[citation][nom]DaveUK[/nom]It's apparent to me that a vast proportion of the internet like to get annoyed for the sake of being annoyed.By that, I mean the overwhelming majority of people complaining about this will have an active internet connection anyway. So, they're not complaining about a real problem - just an imagined one.It would be a very small proportion of gamers who would want to play the game who do not have an internet connection, or those who want to play without a consistent connection (for example, on the train), and there are plenty of other games for them to play.As an experience, Blizzard have made it quite clear that 'single player' is a small piece of their plans with Diablo 3, and personally I don't think design decisions should be made to suit a minority of gamers.I will enjoy playing Diablo 3, enjoy taking my single-player character online (may just play it online permanently for the lulz), and enjoy the social integration aspects. I really don't care about online authentication because I have a business-grade ADSL connection which is never down, and if it ever did fail I have a HSDPA mobile broadband modem with 10GB/month.Why should I lose out on Blizzard's desired functionality because people have nothing better than to QQ about it?And yes, I do understand that some users may be inconvenienced by this but anyone with a shred of maturity will know that the VAST majority of users complaining about this are doing so for the sake of it or because they wanted to play a cracked version, NOT because they are actually going to lose out.Just my two cents anyway, feel free to flame me as much you want just like everyone has been flaming Blizzard. Caremode /off[/citation]
I am not imagining anything. Where I live, I do not have access to land-line broadband. As such, it is either dial-up, though none of my computers have a dial-up modem. My only other option, which I currently use, is Verizon Wireless's "mobile broadband", which is really expensive and anything but "broadband". At 5GB per month, for $50 USD, then $10/GB afterwards(or 10GB for $80 USD, which is too much money), I am severely limited to what I can do.
I must also take into consideration that the main reason I got the mobile broadband device was to allow my girlfriend to work from home, when her employer requires her to. Ironically, she works for AT&T, and that company offers neither DSL or UMTS/HSDPA coverage for its "mobile broadband" service, both of which would be free.
So, you can spare me, and the rest of us, your pretentiousness on the issue. Perhaps broadband offerings are at 100% population coverage, where you live(which, by the name, my powers of deduction leads me to believe is the UK), but that is not the case where I live(Haralson County, GA, USA). So, yes, this is a huge issue for me.
I also know that I am not alone.