Blizzard CEO'S Message to Starcraft 2 Players

[ggurface]

The chat patch is finally here I believe, I can hardly believe it, the mute Battle.net 2.0 for Starcraft 2 is no more. I will be one of the first ones in the new channels just saying hello to everyone. Ah, the good old days of Starcraft 1 and the sense you are not flying a battlecruiser by yourself in a dark galaxy far far away is finally gone, or will be gone soon! Can't wait!

The full letter is as follows:
Greetings StarCraft II community,

Blizzard has always been proud of the success that the StarCraft series has achieved globally, and we've been especially grateful for the passionate support of our Korean players. When we set out to create StarCraft II, we knew we were taking on a monumental task: we had to not only deliver a fun and balanced game, but we also had to create something that could live up to the legacy of its predecessor in Korea and thrive in the unique gaming culture that's evolved here over the past decade. Which brings me to why I wanted to write this letter to you today: to address some of the questions you've had about our decisions, our plans, and our goals for StarCraft II.

First, I'd like to touch upon the evolution of StarCraft II and Battle.net. Both are bigger, more ambitious, and more complex than their predecessors, and we're committed to providing new features, great new content, and outstanding support for years to come. You've started to see some improvements already. We've enhanced how custom maps are sorted and viewed, and we have more upgrades planned to make it easier to enjoy a wider variety of game types. Our development teams are hard at work on developing new ladder and custom maps, and we'll soon be unveiling several custom games made by the StarCraft II team that we think will surprise you. And while we're confident that we've released one of the most balanced RTS games ever, perfect balance is a never-ending battle -- and something we will continue to strive for. We've constructed the new Battle.net to make it easier for us to monitor how players are playing, collect and analyze feedback, and ensure that StarCraft II remains the ultimate competitive real-time strategy game.

We've heard your feedback regarding public and private chat channels as well and will be adding them in an upcoming patch. We'll also soon be introducing seasons to the StarCraft II ladder; as seasons progress, players will be able to access records of past accomplishments. Around the same time, we'll be introducing new pro and semi-pro leagues. In addition, Battle.net's social benefits will continue to become more evident as we add new games to the service. Players can already connect and communicate with friends across World of Warcraft and StarCraft II, and in the future, they'll be able to do the same in Diablo III.

We realized from the start that players would want to access and use StarCraft II and Battle.net in different ways. That's why we created a variety of access options to suit different play styles and levels of commitment. Players can choose from multiple time-based passes if they know they'll play intermittently, or they can choose an unlimited-access pass. In addition, Korea is the only region where World of Warcraft players can play StarCraft II for free!

Finally, I hope many of you were able to watch the finals for the first season of the Global StarCraft II League this past weekend. I'd like to personally congratulate FruitDealer for his hard-won victory and thank all of the participants for making this first season so successful and memorable. The GSL is just getting started -- the Season 2 preliminaries begin on October 9, and matches will be broadcast beginning October 18. We'll be welcoming a new batch of players, including some very familiar faces, and we're looking forward to seeing what strategies and surprises they all have in store. Gom TV is hard at work ensuring this season will be more epic and accessible than the last; you can visit www.gomtv.com for details or to catch any of the GSL matches you might have missed. I'd also like to mention that we are actively encouraging the creation of amateur StarCraft II tournaments as well, and we look forward to supporting more community tournaments at that level.

We continue to receive questions about the status of the negotiations between GomTV and organizations such as KeSPA, OGN, and MBC. We recognize many of you are interested to continue watching StarCraft I matches on TV, and as long as there is interest, we would like to see that continue as well. As GomTV is our exclusive tournament and broadcasting licensee in Korea, I cannot provide too many details about their ongoing negotiations other than to say that I am aware of the status of the negotiations and remain optimistic that these parties will be able to reach agreements that allow this to happen. Contrary to what you may have heard, it would make us very happy to see both StarCraft and StarCraft II matches continue to be televised at the professional level. These are both Blizzard games, after all.

I hope I've addressed some of the questions you've had over the past couple of months. As always, we appreciate the continued feedback from our Korean players, and we look forward to hearing more from you as StarCraft II and Battle.net evolve. See you online.

Sincerely,
Mike Morhaime
CEO and Cofounder, Blizzard Entertainment

[Gifted]

Important point, this is Mike Morhaime to the Korean Public.. not to the Global public. This is in response to the uncertainty that is the Korean perception of the Kespa Blizzard Gom negociations.

[0mar]

It's basically everything we've heard in the beta. Bunch of empty promises. Where's the straight talk.

[Gifted]

I don't know if I'd call it empty promises.

1. It makes COMPLETE sense that they would still want StarCraft: Brood Wars to run as long as it's sanctioned by the appropriate company who holds rights (GOM) and therefore setting a precedent for these two games and any E-Sports game that comes out in the future for them. Think about it, they still get money from giving power to GOMtv... no matter what game at this point. The more Blizzard games in rotation, the better Blizzard is.

2. They will continue to balance the game over time. This is no different than StarCraft which took years, not months, to get to where we are today in StarCraft II. It will take them further time and expansions to balance it out rather well.

3. The many different cost options in Korea are very amiable to their gaming society and needs... which if you are unaware, is the way ALL games are over there, not just Blizzard games or MMOs.

4. Chat Channels, Pro Leagues and Seasons (Tournament) patches have been confirmed since before beta, it's just a matter of finishing them.

5. GOM TV GSL is coming out again soon, so he's not lying about that.. though the price cost was something that surprised people... but for a prize pool justified they had to take a different angle to ensure enough of a "pull" to this tournament as there is nothing "prestigious" set yet by tradition which the MSL and OSL have established (for example)

6. While it may look stupid and annoying right now, I see no fault in saying "I'm optomistic that we'll find an agreement with all parties". Let's face it, he didn't say next week, and in the whole scheme of 10-15 years, this will be a blip in the radar.. or rather, a footnote in the history of E-Sports.

I see NOTHING empty about this letter... in fact, I felt it was pretty straightforward. In 2-3 years when we look back on this thread, we'll be able to say "Yup! Everything happened". That's my thought.

[Blazur]

Not really a fan of seasons. If my ladder ranking gets reset I fear it'll destroy all ambition to play ladder games. One of my goals right now is to get full diamonds, and I'll not want to go through the hassle of doing this again if my record gets wiped.

[LordofAscension]

Source plz?

~LoA

[KDraconis]

Source plz?

Bam.
http://www.fomos.kr/board/board.php?...1&field=&kwrd=
http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/view...opic_id=158765
http://www.gosugamers.net/starcraft2...n-sc-community

And the biggest Korean unease is the possibility of losing TV-broadcasted games, considering GOMtv is online.

[Norfindel]

Not really a fan of seasons. If my ladder ranking gets reset I fear it'll destroy all ambition to play ladder games. One of my goals right now is to get full diamonds, and I'll not want to go through the hassle of doing this again if my record gets wiped.

Yeah, what's the point, anyways? Isn't the matchmaker supposed to move people around continuously to find their place? Unless it doesn't works as it's supposed, i don't see why there's a need to reset anything.

[silencbank]

Which sport does NOT have seasons? If you watch any sports at all do you brag "my favorite team has not lost this year" or "my team has over 9000 wins since 1908". Not only that, but the reset will get rid of all the players who did their placement matches and never played again, so the ranks will be more compact and accurate since there are less placeholders. There will be some people who do the same thing, but there will be far less just because of the fact they didn't like multiplayer and will never play again. You will still be able to check where you were in the past seasons, but you need to play to keep where you are at. Seasons make the game feel more competitive because if someone comes in months later, they can come in at the beginning of a season and be able to be on top instead of being 3000 points down when they start and never have a chance to catch up.

[Dean63]

I don't know. Lack of chat channels hasn't affected me. Brought enough friends to, and met enough friends on, that it hasn't been some sort of Battlestar Galactica, but without the people to create drama with, like you're implying.

Good job either way. It's a nice module for e-sports and for those who haven't been as lucky as I.