Blizzard Apologizes for Massive Diablo III Fail

A game that kept fans craving for it for a decade, Diablo III was finally released only to disappoint and anger fans, even if only temporarily. Diablo fans tried stubbornly to play the game, but several in-game errors combined with a large-scale failure of Blizzard servers prevented them from enjoying their dive into the world they more or less patiently waited for.

“We’ve been humbled by your enthusiasm — and we sincerely regret that your crusade to bring down the Lord of Terror was thwarted not by mobs of demons, but by mortal infrastructure,” read the Blizzard apology, in their easy to spot style of emerging into the worlds they create.

While understandable, if we try hard enough, you’d think a company used to handle millions of online players logging in at once and one who knows how dedicated their fans are would have been able to better prepare for a huge surge in traffic on their servers. Especially since one of the reasons some of their fans are so angry is their forcing them to log in to play Diablo III, even in the single player mode.

The apology from Blizzard comes as recognition of how large-scale their failure was. The company behind World of Warcraft, Starcraft and Diablo is well known for not responding in a very nice way to criticism or complaints. Their policy was always to only worry about those who actually like their games and not care much about a few complaining, disgruntled buyers.

What is most interesting is not the Diablo III fail or the apology as a PR move to contain a crisis. What should be particularly investigated by all the PR pros out there is the passion Blizzard fans showcase. They have been waiting for this game for a decade, its launch was a massive no-no and yet they still wholeheartedly make statements like this:

“Meh. Error 37 is frustrating, but OH. MY. GOD… Diablo 3 is beautiful, epic, and amazing!! I love this game!!”

Don’t you wish your product or service got that much love?