Yesterday, it was revealed that long-awaited RTS Starcraft II would not have LAN support, sending a number of PC gamers into a frenzy, despite the fact that they had the Internet so it shouldn't really be a problem. Blizzard has naturally responded to the nerd rage, defending its position and making sure to mention piracy as a contributing factor.
"We don't currently plan to support LAN play with StarCraft II, as we are building Battle.net to be the ideal destination for multiplayer gaming with StarCraft II and future Blizzard Entertainment games," confirms a Blizzard rep. "While this was a difficult decision for us, we felt that moving away from LAN play and directing players to our upgraded Battle.net service was the best option to ensure a quality multiplayer experience with StarCraft II and safeguard against piracy.
"Several Battle.net features like advanced communication options, achievements, stat-tracking, and more, require players to be connected to the service, so we're encouraging everyone to use Battle.net as much as possible to get the most out of StarCraft II. We're looking forward to sharing more details about Battle.net and online functionality for StarCraft II in the near future."
So, an equal mix of piracy and Blizzard pushing its own gaming platform are to blame. Still, hardcore traditionalists who don't like change will likely be unsatisfied by this and shall continue to get all stroppy. You know what they should do? They should boycott it. I hear that's the cool thing to do!
Jim Sterling serves as reviews editor for Destructoid.com, head of the Podtoid podcast, and produces a number of news stories, original features, one-of-a-kind videos. With his passionate argumentative style, controversial opinions, harsh delivery, and dedication to brutal honesty Sterling is a name that you can't help but recognize.
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Contest:
1:20 PM on 06.30.2009
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On another note...
I've never understood how people let Blizzard get away with plagiarizing Warhammer 40k with Starcraft. Yes 40k's derivative of other sci-fi genres but it carves out it's own distint IP. Star Wars is derivative of every space opera and hero's journey before it but if I made a game based around Duke Skyjogger and didn't even bother to change his character design a little I'd be hit with lawsuits as soon as this sentence finished.
All Blizzard is doing is delaying the inevitable. Which if that moves a few extra games for them, it's hard to blame 'em.
hardeharhar.
How the hell do they expect LAN parties to play SC2?
Ya lets have a hundreds of people in the same place connect to battle.net so they can play each other even though they're in the same fucking room.
The piracy comment is just a front, piracy will happen one way or another.
Making it so you cant have lan parties because you wanna push your cock-stupid battlenet service is pretty much going to kill the hardcore support for Starcraft that wasnt already killed by the 3 game model.
Oh well. least the idiots who think kekekeke zerg rush games on big game hunters were the pinnacle of starcraft's multiplayer experience can have Battlenet all to themselves.
I don't see how they can 'stop' it though, there are workarounds to those types of things. =P
This is an incredibly stupid move, how many LAN parties exist that don't have an internet connection? Too many.
Starcraft tourneys, God, it's just so much, how can they really be so naive?
Now they will be able to blame it on the lag,
Yes people can play over the internet but I'd guess you would need a pretty substantial internet connection to support a LAN party all playing over the net instead of locally.
Y'know, I wish you'd try looking at things from a perspective that isn't the developer's. It's partially because of those 'hardcore traditionalists' that are pissed that Starcraft is a mainstay of multiplayer gaming. Starcraft is synonymous with LAN party. What next, insult people 'whining' about the fact that the developers of Ghostbusters couldn't be bothered to include multiplayer in the PC release?
Jim is just flame-baiting. At least I hope he's not that ignorant.
I can't wait for delicious Korea rage.
You better have some damn LAN, that's a deal breaker.
No, I can do without Starcraft II and the shitty decisions surrounding it. If Blizzard wants to be fucking retarded about this, I can simply give my money to someone else offering a product that I actually want. Isn't capitalism grand?
In other words, this doesn't do crap about piracy. It just punishes everyone for nothing.
That said, I don't care nearly enough to not buy this....
Starcraft sold by the boatload, but I can't tell you how many times I've seen pirated copies and cracks and such passed around at LAN parties.
I don't think it'll limit anyone's access to the game, either. Pretty much everyone that would play this game would have high speed internet.
But really, screw achievements, screw stat-tracking, I just want to get together in a room with my friends and have a good time playing some custom maps. It's been a Warcraft III tradition so far, and it looks like it'll stay that way.
Will this stop pirates? fuck no,. they'll just figure out how to spoof a connection to play off of battle.net.
the only people this'll hurt is lan parties and serious tournament play,
Seems strange.
Sure, playing from the comfort of your home will work but is Sweden the only country that still loves throwing your computer into a car and drive to a remote cottage to play starcraft for three days straight?
It's not an expected feature or anything but it would have been nice. It was very useful with the first game and sold a lot of people I know on the full product.
You are in a position to influence real change in the industry in many situations, and use it continually to mock any gamers who dare question what the EA and Activision PR departments release.
I want to hate you, but I understand it is your way of trying to feel "superior" to the average gamer. You're above caring! Surely that means you're better than us rather than you are just an apathetic, gutless troll.
@Yutt
You said what I wanted to say.
I dunno, I don't have much interest in this game. I mean, I suck at RTS games and while this did sound interesting at first...splitting the game into three is worst for me (as I only did the single player missions) and while LAN doesn't affect me, reading about how they're effectively shutting out tournaments and netcafes is a little silly in my eyes.
If you wanted to stop piracy, why not add on some superleet DRM? Oh wait. :(
He's still the best writer on the net, but he really needs to stop treating every group who is upset over something as a pack of rabid morons simply because they are upset over something - Sometimes they actually have a point.
The same way magic pixie dust allows people to fly...
Seriously though, this is a bad decision by Blizzard.
This is just going to piss off a large percent of their paying fan base.
No LAN support because of piracy....that's a laughable scapegoat.
Also LAN is really a necessary feature.
And really, while I really did appreciate LAN; as it's always really just been a great feature, it's not the end of the goddamn world
And IMO, Obrien; StarCraft isn't some retarded carbon-copy of WH40K. IF you'd actually care to do anything but 'hey, there's some insectoid-like race and the standard infantry unit looks like the Space Marine! RIPOFF.', you'd actually note that while the concept seems rather similar, and, I admit, it many cases it does, it's not the blatant ripoff you claim it to be, especially since I never really knew that 40K was the first and only sci-fi IP that included insect aliens and psychic aliens. Just as you said, StarCraft is centralized around very derivative sci-fi concepts, it manages to carve out something distinctive.
Oh yes, I'm a Blizzard fanboy, I'll wholly admit to that; though considering Blizzard's track record, I personally feel like it's justified.
Who's the stupid faggot now?