All I have to say is written in the archives of this site.

More comments worth saving (and the thread on the forum is the less trolled and stupid to date, I’m surprised):

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Adonae:
The second thing i have to say is my own personal opinion on just how terrible this decision was.

To me, one of the amazing things about online gaming, and the mmo genre in particular, was that it seemed to break down geographic and cultural barriers for players worldwide. i could log in and adventure with someone halfway across the world just as though they were sitting right next to me.

I’ve spent the last 3-4 years of my life playing mmo’s in my spare time, and ive met many people from other nations, some of whom used english as a second or third language, and i feel that these experiences did nothing but enrich my gameplay experience. i am dissappointed, to say the least, that such interactions will not be possible, or at least not be encouraged. to me, some of the ‘magic’ of the genre would be lost through such a decision.

Stratford:
My brother, a native Californian, has lived in Japan for over 10 years, where he teaches English.

He has played UO, AO and DAoC with the rest of my family for many, many years now, a great way to keep in touch. His connection has been better (due to his awesome cable over there) than many a Californian guildmate’s.

Blizzard is now telling me I can’t play a freaking game with my BROTHER, a native Californian, a native English-speaker, is absolute BS. What on earth are you thinking?!

He doesn’t have an American billing address (again, he’s been living in Japan for over 10 years), but damnit, I’m going to have to help pay for him just to get around your idiotic policy.

This is a step backward in MMORPG history. I thought Blizzard was an innovative. progressive company, trying to move things forward. Apparently I’m dead wrong.

Macjugger:
One of my favorite things about MMORPGs is that they bring together people from different countries. Before UO, I only knew people in the US. Now I have online friends in Canada, Singapore, Australia, France, England, Sweden, Germany, and Finland.