Blizzard confirmed this week at an invitation only multiplayer event that Starcraft 2 will not be shipping with LAN support.  Rob Pardo, executive VP of Game Development, specifically said at the event to IncGamers, "We don't have any plans to support LAN, we will not support it."  Gamespot also confirms with a Blizzard representative who also clarified the company's position:

"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," a Blizzard representative said in a statement. "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."

THIS is a LAN Party.

One of the best ways for you to enjoy the original Starcraft was over LAN (Local Area Network for those of your console types!)  What this basically meant was players can engage in multiplayer matches without the need to use Battle.net or have an internet connection.  You simply dial into each other's machines and a game is born.  This was made popular by LAN parties, Internet cafes and, of course, pirates.

Without the need to use Blizzard's authenticated Battle.Net service, pirates were able to compete in LAN games without the need to have a legal copy of the game.  This is apparently one of the deciding factors for Blizzard when considering the removal of LAN support.  The question remains whether players of Starcraft 2, 11 years after the original Starcraft releases in 1998, would even know the difference.

Bobby Kotick's Bathroom

The reactions thus far to the news according to comments on the linked stories has been generally negative.  Blizzard already has a hard time convincing gamers (note I did not include the diehard fans) to purchase a game that has 1/3rd of the single player story for full retail price.  Personally, I feel that this is due in part to Activision's influence.  Activision's Bobby Kotick has said previously that Activision's publishing strategy is for its games to “have the potential to be exploited every year on every platform with clear sequel potential and have the potential to become $100 million dollar franchises."  Doesn't releasing Starcraft 2 in three parts sound like it would fit perfectly into that business model?

Blizzard undoubtedly had a longer development cycle in mind for Starcraft 2.  Perhaps with smaller individual campaigns but with all three story arcs combined into one.  It only stands to make sense that Blizzard is being pressured to fall in line with the rest of the industry after its merger with Activision and release games more frequently at the cost of content or quality.  Especially after Blizzard acknowledged that they have plans to release Starcraft 2 in 2009, which is a first since Blizzard never announces release plans until a firm date is announced.

Source: PennyArcade.com

As for the removal of LAN support, that can also be attributed to the influences of Activision.  After publicly whining about the piracy rates in Call of Duty 4, the publisher most likely devised plans of DRM and anti-piracy measures.  Blizzard has already stated that they believe the best way to counter piracy is with added value and content.  But an Utopian point of view is never enough to satisfy board members, which leads us to the removal of the only reason to pirate the game on a long term basis - LAN play.

Does that mean Blizzard has sold out to Activision and the industry?  Not at all!  In fact, they are making a stand to defend their founding principles.  However, the reality of business is settling in and this will not be the first time we see disappointing announcements such as this.  I hope that despite of the sad news, Blizzard will continue to pride itself in its long history and not give in to outward pressure.

In light of this revelation, will you still buy Starcraft 2?  Do you still play PC games over LAN with friends or is server based online play the connection of choice?  Let us know!