Email from Gabe. Re: Pay 2 Play

[Kamakiri]

Detailed Email from Gabe. Re: Play 2 Play

A screenshot of the email...

Gabe Gabe Gabe!!!

As I'm sure you are aware the HL2 community is going crazy with the rumour that HL2 is going to be like a MMORPG and you will have to pay a fee each month via Steam to play HL2 multiplayer.

I don't believe this to be true but can you please put it to rest once and for all. PLEEEEEEASE.

Kind Regards

Matt

Here's my current thinking: Some people want to buy Half-Life 2 in a store. Right now we have three SKUs planned at three price points. One will have single-player only and not play MODs and we think of that as the mass market SKU (sold mainly at the Costcos and Walmarts of the world). The second is our traditional single-player plus multiplayer SKU that runs MODs and is sold at places like EBX. The third is the collector's edition SKU with lots of cool bonus stuff for people who like cool bonus stuff.

In the Steam world, some people will want to buy it once, like the middle SKU above. Other people will want to buy the game on subscription (e.g. $9.95/month). The good news for the "buy it once" crowd is, well, they only have to pay once. The bad news is that when we come out with new content (expansion products, TF 2, and presumably other games) then they have to pay separately for those. We're pretty sure that the $9.95 guys are going to get the better value, as we've been pretty good over the years at generating a lot of content.

Now nobody has done this before, so we're scratching our heads and massaging the plans to make sure we've got the best set of options. We've had some feedback that we should sell the top SKU (single-player only no MODs) on Steam, and my reaction has been "yeah, right, for the three people in the world who have a broadband connection, are sophisticated enough to purchase software over the Internet, but DON'T want to play MODs and multiplayer". Some people have said "I want a subscription, but I think the box and the manual are cool, so what about sending me those" and I think that's pretty interesting and we're trying to figure out what to do for them (needless to say Sierra isn't exactly jumping for joy at the idea of selling us boxes so people don't buy Half-Life 2 in stores).

But nowhere has there been a suggestion that people pay in the store and then pay a monthly fee on top of that a la the MMORPG.

Gabe

 

[Solidarnosi]

Great post. Thanks to Gabe for such a detailed response!

 

[SilentKilla]

awesome

 

[AmishSlayer]

The only thing that I worry about with this email is how you have photoshop open in the screenshot. The email seems totally legit, but still...

Don't put me on the record of disbelieving you, just that the photoshop in the corner made me take a step back...

 

[Wesisapie]

Hmmm. Slightly reassuring, but he doesn't mention the price to use steam to connect to game servers using your bought copy of HL2.
I hope steam is free to use if you bought your copy already, and i also hope that the SP + MP version won't be over-priced.
And of course, that the expansions aren't over-priced either.

 

[rootbin]

photoshop is a convinient way to capture a screen. besides, if he wanted to fake an email, he wouldn't have to use photoshop.

edit:
and the email seems 100% fake.

 

[Kamakiri]

Peoples it's not fake and I used Photoshop to capture the screen. You are all welcome to email Gabe and ask him if it's fake.

And besides most of you know me. I wouldn't lie to the community.

 

[Piddy]

Originally posted by AmishSlayer
The only thing that I worry about with this email is how you have photoshop open in the screenshot. The email seems totally legit, but still...

Don't put me on the record of disbelieving you, just that the photoshop in the corner made me take a step back...

The change of font within Gabes reply also seems sus.

 

[rootbin]

Originally posted by Piddy
The change of font within Gabes reply also seems sus.

also how he signed the email the exact same way that you did.

but wait, he's never done that before. also there's some bad grammar inside of the quotations (quick! go fix it before more people notice!)

 

[Kamakiri]

I'm 100% telling you the truth peoples. Can Munro or someone email Gabe saying if this email is a fake.

But this detailed information I can understand why people would be a bit weary...

 

[papa jake]

I believe you Kamakiri!
Thanks for sharing!:thumbs:

 

[Cooper]

The the thing is, what if you already preordered the game (maybe because of a special deal, etc.) how do you know which game you got? Another thing, it seems they are waiting kinda late to announce diffrent packages. Don't the stores and distributers need to know ahead of time what to advertise and hold space for?

 

[Kamakiri]

Thanks for believing me.

But the emailed will be confirmed by someone soon enough.

 

[Sigoo]

It mentions sierra in the email. I thought vindi(i forgot how to spell it) was publishing it.

 

[SirMcNugget]

Seems like they are flying by the seat of their pants at Valve. I kinda like that. In anycase if they do have all these options its all for the better and I will get the special edition. If not it will still be HL2.

 

[Guest]

So wait, if I buy my copy of HL2 at BestBuy or CircuitCity I wont be able to use mods or playonline ?? WTF is this shit ?

 

[SirMcNugget]

just dont accidently buy the wrong version, assuming this is an accurate description of their plans. If you think about it MS is a big proponent of subscription payment models and Gabe used to be big at MS.

 

[Kamakiri]

Another screenshot that would help more people have faith in Kamakiri *sniff*

 

[SilentKilla]

i believe you.

 

[Guest]

nicey

 

[Piddy]

Dont take it personally Kamakiri, it's just the nature of the email media. Anyone can pretend to be anyone, and it's very difficult to verify.

I wish Gabe would spend more time writing official releases rather than tyring to decipher what "emailed" information we can and cant trust.

 

[Apos]

This information does seem somewhat in line with what we've seen in Steam, but then it could have been tailored to fit that information as well.

In any case, if it is true, it doesn't surprise me. More options is a good thing not a bad thing: you can pay less (probably NOT 50$) for the SP only game, the normal price for the "traditional" experience, and a new subscription option to have access to all Valve's content.

The real twister here, however, is what "content" tha subscription option will involve. I'm hoping/betting that it WONT include content updates to the HL2 game itself: that this will come with the normal game itself. It would sort of suck to purchase the game, and then pay extra later for higher res content.

And speaking of that, how does the 9.95 subscription work when there are several months of back content? Why, for instance, would I pay 9.95 a month starting Sept. 30th in perpetuity when I could just buy the game now, then wait a few months, then subscribe to get ALL the new content that had been released up till now, then cancel my subscription. They really need to do some big announcements prior to ANY of this going on sale that explain exactly what people are going to be paying for. Otherwise, people are going to feel like they made the wrong choice months later.

They are really going to have to think hard about this one. If they need a spare brain, they can always contact me.

 

[crabcakes66]

Originally posted by Sigoo
It mentions sierra in the email. I thought vindi(i forgot how to spell it) was publishing it.

That right there tells me its fake....there is no way gabe would make a mistake like that.

 

[JGF]

Sierra *IS* the publisher people. Vivendi is simply Sierra's owner. Vivendi itself is not a publisher.

 

[crabcakes66]

http://www.cjr.org/owners/vivendi.asp

my mistake.

 

[dscowboy]

I'm not ready to declare this e-mail as fake yet, but there's a big problem with it. Shipping two different kinds of boxes to different retailers... what?! You can pre-order HL2 at walmart.com right now for 50 bucks! Are you trying to tell me that HL2 with multiplayer is the same price as HL2 without? There are some other fishy things about this e-mail, but the biggest one is the whole '2 SKUs for retail boxes' thing. I agree with Apos that the '3 tier retail strategy with a subscription option' ties in well with what we've heard before, but the walmart thing just doesn't make sense.

 

[theGreenBunny]

I'm desperate for some clarification here, I don't want to find out my preorder was the non-multi/mods version.

Or maybe all retailers are taking preorders for the 'full' package. But why only the 'full' one and not the 'stripped' version? Doesn't make sense.

 

[dscowboy]

I guess it's likely to be genuine, but it's still very wierd, for these reasons:

1) Gabe usually says 'yes', 'no', or 'I'll check with yahn'. We do not usually get 4 paragraph e-mails from Gabe
2) "Here's my current thinking", what? Current thinking? If gold date is really 10 days away, I sure hope the decision on how many different boxes with different SKUs at different prices has already been made, so they can start assembly in 10 days.
3) The wal-mart thing I described above. Why is everyone selling the same preorders if there are three different products?

Again, I'm guessing that the e-mail is genuine... but I'm not willing to accept it for sure yet, the pre-order issue needs some clarification. I suppose it could be explained by saying that the mass-market retailers are selling the HL2+MP package for preorders, but store shelves will only be stocked with HL2SP (or both).

If this is their strategy it's pretty bold. I hope they pull it off, I would love to see new kinds of payment options for games. When you think about it, the moms and dads who shop at walmart for their kids are 10 times more likely to buy a game that's 25 - 30 bucks than one that's over 50. But enthusiasts have no problem paying 50+ for a game. And the subscription would work great for enthusiasts too. Instead of paying for expansion packs, TF2, CS2 (anyone who thinks CS2 is going to be free is living in a fantasy land), etc, you can subscribe for a month, play them all, and decide which ones you like before buying. Or stay on subscription if you like them all.

 

[dscowboy]

Originally posted by Apos
Why, for instance, would I pay 9.95 a month starting Sept. 30th in perpetuity when I could just buy the game now, then wait a few months, then subscribe to get ALL the new content that had been released up till now, then cancel my subscription.

Once you canceled your subscription you'd lose the content. It would be stored in your Steam cache. You'd only be able to play the stuff you subscribed to as long as you were still paying subscription.

 

[W7RE]

Well if this is true, I'll do what most of the rest of the world will do. I'll buy the sing and multi version of the game (collector's edition for me), and screw Valve's content. I'll download the free mods that the community creates.

I've got enough regular payments for my gaming (cable internet, Xbox Live, an MMORPG), I don't need more.

 

[smilez]

Damn 9.95 is a bit much... 4.95 would be fine, but $10 is a little too much for one game. For people living outside the US we also have to pay conversion fees every month

 

[Spyre]

Here's how I prove it's a fake:

"The good news for the "buy it once" crowd is, well, they only have to pay once. The bad news is that when we come out with new content (expansion products, TF 2, and presumably other games) then they have to pay separately for those."

It's been said over and over and over again by VALVe that TF2 is NOT GOING TO BE A MOD!! TF2 is a separate product entirely. Why would Gabe mention it as an "expansion product" or mod? The fact that TF2 is said to be tied closely to the storyline of HL2 and that it will be available 6+ months after HL2 release proves that the subscription idea is a forgery.

This email is a fake, and I hope someone exposes it as such. I've already made 2 comments in the "info from valve only" thread, but they are constantly deleted. What does it take to stop this kind of BS from spreading?

 

[Pi Mu Rho]

Because until there is some kind of verification from Gabe himself, we can't say for sure either way.

 

[Gabe Newell]

Yes, the mail was from me. Let's see ...

Vivendi owns Sierra. Sierra is the publisher.

The various SKUs will be available at the other stores. It's just how we think of them (we think of the lowest price one as the "Walmart" SKU even though Walmart will probably be the biggest single seller of all three SKUs given their volume).

TF2 isn't a MOD, correct. However the subscription will be for anything we make. So when TF2 ships, the subscribers get it as part of their subscription.

We've been talking with retailers about the retail SKUs for a long time. Steam pricing was what I was trying to explain. Steam options seemed to require an explanation of the retail SKUs.

[email protected]

 

[Fuzzy]

EDIT: Hi gabe

/fuzzy hopes no one had time to read his post

 

[Ahnteis]

Walmart - HL2 Lite edition (Single player only)
Walmart - HL2 Multiplayer edition

Steam - Valve games subscription - play any Valve game. (Can you pay multiple months? Will there be a time when you've "bought" the content permamently?) Think TF2, CS2, DOD2, etc.

 

[roxXx]

was reading it, totaly fake

 

[Pi Mu Rho]

I think some people owe Kamakiri an apology

 

[Spyre]

Sorry all... I feel really stupid for calling this email a fake

How am I supposed to know which version of the product I pre-ordered? The Lite Edition, the MP edition, the DVD Collectors Edition, etc??

No offense Gabe, but for now this all seems quite a shock and very confusing. I'll place my faith in you and VALVe that all of this will be cleared up by the time I pickup my copy of the game I'm not trying to complain, just hoping to clear up any confusion, thanks!

 

[ThrasherX9]

Hmm... I don't like this idea at all. First of all, it's pretty complicated, especially for just the average joe gamer that sees three different HL2 products at his local Walmart or what have you. And I'm totally lost on all this subscription fees to download Valve content off of Steam. Could someone explain it to me in lamens terms?

I think Valve is making a big mistake with this. Why can't they just have a normal game with normal MP with normal people making normal mods? Why do they want to **** everything up? :flame: