A recent Blizzard job listing posted on Gamasutra for a senior producer with "prior experience in console development" adds even more fuel to the fire that Diablo III will see a console release.
Over the last few months, a number of signs have pointed to Blizzard’s growing interest in porting Diablo III to consoles. "We’re exploring a Diablo-related concept for consoles and are currently looking to fill a few senior console-related positions on the Diablo III team," Blizzard announced on its community website in November 2010.
While Blizzard added that the job listing doesn’t equate to an official announcement of the title, it’s clearly something Blizzard developers are investigating. They need to determine if the game is properly "suited" to consoles, and if porting the game makes sense from a business perspective.
According to Blizzard’s Rob Pardo, they "really, really hope" to have Diablo III ready by the end of 2011. This goal is probably only for PC, however, with any potential console versions expected to arrive in 2012 or beyond.
Regardless, any Blizzard games on a console would be a godsend. If Blizzard decides to move into console development for Diablo III, what’s stopping them from porting over other titles? Sony has been very flexible with its open platform policy on the PlayStation Network, recently announcing a partnership with Valve to bring Steam to the PS3. So why not Battle.net? Basically, what I’m getting at is: StarCraft 2. PS3. Kevin Butler. Make it happen.