Oh Blizzard. You love to tease us. The developer’s upcoming PC RPG Diablo 3 has been a hotly anticipated since before it was even announced, thanks to the popularity that its two predecessors enjoyed and still do enjoy, albeit with a much smaller audience now. The third game in the series is meant to win back fans of the previous game, which is now more than 10 years old. Consoles have become a much bigger deal in the time since Diablo 2, and Blizzard continues to tease its fans about the possibility of the Diablo console release without actually confirming anything.
Game director Jay Wilson took to the stage at BlizzCon yesterday to field questions from the gathered fans about the upcoming game. He refused to confirm anything relating to a console-specific version, but he did admit that a team exists at the company which is focused on developing console-style controls.
“The movement actually feels better on the controller,” Wilson told BlizzCon attendees in his main stage appearance (via Joystiq. “Targeting is the issue.” The team is trying to figure out a solution that does not involve using a targeting reticule, but it’s a challenge with such a mouse pointer-friendly game.
Wilson also admitted that “monster distribution and AI also feels a little bit different than it does on the PC version,” which actually seems to suggest that actual work has been put in on a console-based build of the game. Perhaps he just means that the feel is different when using a controller, but Diablo fans need to hold tightly to any bone they are thrown.
The big stumbling point for Blizzard now is figuring out if a console version can work. Wilson admitted that there’s a hesitance to announce anything “because we don’t want to announce something until we’re sure.” Hopefully Wilson and his team will be sure soon.
