Anyone Else Notice the Sudden Change?

[FoxDie]

I'm a little confused. It seemed like it was only yesterday (hey, it was!) that everyone on this forum was saying, "Oh yeah, for sure September, maybe even late August if we are lucky." But then, Half-Life Radio does their little dance (you know, the one where they take old news and make it new, not to be bashing, but it's the truth) and tells that Lombardi confirms the August gold-date, and they are hoping to have it come out in the Fall. Now, everyone is saying, "Well, maybe September, that is being optimistic." What happened? Nothing changed people. It baffles me that we have taken this old news, found a new way of perceiving it, and have completely changed our expectations of the release date. What are we doing :rolling:?

Just wanted to get that off my chest. I know that a few others have said the same thing, but I'm amazed at this overnight change. Don't worry guys, September is still a possibility. I know that if you follow the NASA guidelines for seasons, Fall starts at the very end of September. But I don't think that Doug Lombardi checks the NASA guidelines every time he gives a season estimation Everybody has their own ideas about seasons, and usually they are quite vague. And Lombardi doesn't control Vivendi, he is on the side that makes the game and gives it to the publisher. So let's all just relax, not get too overhyped about this "update" in information, and just enjoy ourselves until release.

:cheers:

 

[Cybernoid]

and just enjoy ourselves until release.

Doing what? :|

 

[Maxi]

I'm still going with august 26th.

 

[Tarkus]

i'm just plain disapointed.. they said summer, and missed it, > again < that's all i care for right now..

DOOM3 HERE I COME (hoping at least they release it when they say they do)

 

[FoxDie]

Doing what? :|

Yes, that's a problem. I'm sure we can all find something to do, we've survived this long But stressing about when Fall starts, what Lombardi says, what VALVe thinks is Fall, what HLRadio says, NASA's seasons, various retailers' ETA dates, etc. etc. etc. it only makes it worse. All I'm saying is that things are still on track, so we can all relax.

 

[ferd]

i'm just plain disapointed.. they said summer, and missed it, > again < that's all i care for right now..

DOOM3 HERE I COME (hoping at least they release it when they say they do)

they did not...that's the point of this thread

 

[Wolf]

i'm just plain disapointed.. they said summer, and missed it, > again < that's all i care for right now..

You can't miss something if it isn't past mate.

 

[theGreenBunny]

This whole wave of 'omg delay' annoys me. As you said Frosty, nothing changed, but everyone is going nuts. All thanks to HL radio and their hypemachine.

 

[Estevan]

Omfg Hl2 Has Commeth Tomarrow!

 

[lans]

People have actully misintepreted HL radio's misworded announcement that has caused confusion.

Omfg Hl2 Has Commeth Tomarrow!

*cough*notfunny*cough* :|

 

[japher]

just to clear things up valve did say summer. there's been probably tens of posts over the last two days saying (basically) 'valve never said summer release'. they did.

"We've reworked certain parts of the game and we're aiming on releasing the game during summer." - Gabe Newell, Gamereactor Interview (here).

"Playable start to finish right now... We're targeting summer for release" - Doug Lombardi, Gamespy video interview

hope that clears things up. they we're saying, "we're targetting summer". they are now saying, "we're targetting fall". so as far as i'm concerned this isn't old news, it's new news, of a delay.

(don't take this as me being outraged at the delay. i really don't mind, i just don't like being treated like i'm stupid. if it's not going to make their summer prediction, why don't valve just say so! instead of acting like they never said summer in the first place.)

 

[The Monkey]

I hope it comes by the end of August, beacouse I don't see September as summer.

 

[Keiko]

What-me-worry, it comes when it comes.

 

[marksmanHL2 :)]

Very glad you made this thread. Meant I didnt have to! :thumbs:

 

[DeltaBlast]

They said, and I'll put this in caps and big so you all understand;
the game will be DONE, FINISHED, READY, GOLD in summer.
They did not speak about RELEASE or DISTRIBUTION.
This might very well turn out to be fall. But that is out of Valve's hands.

..10char..

 

[marksmanHL2 :)]

heheh, i love the little "not the opinion of HL2.net" line every time you mods say something about another site!



Oh and we all know that that is exactly what everyone on the staff and allmost every member of HL2.net thinks of HL radio!

 

[jedipimp]

OMG summer isnt till december here so maybe its delayed till then because Gabe is actually australian!!!!!!!!!!!! *rolls eyes*

seriously whats a little more time going to make if it did slip? would you want to play half life 2 with bugs left in it????

 

[PvtRyan]

Does anyone care to explain to me why Valve is to blame if they send Vivendi the final version in August? It's all in Vivendi's hands then, and I'm sure they won't release it any later than the end of September. Vivendi wants this game out too, their financial state is not exactly great.

Maybe they missed "summer" (2/3 of September is also still summer, but you guys like the ignore that for some reason...) but by what? Two weeks?

Stupid HL Radio with their 'OMGWTFBBQ!!1!!~1 we h4ve invented teh wheel!!! AGIAN!!~11!~~!'

 

[Someone]

Does anyone care to explain to me why Valve is to blame if they send Vivendi the final version in August? It's all in Vivendi's hands then, and I'm sure they won't release it any later than the end of September. Vivendi wants this game out too, their financial state is not exactly great.

Maybe they missed "summer" (2/3 of September is also still summer, but you guys like the ignore that for some reason...) but by what? Two weeks?

Great points. If valve does indeed get the gold disk to VU in August than they have done exactly what they said they would do. After that, they can't control when VU decides to actually put the game on the streets.

And, whether the game is out in September or October, it's still only a matter of weeks. Geez, we've waited this long, what's a few weeks now?

I think people get too caught up in words. Valve has been wrong so many times, so lets hold them to every single thing they say and pounce on them if they stray even if just slightly. If the game is released one day after summer ends than, no matter how good the game is, people are going to complain that valve lied or were wrong...look at the bad valve.

Think we all need to forget about release dates and all news reguarding them (unless it's a gold announcement or something important) and just enjoy the game when it comes.

I, for one, really hope Doom3 is released soon. I can't see it having a ton of replay value and time will tell about MP, but it surely will keep us busy for the remaining 90 days or so before HL2 is released.

 

[KagePrototype]

To avoid being dissapointed again, this is what you should do when a target release date is announced (for any game):

don't believe it.

Until you see Half-Life 2 going gold, don't get worked up about it. It's the same with any game -- the majority of games always get delayed. Valve are perfectionists -- you WANT them to delay it, because they don't think the game is good enough yet.

Failing that, get some patience.

 

[DeltaBlast]

let's not forget they never stated it was summer THIS year.

 

[Razor]

Where are they now stating Fall is the target date?

 

[Someone]

Failing that, get some patience.

heh...although I don't post a ton, I do read a lot, and one thing I have noticed on these forums is patience may not be it's strong suit

 

[Striker]

It will be released eventualy.... when? who the F**K know's.......

 

[Ralfst3r]

...now just release those god damned high res binks! What's keeping them so long, they keep us waiting for everything! :rolling:

 

[DigiQ8]

..10char..

"We've reworked certain parts of the game and we're aiming on releasing the game during summer ." - Gabe Newell, Gamereactor Interview

 

[PvtRyan]

"We've reworked certain parts of the game and we're aiming on releasing the game during summer ." - Gabe Newell, Gamereactor Interview

Lets play your game shall we?

"We've reworked certain parts of the game and we're aiming on releasing the game during summer." - Gabe Newell, Gamereactor Interview

 

[Tamer17]

I don't see what's wrong with the sentence that Gabe said.

If I were him , I would have said the same , knowing that the chances of giving the finsihed game in August are high , as Gabe said , so there's no reason why not to say this , because 2-3 weeks after the game is gold , it ships.

Valve and Gabe are doing what they told - giving the finished game to VU in August , or at least are in the right track.

 

[riTuaL]

I feel the same as you Frosty, but as much as I want this game right now, I don't tihnk we'll have it for a few months..

 

[Risiko]

I have a very strong feeling that it's going to come out September 30th, exactly one year after it's first scheduled release date. Why?

1) They have said that distribution should be ready by the Fall, and this certainly qualifies as the Fall. It's also the beginning of the Fall, and since they had originally planned for it to be released in the summer (which they were pretty positive about), this is closer to the Summer than later Fall dates are.

2) This is the perfect opportunity to capitalize on that date. It is exactly one year after the targeted release date, and so they already have the fan publicity of 'September 30th'. It simply makes for a unique date for release.

3) Probably most importantly, it is a great date of release for the Holiday Season. PC games, and all electronic videogames for that matter, sell amazingly well during the Winter Holidays. The most amount of games are always sold at this time, and as such it is a perfect time to release highly anticipated games. So why September 30th over other, later dates? Well, Half Life 2 is going to be a phenominally popular game, no questions asked. Even if the reviews are 'bleh' (which is an unbelievably slim chance, since so much time, effort and money was put into the game - not to mention the high levels of talent), the game will sell a ton of units. So, releasing the game at the end of September allows the full months of October, November, and most of December for parents to buy the gift for their kids (and different parents buy holiday gifts at different times - some early, in October, some later, in December). Thus, it gives parents an opportunity to pick up Half Life 2 no matter when they do their holiday shopping.

One must also keep in mind, that because of the magnitued of the anticipation of this game, many units will be sold out weeks or days after they hit the shelves. Steam may also encounter some technical issues because of the amount of Steam orders for the game - thus, releasing it an early date for the holidays ensures that technical or 'out of stock' issues won't matter, because plenty of time will be left for parents to buy the game (or for people to buy the game with gift money).

---

Granted, there is always the possibility of major problems delaying the game even further, but I feel very confident to claim that Half Life 2 will definately be coming out this Fall. There is absolutely no way that Gabe and his company are going to miss another Holiday Season - the next one is a year away, and they won't be releasing it then . Furthermore, they have stated over and over that the game is very close to being complete - and a September 30th date would be a sweet bit of irony for Valve's fans.

After all, if it does come out on September 30th, they wouldn't have lied to us at all. Right? :E

 

[The Monkey]

Yeah, it will probably be released September 30th, but I hope for a sonner release.

 

[Crusader]

Why do people keep posting that little paragraph with huge writing saying they never mentioned releasing it, when it's totally wrong? In fact if people had bothered to read the thread there are two quotes of them saying they were aiming to release in summer. It's just bugging me now, I hate misinformation.

Just for the benefit of people who can't use the scroll-bar:

"We've reworked certain parts of the game and we're aiming on releasing the game during summer." - Gabe Newell, Gamereactor Interview (here).

"Playable start to finish right now... We're targeting summer for release" - Doug Lombardi, Gamespy video interview

 

[SubKamran]

This whole wave of 'omg delay' annoys me. As you said Frosty, nothing changed, but everyone is going nuts. All thanks to HL radio and their hypemachine.

Yah, I totally agree...and these people going "ooo, it's delayed agaiangaw4141414111-124=". It just ... ARGH. *strangles*

 

[wonkers]

It's that it's probably true which makes all these people mad. Even the thought of another delay isn't funny.

Honestly I have no idea if it's true. Niether do any of you other people. The idea is "what if it is". Lets just speak hypotheticaly for a moment. Look at what the majority of people say! (I can wait, I waited this long) Holy crap you people freak me out. You have the patience of Ghandi and the forgivness OF BUDAH.

It leads me to believe your all a bunch of religious nuts and you would follow this game off the edge of a cliff. I would wait another year if they said it was going to be one year & with 100% certainty they would release.

Constant yo-yo marketing rips through my patience really quickly. This doesn't bother you people?

 

[RoguePsi]

Version 1.0 of Half-life 2 will be sent to Vivendi for mass distribution in the season of summer, most probably in August. A single misqouting on a website that is synonymous with talking crap does not make me believe any differently. If Valve 'mention' fall again then perhaps it will be true but until then, Half-life 2 will be released this summer.

 

[ComradeBadger]

It's that it's probably true which makes all these people mad. Even the thought of another delay isn't funny.

Honestly I have no idea if it's true. Niether do any of you other people. The idea is "what if it is". Lets just speak hypotheticaly for a moment. Look at what the majority of people say! (I can wait, I waited this long) Holy crap you people freak me out. You have the patience of Ghandi and the forgivness OF BUDAH.

It leads me to believe your all a bunch of religious nuts and you would follow this game off the edge of a cliff. I would wait another year if they said it was going to be one year & with 100% certainty they would release.

Constant yo-yo marketing rips through my patience really quickly. This doesn't bother you people?

Thought you left ages ago... please don't let us keep you here.

Oh, and please refrain from making comments about your fellow forumites.

 

[madiL]

As far as i'm concerned it's still summer and anythings possible. Perhaps valve won't go public about the game going gold (not likely) and take us by suprise.

 

[clarky003]

"We've reworked certain parts of the game and we're aiming on releasing the game during summer." - Gabe Newell, Gamereactor Interview (here).

key word... Aiming

 

[Mr-Fusion]

Constant yo-yo marketing rips through my patience really quickly. This doesn't bother you people?

That's the best description i've heard. Yo-yo marketing ! Perfect!

I wonder what Valve has planned next for the yoyo campaign?

 

[Icarus]

Things about how I look at it
1. You can't let things that you can't change affect you so much.
2. Don't put your happiness in the hands of others, they often disappoint.
3. My birthday is September 5th, I already got over the fact it won't be out before that.
4. I'm still looking at September 30th, same thing I've been saying all along.