In some industries, the customer is always right, but is Blizzard prepared to listen to the community outcry over the many problems of Battle.net 2.0?

If Blizzard wants players to create communities around Battle.net, they need Battle.net chat rooms.

Hilariously enough, the one notable quote on Frank Pearce's Wikipedia page quotes him saying "Do you really want chat rooms?" in an interview with IncGamers. When the interviewer noted that players love to use the chat rooms to look for groups to play with, Pearce noted that "if we've done our job right in terms of the matchmaking service, then hopefully they won't feel like they'll need it for that service."

Unfortunately, as a player who has made a few friends from Blizzard's matchmaking service myself, the truth of the matter is that, while Battle.net's matchmaking games are fairly fun for finding random 2v2s, 3v3s and 4v4s, it remains difficult to connect with other players by simply being dumped into a game with them. I've played dozens of games by queuing up for random 2v2 games in the Diamond League, and usually games end up being so frantic with so little downtime that most of my communication with my partner ends up being a few words about my strategy ("all phoenixes, nothing else!"), a reminder to protect me when my strategy fails, and then the inevitable "good game" once my base has been destroyed. The only friends I've actually made are individuals who chase me down after the game to talk about playing another one together.

Chat rooms offer a way for communities to connect without being forced to frantically micromanage their units while fighting their opponents. Chat rooms offer the ability for players to find out more about their partners before they even play their first game, and if, for example, you happen to be looking for a Protoss player who is very good at early game rushes, you won't have to play dozens of matchmaking games to find one. Once again, Blizzard says that they want to create a vibrant community centered around Battle.net, but they won't be able to do so if players have no real method of connecting, en masse, in-game. Perhaps Blizzard should consider creating a UI similar to Steam, where players can stay connected with specific chat rooms as long as their Battle.net launcher is up. In this way, Blizzard connects all of their games to Battle.net, and players get the chat rooms that they've been demanding since day one.

Ultimately, Blizzard needs to understand that, if they want to create a vibrant, organic community that will grow around their amazing game, they really need to show gamers that they want them to connect with everyone, and not shut them into a box, all the while occasionally exposing them to a new player. Communities are ultimately what end up making or breaking a game, and while it's nearly incomprehensible to imagine Starcraft 2 failing, it's also quite sad to see that the Starcraft 2 community is really not as well supported as it should be. Let us connect, Blizzard!