Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Edition is coming to the Playstation 4, Xbox One, Xbox 360 and Xbox One. Yet, the videogame is priced much higher on next-gen systems than the current-gen systems. Find the current price tags for all versions of the videogame right now on Amazon. So is Activision justified with creating a price disparity? We take a look at both sides of the argument.
Age of Diablo III
Diablo III was released on the PC in 2012. The console port also launched for Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 in 2013. Normally, an old videogame is priced less even if it is a re-release with extra content (in this case, Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Edition includes the Reaper of Souls expansion). In this situation, the Playstation 4 and Xbox One versions do seem to be priced too high.
Extra Content
The in-game content remain the same from the Playstation 3 to the Playstation 4 and Xbox 360 to the Xbox One. Playstation gamers are getting the same exclusive bonuses (a.k.a. The Last of Us Nehalem Rift and Shadow of the Colossus armor set) on the next-gen and current-gen versions.
The main difference between the current and next-gen is resolution as the frame rate should be 60 on all platforms (even though current-gen may have more dips than next-gen). The original Diablo III was rendered at below 720p on the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. Instead, it only ran at a pixel count of 1120×584. Conversely, the Playstation 4 and Xbox One games are rendered at 1080p, which is really important when you consider the amount of action that could fill up the screen (especially when playing co-op).
Still, the best version of Diablo III, at least when it comes to graphics, should still be the PC game. The visual upgrades may be worth the extra costs if you are primarily a console gamer or if you don’t own a capable computer to run the videogame in higher settings.
New Experience for Playstation 4 and Xbox One
One of the reasons that Activision could use to justify the higher price of Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Edition on the Playstation 4 and Xbox One is that the videogame is providing a new experience on those platforms. If you don’t have access to a high-spec PC, PS3 or Xbox 360, Diablo III is definitely worth playing, especially when you consider that there is nothing else like it on the two next-gen systems so far. The main game and Reaper of Souls expansion offer more than enough value to justify even paying full price for the product.
Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Edition is a great game at no matter what the cost. Depending on your situation (mainly whether or not you are a PC gamer or if you think the visual upgrades when compared to current-gen justify the higher costs), you could either purchase it at full price right away or wait until it drops to an appropriate range during Black Friday and other sales.