Dear Blizzard Entertainment,

http://www.incgamers.com/News/17129/...aftIIConfirmed

We, your most loyal fans, implore you to reconsider adding LAN as a network feature to StarCraft II. This is a response to the announcement that the only multiplayer in StarCraft II will be via Battle.net.

We understand you will be adding amazing new features to Battle.net that you can't talk about yet, but regardless of any features you might add online, 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.

The new Battle.net sounds absolutely awesome from the sneak peeks you have given us, and people will most likely be using it exclusively, even if they only play single player. However, there is no harm in allowing LAN play as well, and it does bring further depth and life to what will probably become the top RTS of the next decade.

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. The few people that don't or can't own a copy will find other ways to play without pay, or more likely; are just not that into the game anyway. If they theoretically could be excluded, it would probably still not affect sales.

PIRATE SERVERS
Competing services like iCCup only exist because they add features that players want (functionality and lag-free play in this case). You will most likely improve battle.net way beyond iCCup’s current functionality, thus automatically encouraging players to avoid these "pirate" servers.
A very important thing to point out here is that iCCup does NOT use LAN. Enabling LAN play would have no effect on this type of service at all.

PIRATE COPIES ON SSL
Hamachi is another service that people use when Battle.net is too laggy, and they have no other way of playing. They might see it as a way of avoiding an unauthorized service such as iCCup. Fixing lag and other Battle.net features that are not working as they should would almost completely wipe out the need for Hamachi. It's just too cumbersome, and people would rather just buy the game and log on.

REASONS TO KEEP LAN
- While many of your fans might have internet access with the required speed to play without lag, there are still many that don't, or would like to play with a friend or sibling residing in the same house. LAN is NOT an expensive upgrade, and once you have it, it’s yours. Internet is something that you have to pay for every month, and in a bad month you might choose to buy groceries instead of paying for the internet.

- LAN is what birthed SC popularity in the first place. Please don't ignore the heritage of the original game.

- Using LAN is a little bit of freedom. Often you might be at a friend's place with the only option to ad hoc the wireless connections instead of using internet, excluding the Battle.net gaming possibility.

- There are little to no ill effects in implementing LAN compared to the advantages. The piracy rate of people actually interested in the game would be negligible. Just look at SC1 now. Even with a laggy Battle.net, it is still selling so well that it once again reached top-10 on the NPD charts a decade after its release!

-Having LAN functionality in the game makes it feel you have more freedom of choice. You can choose to be part of the greater community, or you can choose to just play with one or two friends. LAN is a vital part of what makes StarCraft so great, and what will make StarCraft II even greater. Sometimes you don't have to use a function in order to appreciate having it there. It's the sort of freedom we have come to expect from Blizzard Entertainment.

Please include LAN functionality in your future classic!

Best regards and wishes,
Your loyal fans

Sincerely,