The Korea Herald

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Blizzard faces growing outcry against Diablo 3 over poor service: reports

By 양승진

Published : June 17, 2012 - 15:34

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Blizzard Entertainment is facing growing criticism and outcry from fans and industry experts against its latest hit game Diablo 3 for failing to live up to its proposed expectations, according to various media reports.

Failure of smooth data connections and repeated error messages while logging in or playing the game compelled Korean users, game cafe operators and regulators to take the matter into their own hands.

They have been calling for Blizzard, which made a big name for itself here with the immensely popular StarCraft, to take full responsibility over its poor service, demanding refunds with some interest groups voicing out to the extent of possibility of legal action.

Korea’s Fair Trade Commission, the nation’s anti-trust watchdog, said that it will come up with aid measures for Diablo 3 users by next month after conducting an investigation of Blizzard and its refund policy.

The U.S. gaming company will also soon announce a set of solutions to help relieve consumers’ dissatisfaction, media reports said.

The FTC has been pushing itself to conclude its probe within two months after launching it last May, well ahead of the standard three-month investigative period, as a means to quickly settle the worsening situation and minimize growing consumer losses.

This data-server problem does not only pertain to Korea.

French regulators have also received thousands of consumer complaints over this matter, demanding the U.S. game developer amend its errors in 15 days, while some calling for compensation as well.

German regulators, meanwhile, are reportedly looking into a possible antitrust violation by Blizzard along with consumer complaints over the game’s poor server system.

Blizzard sold over 3.5 million copies of Diablo in the first 24 hours of its release in May, making it the fastest seller in the PC game market, Blizzard said in a press release.

“We’re definitely thrilled that so many people around the world were excited to pick up their copy of Diablo III and jump in the moment it went live,” said Mike Morhaime, CEO of Blizzard. “We also regret that our preparations were not enough to ensure everyone had a seamless experience when they did so. I want to reaffirm our commitment to make sure the millions of Diablo III players out there have a great experience with the game moving forward, and I also want to thank them for their ongoing support.”

Diablo 3 was launched on May 15 in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Korea, Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau.

By Park Hyong-ki
(hkp@heraldcorp.com)

 

<관련 한글기사>

디아블로3, 소비자 불만 ‘폭발’

블리자드의 최신 게임 디아블로3가 계속되는 서버 장애와 접속 오류로 인해 국내 팬들과 PC게임 업계로부터 비난의 화살을 맞고 있다.

잦은 접속문제와 에러 메시지로 인해 국내 사용자들의 불만이 커지고 있는 가운데 공정거래위원회는 다음 달까지 블리자드에 대한 수사를 마무리하고 환불을 요구하고 있는 국내 소비자에게 구제방안 마련과 함께 법 위반 여부에 대해 결론을 내리겠다고 밝혔다.

블리자드는 조만간 사용자 불만을 해결 위한 방안을 계획중인 것으로 알려졌지만 게이머들은 더 빠른 대책마련을 촉구하고 있다.

프랑스, 독일도 비슷한 접속장애를 겪고 있어 디아블로3의 문제는 한국에만 국한된 것은 아니다. 양국의 당국 역시 블리자드의 서버문제를 규정위반과 연계해 조치를 검토중인 것으로 알려졌다.

블리자드에 따르면 디아블로3는 5월 15일 출시후 24시간 만에 350만개를 판매해 PC게임 역사상 가장 빠른 판매고를 기록했다. 유려한 그래픽과 타격감으로 게이머들의 관심을 독차지해 초기 PC방에서 압도적인 점유율을 기록했지만 출시 이후 계속 되는 접속 문제와 서버 장애로 최근 PC방 점유율이 하락하고 있다.