But making a "Professional Edition" that'll probably cost more than the base original (I mean hey.. it's Professional!) is just weak.
I think there's some misunderstanding here. The professional edition isn't going to be for sale - it's going to be reserved for Blizzard-endorsed tournaments (like televised games in Korea) which will likely require the supervision of a Blizzard employee to operate.
Maybe it will eventually be pirated. But you guys have to realize, removing LAN support isn't about stopping individual piracy, it's almost entirely about internet cafes, especially in Korea. A lot of those places have pirated versions of SC1 installed on 30 or 40 computers. Even if the LAN version is pirated a year or six months from now, in the meantime those places will have had to purchase legit copies.
Blizzard isn't stupid and this isn't a decision made entirely by clueless corporate types who think they can stop piracy. I don't think they really give a shit if the tournament edition is eventually leaked and used by individuals to play LAN with their friends. The important thing is delaying it long enough to capture sales from people who can't wait for a pirated version to come out sometime in the indefinite future.
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I think there's some misunderstanding here. The professional edition isn't going to be for sale - it's going to be reserved for Blizzard-endorsed tournaments (like televised games in Korea) which will likely require the supervision of a Blizzard employee to operate.
Maybe it will eventually be pirated. But you guys have to realize, removing LAN support isn't about stopping individual piracy, it's almost entirely about internet cafes, especially in Korea. A lot of those places have pirated versions of SC1 installed on 30 or 40 computers. Even if the LAN version is pirated a year or six months from now, in the meantime those places will have had to purchase legit copies.
Blizzard isn't stupid and this isn't a decision made entirely by clueless corporate types who think they can stop piracy. I don't think they really give a shit if the tournament edition is eventually leaked and used by individuals to play LAN with their friends. The important thing is delaying it long enough to capture sales from people who can't wait for a pirated version to come out sometime in the indefinite future.