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No Half-Life 2 on Steam?
Karl the Pagan writes "Following on the heels of a previous Steam-related story, Vivendi Universal may block Half-Life 2 distribution via Steam. Additional motions can be filed until November 18th, but since Sierra/VU have final QA approval on the HL2 gold is it possible they could delay the game until after the court decides on these motions?"
This really shouldn't ever have become an issue. The box-retail distribution model for games is still a viable one. Is it so important for HL fans to play the game as soon as humanly possible? What's wrong with buying it in store on the day of release?
How would Valve be harmed by giving in on this issue? How would the consumers be harmed?
IMHO, neither would, in any important way.
www.kitchengeek.com -- Nosh for
Steam is one of the worst programs I've seen in the last few years. Everyone seems to have trouble with it... why would ANYONE use it?
I'd much rather have a nice CD/DVD in my hand with the install on then a little code (which I could lose) to let me spend hours downloading it.
I'm trying not to sound like a troll but I really see no sane reason to download HL2 through steam and not just buy the damn CD. Preloading makes sense (install it faster) but why not get a nice shiney CD?
I like muppets.
I prefer Steam to other methods of purchasing a game. You don't have to go anywhere or pay shipping costs, you don't have to keep track of a CD, and hopefully, more of the money goes to the people that MADE the game, rather than filling the pockets of marketers and distributors. If I like a game, I want the people that made it to get the money, encouraging patches, new versions, and modifications. You see all this nonsense about Steam being terrible/people hating it/etc. I think they were using an earlier version. I'm a stickler about what I use / let run in the background of a Windows machine, even. I'm all about Firefox, nothing next to the clock, REALUPDATE.exe can die, all superfluous services are disabled. And still, this Steam software works fine and doesn't bother me. That's a bigger achievement than Realplayer can claim.
We are one consciousness experiencing itself subjectively. Back to you with the weather, Bob!
"On Friday, when asked if Valve was still intent on making Half-Life 2 available to gamers via Steam, regardless of what was determined on October 8, Lombardi replied, "Yes.""
So this means it's not coming out till at least October? WTF! I had my hopes up with this release candidate news, now this bullshit! Dammit, I'm going to be out of the country by the time it comes out! I may not be able to get it in any timely manner BUT via Steam.
Fer fucksake, games are perishible. Hype even moreso. The more they delay this thing, the less they're going to make off of it. The hype is at it's peak now, without ever having boiled over to the point of insanity (Phantom Menace, FF7). If they don't release this thing soon, they're gonna have another Daikatana on their hands.
Start selling the goddamn game, and settle out who gets how much in court!
Superior to DOOM III ?? Bah, both games were designed with different goals in mind in terms of gameplay, and the engines themselves are more or less equal in capabilities.
I for one would love to see the publisher cut out of the end price. New releases are sucking up $50 of my paycheck every time and it can only get worse. That said, Valve really needs to beef up its infrastructure before I'll join the service. I played CS on it and had nothing but problems with the service.
duke nukem hasn't had a 'date' in what, 6 years?
hl2 however has been 'just around the corner' and 'almost finished' and 'in the stores by fall' for quite some time.
world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
The question is, will they be able to release with these filings? I imagine Sierra/Vivendi/whoever will try to stop the release until they can decide if Valve can release under steam.
Just the other day I was complaining that there's no innovation in the gaming industry. It's nice to see that Vivendi found yet another new and original way to screw itself and alienate its remaining fans.
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Half-Life - universally praised for its gameplay and solid (at the time) editing tools. PC Gamer awarded it the highest score ever
- Team Fortress Classic - excellent multiplayer add-on that extended the game's life
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Counter-Strike - Valve's involvement with CS has been mediocre at best, from 'updating' maps and player models to altering traditional (and fun) parts of its gameplay
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Deathmatch Classic - A decent re-make of Quake DM--almost as good as the original--but Valve really should have been working on Half-Life 2 instead of this free and largely unnoticed mod
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Steam - a really, really unnecessary system that makes it difficult to run LANs, extract game content for editing, or install custom skins, maps, etc. Plus it still doesn't prevent cheating.
Given the current trend of Valve, I'd say the best thing they can do is drop Steam altogether and release Half-Life 2 just like the original. And maybe 4 or 5 Gold Editions or something.Hey Vivendi Universal:
License the Steam technology and platform from Valve and use it to distribute the other games in your library. That way you gain the benefits of an electronic distribution channel without having to do the blood and sweat part yourself and you reward one of your forward-thinking business partners.
Or you can sue said customer and make yourself look like the idiotic, money grubbing, fear-mongering institutions of the MPAA and RIAA, which are locked in the past despite all signs customer preferences are pointing the other way. Oh, that's right. Universal is a RIAA member. No wonder.
This is what you get when crotchety septegenarians managing a confused, out of focus multinational try to sell entertainment "to the kids". Heavy handed, out of touch business practices that alienate more people than they are trying to attract.
obviously no deficiencies vs. no obvious deficiencies
Bugs or no bugs, Steam is unacceptable IMHO. When I buy a game on physical media, I have a tangible thing that belongs to me. I can install it on a new machine, I can lend it to a friend, I can sell it on eBay, I can keep playing it as long as I want, even after the publisher goes out of business. Steam allows none of that.
If Sierra goes belly up next week, how long do you think the Steam master server is going to be around? Probably not long. How can you sell a game you don't play anymore if it's on Steam? You can't! You don't actually have anything to sell, you've just been paying for access to someone else's game.
0 1 - just my two bits
yeah, but one of the falls was fall 2003.
the code theft was just bullshit reasoning, they didn't have the thing ready back then.
world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
Lose a developer who has slipped numerous deadlines and is literally years behind schedule on the release of their one project? Somehow, I think Vivendi isn't terribly concerned.
Good riddance to big game publishers. They push early release dates, delay release dates, they're the ones who insist that you stick your CD in when you start up a game...good riddance.
Some of you may not like Steam (you probably haven't even tried it since it was the crappy beta...it kicks ASS now), some of you love it, but fact is, Valve is treading some innovative new game distribution ground here, and we should applaud them for taking a chance and sidestepping publishers all together. Isn't this in the same spirit of P2P music and other trumpeted mindsets?
Did you read the bit in article where it says " Lombardi told GameSpot last Friday. "We later had to add breach of contract claims for, among other things, refusing to pay us royalties owed and delaying Condition Zero out of the holiday season.""
So perhaps, just perhaps, it did go gold and it wasn't Gabe Newell's fault that it was six months late? Frankly I don't know, but I strongly suspect you don't either.