Blizzard Declares LAN Will Be a "Footnote" in History

[Amnestic]

Different time, different tech.
You have no one but the pirates to blame.

Oh please. They can use pirates as an excuse but it's a pretty goddamn flimsy one. Pirates will find a way. DRM? Hah. Look at Spore, Mass Effect and RA3. This'll get cracked just as easily and the dreaded pirates will still be playing it on LAN willy nilly anyway. This change will do nothing to stop piracy at all.

 

[ReverseEngineered]

Dear Blizzard,

I'm not sure if you know what a LAN is, but may I introduce you to PAX, Wintereenmas, and the World Cyber Games. Yes, LANs span more than just a household -- they make up the backbone of competitive gaming.

While it may seem trite to link hundreds of computers together with dedicated cable rather than connecting to the ubiquitous Internet, when we're talking about densely-populated events, there are a lot of good reasons to do so. No single internet connection is going to be able to handle the massive amount of traffic being created by hundreds of people playing online games, and certainly not without a perceptable amount of latency. With immeasurable ping times, LANs are superior to any Internet-connected server for large group and competitive gaming. You know, like the original Starcraft that still continues to be played on LANs all over the world.

You may think that giving up on support of LANs in StarCraft 2 will somehow denote the end of the concept, but I think you'll be surprised when you see how well your Internet-only game performs in the professional, competitive gaming leagues. It may be of no consequence to you, but rest assured other LAN-enabled games will continue to take your place. LANs won't be a footnote in history; you'll be a footnote at LANs.

 

[Byers]

Good riddance. LAN is unnecessary and would take development focus away from things that matter.

 

[Byers]

Good riddance. LAN is unnecessary, obsolete technology and would take development focus away from things that matter.

 

[axia777]

Different time, different tech.
You have no one but the pirates to blame.

Bullshit. It is a pure money grab. Canceling LAN forces people who want to play with other people to play through only BattleNet. Pirates will still pirate. Who wants to bet how fast some hacker finds a way to run SC2 through a hacked LAN setup once it comes out? This is just a huge money grab!!!

 

[Amnestic]

Good riddance. LAN is unnecessary and would take development focus away from things that matter.

A number of posts in this thread have detailed exactly why LAN is necessary. The same way online multiplayer is necessary, anyway.

Plus, I'm fairly sure they already had a build of SC2 with LAN in at some point and then they took it out, which means that a fair bit of the 'development time' has already been used.

Who wants to bet how fast some hacker finds a way to run SC2 through a hacked LAN setup once it comes out?

3-5 days is my guess. If they haven't got it out within a week from release I'll be very shocked.

 

[kspiess]

Piracy is probably a big reason why they decided not to go with LAN play. But another big reason could possibly be that they want to force people to use Battlenet, because they are monetizing-it. I don't know what the real reason is, but I just thought I'd bring that up as a possibility...

 

[Artemis923]

One more reason for me to not buy Starcraft II.

 

[Byers]

Good riddance. LAN is unnecessary and would take development focus away from things that matter.

A number of posts in this thread have detailed exactly why LAN is necessary. The same way online multiplayer is necessary, anyway.

Plus, I'm fairly sure they already had a build of SC2 with LAN in at some point and then they took it out, which means that a fair bit of the 'development time' has already been used.

Yeah. And I want my new cellphone to have support for smoke signals.

 

[Grampy_bone]

If it hadn't been for LANs and spawn copies I never would have purchased the original Starcraft. Saying LAN=Piracy is pure idiocy. This is a great example of the differences in thinking between now and then. Back then they considered every person who got the chance to play the game a potential sale. Now they consider everyone who tries a game and doesn't buy it a "lost sale." Where is the confidence in their product? Where is the faith in word of mouth advertising? (the BEST form of advertising there is, just ask Nintendo)

 

[dochmbi]

First, playing using battle.net for starcraft 2 will be free. Then they will say: Oh, this is getting too expensive and bla bla bla, we have to charge you 10$ a month to play SC2...

That's because paying 150$ for all the three Starcraft 2 parts isn't enough, you have to pay another 120$ for a years subscription fees. Why not just be honest about it and put Starcraft 2 on the shelves for 300$. I hate this bullshit.

I'm 100% positive there will be a hacked version of SC2 with LAN functionality and I'm going to get it and use it just to spit in Blizzards face.

 

[Nevyrmoore]

Good riddance. LAN is unnecessary, obsolete technology and would take development focus away from things that matter.

Wait wait wait, obsolete how?

Because last time I checked, ANY company still uses a LAN for an on-site computer network.

 

[Cryo84R]

Bullshit. It is a pure money grab. Canceling LAN forces people who want to play with other people to play through only BattleNet.

Yeah, lots of money grabs use free services to get your money.

 

[axia777]

Good riddance. LAN is unnecessary and would take development focus away from things that matter.

A number of posts in this thread have detailed exactly why LAN is necessary. The same way online multiplayer is necessary, anyway.

Plus, I'm fairly sure they already had a build of SC2 with LAN in at some point and then they took it out, which means that a fair bit of the 'development time' has already been used.

Yeah. And I want my new cellphone to have support for smoke signals.

Apparently you does not have a whole lot of friends you like to play games with in the same room with you. Because that is why we like LAN play Byers. We like to drink beer/pop, eat pizza, and play games in the same room as our buddies. It is FUN. Talking smack and laughing. You know, being social while playing games. Playing on-line will never be the same, ever. LAN play is not outdated. It will never be outdated. Blizzard Activision is just making a huge money grab. They want to use the subject of piracy as an excuse to force people to use BattleNet so they have to pay cash to play StarCraft 2 with other people. It is mean and greedy!

Bullshit. It is a pure money grab. Canceling LAN forces people who want to play with other people to play through only BattleNet.

Yeah, lots of money grabs use free services to get your money.

The new BattleNet is going to cost money man. Look it up. For example.

http://www.destructoid.com/in-the-future-battle-net-will-cost-money-107378.phtml

If you think that Blizzard Activision is not going to milk us for all the cash that they can get you need to reevaluate what the company has become. WOW got them addicted to subscription based commerce. That is just how it will be from now on with them.

 

[Kyprioth]

Hey, while we're on the topic of piracy, I would like your opinions on something.

The copy of a Coldplay album I'd bought from iTunes was corrupted. So I downloaded it from the pirate bay. Is it illegal? If so, do you think it's morally wrong?