Diablo 3 coming to PS3, PS4 with four-player co-op

Chris Metzen of Blizzard Entertainment was a surprise guest on the PlayStation 4 stage tonight, revealing a strategic partnership with Sony to bring Diablo 3 to the The PS3 and the new next-gen console.

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Chris Metzen of Blizzard Entertainment was a surprise guest on the PlayStation 4 stage tonight, revealing a strategic partnership with Sony to bring Diablo 3 to the the PS3 and the next-gen console.

Metzen said Blizzard had its roots in console with Lost Vikings and Rock n' Roll Racing, and it had "a deep desire to get back into the mix." After much discussion on which title could make the jump, it was decided it would be the company's latest action-RPG.

The company has said it has been working with a console port, and Metzen mentioned that the inventory interface and control over the avatar were already working on the PlayStation 3. He also talked briefly about four-player co-op mode in full screen with "one couch to rule them all."

No mention was made that this was exclusive for PlayStation 4, so it is possible that Blizzard could bring the game to other consoles as well. More details on the game will be coming PAX East in mid-March.

Contributing Editor
From The Chatty
  • reply
    February 20, 2013 5:15 PM

    John Keefer posted a new article, Diablo 3 coming to PS3, PS4 with four-player co-op.

    Chris Metzen of Blizzard Entertainment was a surprise guest on the PlayStation 4 stage tonight, revealing a strategic partnership with Sony to bring Diablo 3 to the The PS3 and the new next-gen console.

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      February 20, 2013 5:20 PM

      Anyone else burned out on Diablo 3?

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      February 20, 2013 5:41 PM

      non-PC gamers won't be. A whole new world.

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        February 20, 2013 6:13 PM

        population disappointed

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        February 20, 2013 6:28 PM

        I'm fine with that as long as you don't burst into song and (interpretive) dance....

        A WHOLE NEW WOOOOOOORLD.....

        just keep that genie in your pants ;P

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        February 20, 2013 6:37 PM

        4 player couch co-op sounded kind of cool but i don't think i'd drop 60 bucks to play that again in any form.

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      February 20, 2013 6:20 PM

      I read that as a "tragic partnership".

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      February 20, 2013 6:37 PM

      Seems like the only big or shocking news from this event. Everything else didn't seem terribly exciting.

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        February 20, 2013 8:07 PM

        Revealing D3 on a console was pretty underwhelming for me. Blizzard had already come out saying they've been working on a console version. All this was was giving a platform for release. Meh...

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      February 20, 2013 6:43 PM

      I wonder if they are still going to use a Real-Money Auction House.

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        February 20, 2013 6:47 PM

        Why not, when there already is a Playstation Store where you will no doubt be able to buy Blizzard Bucks?

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      February 20, 2013 7:39 PM

      The kids will love it. It was written for them.

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        February 20, 2013 8:07 PM

        [deleted]

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          February 20, 2013 8:26 PM

          Warcraft is no better. The whole thing has turned into a fluffy fairy fart world. And all across the board, Blizzard don't have a clue about quality storytelling. All their IPs just keep getting cartoonier and more immature.

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            February 20, 2013 9:14 PM

            Warcraft 2 had a pretty decent story, especially the expansion for it. War3 story and beyond was shit. Basically every story they've told since War3 has been terrible. It's sad, with all their success, they could definitely afford some quality writers. Hell, they probably have quality writers, just that the guys in charge are clueless as to quality stories.

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              February 20, 2013 9:16 PM

              Warcraft 3's story might be silly fantasy schlock like War 3 but it's told exceptionally well. It's Blizzards best game from a single player perspective bar none.

              I'm replying to a frontpager aren't I?

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                February 20, 2013 9:44 PM

                I was surprised to see you here, it's like finding someone you know at a local game hobby shop!

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                February 21, 2013 4:43 AM

                I'm not a frontpager, though I'm obviously not as prolific a poster as you are. I enjoyed War3 for its multiplayer, but found the entire story of Arthas to be fairly bad. There were several instances where the story seemed like it had potential, especially with Illidan(sp?), but they always managed to disappoint.

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                February 21, 2013 6:38 AM

                Man I love the War3 Orc Campaign story. One of my favorite.

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                  February 21, 2013 8:51 AM

                  How did you feel about the Human, Undead, and Night elf campaigns? The Orc one was decent. I wouldn't mind that sort of middling quality, but I really feel that the others were substandard. Keep in mind that my criticism comes from how jarring it is to really enjoy a game for its gameplay, but find it missing greatness through seemingly obvious flaws.

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                    February 21, 2013 9:23 AM

                    They are all amazing.

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                      February 21, 2013 9:33 AM

                      Woah, I can easily accept someone disagreeing with me when it comes to categorizing the story in War3 as terrible or just plain bad, but for you to go the polar opposite and believe them to be amazing seems impossible to believe. I would say that ME1 has a very good to amazing story. And yes, I believe as a format that good story telling can be compared across video games. The age or youth of the target audience doesn't preclude good story telling ala Toy Story vs Pulp Fiction. I feel that there is a large subset of gamers that feel that video games can be judged on much lower scale when it comes to story, and that anything approaching decent is "good enough for a video game." I disagree with that and believe that story telling should be an important focus and not just an afterthought.

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                        February 21, 2013 1:02 PM

                        Look the story itself is rubbish, I don't even like fantasy - but the production, the choice of music, the camera angles, the quantity of CGI, in-engine and in GAMEplay cutscenes made it feel like an RPG / Adventure / RTS - (no, not just the Orc campaign) - that continual story progression throughout was brilliant.

                        Starcraft 2 completely lacked that, you had about 4 missions with 'heroes' and it sucked. Yes heroes may not be right for MP or Starcraft but for the single player campaign it made bonding with the dopey, fantasy characters of War 3 easier.

                        Bad story, told exceptionally well. Good voice actors didn't hurt either.

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              February 20, 2013 9:41 PM

              The guy in charge, Chris Metzen, has had his hand in the all their franchises since the "good old days."

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                February 21, 2013 3:00 AM

                How much influence did Bill Roper have over the story?

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                  February 21, 2013 7:28 AM

                  He's also credited for script & story in D1, only Metzen is for D2, WC2.

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            February 21, 2013 12:27 AM

            i liked the Pandaria writing

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            February 21, 2013 5:27 AM

            Or you're getting older, more mature, wiser and grumpier

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            February 21, 2013 9:18 AM

            It's not like the Pandaren or Pandaria are new though, they've always been part of the lore. Choosing to emphasize that part may have been a odd choice but honestly it's been one of the better expansions, especially for those of us who can't play 12 hours a day like we used to.

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              February 21, 2013 9:49 AM

              If you look at Warcraft lore, there has been an explosion of alterations. In War2, there weren't any Night Elves in existence. "High" Elves were the traditional type that were especially good with bows, arrows, and communing with nature. The magic users were actually human wizards. There were no Pandas, Taurens, etc.

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          February 21, 2013 12:52 AM

          They've always been bad and now they are still bad. The difference is players have higher expectations for storytelling than they did ten years ago.

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            February 21, 2013 12:54 AM

            I think the real problem is the amount of story they force-feed you in recent games. the storytelling quality has remained about the same, but it's shoved in your face at every opportunity.

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              February 21, 2013 1:28 AM

              Kids these days like cutscenes and spectacle.

              I think it's all fine. The gameplay is as good or better than ever. Anyone playing Blizzard games for story needs to reevaluate their thinking.

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                February 21, 2013 7:32 AM

                I don't agree with that, I always enjoyed the lore in Blizzard games (the manuals). I'm sure I'm not alone?

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                  February 21, 2013 8:54 AM

                  I devoured the manuals. I thought they were epic. I was pretty young at the time though.

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                    February 21, 2013 9:06 AM

                    Yeah, that stuff was just as dumb then as it is now. But we were young then, and it seemed awesome.

                    I assure, it was not all that awesome.

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              February 21, 2013 7:30 AM

              Sometimes less is more. In the older games the story wasn't as fleshed out and so there was less to critique.

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          February 21, 2013 1:54 AM

          [deleted]

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          February 21, 2013 6:40 AM

          Starcraft 2's story wasnt my favorite I hope they can bring it back a bit in HoTS. I want an evil kerrigan and if she doesnt show that she's just evil at her core I'll be disappointed.

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          February 21, 2013 7:22 AM

          You got older

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      February 20, 2013 8:17 PM

      They need to make it so you can register your ps3 copy of d3 and download it to ps4 when you upgrade.

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      February 20, 2013 9:43 PM

      Wait for it...
      As part of Blizzard's ongoing relationship with Sony we'd like to announce Diablo 4 console exclusive coming to Playstation 6!

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      February 21, 2013 2:31 AM

      I thought the new controls might fix the Diablo series (i..e make them more action oriented, and give you more control, depth and hopefully, challenge), but then one of the things they very proudly mentioned is how Diablo has never been easier and how it's the easiest Diablo yet. Easy to pick is good, but games get boring if they lack depth. Games need to be hard to master, and Diablo 3 totally misses the mark there. It's as though you're playing a really, really simple flash game in a browser, as far as the controls and game mechanics are concerned.

      Sure there are some decent graphics and production values, but the gameplay was boring as shit in the end. Loot is only meaningful if there's a fun game to use your loot in. And speaking of graphics, the engine was good, and you could tell they put a ton of effort and detail into everything, yet the art is not particularly interesting, or at least it's hard to appreciate from the isometric view.

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        February 21, 2013 2:39 AM

        [deleted]

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          February 21, 2013 6:21 AM

          The controller version of Torchlight on XBLA was awesome. So were the other Diablo-like games, BG: Dark Alliance, Champions of Norrath, etc. Honestly I prefer direct control like that.

          I don't understand all the negativity surrounding this announcement. 4-player couch co-op D3 with proper controller support is going to be awesome.

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      February 21, 2013 5:12 AM

      Does this tie into your battle.net account at all? Can I play cross platform or import chars from my pc version?

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        February 21, 2013 9:08 AM

        Doubtful, there's going to be offline play on PS3/PS4 so expect duped/hacked characters.

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          February 21, 2013 9:09 AM

          er, duped/hacked items. You can't have cross-pollination of the economy.

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      February 21, 2013 5:18 AM

      I considered this part the second biggest let down after the Square Enix portion.
      Was really hoping for new IP, or Starcraft Ghost.

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      February 21, 2013 6:27 AM

      *yawn*

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      February 21, 2013 6:37 AM

      I just beat nightmare last night and am still loving D3 (got it in December) but I have no interest in playing it on the PS3 instead of PC. That said maybe they can bring some console only folk into it. I wonder if we will all be on the same B.net? i'd guess not, but it'd be kinda cool

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      February 21, 2013 9:08 AM

      [deleted]

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      February 21, 2013 9:09 AM

      At this point, how many console gamers who don't have a pc will buy Diablo 3 a year later? Enough to port it to two relatively same consoles. Such an odd decision. Maybe this is Sony trying to get Blizzard in bed with them so they release Titan on PS4.

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      February 21, 2013 9:10 AM

      [deleted]

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        February 21, 2013 9:35 AM

        Please, Titan will get announced at Blizzcon in November.

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