# Blizzard Presents Diablo III



## btarunr (Jun 28, 2008)

Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. today revealed Diablo III, the newest entry in its critically acclaimed action role-playing-game franchise. The announcement was made during the 2008 Blizzard Entertainment Worldwide Invitational at the Porte de Versailles Convention Centre in Paris, France. A cinematic trailer and an extended gameplay demonstration with commentary from the development team introduced the game to the thousands of players in attendance.

"We've wanted to expand on the epic story and gameplay elements of the Diablo universe for some time now," stated Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. "We know that players have also been long awaiting a return to the series, so we're very excited to be sharing this announcement with Blizzard gamers here in Paris and around the world today."

Diablo III will pick up the story twenty years after the events of Diablo II. Mephisto, Diablo, and Baal have been defeated, but the Worldstone, which once shielded the inhabitants of the world of Sanctuary from the forces of both the High Heavens and the Burning Hells, has been destroyed, and evil once again stirs in Tristram. Playing as a hero from one of five distinct character classes, players will acquire powerful items, spells, and abilities as they explore new and familiar areas of Sanctuary and battle hordes of demons to safeguard the world from the horrors that have arisen. The first two characters classes -- the barbarian and the witch doctor -- were shown as part of the announcement at the event today in Paris.

Diablo III will feature a custom 3D-graphics engine to render lush indoor and outdoor areas of Sanctuary with a high level of detail and vivid special effects. The game's physics-enhanced environments will be interactive and destructible, offering traps and obstacles that create added danger for players and monsters alike. These elements, along with a new quest system and random scripted events, will be integrated into the game's random-level generator, giving Diablo III the ultimate combination of dynamic gameplay and replayability. Cooperative and competitive play will be available online through an upgraded version of Blizzard Entertainment's renowned online gaming service, Battle.net.

Blizzard Entertainment is developing Diablo III for simultaneous release on the Windows and Macintosh PC platforms. Further information about the game, including details on the other character classes, major new features for the single-player and multiplayer components, system requirements, pricing, and availability, will be announced as development progresses. 


Please visit its official website here.

*View at TechPowerUp Main Site*


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## btarunr (Jun 28, 2008)

Many thanks to DonInKansas for sending this in.


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## DonInKansas (Jun 28, 2008)

The gameplay video presented looks flat out awesome.  It looks like they tried to stay true to Diablo's addictive gameplay.  I foresee millions of hours wasted worldwide.....


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## Disparia (Jun 28, 2008)

w00t! Where can I pre-order?


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## Polarman (Jun 28, 2008)

Next question is WHEN?


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## ChaoticBlankness (Jun 28, 2008)

This will be awesome as long as battlenet remains free, and LAN play must still be an option.


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## Master_of_Time (Jun 28, 2008)

Well, as it seems to me, the game has been in development for some time now, judging from the gameplay footage. Nice graphics engine, gameplay looks a lot better then D2.  to Blizz!


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## Cold Storm (Jun 28, 2008)

Wow, and I thought Starcraft 2 looked good! I gotta get this one also! Man oh man!


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## HTC (Jun 28, 2008)

DonInKansas said:


> The gameplay video presented looks flat out awesome.  It looks like they tried to stay true to Diablo's addictive gameplay.  I foresee millions of hours wasted worldwide.....



If they make this a *non pay-to-play* game, i'm sold.


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## wickerman (Jun 28, 2008)

am I the only one let down by this? I was huge D2 player, almost obsessive over it, but this just looks like a wow-mod to be honest... D2 was dark and creepy, this looks way to bright and cartoony 

I hope they dont skimp on the game play...and for shit sake they better not charge $20 a month to play :shadedshu

Dont get me wrong.. I am excited...but when I think diablo...i dont think bright and cartoony


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## AsRock (Jun 28, 2008)

wickerman said:


> am I the only one let down by this? I was huge D2 player, almost obsessive over it, but this just looks like a wow-mod to be honest... D2 was dark and creepy, this looks way to bright and cartoony
> 
> I hope they dont skimp on the game play...and for shit sake they better not charge $20 a month to play :shadedshu
> 
> Dont get me wrong.. I am excited...but when I think diablo...i dont think bright and cartoony



D1 was best for dark and creepy i all ways thought.  When D2 came out there was less blood and guts to be seen.

There sites a lil slow not not been able see much.

EDIT:  Ahh it does not like Mozilla lol.. It looks pretty cool,  looks kinda bland in places  all though looks like it maybe a blast. but one thing i did not notice was openness kinda how NWN2 turned out one way one path linear,  will see as i really hope not.


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## Easy Rhino (Jun 28, 2008)

haha! anyone having problems connecting to their site?


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## DonInKansas (Jun 28, 2008)

I didn't have any problems a little over 2 hours ago, but I figure everyone's waking up and hammering the site.


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## btarunr (Jun 28, 2008)

Is my link alright? You can also reach that site at http://www.blizzard.com/diablo3/

There might be heavy traffic ATM. Weekend + Blizzard game release = Interwebz fail.


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## Cold Storm (Jun 28, 2008)

HTC said:


> If they make this a *non pay-to-play* game, i'm sold.



Well... I don't know what to say about that... Battle Net is free... Only WOW is the pay-to-play game... I just hope this game is what it shows! The demo for it was pretty sweet at the site!


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## HTC (Jun 28, 2008)

Cold Storm said:


> Well... I don't know what to say about that... Battle Net is free... Only WOW is the pay-to-play game... I just hope this game is what it shows! The demo for it was pretty sweet at the site!



That's the way i see it too, but i don't really know ... 

Any word on the resolutions available?

Maybe, if they make the original game in a couple of DVDs, we can have many more resolutions to pick. I mean: the graphics look sweet, from the gameplay video but, if the resolution doesn't increase accordingly, it all goes out the window, no?


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## Xolair (Jun 28, 2008)

Visually the game's a bit too cartoonish indeed...

... but the rest, judging from the videos is absolutely fantastic. Sadly it appears to come for PC only, maybe it'll come to the consoles later but if not then I'll just get it for the PC. Hopefully my current system could take it in the future if so.


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## Cold Storm (Jun 28, 2008)

HTC said:


> That's the way i see it too, but i don't really know ...
> 
> Any word on the resolutions available?
> 
> Maybe, if they make the original game in a couple of DVDs, we can have many more resolutions to pick. I mean: the graphics look sweet, from the gameplay video but, if the resolution doesn't increase accordingly, it all goes out the window, no?



Your right there. IF the game can't be played on a bigger screen... Then whats the point.. I understand that one!


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## DonInKansas (Jun 28, 2008)

I can't imagine the game being in production this long and not accomodating higher resolutions.


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## Ongaku (Jun 28, 2008)

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!! 

The gameplay looks sweet  It kinda looks like the graphics from Titan Quest, so maybe it won't be so computer hungry


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## Nemesis881 (Jun 28, 2008)

I think i just crapped a brick!  Starcraft 2 *AND* diablo 3!!!  I see within the next year or so, my life will be as wasted as it was when the starcraft 1 and d2 came out


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## HTC (Jun 28, 2008)

DonInKansas said:


> I can't imagine the game being in production this long and not accomodating higher resolutions.



The highest resolution in DII is 800 by 600.

If they increase it to only ... say ... 1024 by 768, it will be a disapointment, IMHO.


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## Cold Storm (Jun 28, 2008)

That is true, IT would be a total waste if to not think that it would accommodate higher res.


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## Millenia (Jun 28, 2008)

Oh fuck yes.


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## DonInKansas (Jun 28, 2008)

HTC said:


> The highest resolution in DII is 800 by 600.
> 
> If they increase it to only ... say ... 1024 by 768, it will be a disapointment, IMHO.



Diablo II was also released in 2000, with LoD reseased in 2001.  That's a loooooong time ago, tech wise.


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## Silverslick (Jun 28, 2008)

I'm so happy that this was announced. I've been playing since Diablo 1


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## HTC (Jun 28, 2008)

DonInKansas said:


> Diablo II was also released in 2000, with LoD reseased in 2001.  That's a loooooong time ago, tech wise.



Totally true.


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## WarEagleAU (Jun 28, 2008)

Thanks for this. I cant wait to check it out and see what the graphics and such looks like. Diablo 2 was the shit!


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## Cold Storm (Jun 28, 2008)

Because of the site being blogged by everyone tying to look at it... IGN is doing a good set-up for it all..


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## btarunr (Jun 28, 2008)

Thanks CS, I'll put it up in the header posts.


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## ASharp (Jun 28, 2008)

Blizzard is amazing. Can't wait for SC2 and D3!!!


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## Cold Storm (Jun 28, 2008)

btarunr said:


> Thanks CS, I'll put it up in the header posts.



No problem. I was able to watch everything at their site... But now its gotten so blogged...IGN is my second site to visit a day.


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## btarunr (Jun 28, 2008)

The IGN Diablo III Information Centre is located here: http://pc.ign.com/articles/885/885128p1.html


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## AsRock (Jun 28, 2008)

HTC said:


> The highest resolution in DII is 800 by 600.
> 
> If they increase it to only ... say ... 1024 by 768, it will be a disapointment, IMHO.



Not just a disappointment, it would be stupid due to the fact of a hell load of people having LCD's.  I doubt for even a second it be res limited.  I would of thought it would go 1600x1200 at least.


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## HTC (Jun 28, 2008)

AsRock said:


> Not just a disappointment, it would be stupid due to the fact of a hell load of people having LCD's.  I doubt for even a second it be res limited.  I would of thought it would go 1600x1200 at least.



I wouldn't go that far because there a LOT of monitors that are incapable of that resolution, but i would expect that resolution to be available and, hopefully, an even higher one as well.


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## Kreij (Jun 28, 2008)

It would seem illogical for them to not include 4:3 and widescreen resolutions all the way up to 2560x1600.
But, you never know.


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## Easy Rhino (Jun 28, 2008)

blizzard is smart. just by looking at the graphics you know that the game will play very well on all systems from slow and old to fast and new. the graphics are nice and simple IMO and that really stays with the tradition of the diablo series and really all blizzard games. blizzard spends more time on actual gameplay and improving the overall story and environment than on graphics and cheap thrills. more companies should take this approach.


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## HTC (Jun 28, 2008)

Easy Rhino said:


> blizzard is smart. just by looking at the graphics you know that the game will play very well on all systems from slow and old to fast and new. the graphics are nice and simple IMO and that really stays with the tradition of the diablo series and really all blizzard games. *blizzard spends more time on actual gameplay and improving the overall story and environment than on graphics and cheap thrills. more companies should take this approach.*



Agree, totally!


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## Ravenas (Jun 28, 2008)




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## PrudentPrincess (Jun 28, 2008)

Related:
I'm so pumped up! Did anyone else here know out about the leaked soundtrack back in 2005/6? Someone from the orchestra submitted a pic of one page of sheet music for the theme. Since then I've always had hope.
Unrelated:
btarunr someone stole your stars!


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## Kreij (Jun 28, 2008)

Ravenas said:


>



Ravenas, single word and smiley only posts are against forum rules.
Please try to refrain from posting in that manner.

On topic : I am looking forward to D3. I have the feeling it's going to be spectacular.


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## Selene (Jun 28, 2008)

all i can say is WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
How about the best 2 games in the world coming out back to back, SC and Diablo3, I dont even care if D3 is pay to play im all over this, welcome back "GOOD OLE DAYS"


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## CStylen (Jun 28, 2008)

I totally fell outta my seat when I saw this!  Can't wait to play this game!  

Can someone rush me for forge?


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## Ravenas (Jun 28, 2008)

Kreij said:


> Ravenas, single word and smiley only posts are against forum rules.
> Please try to refrain from posting in that manner.
> 
> On topic : I am looking forward to D3. I have the feeling it's going to be spectacular.



I think that smiley face did everything I needed to say. Mainly because I've already created a thread on this, and this is more of a repost 

Your post actually went more off topic than mine.


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## mab1376 (Jun 28, 2008)

ChaoticBlankness said:


> This will be awesome as long as battlenet remains free, and LAN play must still be an option.



i second that


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## Xolair (Jun 28, 2008)

I've got to ''nag'' a bit about the graphical style though:

http://img110.imageshack.us/img110/1681/1214657022122wu5oq6.jpg

That kind of visual changes certainly would make the game more Diablo and less WoW.


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## miloshs (Jun 28, 2008)

Why oh, why, does it have to look this awesome....  
FFS im still playing D2, and i don't mind the graphics...

And now...


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## Cold Storm (Jun 28, 2008)

Xolair said:


> I've got to ''nag'' a bit about the graphical style though:
> 
> http://img110.imageshack.us/img110/1681/1214657022122wu5oq6.jpg
> 
> That kind of visual changes certainly would make the game more Diablo and less WoW.



Just think... It just started... Who know whats this game is going to look like come when they sell it! And I'm hoping that its June 29th of next year!!! I do want it closer, but every other Diablo game came out June 28/29th..


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## Ravenas (Jun 28, 2008)

Cold Storm said:


> Just think... It just started... Who know whats this game is going to look like come when they sell it! And I'm hoping that its June 29th of next year!!! I do want it closer, but every other Diablo game came out June 28/29th..



Just started? The game has been in developement since at the least the beginning of the development of World of Warcraft.


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## Cold Storm (Jun 28, 2008)

Ravenas said:


> Just started? The game has been in developement since at the least the beginning of the development of World of Warcraft.



I mean as the fact of allowing us to see the game itself...


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## csendesmark (Jun 28, 2008)

Check this!
Diablo 3 Gameplay trailer HD

Cinematic Triler HD


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## nguyenpeter76 (Jun 29, 2008)

oh gosh!! blizzard is coming back with brute force! cant wait for sc2 and d3 to come out. definately will upgrade graphics card to play this at max and 1680x1050


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## Basard (Jun 29, 2008)

its almost exactly how i imagined.... i heard, and started running down the streets screaming "diablo 3 is here!" with tears pouring out of my eyes....


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## NinkobEi (Jun 29, 2008)

sweet as heck....dang


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## nguyenpeter76 (Jun 29, 2008)

im watching the gameplay. so frigin awesome i might have to say. witch doctor looks to be a fun char x] barbarian will be fun as well. i final fight scene was awesome. i was like HOLY CRAP when the boss came out haha. cant wait to see how diablo looks like now.


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## Triprift (Jun 29, 2008)

csendesmark said:


> Check this!
> Diablo 3 Gameplay trailer HD
> 
> Cinematic Triler HD



Thank u man the cinematic trailer was very tasty still waiting for the gameplay one to dl all i can say is bring it on


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## nguyenpeter76 (Jun 29, 2008)

i think i may play d2 again now x] i wonder when this game is going to be released. i wouldnt mind it taking awhile as long as sc2 comes out way before it does so i wont have the hard choice of picking which game to play besides socom confrontation on ps3 x]


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## Triprift (Jun 29, 2008)

The latest i heard was sc2 aint gonna be out this year read that yesterday :/


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## btarunr (Jun 29, 2008)

No wonder. The gaming world loves both Diablo and StarCraft. They wouldn't want SC2 to come out when everyone is beginning to get doped with Diablo III.


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## Cold Storm (Jun 29, 2008)

If Blizzard, and it seems like it with maybe the dates... Starcraft will be out before or right after Christmas, and 6 months later Diablo 3 will come out on their ana. date... With TONS of things for all the fans that have been waiting on this title! 

I remeber when War Craft 3 Came out... I went out and bought the deluxe edition, with the other two games, a dvd of the making, lithographs of all the classes crests, and fat manual for the game with story and everything! Best $80 dollars I spent on a launch!


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## Mussels (Jun 29, 2008)

ChaoticBlankness said:


> This will be awesome as long as battlenet remains free, and LAN play must still be an option.



^ everything he said. as long as those are in, i am buying this game... and forcing many others to, as well.


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## Millenia (Jun 29, 2008)

Ravenas said:


> Just started? The game has been in developement since at the least the beginning of the development of World of Warcraft.



Exactly, there's some concept stuff on the site that is dated 2004.


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## Mussels (Jun 29, 2008)

diablo 2 was the only game i ever got addicted to. 6 hours a day counts as addiction i think...


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## Triprift (Jun 29, 2008)

Mussels said:


> ^ everything he said. as long as those are in, i am buying this game... and forcing many others to, as well.



Lol ya woudnt have to force me after checking out the gameplay trailer im mega impressed


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## Mussels (Jun 29, 2008)

Triprift said:


> Lol ya woudnt have to force me after checking out the gameplay trailer im mega impressed



trailers still downloading here. seen the cinematic, which is definitely impressive...

diablo and diablo II's biggest joy was the coop lan play. all too often, you'd get stuck or have difficulty (especially on hell difficulty) due to opponents that just outclassed your character type - and having a friend (or three) join in to kick everythings ass was great.

The only reason i still dont play it is technical: 800x600 makes me die inside (expansion added that) and i recall problems with AA and AF not working, making it very hard to make the game look better.


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## scoutingwraith (Jun 29, 2008)

Now let me see.....Diablo III + StarCraft 2 = No social life for a year or so.


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## Exavier (Jun 30, 2008)

oh
words cannot express my joy

and check out the giant Tyrael on the DIII main page
now *THAT*'s sexy.


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## JC316 (Jun 30, 2008)

OK, my faith is being restored in Blizzard. This and Starcraft 2, I can't wait. It's blizzard damnit, it's going to be awesome, but it's blizzard damnit, it's going to take forever.


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## Triprift (Jun 30, 2008)

scoutingwraith said:


> Now let me see.....Diablo III + StarCraft 2 = No social life for a year or so.



Yep that sounds about right  hopefully the minimum specs for these are a bit exagerated.


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## Mussels (Jun 30, 2008)

Triprift said:


> Yep that sounds about right  hopefully the minimum specs for these are a bit exagerated.



i didnt actually notice the specs, care to repost them here?


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## Triprift (Jun 30, 2008)

The min specs i seen was for sc2 and they were 7 series  card with 256 meg p4 with 1 gig of ram and adsl for online with rec specs being 8 series with 512 meg core2 duo 2 gig of ram and adsl connection i assume diablo 3 will be similar.


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## JC316 (Jun 30, 2008)

Triprift said:


> The min specs i seen was for sc2 and they were 7 series  card with 256 meg p4 with 1 gig of ram and adsl for online with rec specs being 8 series with 512 meg core2 duo 2 gig of ram and adsl connection i assume diablo 3 will be similar.



Seems kinda harsh, considering that they don't look all that advanced. Hell, thats damn near what Crysis recommends and it looks WAY better than either D3 or SC2.


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## Mussels (Jun 30, 2008)

yeah but blizzards minimum actually gives you a good FPS. Crysis minimum gives you 5FPS.

Looking at it in terms of power, a 256MB 7 series card (7600GT for example) is really nothing, power wise by todays standards.

P4 with HT (2.4GHz+?)
7600GT 256MB
1GB system ram (XP)

If people think thats high... well, its not. you can get a basic core 2 system with a 2600xt for under $600 au (no peripherals or screen, but TV out or an old system can save you there)


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## scoutingwraith (Jun 30, 2008)

Mussels said:


> yeah but blizzards minimum actually gives you a good FPS. Crysis minimum gives you 5FPS.
> 
> Looking at it in terms of power, a 256MB 7 series card (7600GT for example) is really nothing, power wise by todays standards.
> 
> ...



Actually for $750 you can build a C2D system complete with a case.

And yeah the Min. Specs that Blizzard showed are not that bad since they usually have it right went it comes to that area.


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## Triprift (Jun 30, 2008)

Mussels said:


> yeah but blizzards minimum actually gives you a good FPS. Crysis minimum gives you 5FPS.



Lol yeah that sounds about right


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## Mussels (Jun 30, 2008)

scoutingwraith said:


> Actually for $750 you can build a C2D system complete with a case.
> 
> And yeah the Min. Specs that Blizzard showed are not that bad since they usually have it right went it comes to that area.



my prices were in AU, not US. and i did mean case inclusive, i meant no mouse/keyboard/screen.


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