Blizzard reveals Internet connection will not be required for upcoming console versions; no cross-platform play planned.

Diablo III for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 will not require an Internet connection, Blizzard production director John Hight has revealed.

Speaking on GameTrailers, Hight said, “You can have four people on the same screen–no split-screen, we just zoom the camera out. Or if you’re offline…”

Diablo III for PC and Mac mandates that players be connected to Blizzard’s Battle.net service, even when playing single-player.

The game was announced for PS3 and PS4 during Sony’s major media event last week and will be on show at PAX East 2013 late next month. Diablo III for consoles features a new interface and control scheme, allowing players to directly control their character.

“You no longer have to click and have your character move to a position,” Hight said. “It’s surprising how much action that brings to it. Blizzard really created action RPGs by launching Diablo originally and this brings the action back into it.”

Separately, A Blizzard representative confirmed in the Diablo III forums that cross-platform play between PlayStation Network and Battle.net is not currently in the works.

“While we think cross-platform play would be awesome, there are currently no plans to allow connectivity between PlayStation Network and Battle.net (this is pretty standard for most games that have PC and console support),” the company said. “As a result, the characters on your Battle.net account and PlayStation account will also remain separate.”

The developer also confirmed that it has no plans to allow analog controller support for the PC version of Diablo III. And similarly, Diablo III for PS3 and PS4 will not support USB mice or keyboards, Blizzard explained.

Diablo III for PC and Mac has sold over 12 million copies. For more, check out GameSpot’s review.

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