The Dastardly Diablo Expansion Plan

Oh Blizzard. You like money.

In our review of Diablo 3, we (in the form of Paul) concluded that the only suck things in Diablo III were the first nine-ish hours of its non-hardcore mode and the random death-lag. In tonight's article I want to do more than summarize our two-page review into a sentence. I want to highlight how Blizzard wants you to suffer -- invest your life -- into your non-hardcore character(s), in order to make you buy their expansions.

"What?" You say.
"Yes!" I say. They want you to suffer those many first hours, so you will feel like you sacrificed for your character(s). A sacrifice of your time in the form of boredom. Work. The payment for which is a grown up character finally ready to start the actual game (which, in non-hardcore mode, begins on Nightmare Difficulty).

With this feeling of investment (compounded by the drug-like loot gathering) your character feels somewhat like your child. And thus, you must spend more time with it, when the expansions come out.