Jay Wilson has said Blizzard’s goal with creating a console version of Diablo III is to make it feel as if “it’s natively made for a console.”
Speaking in the latest issue of Game Informer, Wilson said should Diablo III be released on consoles, it will be built specifically for the systems from the ground up.
“We don’t want to port it,” said Wilson, Diablo III’s director. “We want to build it for console. There’s a key difference. Certainly, a lot of things get brought over, but a port is trying to take a PC game and graft it onto a console.
“Our goal, is to make a game that feels like it’s natively made made for a console. If we make it, we want it to feel like a Blizzard game and that we built it for that platform from the ground up.”
The firm has also spoken to the major console manufacturers, which Wilson said have been “been eager to work with” Blizzard, but he still expects a bit of “negotiation” to still occur regarding the online component.
“Everyone wants a Blizzard games on consoles happen, and [console makers] are some of the most eager,” he said. “So, I’m hopeful. It’s hard for me to say beyond that.”
Even with console makers and fans clamoring for Diablo III to hit living rooms, in order to accomplish such an endeavor, the PC developer needed a console team. According to Wilson, this was the biggest barrier for the firm, but after months of job listings Blizzard has assembled a “really great team” which also receives help from the art department.
“The lead designer, Joshua Mosquiera was the leader designer of Company of Heroes and a former creative director at Ubisoft with a lot of console experience,” Wilson said. “We are starting to fill the team out with new hires and some core members of the Diablo III team. Because we are close to done with [the PC version], some groups finish before others, mostly the art group. We’re able to ferry over some art talent to the console group.
“We are still in active exploring mode; we haven’t officially announced a product. We say that because we like our product announcements to be a big deal. We haven’t been as secretive about this one because our biggest barrier is actually getting a console team.
“People don’t believe us when we say we’re going to make a console game – flat out. I understand why they don’t believe us, because we’ve tried this before. We’ve also never invested in it to the degree that we are doing now, and we’ve never had a product we felt was appropriate for it.”
You can read the entire interview with Jay Wilson in the latest issue of Game Informer magazine.
Currently in beta, Diablo III will be released next year on PC and Mac.
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