Diablo 3's Player Count Dives By 65% According To Gametrics

[DainBramaged]

There have been rumors that Diablo III's headcount has been shrinking...that in-game players are slowly and surely dropping out of the game and not coming back. First, Battle.net forum goers reported that public game counts seemed to be dwindling and that it was harder and harder to find a public game to join. Fans brushed it off.

After the forum rumors there were reports about Diablo III's player base diving based on a snapshot from Xfire, but most gamers didn't take the stats seriously since it was Xfire. After that, Xfire released official chart data based on rough data sampling and comparison statistics clearly showing that the player base was indeed dropping off rapidly. Fanatics continued to brush it off.

After forum goers raised suspicions about dwindling player numbers and Xfire released stats showing a decrease in player usage, a third source has jumped into the picture affirming that the player base is indeed dropping off fast.

Korea Times is reporting that research firm Gametrics has seen a massive drop-off from Diablo III's player base, with the game only occupying 13.39% of the usage at internet cafes, effectively moving Blizzard's game in third place behind Riot Games' League of Legends and NCSoft's Blade & Soul.

http://www.cinemablend.com/games/Diablo-3-Player-Count-Dives-By-65-According-Gametrics-44420.html

[LynneSin]

1. I haven't played as much. The game is good and the storyline was decent but I've played it

and now I'm done.

How many more times can I hear the same storyline again.

I think the problem is they lost the big MF runs, those were the reason I would play D2 for ages. We'd get a group of 8 people to all do a Cow Rush or Meph run and we would do it over and over again. I remember the first area of Act 5 was a huge MF run. We would run that sequence over and over and over and over again in hell and each one would be filled with 8 people per group.

There just isn't any MF (Magic Find) run that you can sequence over and over again. And Whismyfaire, although adorable and funny in nature, doesn't provide the drops the way that the Cow run would do.

And honestly, I think what hurts the most is that there isn't that one elusive item that everyone wants to find. In D2, having Stone of Jordan rings (or SOJ) was like having gold in your pocket. People didn't want cash when they swapped equipment but wanted payment in SOJ. Sure it setup a big blackmarket in duped items but for those of us who played legal it was something to strive for. I think they have SoJ in D3 but they haven't become legendary like they were in D2.

Honestly the first thing that Blizzard needs to do if they want to bring back the players is to increase the number of people per room. THat's just my 2 cents.

[DainBramaged]

2. I loved those runs, lived for them on the weekend. And SOJ's yes, I had DOZENS. D3, stone of shit

I used to play with my kid too. She watched me play and immediately said 'Dad this sucks, is this it?" I ran the entire act one Normal in under three hours for her and she decided not to get it. And all we wanted to do was play together again.


Even my sweetie who is an avid WOW player has given up in act one at level 16. She's bored. Not one rare drop. And that was the point of the first game. The drops.


Blizzard sucheth. They made a cash grab, and they'll pay for it when the game becomes an orphan on the shelves.


be well.

[LynneSin]

3. But that gives them an excuse for expansion packs

Blizzard has the potential to make a ton of money off that auction house since they take in 15% from each sale you make whether it's gold or dollars. So if I was the powers-to-be at Blizzard I would find out why people are abandoning the game and get an expansion pack out almost immediately.

[Angleae]

4. You might see an expansion a year from now if you're lucky.

Starcraft II was released 2 years ago and its first expansion still isn't out.

[LynneSin]

7. Yes but they don't have the built in money maker like they do with the Auction House

When that money starts to dwindle they'll put out an expansion.

[Aerows]

6. People are leaving because Blizzard

has manipulated the hell out of drop rates - drops that are necessary in Inferno - so that you basically have to use the AH. I've ran Inferno Act 1 and some of 2 in public games, but people are pretty disgusted with it at this point.

This isn't like WoW raiding hard where you can get through it with coordination, this is arbitrary and it is so random on whether or not you can survive a particular area that you can't even really strategize beyond "buy things in the AH". If I wanted to buy my way to uber, there are any number of "free to play, buy to win" games I could be playing, and they have more substance.

And let's be honest. Does anyone want to run Act 4 for any other reason but to say they completed it on that level? Once was plenty. I felt like I was running around in an unfinished Dalaran (WoW main city) with enemies populating it - I can't believe no one has pointed out yet that the graphics are basically a rip off of there. Dalaran with enemies might have actually been interesting if they were even as interesting as the daily quests that any old joe could complete if it was finished.

Terr-roar? My god. Can I defeat my own need to

Twice was plenty. The third time (Hell) was simple and more than enough of that voice over.

[LynneSin]

8. Honestly - I can't get past the first scene in act 2 in inferno with my Barb.

I was reading the guide and some of the critters in inferno - these are non-elites and they have a damage range around 50-60k.

[Aerows]

11. I can manage a bit with my Monk

Provided that I have dps as back up. I played with 3 wizards and me tanking and we were doing pretty well, but a lot of people have just given up. I log in on occasion to see if I can sell some things and to see if anything has improved, but now there is a stealth nerf to resistances and I can't get very far into Act 1 now since 1.03b, where as before I could.

[Aerows]

5. Why play?

So you can run Acts 1 and 2 for months in Inferno? I've moved to Path of Exile which is still in closed beta, again, and I've been playing it since January. Far better game, and with the next patch will have a new feature of maps at 60+. They are found randomly, and have another currency item that can upgrade them (make them drop more loot so you hold on to them until you upgrade them, or use them immediately, but they can only be used once).

Diablo 3 just isn't fun. They messed with it to see how much money they could leech out of the community without being direct about it. They took a game that we've all been wanting for 12 years, perfected it about 2 years ago, then screwed with it so much in the last 2 years that it is no surprise it's a complete mess.

[DainBramaged]

9. i AGREE, NOW i MUST JOIN THAT BETA i MUST

[Aerows]

10. Do you need a closed beta key?

I have an extra if you need it. Shoot me a PM if so.