There’s a rather disturbing trend going around these days, where a lot of RTS titles somehow seem to end up on the next-generation consoles anyway, aggravating a lot of PC owners who were more than miffed that consoles were stealing away not only regular RTS games like Command and Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars, but denying them any chance of playing games like Tom Clancy’s EndWar or Ensemble’s Halo: Wars.

So when StarCraft 2 was announced yesterday, a lot of people suddenly started wondering, even as the PC-less next-generation console owners hoped that the game would also be announced for their playing pleasure on high-definition TVs. Dashing all their hopes to the ground, Blizzard has posted an FAQ on their site today that clearly answers the question once and for all.

Will there be a console version of StarCraft II?
StarCraft II is being developed for the PC. We have no current plans to bring the game to any console platform.

So long, next-generation owners. Yes, I know I own a next-generation console as well, but its a matter of convenience rather than one of preference and I, for one, am really happy that Blizzard is sticking to their guns and going the way of the original StarCraft - a release of the game for the PC and the Mac. Yes, I also know an N64 version was released, but this time, console owners now know what it is to be left behind. Maybe when StarCraft: Ghost finally comes around, yes? Ahh, payback, ain’t it sweet!

(Click the image for a higher-res 1600×1200 version)

If there’s just one game that has shaped the face of RTSes over the years, it would undoubtedly have to be Blizzard Entertainment’s wunderkind - StarCraft. Today, in Seoul, South Korea, the next in line to the most famous RTS of all time has been officially unveiled, sending the RTS loving world into a major frenzy.

With the trailer showing how an incarcerated, cigar-smoking, steroid-pumping Terran “jailed-for-multiple-murders” inmate becomes a Marine, and extended gameplay footage showing the various units of the Terrans, the Zerg and the Protoss in battle, the demo showed off a lot of the returning and the new units that will be available in the game, as well as new structures like the new Protoss phase prisms and the deadly, time-warping, planet-cracking, black-hole pumping orbital death machine that is the Protoss mothership.

Although the UI doesn’t seem to have changed much, the game itself is visually stunning, much in the vein of the newly released Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars, thanks to EALA designer Dustin Browder, who has worked on The Battle for Middle Earth and the Command & Conquer series before heading to Blizzard to become lead designer for StarCraft 2. Excuse me while I go play StarCraft and Brood War all over again in preparation for the second coming. And oh, if you didn’t already guess it, yes, Jim Raynor and the “queen bitch of the universe” Sarah Kerrigan, are back! Let the war begin! And oh, keep checking the official website as well as here for the new upcoming gameplay movie tomorrow!

Read the preview at GameSpot
Visit the official website
Download the videos at GameTrailers
View screenshots and gameplay movies at IGN