out of the game. I got bored of that mod in a week. I won't miss mods in D3.
3. The real money auction house. This is an add-on; there will still be an in-game gold auction house and market, just like in D2. So...I don't care. I can ignore it if I choose, as long as it's an addition to the game and not a replacement for one of the existing features. And if I want to sell some crap then I might have the option of selling it for real pennies instead of gold. I'll probably never take the option but I don't mind having it.
These announcements don't bother me at all. I can understand them bothering people with poor internet connections, or serious modders, or gold farmers. I don't fall into any of those categories, so it's a big yawn for me.
If anyone *is* bothered by the way D3 is shaping up, they may have an alternative -- the co-op enabled Torchlight 2. Since they now have competition I doubt that Blizzard will screw up D3 too badly. But if they do I'll yawn again and go play the competing product.
Genocide Man -- Life is funny. Death is funnier. Mass murder can be hilarious.
Um, WWII bitchslapped them? Right now there IS no other currency that would work as a reference currency. The Euro is in dire shit, and with the Yuan pegged to the dollar like a pinned butterfly it can't be used. That leaves the Yen, and the Japanese are leveraged out their ass worse than us.
I don't know about other people, but this really doesn't phase me at all for two primary reasons:
It existed in D2 as a very shady underground, much rather it was supported properly if I was ever to want to sell anything. But mainly, they have specifically stated it won't be active in Hardcore mode, and to be honest, that's the only mode that matters to me and my friends. We will rush the original game to completion in order to start the Hardcore characters (if it behaves like D2 did pre-expac/patches) and then play the REAL game where the challenge is. I still have active games of D2 now, and am looking forward to D3, nothing I have seen yet puts me off.
My singular gripe with it is 4 players max in co-op, that will mean my friends and I will have to run multiple games instead of playing all together like before, which is sad.
The real problem will be when people start ninja-looting items to sell off and you have to fill up your ban/ignore list with morons.
Every time I start to have faith in humanity, I ruin it by driving to work between 7 and 8 am.
I bought Diablo II and played it in single player and on a LAN exclusively.
My friends and I did the same, at least initially, but once I got onto Battle.net, I played online exclusively. The rest of them did the same once they got internet access at home.
One of them did something I thought very odd, though. He played on Battle.net, but only ever by himself. He didn't trade items, either. I couldn't fathom why anyone would do that, considering the palpable negative effects the added latency and the occasional full-on desync had on the game itself.
[nostalgia]
To this day, I really, really miss hacking that game. I hereby give a shout out to anyone who recognizes these names or hacks: Herzog Zwei, Thohell, Very_Superior (though a jerk he mostly was), BootyJu1ce, EvilCheese (very, very brilliant hacker), Oxide (who I was told was a twerp), the Chest Hack (0x44, how we hardly knew ye), "The Matrix" (and anyone who liked the Ith War Pike I made on USEast), and (quite possibly the funniest exploit ever) Imbue Scanning.
[/nostalgia]
That game made me loathe dialup internet.
Boot Windows, Linux, and ESX over the network for free.
I don't know what the case law on that is, but technically I think that would be considered bartering and as such taxable. You spent time accumulating the gold or items that you're then trading for some other items or gold.
don't underestimate the Chinese looking at the current debt crisis plays in the US and thinking "WTF, these clowns are controlling our interbank currency". I can imagine a lot of dollars will be sold off as the Chinese reduce their huge dependance on the dollars you sent them, I think they'll buy euros (they've already started) as its hardly more f**** up than the dollar.
Right now there IS no other currency that would work as a reference currency.
The Special Drawing Rights (XDR) has worked reasonably well as a reference currency for a long time now.
You know, they have these interesting organizational units called "departments" - usually people with specific skillsets are assigned to specific departments to work on specific things related to said skillsets.
I'm fairly certain the people "squabbling" over this are not the ones doing real important work, such as programming, art, testing or such.
The MBAs need something to do while the real work is happening, after all...
For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
At first I thought it was a bad move by Blizzard, but then I realized this is going to be good for the game.
Fact is, people are going to trade items for real money on eBay, doing this Blizzard removes much of the trouble one can get in and make a nice sanctioned way of dealing with those *I WANT* items.
I used to play D2 a lot and I won't be playing D3 - this has nothing to do with that though, rather I've grown up and found other fun things to do...
Can't you do that with Steam anyway, without the always-on bullshit?
Indeed, though all of Blizzard is absent from steam so it is not possible to play this game on steam in offline mode....
So I write code for Diablo 3. I find, while looking at the source code, an exploit. I give this information to my wife/child/best friend who then uses it to gain an advantage in gaining real cash. I don't fix it. I still do my job, I still fix every bug Q&A finds, I still give great input into the hard technical decisions. I just don't fix this one exploit I found. Even if I am caught the best they could claim is incompetence.
Evil, possibly, but I am a developer and an atheist. I offset my personal moral compass by knowing that they are underpaying me for my brilliance and contribution. The CTO has a yacht and a Ferrari for goodness sake.
The risk/reward relationship between getting fired and doing something unethical but monetarily beneficial will be more skewed toward unethical behavior because of this decision. They are now dealing with money and all the security concerns that come with it, whether they like it or admit it or not.
This is good! Looking forward to D3 even more. Since I was not looking forward to it much, now I am looking forward to it less but a bigger less that is closer to much. How much closer is yet to be revealed.
Just out of curiosity:
- If you play a game which has a significant component of chance (i.e. random drops) which can be directly turned into money, would that not be considered gambling?
If that is so, would it not be the case that by hosting Real Money Auctions Blizaard is in fact running an online gambling facility (a bit like a Poker site).
Should they not be taxed and regulated as such then?
He played on Battle.net, but only ever by himself. He didn't trade items, either. I couldn't fathom why anyone would do that, considering the palpable negative effects the added latency and the occasional full-on desync had on the game itself.
Perhaps to only level up a character once? If he changed his mind about multiplayer he would be ready. Single player characters could not be transferred to Battle.net, at least last time I played.
There is also the possibility of using Battle.net to store his character. If he played from multiple computers this could be convenient.
If items are worth actual money, will Blizzard be liable if you through a bug lose your item?
If you have bought an item and someone in some way steals from you, will you get your money back?
Seems a bit risky.
The MBAs need something to do while the real work is happening, after all...
They do? That'd make a first! MBA == Master of Bugger All. Which, I'll admit, they're often very good at doing.
There are, of course, exceptions, but those are the guys who were businessmen before they got the MBA, and just needed it to tick an HR tickbox
.
Us pirates will have the drm cracked, which due to beta it probably already is. And again a company forces people to go pirate to play a game normally.
Any company that requires persistent connection online will never see a penny from me, It's off to http://demonoid.me/ or http://www.kat.ph/ to pick up my copy when it releases.
Eventually I hope game companies get the fucking clue and realize they make more money when they stop with the draconian drm's (see Amnesia for great sales and no drm or X3 series with no drm, heck the company that owns X3 even released their own no cd patch)
That's only a benefit if you make a habit of loosing CDs, which I don't.
Lack of LAN play is especially idiotic in today's market, as more and more families find themselves with multiple computers under one roof. Your argument would have made sense ten years ago when only geeks had more than one PC in the house. There are still [i]plenty[/i] of people that simply do not have a good enough connection available in their area to support online multiplayer. LAN is better in all circumstances, but it's sometimes absolutely required.
I'd really like to see Diablo get "spawn installs" again as well, so I don't have to buy four copies of the game so that the family can play together. We didn't need to purchase four copies of Mario Kart to all enjoy that one together, after all.
"He who can destroy a thing, controls a thing." --Paul Atreides, Dune
That post is best read in an Emperor Palpatine voice.
The enemies of Democracy are
Except that it's now given away completely free with loads more features, that you can buy, but don't have to buy because you can earn. And no funky always on requirements or strange DRM, especially given that TF came out of a completely user community generated mod of Quake...
See, Valve is just like... wait, wait a minute... they're nothing alike!
I8-D
Am I the only one that sees this?
Blizzard is allowing real-money auctions. Requiring an online connection is a check against cheating to create a flood of premium items for sale, as the transferable items will have Blizz-generated GUIDs and the ability to track whether they were legitimately obtained.
The policy exists because so many people are dishonest to the core (don't believe me? Check the responses elsewhere in this article where people announce their intent to scam, hack, and pirate). It's not anti-piracy, it's anti-fraud. If you don't like it, take it out on the cheaters and scammers who are trying to take your money. I suggest breaking fingers.
Everybody gets what the majority deserves.
vote with your wallet.
How is this different then D2? No one was ever selling enigmas for gold. You had to trade up some value ladder like pgems->low-runes=sets/uniques->mid/hi runes=endgame gear. Why not just replace that value ladder with an arbitrary currency, which in this case happens to be dollars. (or your local currency)
no, no, no. There's [Andariel, Duriel, + the other 5] -> [Diablo, Mephisto & Baal] -> IRS
FGD 135
blizzard, permanent network connection needed ? That's a deal breaker.
Yes, I'm left. You have a problem with that?
It's the sound of account hackers drooling at the notion of hacking into an account and selling off items for dollars without having to deal with a third party.
The persistent internet connection seems to work for SC2, unless you want to play only offline which is single player mode only. There seems to be quite an industry around SC2 competitions and multiplayer...
I am done. This just sealed my decision to quit. Its been clear that they were going down a bad road when blizzard decided their best pieces of art would be purchase only, (disco lion) and its come time to look for greener pastures. I want to spend my time playing a game designed to be fun rather than a game designed to maximize micro-transactions.
This isn't going to stop piracy of the game, as someone who was only interested in the single player experience this just went from my must buy list to the must bootleg list. I encourage anyone who disagrees with these methods to vote with your wallets and don't give them a cent. Like another poster mentioned, buy Torchlight 2 instead. You'll be supporting the original Diablo devs that way anyway.
Hasn't Blizzard made enough money from their cash cow MMO to not need to load down their other games with moneymaking scams and DRM? They're turning into Zynga for crying out loud.
"There'll be a listing fee and a sales fee for auctions, and while they're not talking dollar numbers just yet, Blizzard assures gamers that they're not looking to pinch pennies."
This is the same company that sells a World of Warcraft mount for a whopping $25, more than the entire monthly subscription fee.
when you can pinch whole dollars?
Where real money is involved, the only way to win is not to play.
It's not a joke, it's a horror story. (The U.S. economy, that is.)
Cataclysm is great. What are you on about?
Well, geeks and soldiers deployed overseas who don't have a constant internet connection. Remember guys, Blizzard hates the troops!
Random Thoughts From A Diseased Mind (Not For Dummies)
Just think of it. If drops can be so rare and valuable that they may become monetized within the game, you can't leave drop rate to random chance. So I'm assuming that such drops will be controlled by a weekly budget. If not regulated in such a manner it's just a matter of time until the economy comes crashing down. This leaves me worried that the gaming experience will be suffering. Shit drops? Gee whiz, you'll have to wait till Wednesday night for reset! :P
It makes me sad. I really enjoyed both previous games, and replaying them whenever I want is a pretty big issue for me.
Truth is a matter of perspective. Wear the other guy's shoes before you dismiss him.
I'm *only* interested in single-player and LAN play for D3. I have absolute zero interest in playing any game online with strangers. These announcements are throwing me very strongly from my original plan to purchase two copies of D3 - yes, purchase, at retail - and the player's guide, immediately upon release. Now I'm thinking I would be much, much better off to wait a few weeks (days? hours?) and download the cracked-for-offline-play version, or just not bothering at all. Blizzard is going from getting around $150 from me upon D3's release to getting a goose egg.
The killers here are the lack of LAN play, the 10-character limit (which is absolutely mindblowing - can I at least delete them and rotate, or do Activision's beancounters expect me to buy another copy of D3 if I want to replay with different skill builds for an 11th time?), and the always-connected requirement. None of those are acceptable. They aren't even up for discussion for me.
I don't care at all about the auction house, because I don't play online, so I'm not concerned with keeping up with the latest 'leet loot all the twelve-year-olds have. See how it all comes in a circle?
Blizzard, it's not too late. One of your own VPs is explicitly telling me not to buy this game. "I want to play Diablo 3 on my laptop in a plane, but, well, there are other games to play for times like that", indeed. There are lots of other games. I wanted to play this one, but you don't want me (or anyone else in my family - I'm the head of a household full of game geeks) to do so.
-Zirbert
Torchlight 2 just became a lot more interesting. I loved D1, skipped D2, was looking forward to D3. But this constant connection requirement for single player just needs to go away. I'll never buy a game with that sort of DRM. Luckily, there are literally tens of thousands of games to choose from that do not require an always-on internet connection whenever I want to play.
Blizzard will still sell truckloads, of course. Plenty of people don't care.
Well another 2 reasons, to go with their leading free to play competitor
...so you mean i can profit with /real/ money off the laziness of other players now? Count me in.
What do I know, I'm just an idiot, right?
Seems like the perfect way to encourage gold farmers/scammers/dupers/etc that generally plague MMOs (and Diablo II) to really crack down and focus on Diablo III. Seems like a really bad idea to me - Blizzard won't make enough money selling 3 million copies at $60 a pop? (Plus expansions).
If my past 5 years of playing WoW have taught me anything, it's that Blizzard is all too eager to cave to customer demands. It will only take a small percentage of customers dissenting to get both of these (shitty shitty shitty) ideas scrapped.
I'm all too happy to pay Blizzard $15 a month for WoW, as I feel it offers me good value. I would be all too happy to pay for D3 when it launches too, because I trust that it will be a good game. However if they do happen to keep the persistent connection bullshit intact, I will be all too happy to find one of those nifty offline cracks that emulates a BNet server on my local machine so I can play the game I legally acquired on my terms, not theirs.
Cool post bro, highfive \o
I decided not to buy D3 a long time ago. At this point I'm just having fun watching them come up with even more reasons to keep me away.