Diablo III could be one of the few Blizzard games that is entirely accessible to everyone who plays it. The simple kill/loot/explore gameplay of the first two games has remained wildly popular since the series first came out back in 1996.

One of the biggest questions regarding the franchise is whether or not its third iteration will see action on the consoles. Judging by a recent interview with Diablo III's lead Content Designer, Kevin Martens, it's looking like more and more of a possibility. Martens was interviewed by Atomic Gamer, and among other subjects discussed the prospect of Diablo on consoles popped up. The answer Martens gave should be exciting for console fans.

Whether or not Diablo III will be a viable game on consoles is a different matter entirely, but judging from Martens' response to the question, the game would be a lot easier to transition to consoles than StarCraft 2 or Warcraft. Yes, we're ignoring the port of Warcraft II to the PlayStation One -- it wasn't that great.

So, what's Martens got to say when it comes to Diablo III on consoles?

"We’re definitely looking into it. We’re seriously considering it. I would say that the whole system specs thing is one of the cool things about Blizzard. You’re always hearing in interviews with us about the death of the PC gaming. We’re always like, 'What death?' I think one part of that secret…you know, quality and polish and all of that as well…but part of that is keeping the system specs low."

"Everybody had a PC, even if they just use it for nothing but e-mail and web surfing. Almost everyone has one, so we do have a pretty giant install base. That said, gaming systems like Xbox and PS3 and so on… Diablo is one of the more natural hits for a Blizzard title to go on those, so I think that’s why we are looking at it pretty seriously."

Excluding the kinds of complexities in Diablo III that might require a mouse and keyboard, the prospect of the game coming to consoles is very gratifying. Consoles have definitely seen their share of dungeon-crawlers, like the upcoming Dungeon Siege 3, so it can't be impossible to translate Diablo III.

Graphically, Diablo III on consoles wouldn't necessarily be something low quality, but being able to translate the game's micromanagement to controllers is another matter entirely. The Dragon Age series was able to utilize hotkeys on controller face buttons, but that kind of interface is still unable to replicate the speed of using a keyboard.

Would this kind of hindrance prevent gamers from picking up a copy of Diablo III on consoles? Probably not. People would love to go dungeon crawling with friends on Xbox 360 or PS3. However, Blizzard will have to work hard on a solution to please people. Given their track record, it seems like Blizzard might be able to come up with something.

Perhaps Blizzard will be making a formal announcement about bringing Diablo III to consoles at this year's BlizzCon (tickets available soon).

What do you think? Would you like to play a console version of Diablo III? Or should the series stick to its PC roots?

Diablo III will be releasing "when it's done" on the PC, and maybe on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

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Source: Atomic Gamer