Phase to Ground

Apparently there are a bunch of nerds people that are pissed off over the proposed look and feel of Blizzard’s Diablo 3, enough to make a petition to change it.  According to the petition, the screenshots have looked too cartoony and there isn’t enough use of the shadows that gave the first 2 games in the Diablo series a distinctive gothic feel.

This just goes to show that people will complain about anything. This is Blizzard’s game, I think they know what they’re doing with the design of the game, and just because you don’t like it.  I understand the complaint that they are fundamentally changing the Diablo universe by making it too “cartoony”, but if the people at Blizzard feel like taking their game in a new artistic direction, it’s their prerogative to do so.  They’ve only successfully launched the most successful MMO in history, so they obviously don’t know what they’re doing.

The funny part is that 80% of the people who signed this petition will still be lined up outside their local GameStop on release day to pick up their reserved copy, while the other 20% will protest on principle, only to buy their copies 2 weeks later after hearing their friends talk about how great it is. (This assumes the gameplay is good of course).

Let me know what you think, should a video game company tailor their games to suit their “hardcore” fans, or make a game that appeals to a broader audience?