"Because we want to minimize inventory management, we have this philosophy where we want to drop fewer, but better, items," Mosqueira said, pointing to the fact that in the past few minutes we haven't seen any items drop from the fallen monsters. Diablo 3 on the PC has a tendency to make you pick through a large number of mostly useless weapons and items, and it can get tedious. You'll be dealing with fewer drops in the console version of the game, but each one will be more likely to improve your build.

They've also changed how you'll manage that inventory. "Without a mouse and keyboard, and the fact you're sitting 15 feet away from the screen, it's important that your character is nice and big on screen. At a glance you can see if an item is better or worse," he explained.

It's a great system. The most recent items can be cycled through and viewed in the main screen while you're playing the game, and you'll simply see green arrows pointing up or red arrows pointing down for each stat. You can tell instantly if a piece of equipment is better or worse than what you have equipped, and then equip it with the touch of a button. It's an easy way to make sure you're always carrying the best gear without lengthy inventory management, and it keeps the game moving at a fast pace.

You can, of course, open the new controller-driven inventory if you'd like things to be a bit more granular, but this on-screen system allows you to quickly and easily manage your weapons and armor on the battlefield without pausing the action and making the other players wait. It's a brilliant way to handle inventory management during battle, and the re-balanced system with fewer drops and the quick-inventory system would both be great additions to the PC version.

I asked about such things, and was more or less told not to hold my breath.

The console version of Diablo 3 isn't just competent, it's a remixed version of the original game, complete with rebalanced enemies, an improved economy, four player multiplayer on the same screen, no always-on connection requried, no game-killing real money auction house, and an inventory system that allows you to stay in the action while also swapping out your equipment for upgrades you find on the battlefield. Directly controlling your character also changes what was a click-fest into a more measured and intense action title.