Doug Lombardi's Estimated HL2 Release Date

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I heard a rumor about some nerds building a supercomputer that allows timetravel so they can travel to the future, get all the best games, and come back and destroy the supercomputer or sell it to Bill Gates.

EDIT:
Or not...
 
SMT said:
I'll put it this way: the release date speculation is the most believable part of that little nugget.
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I agree, I just dont see halfliferadio go and playtest HL2, together with live broadcasting

he, looks even funnier now ive typed it down :p
 
PC Games are not movies: the 'newness'-factor that discourages people from buying old things only kicks in about 6 months after release at the very earliest. 3 months earlier rather than later makes no difference to the publisher as long as the profits fall into the right quarter(s). So the 'opening weekend' (month really) need not be timed with all the advertising dollars: a big title like HL2 doesn't have to beg the retailers for precious shelf-space; it can have all it wants from now through Christmas; advertising can wait for until after the hardcore audience (who of course already know about it) has been saturated.
 
Monna Monna Monna Monna MOOOONEY..... MOOOONEY. OHW!

Hey team would you like your Vacation pay in Gold or Diamonds?

Oooooowwwh ooooooowh can I have it in Space Saphires?


It's all about the money children. Don't kid your selves. It pays to be kind, It pays to know your audience, it pays to work hard, I thought it pays to be on time too ? Whatever... I am poor. Who's poor. Honestly. How many of us have over a grand of our own money in the bank ? /....that's what I thought.
 
It pays to release near Christmas. One of the reasons I believe the game will ship October - November.
 
So these people that will be "pissed" if it comes out on september 30th would rather it be delayed like a day so your not "pissed". Yeah sure.
 
iamaelephant said:
It pays to release near Christmas. One of the reasons I believe the game will ship October - November.
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I don't think Valve want to ship the game a month later just to be in time for Christmas and more sales. The game will sell enough as it is
 
It's funny when people say "Valve won't wait for Christmas - the game will make enough money as it is."

If there's one thing I have learned about Americans, it's that there is never enough money. If they get the opportunity to make more dollars, trust me, they will take it. And if you really believe that releasing in the month or two before Christmas won't net them more sales, well, you're a dumbass.
 
iamaelephant said:
It's funny when people say "Valve won't wait for Christmas - the game will make enough money as it is."

If there's one thing I have learned about Americans, it's that there is never enough money. If they get the opportunity to make more dollars, trust me, they will take it. And if you really believe that releasing in the month or two before Christmas won't net them more sales, well, you're a dumbass.
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I didn't say that they won't make more sales if they release it at Christmas time, i said that they won't delay it another month because, based on the huge success of Half-Life and the humungous hype around this sequel, whenever they release the game they are going to make tons of money.

If anything they'll release the Collectors Edition around Christmas time.
 
Look, the Christmas season is a better release date for most games, but not for the sure-thing AAA titles. The danger of a February-July release is that the game will be forgotten and off the shelves by November-January. Shelf-space is everything, and maximizing it equals maximum sales. If you retain all your shelf-space, then waiting to spend your advertising dollars works until the holidays works just as well as if the game hadn't been available. Sure, the sales figures will be lower for that period because us hardcore gamers will have bought it already, but the holiday-target audience doesn't care becasue they weren't aware of its availability.

So concerning HL2, the question is, 'do you think it will have any less shelf space in December than it has upon release in September?' I'm sure it will be out in front with the other top-10 titles at most retailers well into next year.

Now, this is less true with console games, which are transitioning to a 'big-opening sales' model. (for instance, the theatrical trailers for Halo 2 announcing its release day). But a different expectation has been around since I was reading CGW and Gamespot in the early 90's: console games had reasonably reliable release dates, PC Games didn't, and that changes the marketing entirely. This difference is still true (though console game development time has gotten much longer, so now console gamers get to experience interminable waits nearly as commonly as PC gamers).
 
Furthermore, the flood of games at Christmas is usually due to rushing the final legs of development, not slowing them down. Secondly, when titles have been delayed from the summer, they usually get pushed into Janurary-March (e.g. UT2K4), so timing for a November release is tempting missing the season entirely.

Anyone remember any game where its followers had serious reason to believe the game was intentionally delayed?
 
The developers aren't going to go out and tell their loyal fans that they delayed the game on purpose just to make a few more bucks, of course not. I'm sure it does happen, but it would be extremely bad PR to tell the public.
 
iamaelephant said:
The developers aren't going to go out and tell their loyal fans that they delayed the game on purpose just to make a few more bucks, of course not. I'm sure it does happen, but it would be extremely bad PR to tell the public.
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The developers don't make decisions like that, it is completely in the hands of the publishers if they are to happen at all.
 
I don't see the people behind Doom 3 worrying about waiting til Christmas.

Seriously though. it's only the crappy games that need to be seasonal. The kind of games that someone's granny buys them for a christmas present because they see it on the shelf and it is all bright and colourful and...cheap.
 
Ok, mea culpa. GSC just announced they are delaying STALKER from about November into early 4th quarter (January-February) mainly for the purpose of avoiding the holiday rush. While this shows a developer delaying for the purpose of sales (and admitting it), notice though they're deliberately avoiding the holidays. They're justifying this to the fans by promising they'll use the extra dev time well.

Still, this makes sense for STALKER in a way it doesn't for Halflife2: as I said, HL2 is a sure-thing AAA title, an 800-pound gorilla that can take other retail games' lunch money; STALKER, though promising to be a triple AAA title, is a non-derivative game with a new kind of gameplay and made by an unproven developer.

So I still predict late late August at the earliest (a long shot possibility depending on Valve being overly cautious in their estimates of RC-to-Gold and Gold-to-shelf time), early October at the latest--all assuming the first RC is imminent.
 
Or it could be that GSC want to avoid competing with the release of HL2, which would decrease their profits, holiday or not.
Conspiracy theories or marketing common sense? Okhams razor would suggest the latter.
 
I don't think the worry is about any one game, just the glut.


Conspiracy theories or marketing common sense? Okhams razor would suggest the latter.
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Quoi? :rolleyes:
 
Crusader said:
I don't see the people behind Doom 3 worrying about waiting til Christmas.
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Of course not. Doom3 comes out Tuesday. Is it possible id would change its mind? 'Sorry guys, we're recalling the shipment. Er, um...the boxes will give you cancer. Yes, yes. That's it.' :devil:
 
Mr Neutron said:
Of course not. Doom3 comes out Tuesday. Is it possible id would change its mind? 'Sorry guys, we're recalling the shipment. Er, um...the boxes will give you cancer. Yes, yes. That's it.'
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And the prize for least relevant response goes to...
 
/me is roflmao-ing at that site.


Maybe someone here can be his tinkerbell ;) Or maybe he just wants someone to tinker his bell. Either way I'm steering well clear.
 
vegeta897 said:
* vegeta897 is scarred for life.
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lord, now doom has no scare factor at all.
I have gazed into the abyss and the abyss has gazed back... with pixie dust in tow.
 
doom3 is out so hl2 has to be delayed cuz everyone is busy ooohing and aaaahing over it.
 
I wonder if maybe folks here have a little too much free fu*king time on their hands?

How's this for a suggestion: stop reading about HL2, stop discussing it.

There are too many people here who are getting frenetic simply because they have nothing else to occupy themselves with, and frankly. it's a bit pathetic.

Leave the house, go to school or work, learn another language. Alternatively, slaughter small children, have sex with your sister, call your local police station and threaten to blow up landmarks. Whatever tweaks your nipples, do anything rather than sit here and obsess.

It's only a game. A week after you get it you'll be over the thrill, it will just become another game in your collection. Does it really require this much energy?
 
do you know whats even more pointless than obsessing about hl2? getting on a forum and thinking that you telling them to do something else will really mean something.
 
Fixed said:
I wonder if maybe folks here have a little too much free fu*king time on their hands?

How's this for a suggestion: stop reading about HL2, stop discussing it.

There are too many people here who are getting frenetic simply because they have nothing else to occupy themselves with, and frankly. it's a bit pathetic.

Leave the house, go to school or work, learn another language. Alternatively, slaughter small children, have sex with your sister, call your local police station and threaten to blow up landmarks. Whatever tweaks your nipples, do anything rather than sit here and obsess.

It's only a game. A week after you get it you'll be over the thrill, it will just become another game in your collection. Does it really require this much energy?
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WOW lol ok first...

I loved the "Whatever tweaks your nipples" Bit! Made me laugh lol nice line.

Well ok i think there is going to be alot of people that will blame to flame you for that.

But u cant really say it will be a game that is just added to the collection and forgotten about, Because i played Half-Life the other day and that came out like 5yrs ago.

i also played the Classic DOOM and DOOM2 and Monkey island (classic)

so still cant really say that.

in another 6years when i am waiting for Half life 3 (lol) i will still prob be playing HL2
 
commando said:
But u cant really say it will be a game that is just added to the collection and forgotten about, Because i played Half-Life the other day and that came out like 5yrs ago.
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That's not what I wrote. It will however become just another game in your collection, another game you play while you have sex with yourself in anticipation of "the next big thing".

I don't mean "you" personally (although I'm sure you've done your fair share of one handed typing, we all have), but "you" as in other than me.
 
Fixed said:
I wonder if maybe folks here have a little too much free fu*king time on their hands?

How's this for a suggestion: stop reading about HL2, stop discussing it.

There are too many people here who are getting frenetic simply because they have nothing else to occupy themselves with, and frankly. it's a bit pathetic.

Leave the house, go to school or work, learn another language. Alternatively, slaughter small children, have sex with your sister, call your local police station and threaten to blow up landmarks. Whatever tweaks your nipples, do anything rather than sit here and obsess.

It's only a game. A week after you get it you'll be over the thrill, it will just become another game in your collection. Does it really require this much energy?
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I think you will find that most people here don't obsess over this as much as you think. Besides, I find it odd that you signed up to a HL2 forum just to try and tell people what you think they should do. I'm not sure if you think your trying to help us or just trying to insult us but whether you like it or not things won't be changing. Let people do what they want with their time and stop trying to tell them to get a life.
 
Fixed said:
That's not what I wrote. It will however become just another game in your collection, another game you play while you have sex with yourself in anticipation of "the next big thing".

I don't mean "you" personally (although I'm sure you've done your fair share of one handed typing, we all have), but "you" as in other than me.
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no worries i know what you mean man. i also understand where you are coming from when you typed that.

It is just some people have more of a Hype for games then others.

i for one Cant wait for this game to be released..That is why i logged into this forum, so i could talk all about it. Isn't it why you logged to hl2 forums?
 
The Mullinator said:
Besides, I find it odd that you signed up to a HL2 forum just to try and tell people what you think they should do.
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Your anus must be truely spectacular, seeing as you can so effortlessly slide it over your skull.
 
Fixed said:
Your anus must be truely spectacular, seeing as you can so effortlessly slide it over your skull.
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Yes of course, if you want people to take your advice and believe you then the obvious thing to do is insult them. :rolleyes:

Congradulations, we could have had an intelligent debate but you decided to crap all over it.
 
commando said:
i for one Cant wait for this game to be released..That is why i logged into this forum, so i could talk all about it. Isn't it why you logged to hl2 forums?
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It is, however actual conversation about the game, not the release date is why I signed up. I'm looking forward to the game, I just don't understand the sheer mind-numbing focus that so many people display about such minor things.

I'm personally waiting for the SDK so I can make a naked Alyx model, but that's just my thing.
 
Fixed said:
...
I'm personally waiting for the SDK so I can make a naked Alyx model, but that's just my thing.
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Naked Alyx? Well, everyone's got their thing I guess...
 
Fixed said:
I just don't understand the sheer mind-numbing focus that so many people display about such minor things.
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You don't understand how there could be people in the world that don't think like you do. this is the first step to intolerance which leads to far worse things.. you have a lot to learn in life.
 
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