StarCraft II fans politely demand LAN play

By Oli Welsh Published 1 July, 2009

Submit world's most obsequious petition.

Following yesterday's news that StarCraft II would not support LAN play, requiring all multiplayer to be played through an internet connection and Battle.net, fans have set up a petition asking Blizzard to reconsider.

But they're using the technique of flattery, quite unusual in fan petitions, to get their point across.

"We understand you will be adding amazing new features to Battle.net that you can't talk about yet," "the new Battle.net sounds absolutely awesome," "if what you say is true about Battle.net 2.0, then everyone will want to own a copy of StarCraft II and try out the new Battle.net," they say, undermining their own argument a little.

But "we would still like to be able to play in a traditional network where no internet connection is needed. For an internet connection might not always be available," they add, using their best reasonable voice. "Please include LAN functionality in your future classic!"

The petition has just over 10,000 signatures at time of writing. Head to the StarCraft II gamepage for brand-new hands on impressions, video and more.

Picture of Oli.

About Oli Welsh

Oli is Eurogamer's acting deputy editor and reviews editor and likes to take things one word at a time. He is among the best dressed people in South London.

Read more articles from Oli by visiting the Oli Welsh archive page.

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Comments (21) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Moz #1 3 years ago

    So where's the potition? As my enthusiasum for SCII has died somewhat since hearing about the lack of

    Edit:

    found it here
    Edited by 1 at 01/07/09 @ 09:10

  • smoothn00dle #2 3 years ago

    Piss me off!! After 11 yrs and why??? I am not going to buy SC2 and that for sure.

    Blizzard has let the RTS genre down for so many years.. First they come out destroy the competition and then let it run dry.. RTS fan just left and go somewhere else like console.. Look, Metal gear solid 1 came out the same year. Metal Gear Solid 4 was out last year. Four full fucking MGS games on three different console generation: PS1, PS2 and PS3.

    I hope SC2 will be a success but to be frank, I doubt it will be as successful as SC1 because the RTS landscape is different nowadays.

  • killuminati2911 #3 3 years ago

    Guess this have somenthing to do with "We still thinking how to MONETIZE with Battle.net". A statement of 2 months ago...

  • Gnort #4 3 years ago

    Blizzard fans are so up the company's backside that they can't even write up a petition to protest an issue that has them up in arms without fawning over the company.

    Don't get me wrong, Blizzard is a great company, but a lot of their fans seem to view them with almost deific reverence, and it can get a little much.

  • paketep #5 3 years ago

    Yeah, it would be nice to link the petition in the news item

  • DFawkes #6 3 years ago

    This is probably the first petition I've bothered signing. Not that it actually matter a great deal to me, but I do actually use LAN on RTS games, it's great for when I want some local, same room gaming without internet access being an issue. Though the wosr possible outcome is they don't bother and I stick with Starcraft 1, which is still a great game so it'll all work out.

  • Kerome #7 3 years ago

    That's a first... polite fan petitions, whatever next. Certainly a pleasant change from "omg they're trying to extort more money out of us, it should be free!", long may it continue.

    The bottom line is, it's Blizzard's call, they're responsible to the shareholders, their employees, and the business side, as well as the fans. I'm sure they'll have a decent stab at finding an ethically responsible middle ground.

  • Nephirion #8 3 years ago

    Where's the petition to remove DK from wow?

  • Oli Verified Reviews Editor, Eurogamer.net #9 3 years ago

    Whoops, I totally meant to put a link to the petition in. Fixed now. Apologies.

  • Jocho #10 3 years ago

    The politeness aside, I doubt this will make any change. The petition is almost above politeness to an almost silly degree. There's just a few too many "you're awesome" in there. The next reason is that LAN-support isn't just a check box they fill and suddenly have LAN-support - if they've removed it, it has most likely been planned for long, and adding it would take more development time (and I think we want the game now - at least I do). Finally, and most important, is that the 50.000 people petition against "the gay Diablo 3 colours" failed. That might just as well have been because they critized the generall art direction rather then requesting a feature, but if this doesn't come up to the same amount or more (I'd say the double), it's most likely not going to be listened to.

    Oh, and some of their arguments are mostly assumptions (like mine above) as well. If Blizzard has correct numbers which contradict theirs their arguments will have no value.

    I bet I'm so going to get down-rated for having the wrong opinion here. ^^

  • skillian #11 3 years ago

    but if this doesn't come up to the same amount or more (I'd say the double), it's most likely not going to be listened to.

    You're right, it probably won't make the difference, but there's nothing wrong with letting your voice be heard.
    Edited by 1 at 01/07/09 @ 11:25

  • DFawkes #12 3 years ago

    I'm betting most will still buy this though. I can't see it being a make or break feature for many people, it'll still be great. I'm not buying it, but I think it'll still be a big success regardless.

  • Macross #13 3 years ago

    personally if it cuts down on rascally pirating of the game i'm all for the cut, even tho i can see why people are upset about it.

  • sneetch #14 3 years ago

    @DFawkes
    I'm betting most will still buy this though. I can't see it being a make or break feature for many people, it'll still be great. I'm not buying it, but I think it'll still be a big success regardless.

    Yep, it'll mainly be an issue to those people who want to be able to play without having bought a copy. Personally I couldn't give a crap about LAN play, I can see why others would but a LAN with no internet access available is a very rare thing these days.

  • skillian #15 3 years ago

    a LAN with no internet access available is a very rare thing these days.

    In the UK maybe, but there are many countries around the world where internet access is unstable, slow or prohibitively expensive.

  • Rack #16 3 years ago

    ^True, like say, the UK. Internet access round Birmingham is struggling to hit dialup speeds these days.

  • clockworkzombie #17 3 years ago

    Politeness counts. If it was written as a frothing denunciation you can bet there will be ZERO chance of Blizzard taking notice of it as there are always plenty weirdoes making noise.

  • Spekingur #18 3 years ago

    I have no problem with needing to register the game through battle.net when you first start it up. The good old way of registering a key (like the mmo's do) and creating an account. After that you can either play online or offline. It is a very simple and still effective way to battle some of the piracy. And there will definently be piracy of the game, much like for the first one.
    And then they can just offer the game through a service like Steam and then this wouldn't really be a problem.

  • CouldntResist #19 3 years ago

    In the UK maybe, but there are many countries around the world where internet access is unstable, slow or prohibitively expensive.

    The UK is actually quite far behind most developed countries in the world in terms of internet coverage and internet speed. To be honest countries that have poor internet access are probably not within Blizzard's target demographic. It might lose them a few sales, but i can't see it being significant.

  • satani #20 3 years ago

    If will not be LAN, I speak as the user and the fan, the product will lose 50 % of expectations from fans! The sense is not present from game if other users who are not having the Internet, cannot play this wonderful creation. Copies sooner or later will be, business of time as shows an expert in people. Support LAN vital if founders do not wish to lose trust of players!

  • Lobo69 #21 2 years ago

    link to the petition
    http://ww w.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/s...
    129110 Total Signatures