Why StarCraft 2 LAN Play Matters
Ars Technica article on Blizzard’s decision to remove LAN play from StarCraft 2
Blizzard was so loved because it was a gamer-friendly company that gave us more than we asked for, and surprised us with things like a free online service and the spawned installs. Now, if you want to hook up a few computers in your basement without an Internet connection, you may not be able to play against each other at all. The LAN party is a dying thing in the world of built-in voice chat and high-speed Internet connections, but it’s not dead yet… especially among those who grew up playing StarCraft.
I doubt many PC Bangs in South Korea are too happy by this.
But it is a shame to see LAN play go the way of the Dodo, since I imagine it is such an easy technology to implement. I have many found memories of me and my friends scrabbling to get all our computers setup to play StarCraft over LAN – I remember lots of cat5 cable and a lot of shouting about not having the latest update.
It’s funny that even today me and my friends will still have the same problems when we want to play. Wireless routers have made the process less messy, but it should also be a testament to how easy Blizzard made LAN play that last semester a few students were still able to get the game up and running on all the Macs in the Hampshire College computer lab.
Still, LAN play was one of the reasons StarCraft became such a huge hit, and it’s demise will be felt by this old gamer.
The pillars of PC gaming: why StarCraft 2 LAN play matters – Ars Technica.