Blizzard Declares LAN Will Be a "Footnote" in History

[Keane Ng]

Blizzard Declares LAN Will Be a "Footnote" in History

Blizzard made exactly clear that LAN play won't be a part of its games - or games at all - in the future, declaring that LAN will "be a great footnote in our history."

Not even the willpower of 100,000 petition signers [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/93919-Thousands-Sign-StarCraft-2-Petition] can stop the forward march of technology. Despite the popular support for local area network play in StarCraft II, Blizzard's VP of game design, Rob Pardo, is pretty clear cut about how his company feels about the implementation of offline network multiplayer in games.

"I think LAN will be a great footnote in our history, just like DOS was," Pardo said. Ouch. No offense to those of you with fond recollections of using DOS (I have none), but I'd figured that the idea of hooking in a few computers on the same local network might have a bit more currency than that.

Keep in mind, however, that Pardo said this in July at a press event for StarCraft II's campaign mode - back then the petition didn't have as much support as it does now. But I really doubt it's going to change the company's mind.

Because it's not like Blizzard doesn't have any love for LAN. They do. They love LAN. It's just, it's not working out any more, and it's time to move on. "It was a very tough decision, and I'd say we'd been talking about it back and forth for well over a year before we finally decided that this is more the direction for the future for us, and actually for the industry," Pardo said.

Oh well. LAN or online, it doesn't matter. Funk [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/profiles/view/CantFaketheFunk] goes down like a punk either way.

[Via VG247 [http://www.vg247.com/2009/08/17/blizzards-pardo-lan-will-be-a-great-footnote-in-our-history/]]

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[John Funk]

Oh well. LAN or online, it doesn't matter. Funk [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/profiles/view/CantFaketheFunk] goes down like a punk either way.

It's on like Donkey Kong, brother.

On a related note, this makes me wonder what exactly the SC2 kiosks at last year's PAX and BlizzCon were running on - was it B.net? Because it was pretty lagless, which is a good sign.

 

[Samman]

Honestly, 99% of the people crying about the absence of LAN in SC2 were just going to try to pirate it anyway.

Sure there's some who don't have access to high speed connections AND have friends with the same problem who would use LAN. However, those cases are so few and far between compared to the number of people who would use LAN as a means of playing multiplayer on a pirated version of the game.

 

[Zer_]

Oh well. LAN or online, it doesn't matter. Funk [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/profiles/view/CantFaketheFunk] goes down like a punk either way.

It's on like Donkey Kong, brother.

On a related note, this makes me wonder what exactly the SC2 kiosks at last year's PAX and BlizzCon were running on - was it B.net? Because it was pretty lagless, which is a good sign.

StarCraft 1's laggyness could be attributed to the times really. StarCraft came when high speed internet was beginning to get a foothold over Dial-up. People were in a transition and I believe SC1's net code had trouble with people having such different internet connections.

 

[theSovietConnection]

And I will be sad the day LAN goes away. No shiny new games for LAN parties

 

[Izerous]

I was just at a 400 person Lan a couple weeks ago. Internet connection ended up being questionable at best. Without Lan support SC2 will probably never see the true level of competition that SC1 still sees today.

 

[PieMaker]

Honestly, 99% of the people crying about the absence of LAN in SC2 were just going to try to pirate it anyway.

How dare you? The nerve!
Even though i admit the i play pirated games (games that should be considered abandonware by now but publishers want to squeeze the lemon till the last drop).

It's not a bad thing that SC2 will not support LAN, but i'm sad to know that fact, because starcraft was a lovely choice to play with my housemates while the internet was down.

 

[SharedProphet]

On a related note, this makes me wonder what exactly the SC2 kiosks at last year's PAX and BlizzCon were running on - was it B.net? Because it was pretty lagless, which is a good sign.

Probably LAN.

 

[C0nn0r666]

what s LAN anywhy

 

[Amnestic]

Honestly, 99% of the people crying about the absence of LAN in SC2 were just going to try to pirate it anyway.

I trust you have a source for that outrageous statement?

No?

I thought not.

Eh, I'm not worried. There'll be a cracked version with LAN written into it within five days of SC2 release considering how popular it is.

 

[jh322]

what s LAN anywhy

#

Ahh, the eternal question.

(Answer: Local Area Network. It enables you to play multiplayer without an internet connection. Pros: Bad/no connection? can still play with buddies. LAN parties are possible. Cons: Piracy easier as each person can use the same cd key (or a key found on the internet or from a keygen). For the amount of effort involved, it probably won't see as much use as SC1s LAN facility, because the internet and online gaming have grown a lot since SC1 was released).

 

[ChromeAlchemist]

Use Hamachi, everybody wins.

 

[jamesworkshop]

I really love LAN games its just soo much better than online I have a house with 4 Desktops and 2 Laptops all conected to the same wireless router to play games like Age of empires 2, Alien Vs Predator, Dawn of war and Diablo 2 since they require little hardware to run and I am looking foward to adding Borderland to the mix as well.
Connecting all the machine to the net to send data to blizzard only for them to send it back throught the same router is really ineffecient

 

[jh322]

Use Hamachi, everybody wins.

Do that, and the only people that really win are the pirates. A real LAN party wouldn't be able to happen because everybody would be on the same internet connection, resulting in what would most likely be horrendous, unplayable LAG. Hamachi enables people to play with replicated CD keys, it doesn't remove the need for the internet.

EDIT: also, hamachi is a relatively simple program, which won't allow a game with no LAN support to facilitate a LAN game.

 

[Croaker42]

Honestly, 99% of the people crying about the absence of LAN in SC2 were just going to try to pirate it anyway.

I trust you have a source for that outrageous statement?

No?

I thought not.

Eh, I'm not worried. There'll be a cracked version with LAN written into it within five days of SC2 release considering how popular it is.

So it turns out 99.9% of internet stats are made up on the spot...... event his one.

Well I can say I will still buy the game. Eventually. After it goes to a bundle with all episodes and includes whatever Xpac they release witing two years or so.

Well maby Diablo 3 will be awsome enough to keep me going.

 

[ChromeAlchemist]

Use Hamachi, everybody wins.

Do that, and the only people that really win are the pirates. A real LAN party wouldn't be able to happen because everybody would be on the same internet connection, resulting in what would most likely be horrendous, unplayable LAG. Hamachi enables people to play with replicated CD keys, it doesn't remove the need for the internet.

EDIT: also, hamachi is a relatively simple program, which won't allow a game with no LAN support to facilitate a LAN game.

Concerning your edit, I was just thinking that. If they have their own servers as well, there isn't any legitimate way around this is there? Or if you buy one copy and acquire >_> <_< another, that could balance it out? I mean cap'n hook wins either way, right?

 

[AncientYoungSon]

There went my Starcraft 2 reserve. I don't buy Blizzard games to play them with strangers.

Seriously, there was nothing in the world better than spending hours playing SC with friends, trying to beat a whole pile of computers, then finally winning and going out for pizza afterwards. The fact that Blizzard wants to do away with that is nothing shy of criminal.

 

[ZippyDSMlee]

Ya...but lan is still used today......... dos....not so much...... so basically all the fans and supporters of the game you are writing off....so you can sell an extra copy..... you can try that... it won't really help any..... can't drive demand on a RTS like that.......

edit
I mean seriously a niche game even with a super brand attached to it is going to sell well regardless of the crap they sling on it, why not just come out and say it, they are doing everything they can to pad the bottom line, its their right to do it and my right to say screw off.