Hahaha. Yeah, I had to turn the volume on that clip down a lot when I was mixing it.

You have a really steady hand. Nerves of steel!

It got me too. My cat ran out of the room like the dickens!

Thanks. I had to operate the camera and conduct the interview by myself since Sebastian couldn't be there for this appointment, so I was a little scattered.

Ah, you did fine. Questions were good, responses were interesting...good job. Very professional.

:-)

Serious. Plus, what about people who still use a dial-up connection? I wonder if it would be fast enough for them to play.

Haha...dial-up. No one uses that anymore! Next you're gonna tell me people still use public transportation.

"The tangential effects of this decision means that we, as consumers, have less ownership of the product."

That's the part that still get's me, too.

And this means that if Blizzard ever decides to retire the servers handling the game, no one gets to play Diablo 3 ever again.

but considering how less frequently they release new games and the fact that just last year they released a new patch for 2000's Diablo 2, I think that means they'll be supporting it for quite a while. It's problematic to think of other companies who follow suit, but then are less successful and supportive.

Yeah, that's true. But what about in 20 years? 30? We do risk losing the ability to maintain the mere existence of games with these requirements in the long-term. 

Also keep in mind that Battle.net no longer supports the original Diablo, the game that launched the service. Blizzard's not above dropping titles (even if that's so far been way in the future).

good points. I think this is  a fascinating topic to explore. Consider how the online landscape has changed since 1996 (when D1 came out) and how it might have been hard to predict we would end up here and ensure the game would still be compatible. If it's a consolation, D1 supports LANs, doesn't it? D3 doesn't, but I would hope that they're going to support it as long as people are playing it, which may be indefinitely. Online gaming is still quite young. Funny note, my Mac doesn't even play D1 because it requires the older operating system and Blizzard never bothered to officially patch that. I EVEN HAVE THE DISC FOR IT!

good points. I think this is  a fascinating topic to explore. Consider how the online landscape has changed since 1996 (when D1 came out) and how it might have been hard to predict we would end up here and ensure the game would still be compatible. If it's a consolation, D1 supports LANs, doesn't it? D3 doesn't, but I would hope that they're going to support it as long as people are playing it, which may be indefinitely. Online gaming is still quite young. Funny note, my Mac doesn't even play D1 because it requires the older operating system and Blizzard never bothered to officially patch that. I EVEN HAVE THE DISC FOR IT!

These are good points. I was playing Diablo 2 as late as last year....

Good points. Though I'm also uncomfortable with the always-on requirement which can limits play time as Rob described, I can understand why they want it as part of an anti-cheating measure. I remember people tossing around Archangel staves crammed with charges as if they were lint all the way back in Diablo 1. It just got out of hand. Still, it's hard not to think of this as a bit of overkill.

As far as support goes, though, I'm a bit more optimistic. ActiBlizz could patch out the requirement for always-on allowing players to at least enjoy the game in some capacity despite what happens on their end.

3D Realms stepped up to offer Prey customers who had purchased the game as a digital download from Triton a boxed copy when that service went under a few years ago. I'd like to still think that ActiBlizz would also do the right thing if they're ever faced with the same decision.

I forward your question to Mr. Bridenbecker, and I'll let you know if and when he responds.