Without a doubt, StarCraft II is one of the most expected titles in the upcoming months, as
no concrete release date was given to it by its creator, Blizzard. But the company broke a lot of hearts yesterday, as it announced that
LAN multiplayer support would not be included in the game, and that all of the multiplayer modes would go through its Battle.Net online system.
While this was, evidently, done in order to prevent rampant piracy of the eagerly anticipated title, a lot of fans felt betrayed and have resorted to an old stand-by for Internet users, creating a petition against this act from Blizzard.
But don't think it is as virulent as the recent protest against Valve's Left 4 Dead 2, or the older “too much color in Diablo III” campaign, as its general tone is much more polite and tries to reason with Blizzard by offering a lot of interesting motives why LAN support needs to be added.
“The new Battle.net sounds absolutely awesome from the sneak peeks you have given us, and people will most likely be using it exclusively, even if they only play single player. However, there is no harm in allowing LAN play as well, and it does bring further depth and life to what will probably become the top RTS of the next decade.”
Entitled “LAN in Starcraft 2 Please,” the petition is available at
this address and has achieved over 20,000 signatures at the time of writing this article. Here are some of the reasons offered by those who made it for implementing LAN support in StarCraft II when it would appear:
“- While many of your fans might have Internet access with the required speed to play without lag, there are still many that don't, or would like to play with a friend or sibling residing in the same house. LAN is NOT an expensive upgrade, and once you have it, it’s yours. Internet is something that you have to pay for every month, and in a bad month you might choose to buy groceries instead of paying for the Internet.
- LAN is what birthed SC popularity in the first place. Please don't ignore the heritage of the original game.
- Using LAN is a little bit of freedom. Often you might be at a friend's place with the only option to ad hoc the wireless connections instead of using Internet, excluding the Battle.net gaming possibility.
- There are little to no ill effects in implementing LAN compared to the advantages. The piracy rate of people actually interested in the game would be negligible. Just look at SC1 now. Even with a laggy Battle.net, it is still selling so well that it once again reached top-10 on the NPD charts a decade after its release!
- Having LAN functionality in the game makes it feel you have more freedom of choice. You can choose to be part of the greater community, or you can choose to just play with one or two friends. LAN is a vital part of what makes StarCraft so great, and what will make StarCraft II even greater. Sometimes you don't have to use a function in order to appreciate having it there. It's the sort of freedom we have come to expect from Blizzard Entertainment.”
Do you agree with the creators of this petition? Or do you think that the
new Battle.Net is a great idea and LAN support shouldn't be added in this eagerly anticipated title? Leave us a comment with your thoughts.
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