Blizzard's Chief Creative Officer accepts blame for D3 shortcomings

When Jay Wilson announced last week that he was stepping down as game director for Blizzard's Diablo III, it didn't take long for the internet to do its thing. Gamers responded strongly with their opinions in the long thread resulting from Wilson's post -- so strongly that Blizzard Chief Creative Officer Rob Pardo felt it was time to step in.

"I’m the only person in this thread who has actually worked with Jay," Pardo reminds the Battle.net posters. "I hired Jay to head up the Diablo project and had the pleasure of getting to work with him, both in building the team and designing the game."

Pardo explains, however, that players deserve a better game from Blizzard. They're working on it, and if players still feel they must shout from the rooftops, direct the ire towards him:

"If you still feel the need to dish out blame, then I would prefer you direct it at me. I was the executive producer on the project; I hired Jay and I gave him advice and direction throughout the development process. I was ultimately responsible for the game we released and take full responsibility for the quality of the result."

The fact that Wilson has held a post of such high regard for one of Blizzard's top franchises for so long indicates he has the skills to pay the bills, as it were. Coaches in the NFL are fired all the time, yet their skills remain in-demand regardless. Blizzard wouldn't keep Wilson in place if they didn't feel he could win a few more games and maybe even take them to another championship.