In a recent interview published by IncGamers, StarCraft II lead producer Rob Pardo and lead designer Chris Sigaty broke the news that you won't be able to play the upcoming sequel on a LAN. The redesigned Battle.net is being used by Blizzard to compile it's library of games into a centralized hub, similar to the Steam client. The new Battle.net has been met with mixed reactions, both offering the pros and cons of its implementation. Presumably, the LAN-lockout will apply to all future Blizzard games.

When asked if StarCraft II would support LAN play, Pardo said, "We don't have any plans to support LAN [...] The only multiplayer available will be on Battle.net." After the interview, IncGamers asked Blizzard to comment on why it would not allow LAN play. The company responded, saying the reason "is because of the planned technology to be incorporated into Battle.net," which basically means that Blizzard wants complete control over any multiplayer activity within its games.

Younger gamers might not see the significance of this move, since LAN parties and the neccessity for LAN play has dropped steadily since broadband modem speeds began replacing dial-up. However, there is still a generation of PC gamers who enjoy LAN gaming and hold massive get-togethers to play various games (like the original StarCraft) for fun or sport. Beyond that, LAN usage is still sought after by many gamers who don't have access to an Internet connection, but still want to play with other people. What do you think? A sign of the times, or a snob move by Blizzard?

The following editorial contains views that are the opinion of the author and not necessarily the views of Allakhazam.com

Depending on where you live and where you come from, you’ve probably heard of the growing community of professional e-gamers; cyber athletes who rake in the cash by playing the games that they love (or end up hating because they play them so much). I say depending on where you live and where you come from in this case because if we imagine that you hail from, say, Korea, the country that invented the “I-can’t-see-your-fingers-they-are-moving-too-fast” syndrome and the ailment known as “I-can-micromanage-better-than-a-computer-itis”, then you’re probably more than well aware of what I’m talking about. If, on the other hand, you’ve just emerged from your rock, blinking and confused at this internet substance, then I’m willing to bet that video game athletes aren’t something that you saw coming.

Either way, this article is not aimed at discussing the growing market that comes from professional FPS or RTS gaming. Rather, it is aimed at the new, acronym-awkward professional MMO PVP athlete (I might as well just say World of Warcraft e-athlete). In particular, this article is aimed towards answering the real question: is MMO PVP a viable path in e-athleticism, or is it simply an awkward date-my-daughter scenario being forced on us by some very influential people? I say influential people in this case because it’s very difficult to ignore a path that is being padded and endorsed by guys like Intel, Blizzard, Dell and NVIDIA. The awkward daughter-date, of course, is our charmingly self-titled “30 second lifespan” World of Warcraft Arena PVP.

With BlizzCon coverage popping up across the net, it was excited to see the video taken by StarCraft Wire which has a few mentions of Blizzard's unannounced "4th project" which is the unnamed MMO.

The interview covers just about every project Blizzard has going on, and is worth the watch!