On the heel of Starcraft match scandal, Blizzard and Korean e-Sports Association has severed its ties with Blizzard looking for new partner in Korea. The breaking point was not the cheating scandal but the overall strain developed between the two entities over the years. The latest blow came about because of Blizzard’s decision not to include LAN support for their upcoming Starcraft 2 game. In Korea, Starcraft rivals any national sports in terms of viewership and popularity. Blizzard’s decision to limit online play through their Battle.net might cause some problem with the local matches. Both sides are not budging on this topic. While Blizzard seems to be worried about piracy and share of E-sports profit, KeSPA is focusing on the eventual match and how to get around the lack of LAN support. More than likely, both sides will come to some term.
One of the first information regarding StarCrat 2 was that it will not be compatible with LAN play. Blizzard has stated that StarCraft 2 will only be playable for players connecting to Battle.net 2.0. This has caused uproar in gaming community as a lot of the gamers still attend and enjoy LAN parties. This was Blizzard’s counter to the piracy issue and may have gone overboard.
Now, Blizzard might be backtracking a little. Blizzard’s vice president Ron Pardo has reiterated that lack of LAN is not a big issue but “something like it” is in the works to replace it. While most LAN party will have internet connection, it might bog down if most of the players are connected to the internet. While I’m not sure what could replace LAN connectivity, I hope they can implement something that will not require connection to internet in order to enjoy multiplayer.