Image Credit: Disney
Forgot password
Enter the email address you used when you joined and we'll send you instructions to reset your password.
If you used Apple or Google to create your account, this process will create a password for your existing account.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Reset password instructions sent. If you have an account with us, you will receive an email within a few minutes.
Something went wrong. Try again or contact support if the problem persists.

Diablo 3 “Not Played Right If It’s Not Online”

PC Gamer got a chance to ask Diablo 3's Director, Jay Wilson, about the controversial need for an always-on internet connection in order to play the game. His remarks are likely to make sense to people for whom this was not an issue and are likely to anger those who are being locked out.
This article is over 13 years old and may contain outdated information

Recommended Videos

PC Gamer got a chance to ask Diablo 3‘s director, Jay Wilson, about the controversial need for an always-on internet connection in order to play the game. His remarks are likely to make sense to people for whom this was not an issue and are likely to anger those who are being locked out.

On including an offline mode:

“There’s two basic problems with us doing that,” said Wilson. “One is players default immediately to that. So, they basically unintentionally opt out of all the cooperative experience, all the trading experience, and the core of Diablo is a circle-trading game. So for us we’ve always viewed it as an online game – the game’s not really being played right if it’s not online, so when we have that specific question of why are we allowing it? Because that’s the best experience, why would you want it any other way?”

The second problem? You guessed it, it’s a issue of piracy.

“If we allow an Offline mode, it changes the structure of the data that we have to put on the user’s system. Essentially we would have to put our server architecture onto the client so that it can run its own personal server. Doing that essentially is one of the reasons why Diablo 2 was a much easier game to hack than obviously any other game you’d mention and so it’s what led to extensive cheating and item dupes and things like that.”

But what do you do if you don’t have an always-on connection?

“…In this day and age the notion that there’s this a whole vast majority of players out there that don’t have online connectivity – this doesn’t really fly any more.

“I mean, at our hotel, there’s nine wi-fi networks that I can access. Just from the hotel! And they’re all public – they’re all paid – but they’re pretty cheap, and they’re all publicly available. So the notion that there’s just tons and tons of people out there that aren’t connected – isn’t… I don’t think is really accurate.”

I strongly suggest you click over to PC Gamer via the link above and read over the entire article, because it’s a fascinating interview. You really get a sense of the attitude that the Diablo 3 team are trying to put across on this issue. It’s not an attitude that is likely to impress anybody.

There’s always the console version, folks!


We Got This Covered is supported by our audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn a small affiliate commission. Learn more about our Affiliate Policy
Author
Image of Mat Growcott
Mat Growcott
With over a decade's worth of writing experience, Mat Growcott began leaning against walls whilst wearing sunglasses in an attempt to look young and attractive. It didn't work. Highlights of Mat's career include being ignored by the BBC and laughing loudly at Peter Molyneux's jokes at Eurogamer.