{"id":57867,"date":"2013-08-31T23:33:48","date_gmt":"2013-08-31T21:33:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/?p=57867"},"modified":"2013-08-31T23:37:39","modified_gmt":"2013-08-31T21:37:39","slug":"diablo-3-pc-to-console-conversion-challenges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/business\/57867-diablo-3-pc-to-console-conversion-challenges","title":{"rendered":"Diablo 3 PC-to-console conversion challenges"},"content":{"rendered":"

Diablo 3 has been making waves on the PC platform for over a year now, and now the dungeon-crawling action-RPG is making its way to Xbox 360 and PS3 on 3 September 2013.<\/p>\n

Blizzard has opened up about the choice to bring the game to consoles, as well as the changes and sacrifices.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile we always thought that Diablo III on the console was something that would be a lot of fun, our development team was completely focused on the PC version of the game from the very beginning.\u00a0We only really started working on a console version around the end of 2011 when we brought in additional developers to focus on the project,\u201d said Diablo 3 Lead Software Engineer, Norbert Szabo.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve taken the time to make sure that the game feels great with the controller and that we\u2019d be delivering a Blizzard-quality experience to the console audience.\u201d<\/p>\n

Szabo elaborated on the specific changes to the console versions, explaining that the game was reworked to cater for controllers and a different audience.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen our console designers came up with new features for the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of the game, we had to take a big picture look at the change and decide whether it would be a good fit for the PC audience, with each addition being decided upon on a case-by-case basis.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe right stick dodge move and the new console UI, are specifically designed around usability for a player with a controller in hand.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Diablo<\/a>

Diablo 3 console UI<\/p><\/div>\n

When asked if the PC version would ever get gamepad support, Szabo said it\u2019s not impossible, but doesn\u2019t want to give PC gamers too much hope.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u00a0would never rule it out, but this is not something we are actively working on. The PC version was designed with a mouse and keyboard in mind, in ways that go beyond just the interface.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe \u2018feel\u2019 of combat in Diablo III is so crucial to the experience that we aren\u2019t willing to compromise it just to tack another feature as a bullet on the back of the box. If players would prefer to enjoy Diablo III with a controller, then we\u2019re confident that they\u2019ll love either console version.\u201d<\/p>\n

Regarding the lack of always-online requirements and the real-money auction house on consoles, Szabo explained that it was a necessary sacrifice.<\/p>\n

\u201cA high percentage of consoles are not connected to the Internet, which is not the case with gaming PCs, so offline play is a necessity for the console version in order to ensure the game is accessible to a wide audience.\u201d<\/p>\n