Diablo III Released, Subsequently Broken By The Internet

The Underworld has known many names: the Mayans called is Xibalba; to the Norse, Hel. Christians call it "Hell" you posers. All describe a realm of torment - suffering unimaginable and without end - rendering its lifeless inhabitants without even the breath to spit a spiteful curse toward Divinity. Such is the the case with Diablo III - not simply in its setting, but also, for an unfortunate set of gamers, in its experience. For in the deepest circle of the Underworld, orbiting around the throne of Lord Beelzebub like some kind of ghastly satellite, there lies the realm of "Error 37."

Indeed, in what has quickly become an internet meme, many gamers have found their anticipation of Diablo III rather deadened by their inability to actually play the game. Exacerbated by Blizzard's "online only" requirement, eager gamers have collectively stormed the ramparts. As a result, the company has found itself unable to fully accommodate them, resulting in the dreaded error message.

Now to play the devil's advocate (no pun intended), the anticipation for Diablo III has been somewhere in between "vast" and "utterly vast," so it's no surprise that servers received a torrent of requests on the first full day of its release. Moreover, it would no doubt require a comical amount of bandwidth to accommodate the first, frantic days of the game's release - Diablo III's servers went down for "emergency maintenance" to fix the problems - and those working in Blizzard's customer service undoubtedly find themselves fielding angry email after email, slowly dying inside with each caustic paragraph. Moreover, given the nature of the internet, it's difficult to gauge how much of Diablo III's player base has experienced the issue.

Still, it's an ordeal, particularly for those who took the day off, and will certainly result in backlash against the company. For those still affected, and as a mini-PSA (call it "Minnesota Nice" gone awry), I urge you to not to take out your frustration on the customer service reps. Being the official retail dreg of Gay Gamer, I know that dealing with a flood of angry customers, however justified said anger may be, is incredibly tiresome - particularly when it's not your fault. Customer service representatives constitute a sort of phalanx: taking the flak so that their bosses, the ones who actually see that Diablo money, will never have to deal with you. By all means, express your displeasure - you have, in effect, paid retail price for a loading screen - but I would humbly ask that you do so constructively, as those on the receiving end have been afforded little to no power and, as per standard corporate practice, serve a kind of all-purpose kicking post in unpleasant circumstances. In the meantime, gamers are encouraged to view a sneak peek at the first hour of Diablo III, courtesy of imgur.

Super Swede
Posted to Video Games on 15 May 2012 · Comments (7)
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