Diablo 3 made the horrible mistake of trying to monetize the time players spent on the game and turned this title into a steaming pile of unmentionable trash. I warned my friends long before it came out what it would be. That the always online and real money auction house was going to destroy the game experience. They did not believe me and bought the game anyway.

The irony here is within two months Every one of those people told me that I had been right and Diablo 3 was one of the worst purchase decisions they had made. That they greatly regretted purchasing it - that it really IS a steaming pile.

I feel sorry for anyone still playing this piece of trash.

I felt like I should say exactly what brought me to this decision. First it had to do with the news that used games would not work on other systems. That each game will be tied to individual people and not be able to be resold or used without paying a fee if the title is used.

Second is the part about games not working unless you have an always online connection. This is another slap in the consumers face. Certainly it doesn't happen in every game, but it is becoming a much more common tactic companies are forcing on consumers.

Third is DLC or Down Loadable Content. This as been combined with what companies call 'micro-transactions' to allow companies to keep their virtual fingers in our bank accounts every moment we play a game. The offerings given for games is almost always amazingly small and costs far too much for what it is.

Fourth is locking out almost all end user creativity in the form of mods, new maps, weapons, etc. that players create themselves and add to existing games. It would be incredibly easy to allow gamers to make and share their own multiplayer maps for games, instead this has been locked out so companies can sell you one new tiny multiplayer map for call of duty and charge you 4$ a pop. Outragous.

Fifth and final is this price hike. They have the gall to do this while the world is going through a recession, when people are poorer than ever - these companies raise their prices. I don't know about you, but at these rates I can easily find more productive and enjoyable things to spend my time on which cost far less or may actually Make me money.

So there it is. The five things that have convinced me it is time to stop playing console games entirely. I'm sure there are other things in there too. Those were just the most obvious ones that came to mind while I was typing this up.

These companies need to start treating their customers right. They need to treat us with respect and realize that we are what keeps them in business. Well these sorts of things over the last few years have pushed this gamer over the line. I'm done with consoles till they change their business practices.

Well that clinches it. With all the news I've heard about the new systems over the last year, it is looking like these companies are not only abusing gamers and consumers with their overly controlling attitudes, but also cranking up the greed dial on their games. I'll check in on console games again in another 4 or 5 years. These companies are not getting any of my money.

There is no need for clarification. We already know why these are in games. Their primary purpose is to nickel-&-dime the player base and enable the publishers to keep their fingers eteranally in the players wallet. Anything else they try to say is a lie - for a company like EA it is all about the money.

@d_kell411 I was not there at the release of diablo 3. I strongly advised my friends against purchasing it. I never purchased it myself. Now my friends agree with me and bemoan spending money on the crapfest that Diablo 3 represents. They universally agree it was a bad spending choice. I say the same thing about this. I will not purchase it, Nor will I purchase anything else from this company until they apologize to their customers and stop these abusive practices against their customers. And if you bought this, and any other game that does things like this. Then I feel sorry for you. You bought into the lie that these companies are pushing on their customers. And you are part of the problem that is going to wreck the game industry.

Through all of this I will stick to my 'guns' so to speak and not ever purchase games which use these abusive schemes. If that means I stop playing games entirely - then so be it. I can very easily find other more productive things to spend time on - such as reading books, or going outside. I did it before video games, continue to do it now that games are around, and can easily go back to spending all my free time on other things.

I hope these companies enjoy never seeing any of my money. Because they won't.

Can I put it on my laptop and play it when I am away from an internet connection? No? Then enjoy not selling your game - I won't buy any game that forces crappy drm schemes on its customers like this.

I miss the cloth maps that came with games in the past. They were actually useful during gameplay as they served as a usable map, and they are easy to collect and store for later use in other things. For example I often use old cloth maps in my Pen & Paper rpg sessions. I have a small box filled with all the old maps i've collected over the years.

I agree with your thoughts on the statues and controllers and such though. They are practically useless and serve no long term purpose.

I didn't buy diablo 3 because of their always online requirement. I won't buy sony's next system because of this. Enjoy not getting any of my money =) I have plenty of other things to keep me busy in life. I will not put money into a product that abuses its customers like this.

This is because there has been nothing that could compete with the old Thief games for many years. People recognized that this was like those old games and picked it up.

I believe the problems many people have making decisions in these games stems from these same people not having their life philosophies properly sorted out. Many poeple go through life wearing blinders. They choose not to see or deal with the more difficult decisions in life, so when they are eventually forced to make one, they have issues deciding how to deal with them properly and often go with their gut 'instinct'.

Circumstances matter. But we also have codes of conduct which help guide us. These codes are usually based on group survival. But some crimes are obviously worse than others and demand different responses. For example, in the country in which I live, if I witness a crime and see a criminal brandish a weapon and threaten someone, I am completely within my rights to dispatch the criminal to defend my life and the lives of the good people around me.

In fact, I would say that anyone who does not take that decisive action is failing in their responsibility to society. Citizens should protect one another. Protection and application of law/justice originates in the general citizenry of societies. It is not solely in the purview of the police or armed services. Those organizations exist to aid society in the application of law and justice. But they are not the only ones who should be capable or expected to enforce it. Power and its application stems from the people - not from the governments they form.