I got the game Monday Night before this patch...nowhere did it give any warning. It was an incredibly vexing experience. I would have been able to play at the same time having ordered a box from Amazon. Next time a Blizzard games comes along I certainly won't be getting it from Blizzard, no matter how much my friends rant and rave about it. I'll wait for a box to go on sale.

Like I was telling SPJ the other night while playing coop with him, I got the game on launch night and couldnt play. Blizzard games have always been buggy, but the sheer amount of fun and addictiveness will keep most coming back for more. At least Blizzard has amazing support and longevity behind their games, diablo 2 servers are still running, something like 12 years after the game was released, and patches were being released 10 years after the game hit shelves. There are few companies with that dedication.

It's just so hostile towards the customer - as if the always-on DRM wasn't bad enough. I contacted customer support, they didn't reply for 2 days, I learned from blogs what was happening before Blizzard told me anything and then they e-mailed me this: "Greetings,

Thank you for contacting Blizzard Entertainment Customer Support.

We are currently receiving a high volume of phone calls, petitions, and other responses. We are working diligently to process all requests in a timely fashion and we appreciate your patience. At this time, we are unable to get to your request."

It's a stupid issue and not a lot of time, but it's also a little ridiculous. Can you imagine XBLA games or iTunes purchases requiring a 3day wait-time? You mention World of Warcraft but none of the MMOs I've ever played locked you down after you paid them for access. And then to be told they don't have time to answer a question or explain to me why I can't access the account I paid for....that's pretty unacceptable.

Most MMO's do have a maintenance period where you can't login other then WoW as well. If you happen to purchase the game and try to play it during that period in one of those MMOs, its tough cookies. Xbox live was notorious for not letting you play your games after having your xbox replaced due to the RROD, unless you had a constant internet connection. At one point I had to move and didn't have internet for 2 months, of which I had around 40 XBLA titles at the time not including DLC that were completely un-usable. They did finally fix that months later with the once a year license reset you can perform.

3 days which you can play to an extent but not with the rest of the population is a price I'd pay once a month if it meant removing a good portion of the spammers. But I do agree that they should pop up a big notice saying these restrictions BEFORE you're able to buy the game digitally, as well as offer a full refund within that 3 day period if you so desire. And they should allow anyone who wishes to remove the always-online DRM restriction to the game which should permanently remove their account from being able to access the RMAH, but still the gold AH.

I was a D1 & D2 addict, but I havent touched D3 yet.. Just dont have the time any more.

Shaz I think we're talking two different points here. Maintenance happens with online games (whether D3 needs to be online or not is also a discussion for another day) that's fine, it's the practice of treating a paying customer like a criminal. This exactly the kind of nonsense that pisses people off about DRM. With the exception of pre-ordering something on Steam I've never had a company make me wait for a digital product after taking my money - especially to "review" my payment. Am I posting bail? It's absurd. At least we seem to agree that they need to give some notice.