closure on the sept 30 gold

[droper]

What you got to do.

*email gabe or anyone at valve about how long it takes from *final* iso(gold) to retail.You don't even have to ask in direct relation to half life2 ask on average. If you know that your done wondering just wait.

I really don't think that steam will release before retail we all know it won't be able to handle it.This will lead to many customers having a bad experience as a first impression of steam.

fragmaster talking about what lombardi said in july. lombardi has said openly a much different tune about sept 30 since then. He is almost a sept 30 cheerleader now.

If they are delayed they would say it, expect gold next week or its not coming sept 30. My bet is they won't say die (delay) until they know they can't get it on shelves in time.They know when that time is and it will be a very nerve racking decision when they reach it.

LEAVE THEM ALONE FOR THE NEXT FEW DAYS!!!!!!!! PLEASE

 

[Guest]

nobody knows.

 

[blackparagon]

Well said.

 

[-JeZ-]

Nicely put dropper. :thumbs:

 

[Quotidian---]

it is peculiar that when cod visited he saw them still modelling animating a combine soldier...

 

[Logic]

Originally posted by Quotidian---
it is peculiar that when cod visited he saw them still modelling animating a combine soldier...

1) Just a bit of tweaking

or

2) Looking busy because there was company

 

[Quotidian---]

meh.. don't know man.

 

[WaSwAt]

[sarcasm]
i'll msg them to tokyo if not somebody else will
[/sarcasm]
Well said dropper, we should leave them alone for a week orso

 

[Gordon'sFreeman]

im more excited about HL2 then i have ever been, its finally sunk in.

 

[Burtox]

Originally posted by -JeZ-
Nicely put dropper. :thumbs:

:cheers:

I completly Agree Nicely put my friend :afro:

 

[scaryberry]

well... you need to realize that they could finish HL2 on the 29th, and make it available through Steam on the 30th.

Having everyone email gaben is kinda goofy - A) he's busy, B) it won't impact the release date one iota, and C) lets not abuse the relationship.

It's not about "boxes on shelves", which I can guarantee you won't happen by the 30th at this point.

I'm wondering if there's internal conflict between VU and Valve about the distribution method. If the boxed unit has a higher margin than a Steam unit, then having all of the first month's sales strictly through steam cuts into VU's profit. They may have been anticipating a combined release, not steam exclusivity for what will be a huge sales period.

My .02 cents.

Scary

 

[Guest]

How many times do we have to go over this release date phiasco? you have said what many... many people have said before.

 

[Maskirovka]

Originally posted by scaryberry
well... you need to realize that they could finish HL2 on the 29th, and make it available through Steam on the 30th.

It's not about "boxes on shelves", which I can guarantee you won't happen by the 30th at this point.

I'm wondering if there's internal conflict between VU and Valve about the distribution method. If the boxed unit has a higher margin than a Steam unit, then having all of the first month's sales strictly through steam cuts into VU's profit. They may have been anticipating a combined release, not steam exclusivity for what will be a huge sales period.

Scary

they've said they're going to do a worldwide release. worldwide doesn't mean steam one day...then boxes a few weeks later. it means everyone gets it at roughly the same time.

of course we dont know all the details about who gets profits for what regarding steam and box sales, but you can be sure if valve gets all the profits from steam sales that VU will have a clause in the contract saying that valve can't sell hl2 via steam before the boxed version is available.

or it might have to do with the fact that if they released it on steam the first day, steam would be totally overloaded just like it was with the release of steam iself. except this time you'd have people who paid to get hl2...yet they can't because of server overload. what a nightmare that'd be

 

[Goombatommy]

Originally posted by scaryberry
well... you need to realize that they could finish HL2 on the 29th, and make it available through Steam on the 30th.

Having everyone email gaben is kinda goofy - A) he's busy, B) it won't impact the release date one iota, and C) lets not abuse the relationship.

It's not about "boxes on shelves", which I can guarantee you won't happen by the 30th at this point.

I'm wondering if there's internal conflict between VU and Valve about the distribution method. If the boxed unit has a higher margin than a Steam unit, then having all of the first month's sales strictly through steam cuts into VU's profit. They may have been anticipating a combined release, not steam exclusivity for what will be a huge sales period.

My .02 cents.

Scary

I highly highly doubtthat. Gabe has said constantly, that the boxed retail and Steam versions will be available AT THE SAME TIME. If the boxed retail is delayed, so is Steam. The latest delay IMO is mid-october.

 

[Iconoclast]

Originally posted by Slug
How many times do we have to go over this release date phiasco? you have said what many... many people have said before.

"Fiasco".

 

[A2597]

maybe that combine he saw was an extra, you know, rather then 5000 combine that look the same, hundereds of different ones...

Only what, two more CDs?

 

[jabberwock95]

*heavy sigh*.
They have to do it. Everyone with a strong opinion is slipping 'It wont come out on time' or 'I can guarantee you it will be delayed' into their posts. It's getting really annoying. You are not going to change anyone elses opinion by doing this. You are not going to make it so by saying so. You have an opinion. Great. Now why try to crush the opinions of others? Sorry if this sounds condescending but i've really had it with everyone arguing the release date. How about a huge thread for all the obsessives to argue in (including all nvidia and ati fanboys), which us normal people never have to look in? Can't everybody take in the fact that HL2 MIGHT OR MIGHT NOT be released on the 30th?

*another really big sigh*
*shakes head and walks away slowly*
*remembers something else and runs back*

BTW, good idea about the combine soldier extra thing. They probably wouldn't have seperate models for them all, but maybe different ways of modifying a universal soldier skin? That could be what he was working on. Unless he was bored and playing around! Cheers to all you normal non-obsessive non-fanboy people out there!! :cheers:

 

[frances_farmer]

BTW check the Valve Only info thread, you cant get much mroe clearer than this:

-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected]
Sent: Monday, September 15, 2003 3:18 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Hi Gabe


Hey Gabe,

i find your answering of emails from the public absolutely unbelievable! it truely is amazing.
may i throw in my 2 cents?

im very curious as to why you intend to release HL2 on Steam and at retail at the same time?
you know you have the biggest hit of the decade on your hands (a100% lock-in on that)

surely the Steam release would enable you to take all the money from the inital release and get you some of that sweet sweet money you poured into the development.


From Gabe:

Because some of our customers would prefer to buy it at retail.

In countries like Korea where the retail availability may lag, where the retail infrastructure is weak, and where a high percentage of homes have broadband, Steam will be a high percentage of sales. In countries like England, where the retail product will be available either simultaneously or close to the US release (we don't control those dates, only the Steam dates), the retail infrastructure is very well established, and where somewhere in the neighborhood of 2% of households have broadband, I'd expect the vast majority of sales will be at retail.

Hopefully Steam will mean that more customers around the world will have access to localized versions of the game much sooner than otherwise.