Pushing Buttons: StarCraft 2's LAN party potential

This week the Internet erupted into its latest games industry "scandal" - Blizzard has removed LAN play from its upcoming strategy sequel StarCraft II, forcing multiplayer gamers to log in to the Battle.net service. Some people have taken an accusatory stance toward Blizzard on this little detail, even to the point where the controversy has begun to overshadow the flood of hype-building, detail-filled game previews that hit the Web at the start of the week. Petitions have been opened online. Commenters swear they won't buy the game on principle.