After suffering a rocky (online-only) launch and a failed auction house experiment, Diablo 3 had a lot to bounce back from after its first year. The game had decent reviews, but many long-time fans of the loot-PG franchise felt that the third installment didn’t recreate the magic or replayability of Diablo 2. With the recent launch of the game’s first major expansion, Reaper of Souls, many of those problems were solved. Unfortunately for console gamers, so far the new content has only been available for PC users. That won’t be the case for much longer though…
The team at Blizzard may not be ready to confirm rumors that a new MMO will be unveiled at BlizzCon 2014, but the company is still bringing some good news to its fans this week. Blizzard has confirmed a release date and platform list for the upcoming Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls Ultimate Evil Edition console expansion pack. The Ultimate Evil package will be available for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One on August 19.
Up until now, the PS4 was the only console that we were sure a port was coming for. The new bundle will include the original Diablo 3 game for shoppers who passed on it the first time around, in additional to the Reaper of Souls expansion pack. Adventurers who have upgraded consoles since they started their journey in Diablo 3 will be lucky enough to have the opportunity to transfer progress from PS3 to PS4 or from Xbox 360 to Xbox One.
Fans who pick up the game as a pre-order or on launch day will receive the Infernal Pauldrons in-game item as a reward for their enthusiasm. The loot can be worn from level 1 and offers a variety of bonuses to health, regeneration, and cooldowns. The PS4 and Xbox One versions will cost consumers $59.99, but players sticking to the previous generation will only have to shell out $39.99.
Despite early concerns that the precision required to master Diablo 3 couldn’t be recreated with a console port, we actually ended up really enjoying the console version of the game when we reviewed it. If the Reaper of Souls expansion offers all the same vast improvements to the consoles that it did to the PC version, then we expect the new PS4 and Xbox One versions to be a big hit.
Do you plan to pick up the Reaper of Souls expansion for a console? Will you make the switch to PS4 or Xbox One for an extra twenty bucks? Let us know in the comments.
Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls Ultimate Evil will be available for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One on August 19.
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Source: Blizzard
