Diablo III Release Date Announced for Consoles

It’s been a little over a year since Diablo III was released for PC and Mac. We have known for a little while now that the game will also be released on consoles. Now we know the release date. Blizzard Entertainment has now announced that Diablo III will debut on both the Sony Playstation 3 and the Microsoft Xbox 360 on September 3, 2013. Select retailers are offering it for preorder, and the suggested retail price (for either version) is $59.99.

Those of you who, like me, have been playing Diablo III since the beta might wonder why anyone would want to play it on console. I guess the most obvious reason would be so you could play D3 on your big screen TV (instead of your much smaller computer monitor screen).

Those who reserve their copies right away will get an exclusive in-game Infernal Helm for their character to use. It gives an experience bonus to any character that wears it. Another cool thing about the console versions is that it will allow gamers to make a party that includes both local and online players. In other words, you and your friend could be sitting on your couch and playing with two people who are online (and not at your house at all).

What you can’t do, however, is play Diablo III on your Playstation 3 or Xbox 360 and create a party that includes your friends who play D3 on PC or Mac. You cannot mix the two. You also cannot transfer your characters, their progress, or their loot from a PC or Mac game to a console version. That being said, if all your gaming friends use Xbox 360, or Playstation 3 (instead of a computer) the console version of Diablo III will give you a chance to play with them. (Assuming, of course, you have the same gaming device that they do).

Here is the “sizzle reel” that was released when it was first announced that D3 would be coming to consoles. The interface is a bit different than how it is on computers (judging from that shot of the player equipping his Barbarian), but it looks like the essence of the game has been captured.