But then there's also a backlash against the kinds of predatory monetization techniques that are used in certain mobile games: free-to-play mobile games. Actually, there is a gendered backlash against mobile gamers that is based on the fact that that's a very diverse gaming platform. “I think the backlash comes in two different forms. On the backlash against Diablo: Immortal from fans who prefer the older PC games And the more you buy, the better you perform. You're fighting the devil eventually - hence the title Diablo - and the amount of things you can buy in the game is astounding. You're clicking on little skeletons in order to destroy them. There are a lot of different kinds of characters you can choose. It's just that it's significantly deeper. That is more or less how Diablo: Immortal works. If you want to advance just a little bit faster - not have to collect all those items all by yourself - you can just throw a couple of bucks at it and get those items right away. “You download a game you play it for a while. But folks are probably at least familiar with the concept. Maybe they have Pokémon GO, for example, which is not decried as being quite as manipulative emotionally as Diablo: Immortal. “Well, I think people might be familiar with the idea of a free-to-play mobile game. On how Diablo: Immortal makes its money despite being free to download Even as furious gamers bombed Diablo: Immortal’s Metacritic score, the game reportedly earned $24 million in its first two weeks. But there’s little sign developer Activision Blizzard will bow to critics and change the game’s model. That's the piece of it that I think may have upset some officials in the Netherlands and Belgium.”ĭiablo: Immortal now faces headwinds in entering China’s lucrative mobile game market. “But when you add micro-transactions to the equation, you get that slot machine effect in a much more literal way. “Even the original creators of Diablo have compared the game to a slot machine,” says Polygon senior games editor Maddy Myers. One streamer spent more than $15,000 in an effort to obtain just one of the game’s most desirable items. Though the game can be downloaded for free, users can pay to improve their odds of scoring valuable loot. The Netherlands and Belgium have gone so far as to ban the newest iteration of the game entirely, released earlier this month, for allegedly exploiting players to keep them hooked and spending money. But now, many are rallying against the latest title, Diablo: Immortal. Diablo fans have battled demonic legions and plundered rare treasures since the original game hit shelves in 1996.

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