Vivendi Delay Statement on Gamestar

[rec]

Vivendi Announces Delay

One of Germany's biggest PC gaming magazines, Gamestar, are reporting that there is the potential for Half-Life 2 to be pushed back as far as April 2004 according to a statement by the president of VU Games, Christophe Ramboz. An article on CNN has spawned backing up these claims, revealing that Ramboz also stated that only a third of the code was leaked, and it is because of the leak that various aspects of the game need to be re-written, causing the delay.

Gamestar do mention that Gabe Newell has not commented on the topic, however HalfLife2.Net has just approached Valve employees for confirmation of this claim made by Vivendi; we hope to have a response soon.

On a related note, according to translated interviews with Doug Lombardi that took place during the Tokyo Game show, Valve had already commenced work on an expansion pack set for 2004. HalfLife2.Net forum participant UndeadScottsman apparently recieved an an e-mail reply from Doug himself promoting that this statement was either in reference to the Collector's Edition of Half-Life 2, or a translation misquote. Please keep in mind that we have no possible way to cement the legitimacy of the e-mails posted in our "Info From Valve" thread, however up until this point our faith in community members has paid off with only valid information being published.

 

[rec]

Personally I'd say the statement and the this news is very real, however keep in mind Vivendi have a habbit of releasing inaccurate information.

 

[Kyle2]

vivendi had a reason for delaying the game to holiday, "to make more money". they wouldn't have any reason for delaying it till april so it is gabe's decision as to wether the game needs some reworking or if they can go ahead and release it. really any decision to delay the game further should only be trusted if heard directly from valve alone at this point.

 

[WARLORD]

http://v2.gamekult.com/tout/actus/default.html?nopub=1&temp=490710200356121017

it's a french well known game news website

VU say they are going to delay the game to april 2004, the time for valve to rewrite some compromised codes.
valve still plan the game to the end of the year but they say they were probably to busy putting a decent firewall to check the calendar

vivendi who lost 52millions of euro was expecting much about halflife2


damn... a month after my birthday.. :/

 

[pixartist]

nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

no pls no nononononononononnononon PLS!!!!!!!! no! PLS NO!

 

[Gaemon82]

Originally posted by Kyle2
vivendi had a reason for delaying the game to holiday, "to make more money". they wouldn't have any reason for delaying it till april so it is gabe's decision as to wether the game needs some reworking or if they can go ahead and release it. really any decision to delay the game further should only be trusted if heard directly from valve alone at this point.

This time it is NOT a marketing decision, if the game needs 5 or 6 months of coding, then it will need them, regardless of what Valve, Vivendi or someone else says.

 

[Wob]

Damn i'm getting confused :rolling:

http://www.hl2online.com

Hackers almost caught?
Posted By: Djinn Comments: 0

The staff members from www.halflifesource.com had the chance to ask Gabe Newell a few questions. Here is what Gabe said about the hackers, according to Half-Life Source:

Gabe Newell and Valve Software did confirm that only a SMALL PORTION of the source code was taken. This is different than most of the reports. The entire source was not taken. Straight from Gabe Newell.

No Mention Of Half-Life 2 Delay. So far Half-Life 2 is shipping for the HOLIDAYS.

It appears that Valve Software is really close to getting the hackers. They seem to have their names written on a whiteboard. It's no wonder that it's business as usual at Valve!

They have names on the whiteboard -- the history, date, times -- and other things that looked like file names. That was pretty much a quick issue. You know, it's done! They're on it! They look like they know who did it.

Now that's some good information isn't it?

 

[Kyle2]

Originally posted by Gaemon82
This time it is NOT a marketing decision, if the game needs 5 or 6 months of coding, then it will need them, regardless of what Valve, Vivendi or someone else says.

that's pretty much what i said... it's Gabe's decision as to wether the code needs to be reworked or not. Technically the game doesn't need to be recoded at all because of the release because the code wasn't damaged in any way, just compromised.

 

[Gaemon82]

Originally posted by Wob
Damn i'm getting confused :rolling:

http://www.hl2online.com

Hackers almost caught?
Posted By: Djinn Comments: 0

The staff members from www.halflifesource.com had the chance to ask Gabe Newell a few questions. Here is what Gabe said about the hackers, according to Half-Life Source:

Gabe Newell and Valve Software did confirm that only a SMALL PORTION of the source code was taken. This is different than most of the reports. The entire source was not taken. Straight from Gabe Newell.

No Mention Of Half-Life 2 Delay. So far Half-Life 2 is shipping for the HOLIDAYS.

It appears that Valve Software is really close to getting the hackers. They seem to have their names written on a whiteboard. It's no wonder that it's business as usual at Valve!

They have names on the whiteboard -- the history, date, times -- and other things that looked like file names. That was pretty much a quick issue. You know, it's done! They're on it! They look like they know who did it.

Now that's some good information isn't it?

If it's true, sure, but have you been here for the last weeks, do you remember when people talked about Valves statement of releasing the game on sep30th and the community said this was good news and not Vivendis stamtements?

 

[PunitoR]

Well delaying it till april 2004 is also not in the interest of vivendi, cause they don't have any money left. I'm not an accountant but earning some money before the end of the year would be a very positive thing for the "books" i think.

 

[He@t!]

AWWW WTF!!!!!!!!!!! Now Im Pissed!!!!! april 2004!!!!!!!!! WTF!!
:flame: :flame: :flame: :flame: ;( :flame: :flame: :flame: :flame:

 

[Shurakai]

For what happened over the last year and of course the last weeks especally I`d rather trust to Vivendi for they do not feel as much for the fans as Gabe would do. They give plain numbers. At least to a newspaper like The Echoes ("Les Echoes").

Anyway, I hope as much as everyone here that these news are not true. Let`s hope what the speaker of VU heard was internal rumours or worst case studies and Gabe will correct him with a definite date that last forever and the release. Altough I don`t believe that 160mb of sourcecode could be anything like "a tiny bit" of the source I do think, that it is only a tiny bit to adapt for a maximum of security and a stable game to release. Steam could most likely be the one "small part" that realy has to be worked over, if it`s code has been leaked too. Because it has to be absolutely secure in order to get the pay-per-play functions running. If HL2 goes out with a public network code, who cares. (View of Vivendi). Something like that can be patched, and the singleplayer game will not be affected by the leak if you don`t use trainers etc. So we could very well get the game in holidays with or without steam... or in march with steam... or...

Argh, I hate this feeling...
Shurakai

 

[rec]

I remind people again, this is a statement from a VU rep, this has not been confirmed by Valve.

 

[faust]

This sounds all too familiar, remember VALVe saying:"It'll be out on sep 30th," when VU allready announced the delay months before.

If this turns out to be an official VU statement, then I'll put my trust in them this time around...that's a HL2 release march 2004 -the earliest-


:|

 

[X-Bond 007]

PARIS, Oct 7 (Reuters) - The theft of part of its source code has delayed until April 2004 the launch of "Half Life II", the hotly anticipated alien-hunting game of Vivendi Universal Games (Paris: EAUG.PA - News; NYSE:V - News), a company official said.

"A third of the source code was stolen. It's serious because it forces us to delay the launch of the game by at least four months, that is to April 2004. Just the time to rewrite parts of the game," VU Games president of international operations Christophe Ramboz told daily Les Echos in its Tuesday edition.

According to Les Echos, a hacker broke into the email of the game's developer, Gabe Newell, the founder of Valve Software, and planted a spying program.

The delay is bad news for VU Games, which suffered a 29 percent fall in revenue and an operating loss of 52 million euros in 2003's first half and was betting on swift holiday sales.

This is the second time the game's release has been postponed.

Last month, VU games postponed the release of "Half-Life II" from September 30 to "an unspecified holiday release".

The game was keenly awaited after last May's games industry trade show, E3. Critics previewing it said it brought a new level of realism to characters and the virtual world in which they move.

The original "Half-Life", released in 1998, is still popular among PC gamers, and a modified version called "Counter-Strike" is widely used in gaming competitions.

"Half-Life II" stars Gordon Freeman, a scientist battling aliens from the planet Xen in a mysterious European locale known only as City 17.

At 1005 GMT, shares in Vivendi Universal, the parent company of VU Games, were down 1.2 percent at 16.11 euros in Paris, in line with the European media sector.;( ;(

 

[Krusty]

I agree rec, I won't believe it unless it comes direct from Valve.


If this is true don't you think ATI may be a little pissed off after paying 6 mill to bundle HL2 with their 9800XT cards? These new cards are, afterall is said and done, just a "kicker" product.
Surely the R400's will be out by April 04, meaning that their bundle will be pointless.

Come on Gabe, give us a post :bounce:

 

[Andrmgic]

hrm.. no day.. anyone want to bet that it will be April 1st, 2004?
Personally, I hope they are wrong.. but if it is true, maybe I can have an Athlon 64 via my tax refund before then

 

[X-Bond 007]

Oh linky:

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=3568878

 

[StooMonster]

VU are more likely to give accurate information because they are a publically quoted company and therehfore legally obliged too -- Valve are not.

VU's shareholders and potential buyers/sellers of stock must have accurate and published information (even if via PR to news sites) about the status of serious revenue streams like HL2.

If VU says it's April to anyone -- yes, anyone outside the company and particularly the press -- they have made a public statement and are legally obligated to it; unless they make a statement to ammend it later.

StooMonster has been a director of a publically quoted company and knows how this works. Trust VU's dates, not Valves.

StooMonster

 

[tjdrico]

Story is on El Reg too.

 

[faust]

Originally posted by StooMonster
Trust VU's dates, not Valves.

...my sentiments exactly...

 

[Aknot]

Lets see. VU says game is delayed. Some "Fat Cat" at VU buys up the lower priced stock. Game releases "Holidays" of 2003. Guess who just became a very rich man. Not that I care just so the game gets released.

SPECULATION-MY OPINION-NO FACT-JUST MESSING AROUND

Had to put that so people do not get their knickers in a bunch.

 

[Shurakai]

Just wanted to post what X-Bond 007 already posted. The man is in fact President International what means pretty much. This seems to get worse every minute in form of getting more believable every minute. :-(

All my hopes are on Gabe now altough I am teached daily not to trust people using Outlook Express *g*.

Go Gabe go... give me, ahm us of course HL2. I don`t care about the network code for I will be playing online in mid 2004. But I want to play the game when it`s cold out there... not in summer. Please!

Shurakai

 

[Tropico]

Why not give us the single player pack now.
That will get the pressure off for the mp and steam.
Then in two three or four months time release a MP pack.
Lets get a petition going

 

[mosquave]

You just know that people are going to bury their head in the sand and claim that this isn't true but it's obvious we aren't going to see the game until next year.

 

[Sporky]

Aaah nuts. ;(

 

[Vamperic]

Vivendi should just shut the **** up and let valve release the statments man they are always contradicting Gabe and Valve they should just keep quiet and everyone will be happier

 

[cod56]

It probably is true, :angry: :flame: however I think it might be a conspiracy. They needed more time, posted "leaked" information on the web and are now using this leak as an excuse to delay the game further. (JOKING)

I hope it’s not delay as long as HL1 or even worse Duke Nukem Forever. We will see but lest hope we get some straight information that tallies up soon.

 

[Necro]

i don't buy it. it's vivendi. vivendi is NOT trustable.
I think they're just saying that to cover they're backs JUST in case i mean, if they say april and it makes it out on time they can just say, oh it's done already, but if not they can just say told ya so. they have 3 months before december, that's a lot of time...let's all hope they make it and no believe to some bullshit lies or speculations from vivendi!:cheers:

 

[Tlaloc]

Originally posted by Vamperic
Vivendi should just shut the **** up and let valve release the statments man they are always contradicting Gabe and Valve they should just keep quiet and everyone will be happier

Valve and Gabe keep contradicting themselves. Valve release statements? heh... At least VU gave us a date. Not that "holiday" crap

 

[Wesisapie]

This is stupid. Oh well, more time to buy GCN games instead of HL2.

 

[mbrithoms]

this is another case of what will it take for you to believe it, we all knew this would cause a delay, and frankly HL2 wont be so special in april, it will be good but im afraid the novelty has gone for me

heres a bit of philosophy about it

a small child's exitement grows about christmas all year, and the waiting makes it all the more worthwhile
but what happenes when you get to christmas day and you tell the child, christmas is being moved to april?
you get a crying child for four months!
good luck to the mods on this board!

 

[theGreenBunny]

Well, this sucks

 

[Obz]

http://www.cnn.com/money/2003/10/07/technology/vivendi_code.reut/index.htm?cnn=yes

CNN.com: "The theft of part of its source code has delayed until April 2004"..

 

[FatboyTim]

Its extremely unlikely that VU would make this statement without prior discussion with Valve. While we need Gabe to confirm, I think this statement has to be taken seriously.

On the brighter side, it gives me that much longer to save for a nice shiny R9800Pro.

 

[mbrithoms]

april, by that time its going to be old news, WAY TO GO VALVE!

 

[mbrithoms]

valve and vivendi are going to make a small fraction of what they could have and frankly deserve it

 

[TwwIX]

Ahh, great!Here we go again.This just keeps getting more ridiculous every day.From the ati vs nvidia fiasco to incomplete file system to source leaks and delays.What the hell's going on with valve?:frown:

 

[Frost]

This cannot be true. This will be true once its CONFIRMED on gamespy.com because they have the resources to talk to Valve directly to confirm it. Either way with the Half-Life 2 bundle in the ATI Radeon 9800XT and 9600TX cards there is no way the game is going to be coming out as late as April... maybe the multiplayer portion at MOST, but think about it people, do you know how many angry people that bought the Radeon9800XT from ATI's website are now going to have to wait another 4 months for the game that is "Bundled" with it in a mutlimillion dollar partnership, not to mention the ad campaign!

 

[Mountain Man]

Pushing the game all the way back to April 2004 seems a bit excessive and not in Valve's best interest. The anticipation for Half-Life 2 is quickly diminishing, and I don't know if the fickle gaming community will stand for more delays. With Max Payne 2, Deus Ex 2, Doom III, and Stalker all coming out relatively soon, Valve has a very narrow window of opportunity to make a big splash. The first delay announcement really killed a lot of the community's enthusiasm, and a lengthy delay could be fatal.