The difference between Warcraft3 and Starcraft is that Starcraft has a reputation outside of eSports, any PC gamer will have heard of Starcraft, probably even played the single player, it is a cult game.

Warcraft3 will unfortunately since the WoW plague forever be remembered as “isn’t that the game where you run around doing quests?”, and believe me they ALWAYS seem to have a friend that play World of Warcraft.

Carmac does have a point in terms of esports reaching a certain level of stagnation but slump? I don’t think so. For me eSports is not in dire need of a new game, it is in need of fresh ideas for its old games, whether that be new maps (de_blue / Ancient Isle) or simply new systems (Road of the King/PGL) as I talked about in my previous column, Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained.

However Starcraft2 is like the a the new wave of consoles, it will be next-gen, its about bloody time eSports got a kick up the ass, hail to Starcraft2, fail?? what blasphemy is this!

Starcraft2 for the retired fans of the original is going to be like finding the new DVD edition of your old favourite childhood video, better graphics and bonus features, a chance to relive the old times in high-definition.

Now I’ve progressed through the natural process of Blizzard RTS evolution, from Warcraft I & 2 to Starcraft and SC:BW, to Warcraft: Reign of Chaos and finally my current resting place Warcraft 3: The Frozen Throne. Starcraft2 is just the next logical step.

I think it is hard for someone who did not have to make that decision of deciding whether he should “stick with a man’s game, or go and play with your little dragon faeries and girly heroes”, to really understand the transition that took place and the one that will take place again (As you can see my Starcraft clan mate was always blunt and to the point).

Many Starcraft players simply did not attempt to make the transition purely because they saw Warcraft as a “silly fantasy game”, men normally prefer guns, tanks and blood, and we all know that. For me Warcraft III felt like Starcraft, it’s a hard feeling to describe but if you’d played Starcraft you could pick up the basics of Warcraft III instantly.

Warcraft III was a different game type in terms of theme, fantasy over sci-fi, but it incorporated many little changes which made you think “yea we were missing that in SC”.

Some examples being able to bind multiple buildings to the same key, chain build upgrades, ping the map (even though this was added to SC1 in a recent patch) and so on and so forth.

Many Starcraft fanatics were against the concept of the Hero, they found it ludicrous that one unit could essentially kill all the other units and the idea of being able to carry items made it more of an RPG than an RTS game.

I can only imagine a hardcore Starcraft player’s reaction when he first played WarcraftIII, it must have been like going to see Lord of the Rings the film with people who’ve read the book, always putting on a know it all voice about the intricate details.

SC player meets Warcraft3 player on bnet

SC player: I guess this death coil is a bit like the terran nuclear strike
[casts coil on WC3 player’s hero]
SC player: Haha man, gg, I just nuked your ass.
WC3 player: No, I took no damage.
SC player: Eh?
WC3 Player: I used my anti-magic potion so you don’t do any damage to my hero
SC player: Your anti-what? This isn’t Harry Potter geek, I just nuked you, you're dead
WC3 Player: No, I used my potion and my teleport scroll to teleport myself back to my base
SC Player: Teleport yourself back to your base? What a pussy, what kind of game is this?? Come and fight me like a man.
WC3 Player: Actually I’m a Night Elf
SC Player: What?
WC3 Player: You requested I fight like a man but that would insinuate I am of the human race but I am infact playing the Night Elf Sentinel.
SC Player: Whatever man, this game sucks.

You can see where this is going right? Believe me there were people like this but 6 years ago when Reign of Chaos was released the number of people on Starcraft was pretty low.

Warcraft3 injected some new hype and excitement and Starcraft2 will do just that, sure there will be haters, but they will be in the minority and finally the “real men” will have a chance to show us how to play “a man’s game”.

Another string to the Starcraft2 bow is Battle.net,Blizzard's Bnet just makes multiplayer gaming so easy and it progressed leaps and bounds from Starcraft to Warcraft3 with new features that made gaming just that much simpler.

There were so many issues with Starcraft Multiplayer on BNET and there still are, for those who play Warcraft3, think custom games, with all the problems of hosting, waiting for players, hoping there are no leavers or teamkillers.

There was no real "ladder" on Starcraft at least when I played it half a decade ago, it involved hosting your own game and specifying it was a "ladder" game so there was room for dodgy dealings.

This is a key reason why I believe Starcraft2 will not fail is that casual Starcraft gamers put up with these issues for too long and will be happy for evolution. Not only will BNET for Starcraft2 probably have all the features of Warcraft3 such as Anonymous Matching Making and Arranged Team ladders, it will inevitably have new ones.

Sure GGClient and other 3rd party programs will evolve and be ever-present but if Blizzard really pimp BNET again, the hardcore as well as the new fans will have no reason to go elsewhere for their SC2 needs. The U.S. West BNET server is still alive and kicking after so many years after all according to SK's Greedz0r.

For me I do not believe South Korea is really going to be a warzone when fans of the original Starcraft lay siege to the traitorous Starcraft 2 converts. Blizzard is clever, they know the success of Starcraft2 as an eSports game relies heavily on establish SC1 names taking the leap of faith, that is why they make sure the big names test Starcraft2 in the beta stage.

Starcraft legends JaeDong, Savior, Nada and even Moon the MYM Warcraft3 player among others have given their feedback of the game, and believe me, if anyone knows what they are doing, it is Blizzard.

With Blizzard already tempting the South Korean zealots, excuse the pun, they will also have the swarm of Warcraft3 players who perhaps grow weary of playing Twisted Meadows and Gnoll Wood for 5 years and who see a fresh game to master. For the average or aspiring players who have struggled to make it, Starcraft2 could be their calling.

Now suddenly instead of having to play catch up, they have a level playing field and we will see who really is the RTS royalty.

We have yet to see a Jonathon “Fatal1ty” Wendel of the RTS world, and it will be interesting to see how well Warcraft3 players cope with the change and a chance to see if their skills are transferable to a new game.

The only difference is that Blizzard now have to realise that their new game Starcraft2 could potentially render its predecessor Starcraft 1, obsolete. It is about bloody time too.

I have fond memories of Warcraft II and the fact you could build boats in it but I did not cry and quit Warcraft III when I found it had no boats. I am going to miss the happy go lucky colours of Warcraft3, the fun unit quotes and the thrill of a narrow escape with my hero on low hp but you know what? I can't wait to go into siege mode and blow the shit out of all your units in high definition graphics.

I think it is about time we all moved on, let us give Starcraft1 the guard of honour and get stuck into the next instalment when it comes. Starcraft2 will not fail, Blizzard does not know the meaning of failure.