On the Subject of StarCraft 2

These typical RTS fans* can't contain their excitement at the release of SC2

Don't care. Beneath all the "OMG new Blizzard game!!!1!!11" hype, it's an RTS. I neither enjoy nor excel at RTS games, I know it and no amount of fanfare or fan hysteria is going to change that. I'm not saying it's a bad game at all, obviously I don't know whether it is or not, but I'm not going to buy it in the same way I wouldn't buy the new single from the latest Pop Idol winner. Although in the Idol case, the single would inevitably be a load of old wank.

It's curious just how rabid the fan response has been. Not so much in terms of ferocity, more in terms of volume. Maybe it's a relatively small number of very, very loud individuals but it seems to me that RTS games have never enjoyed the popularity of, say, first-person shooters. Nevertheless, drop into any games-related forum in the last few weeks and there will still be a crust from the tidal wave of jizz spunked-up by all the furiously-masturbating fanboys.

I suspect SC2 will be bought by a) everyone who loved SC1, and b) a lot of people who are either intrigued by the feverish excitement or who have found themselves hitched to another Blizzard wagon in the 12 years since the release of the first game. in the case of b) I suspect a fair number will discover that RTS games are indeed a niche genre for the simple reason that while they can inspire religious devotion in a relatively small fraction of gamers, it is still a relatively small fraction. RTS games are like chess, and chess games don't dominate the gaming charts. Clear a space for that soon-to-be-dusty SC2 box, probably next to your copy of Spore.

Don't imagine that I'm being a curmudgeon, though, I have nothing against SC2, nor even against the people who play it. I do however suspect that the celebration and joy which have been inspired by the release of SC2 will pale into insignificance compared with what we'll experience when Diablo 3 rolls around. And at least that's a game I'll be vaguely interested in playing. Start stockpiling the Kleenex, Diablo fans.

* Typical RTS fans not pictured