Half-Life 3 Trademark Filed In Europe

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Half-Life 3 Trademark Filed In Europe

Posted by Soulskill on Tuesday October 1, 2013 @10:15AM from the break-out-your-jump-to-conclusions-playmat dept.

jones_supa writes "A trademark application for Half-Life 3, possibly the next entry in Valve's excruciatingly dormant Half-Life franchise, has been filed in Europe, according to the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market, the European Union's trademark and designs registry. The OHIM's database lists the Half-Life 3 trademark as owned by Valve Corporation, and filed on its behalf by Casalonga & Associés, a patent and trademark firm. The trademark covers 'computer game software,' 'downloadable computer game software via a global computer network and wireless devices' and other goods and services. The application was filed on Sept. 29. There is no equivalent trademark on record at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office."

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I sure hope this means... by SgtXaos · 2013-10-01 10:16 · Score: 1, Insightful

...that HL3 is actually possible!

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1. Re:I sure hope this means... by Hsien-Ko · 2013-10-01 10:18 · Score: 1
  
  nah, it's most likely for intellectual property protection, rather than "HL3 CONFIRMED OMG VALVE CNA COUNT AFTER ALL LOL".
2. Re:I sure hope this means... by sd4f · 2013-10-01 10:22 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  I think HL3 might be used to launch steamOS, just like HL2 launched steam. Whether it will be exclusive to steamOS (like HL2 required steam), i have my doubts.
3. Re:I sure hope this means... by jwsarvey · 2013-10-01 10:23 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  I believe that in IP law the trademark needs to actually be used sometime in the near future for it to be defensible. You can't just trademark a bunch of things for shits and giggles with no intention to use them. If you could, Valve would have trademarked HL3 a long time ago.
4. Re:I sure hope this means... by jwsarvey · 2013-10-01 10:33 · Score: 5, Interesting
  
  People keep bringing that idea up, but it seems really stupid to me. Installing a new OS is a non-trivial task for most people, and even most PC gamers I think. Throw in dual-booting with an existing Windows installation and you might as well ask them to fly to the moon. Valve's whole business model, the reason people swallow their DRM without complaining, is based on making your games go from the storefront to installed in your library with a few mouse clicks, and then keeping them all in one place. Requiring a dual-booted OS just for one game is the antithesis of that. It's everything people hated about EA's Origin magnified tenfold. Valve knows better.
5. Re:I sure hope this means... by khellendros1984 · 2013-10-01 10:52 · Score: 1
  
  I agree, Valve isn't likely to make it a SteamOS-only game...unless they're planning on using it as an incentive to get a SteamBox. As you said, ease of use is Valve's lifeblood. SteamBox satisfies that condition; SteamOS alone will always be for the tinkering DIYers, I think. As a further incentive, hey, there are already a bunch of Steam games that run under Linux, so it's less likely that they'd be buying the "console" "just for one game".
  
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6. Re:I sure hope this means... by CastrTroy · 2013-10-01 11:05 · Score: 2
  
  That being said, I'm pretty sure they already have a trademark on "Half-Life" and they really don't need to trademark the more specific Half-Life 3. It's not like you could just put out a game called "Half-Life 3" or "GTA 6" next month because the trademark holders on the previous game with a very similar title haven't bothered to file a trademark for the next game in the series.
  
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  Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
7. Re:I sure hope this means... by Charliemopps · 2013-10-01 11:08 · Score: 5, Interesting
  
  How much do you want to bet SteamOS can be launched via live CD? Who says that Live CD can't be the HL3 disc? Seems rather logical to me. If you get a digital download they could just put a "burn me a live CD" right in the steam client... or offer to install a boot loader for you. All very easy.
8. Re:I sure hope this means... by harperska · 2013-10-01 11:20 · Score: 1
  
  Yep. Not only do you have to use it for it to be defensible, but you have to actively defend it as well. Failing to take action to protect your trademark is legally implicitly agreeing that you no longer wish to retain exclusive ownership of that mark. That is why anybody can market their moving staircase contraption as an Escalator, and Otis Co. has no say in the matter anymore.
9. Re:I sure hope this means... by Lunix+Nutcase · 2013-10-01 11:34 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  Nothing. Patents and Trademarks are completely distinct things.
10. Re:I sure hope this means... by Lunix+Nutcase · 2013-10-01 11:36 · Score: 1
  
  You have to use it within a certain amount of time after registration. In most places this is around 5 years.
11. Re:I sure hope this means... by Lunix+Nutcase · 2013-10-01 11:38 · Score: 1
  
  I'll bet you thousands of dollars it won't be. It would go completely against the point of Steam to then require you to burn the game and run it that way. The whole point of Steam is to not need CD media to install and run a game.
12. Re: I sure hope this means... by tepples · 2013-10-01 11:48 · Score: 1
  
  How do you plan to execute x86 binaries on an ARM CPU?
  Should Valve seek a port of Steam to Android, it'll probably work the same way games are released for Windows, OS X, and desktop Linux: through a recompile from source.
13. Re: I sure hope this means... by Grave · 2013-10-01 12:03 · Score: 2
  
  And when you consider the fact that one of the biggest draws of SteamOS is the streaming capability, having a low-powered ARM client actually makes sense.
14. Re: I sure hope this means... by khellendros1984 · 2013-10-01 12:06 · Score: 1
  
  I never said that SteamOS (as installed by an individual on their own hardware) would be the most common usage. "Tinkering DIYers" are a small minority of users of current systems, and I don't expect that to change. The guy I was responding to said that asking most gamers to do their own dual-boot install would be unrealistic, and I agreed with that. Valve needs a way to make SteamOS popular, and the most viable way to do that is to keep things simple. Thus: SteamBox. I think they're already fragmenting their market by going Win-Mac-Lin-SteamBox though. They don't need to add in a completely separate architecture to complicate things further; I don't really see a move to ARM in the near future (although, who knows about a couple years down the road...)
  
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15. Re:I sure hope this means... by slimjim8094 · 2013-10-01 12:14 · Score: 2, Informative
  
  Because patents are very time-limited and they come with public disclosure. You do understand that patents, copyrights, and trademarks are completely different, right?
  
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16. Re:I sure hope this means... by gl4ss · 2013-10-01 12:19 · Score: 2
  
  and actually... if they just create a holder page - give a press release or whatever - that is usage. maybe this means that in 5 years they announce it.
  but like someone already commented they have half-life already covered for a game related use.
  I've said it before and I'll say it again the problem with HL series is that it has no direction, nobody knows where the story is supposed to to go - nobody even inside valve knows the even the context of the story, background or anything. that's why hl2 and the episodes are so vague and why they had to resort to ending in middle of an explosion.. and why there's nobody in there with a passion for getting the story told(and the games out).
  
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  world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
17. Re:I sure hope this means... by Samantha+Wright · 2013-10-01 12:40 · Score: 1
  
  Well, this sort of jives with that. Massively.
  
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18. Re:I sure hope this means... by dkf · 2013-10-01 12:51 · Score: 1
  
  but like someone already commented they have half-life already covered for a game related use.
  With trademarks, it helps to be very specific. In particular, it makes the unique mark far easier to defend in a civil court case.
  
  --
  "Little does he know, but there is no 'I' in 'Idiot'!"
19. Re: I sure hope this means... by Kielistic · 2013-10-01 14:17 · Score: 1
  
  it'll probably work the same way games are released for Windows, OS X, and desktop Linux
  The fact that they all run the same architecture? Hint: x86 not ARM.
  You don't actually think a game that requires a GPU that takes probably an order of magnitude more power than an entire ARM device is just a recompile away do you?
20. Re:I sure hope this means... by Kielistic · 2013-10-01 14:21 · Score: 1
  
  There is an update and you must download and burn a new disc to continue playing this game.
  That, among many other reasons, is why such a thing would not work as a live CD. Messing with a user's bootloader when the user has no idea what that is is not "very easy". It is a sure path to failure.
21. Re:I sure hope this means... by umdesch4 · 2013-10-01 14:38 · Score: 1
  
  Wow, this is quite the inflammatory response. So, it's 20 years in the US for a patent. For the kinds of patents we talk about here on /. I have to agree with the person you're calling a retard. After 20 years 'the so-called "invention" is often obsolete'. Unless, of course, it's rounded corners on a moblile electronic device. I'm sure that won't be obsolete in 20 years...
22. Re:I sure hope this means... by Agent+ME · 2013-10-01 14:41 · Score: 1
  
  There's little point in dual-booting to SteamOS. SteamOS is aimed at Steambox computers that don't even have Windows.
23. Re: I sure hope this means... by GigaplexNZ · 2013-10-01 14:42 · Score: 1
  
  There's nothing stopping NVIDIA creating a SteamBox using a Tegra with a massive GPU. The architecture doesn't make much difference when you need to recompile anyway (unless there's hand-tuned assembly, but that's not insurmountable). Why would NVIDIA do this? Because they're not in any of the big consoles, they don't have an x86 license, but they do have an ARM license. They've even shown a tendency to go this way with NVIDIA SHIELD.
24. Re:I sure hope this means... by Kaenneth · 2013-10-01 14:45 · Score: 1
  
  Also not all PCs have CD-ROM drives.
25. Re:I sure hope this means... by Charliemopps · 2013-10-01 14:45 · Score: 1
  
  You don't need one. It's just an option. You can run it on windows, you can run it on linux, you can boot to the CD. Whatever you want.
26. Re:I sure hope this means... by Charliemopps · 2013-10-01 14:50 · Score: 2
  
  You haven't used many live CDs have you? Yes you can run purely from the CD, and yes, then you can't save anything. But most allow you to save to hard disk just like any other OS. You can save your updates there, as well as your games. And the idea that "Messing around with the boot loader is not very easy" is just silly. every modern Linux distro out there offers to install a bootloader for you if you already have windows. It rarely causes problems and people who have no idea what they are doing successfully complete installs all the time.
27. Re:I sure hope this means... by Lunix+Nutcase · 2013-10-01 14:56 · Score: 1
  
  Or it will just install as every other game on Steams does rather than something stupid like what you posit?
28. Re:I sure hope this means... by hairyfeet · 2013-10-01 16:09 · Score: 1
  
  Bingo, we have a winner! I love the hell out of the game but the story? Deep fried ass, sorry folks but it is. That thing has more loose threads than a sweater woven by a granny with Parkinson's and you can tell they have NO clue WTF the G-Man is supposed to be, who he works for, what he is supposed to do, it was probably thrown in there originally because of the whole X-Files/MIB thing back in the late 90s and then the fans latched on and they didn't know WTF to do with it other than just throw his ass in with zero idea how to wrap the thing up.
  Hell I bet if they hired Joss Whedon to write HL3 even he couldn't figure out how to make an ending that actually even made half ass sense, its just too all over the place. Its still a fun as hell game series though, even if the story makes no sense whatsoever.
  
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29. Re:I sure hope this means... by gman003 · 2013-10-01 17:33 · Score: 1
  
  You know what the most popular upgrade among gamers now is? An SSD boot drive, because hard drives are too slow for us. Do you think anyone's going to regularly boot Steam off a medium slower and more sequential than a hard drive, when most gamers who can are fleeing towards SSDs at least for the boot drive?
30. Re:I sure hope this means... by mindwhip · 2013-10-01 19:36 · Score: 2
  
  Chances are the trademark also includes unreported logos and new variations of wording. Also there is the reported updated usage wording which lawyers feel make it necessary.
  
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  [The Universe] has gone offline.
31. Re:I sure hope this means... by L4t3r4lu5 · 2013-10-01 20:11 · Score: 1
  
  Yes, but including a USB thumb drive imaging tool would be trivial.
  
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32. Re:I sure hope this means... by Andtalath · 2013-10-01 20:26 · Score: 1
  
  Trademark is to be able to claim ownership of a product.
  Meaning, you can actually build a reputation.
  Basically, if I buy a Lenovo Thinkpad x230, I don't want it to actually be a Packard Bell netbook.
  That is what trademarks are about.
  So, no, pretty much nothing like patents.
33. Re: I sure hope this means... by madprof · 2013-10-01 20:55 · Score: 1
  
  You can't have a variable time limit for patents based on when it might become obsolete because you can't predict the future that accurately. That would be a silly idea.
  People who hate the idea of IP are living on a different planet.
34. Re: I sure hope this means... by drinkypoo · 2013-10-01 22:49 · Score: 1
  
  There's nothing stopping NVIDIA creating a SteamBox using a Tegra with a massive GPU.
  There's two things. First, no ARM core would keep up with it. Second, the IP for their massive GPUs is laden with agreeements with assholes like Microsoft.
  
  --
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35. Re:I sure hope this means... by Inda · 2013-10-01 23:46 · Score: 1
  
  Put the DVD in the drive. Reboot. Click yes to everything.
  
  That's well within the "My dad could do this" spec.
  
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36. Re: I sure hope this means... by GigaplexNZ · 2013-10-01 23:53 · Score: 1
  
  There's nothing stopping NVIDIA creating a SteamBox using a Tegra with a massive GPU.
  There's two things. First, no ARM core would keep up with it. Second, the IP for their massive GPUs is laden with agreeements with assholes like Microsoft.
  I disagree. If 8 Bobcat derived cores can handle the PS4/XBox One, then a collection of high end ARM cores can handle a decent GPU (doesn't need to be Titan level). Also, NVIDIA already have their Kepler cores freed up for licensing so that won't be a roadblock for integrating with ARM.
37. Re:I sure hope this means... by jmke · 2013-10-02 01:13 · Score: 1
  
  more likely to launch SteamBox; a launch title that's exclusive to steam, not cross platform. to be be put on the shelve next to XBOX360+GTAV and PS4+GT7. SteamBox+HL3. would make console gamers post pictures of HL3 with subtext "most expensive game I've bought"; in reference to PC Gamers posting pictures of PS3/XBOX360 and GTA-V and stating the same :) getting people to buy a "console" for a game. The hook is in, the reel them in with steam on PC, play it on steamBOX and your laptop; cross platform (Mac, Linux, Windows), take it where-ever you go.
38. Re:I sure hope this means... by Kielistic · 2013-10-02 02:05 · Score: 1
  
  You haven't used many live CDs have you? Yes you can run purely from the CD, and yes, then you can't save anything. But most allow you to save to hard disk just like any other OS.
  I've used them extensively. Where is your live CD going to save stuff on the harddrive? Is it going to just make itself a partition? Or are you expecting gamers to figure this out without constantly breaking their machines?
  
  And the idea that "Messing around with the boot loader is not very easy" is just silly. every modern Linux distro out there offers to install a bootloader for you if you already have windows. It rarely causes problems and people who have no idea what they are doing successfully complete installs all the time.
  If you are installing Linux then you either have an idea of what a bootloader is or can quickly figure it out but most likely you have fairly intricate knowledge of how the bootloader works because you've had it broken multiple times in the past. If you work a lot with multi-boot systems you've most likely had a bootloader failure at some point or another. Luckily Grub and the Windows boot loader are painless to fix once you've had to do it a couple of times.
  There is a reason why the popular OSes pretty much just claim a computer as wholly their own.
39. Re: I sure hope this means... by Kielistic · 2013-10-02 02:17 · Score: 1
  
  If 8 Bobcat derived cores can handle the PS4/XBox One, then a collection of high end ARM cores can handle a decent GPU
  That does not follow. Jaguar (the bobcat derived you were talking about) is still an x86 architecture. It also includes many of the fancy x86 features. Why do you think everyone is using x86 for these things? Because it is up to the task now. They don't have to design/fab some complex new ARM design that no one knows how to use just to compete with what already exists in the x86 space. Remember how well Cell worked out for IBM and Sony?
40. Re:I sure hope this means... by tlhIngan · 2013-10-02 03:13 · Score: 1
  
  Wow, this is quite the inflammatory response. So, it's 20 years in the US for a patent. For the kinds of patents we talk about here on /. I have to agree with the person you're calling a retard. After 20 years 'the so-called "invention" is often obsolete'. Unless, of course, it's rounded corners on a moblile electronic device. I'm sure that won't be obsolete in 20 years...
  It's quite telling when people on /;. who call themselves "intelligent" and "smart" and wish computer users would learn how to code or be one with the machine instead of consumers, and yet still don't understand IP law. It's almost as if technology makes people feel superior, while being ignorant of everything else in the world since that's "less important" somehow.
  There are two kinds of patents: utility patents and design patents. The former is used to describe (supposedly) novel inventions that do things. The latter describes ornamental (i.e., stuff that doesn't impact functionality) features.
  Utility patents are limited to 20 years, design patents 5. And design patents much describe what parts of a design are unique to it - you cannot take a rounded corner and patent that because it doesn't make it unique among other designs.
  In the specific case, it's a device consisting of rounded corners, with one flat side being a screen which displays icons in a grid, with one part of the grid static while the other part moves to reveal more icons in a grid.
  Trademarks are very similar except their term is indefinite - they're valid as long as the mark is used (and a lot of arguing goes forth on whether a mark is used - see netbook, iPhone, etc). If a mark isn't used it can be invalidated since they're to protect trade. If a mark is used by unauthorized third parties, then it too is invalidated (by generalization - think escalator).
  Marks can be anything - a sound, a shape, a bit of text, an object, as long as they're used and usage restrictions enforced. Besides brands like Google, Microsoft, Apple, you have the coke bottle shape that is used to uniquely identify Coca-Cola, the red lettering, etc.
41. Re:I sure hope this means... by Conspiracy_Of_Doves · 2013-10-02 03:17 · Score: 1
  
  needs to actually be used sometime in the near future
  How near?
  
  --
  
  Technoli
42. Re:I sure hope this means... by Patch86 · 2013-10-02 03:59 · Score: 1
  
  I don't think they'd require SteamOS for anything. But it's not a secret that they'll be launching their own living-room console "soon". Having big game title exclusives to plug it with is standard tradecraft.
  And I don't mean "exclusive to the Steam console at the expense of Steam on a PC", I mean "exclusive to Steam at the expense of PS4, WiiU and XBone". The Steam console is pretty much exclusively a vehicle with which to get more people to buy games via the Steam store. Odds are Valve will even need to sell them at subsidised prices if they want to compete with the other consoles. So Valve won't care if you buy their game for your PC or your console, as long as you buy it from them and not their competitors.
43. Re: I sure hope this means... by CanHasDIY · 2013-10-02 04:04 · Score: 1
  
  https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.stainlessgames.carmageddon&hl=en
  Granted, it's a port of an older game, but graphically intensive nonetheless.
  
  --
  An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
44. Re: I sure hope this means... by khellendros1984 · 2013-10-02 05:13 · Score: 1
  
  Oh, I see. Just like launch exclusives have been non-starters for every other console launch in history. Thanks, AC!
  
  --
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45. Re:I sure hope this means... by Nethemas+the+Great · 2013-10-02 07:17 · Score: 1
  
  Trademarks are a form of intellectual property that serves branding. A company may use their trademark to prevent anyone from using their branding in their own products without consent through licensing. Think franchises, or all the random crap that has Disney movie themes or Hello Kitty all over them.
  Patents are a form of intellectual property that serves "inventions". A company may use their patent to prevent anyone from using the patented "invention" in their own products without consent through licensing.
  At the end of the day a company may leverage IP law to exclude/regulate access to their IP. Certain people are making the false assumption that my explanation means that I'm against laws that prevent anyone from doing as they will with another's IP. I do however believe that IP laws should serve the public interest ahead of private parties. They are not.
  
  --
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46. Re:I sure hope this means... by Charliemopps · 2013-10-02 07:39 · Score: 1
  
  Who said it would boot entirely off the CD? That's just the boot loader, which will then ask to either create a partition on your HDD or maybe just create a single file like PuppyOS does.
  Trust me, there are dozens of linux distros out there already doing this, it's crazy simple and you can hardly tell the difference between the live CD and a normal boot.
47. Re: I sure hope this means... by Kielistic · 2013-10-02 08:14 · Score: 1
  
  Carmageddon?! That's your example? An MS-DOS game? An older game indeed. I don't think people are going to be lining up to buy a device that will only play 16 year old games.
  You and the rest of the world may have a largely different definition of "graphically intensive".
48. Re: I sure hope this means... by CanHasDIY · 2013-10-02 08:49 · Score: 1
  
  You and the rest of the world may have a largely different definition of "graphically intensive".
  You obviously have not played the port; there have been some upgrades. It's no Crysis, but it's also not the blocky, 10-pixel crapfest it was 14 years ago, either.
  
  --
  An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
49. Re:I sure hope this means... by balbus000 · 2013-10-02 08:50 · Score: 1
  
  I don't think they will make any games SteamOS-only. But they don't need to. Including a free copy of HL3 with SteamBox would be a very good incentive, and would still allow other Steam users to purchase HL3 separately.
50. Re: I sure hope this means... by Kielistic · 2013-10-02 08:56 · Score: 1
  
  there have been some upgrades
  Making the texture resolution a little bigger and turning on smooth-shading and anti-aliasing is still not graphically intensive.
  
  It's no Crysis
  You're damn right it's not. It's also no Half Life 1 yet you are using it as an example of how Half Life 3 will work on an ARM system.
  Carmageddon is in no way graphically intensive by today's standards (or any standards in the last 10 years). That is why you see it on a phone.
51. Re: I sure hope this means... by CanHasDIY · 2013-10-02 09:36 · Score: 1
  
  Not being a code monkey myself, I will have to take your word on that.
  
  --
  An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
52. Re:I sure hope this means... by khellendros1984 · 2013-10-02 09:37 · Score: 1
  
  Good point. I actually hadn't thought of that.
  
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53. Re: I sure hope this means... by GigaplexNZ · 2013-10-02 22:16 · Score: 1
  
  NVIDIA doesn't have the option to make an x86 chip because they don't have a licence. ARM is capable of performing at or near Jaguar levels. Tegra 5 with Kepler graphics isn't exactly a secret.
  
  Remember how well Cell worked out for IBM and Sony?
  The Cell is not a general purpose chip. ARM is. There's plenty of games out there already for iOS/Android so the architecture isn't a roadblock.
54. Re: I sure hope this means... by Kielistic · 2013-10-03 03:57 · Score: 1
  
  ARM is capable of performing at or near Jaguar levels.
  That's something you are going to have to back up.
  
  There's plenty of games out there already for iOS/Android so the architecture isn't a roadblock.
  Plenty of games out there for 68K too. That does not mean it is as capable is x86. I do not care what games you play on your phone. They are not the same class as big PC games like Half Life. It is a simple fact that x86 has more raw power than ARM. There is no technical reason ARM could not be improved to a point that it is as powerful as x86 but it is not there now.
  Architecture is a roadblock when one architecture provides serious performance gains.
55. Re: I sure hope this means... by GigaplexNZ · 2013-10-03 04:52 · Score: 1
  
  ARM is capable of performing at or near Jaguar levels.
  That's something you are going to have to back up.
  Comparison here. Okay, so the gap is a bit bigger than I remembered, but it's still in a similar ballpark. Unfortunately I couldn't find a more exhaustive comparison between them right now.
  
  There's plenty of games out there already for iOS/Android so the architecture isn't a roadblock.
  Plenty of games out there for 68K too. That does not mean it is as capable is x86. I do not care what games you play on your phone. They are not the same class as big PC games like Half Life. It is a simple fact that x86 has more raw power than ARM. There is no technical reason ARM could not be improved to a point that it is as powerful as x86 but it is not there now.
  Architecture is a roadblock when one architecture provides serious performance gains.
  Is Battlefield 3 on Tegra 5 capable enough for you?
56. Re: I sure hope this means... by khellendros1984 · 2013-10-03 05:02 · Score: 1
  
  I don't think it'll be common, but I think it'll be done. Hell, you just described a lot of my Saturday afternoons in college. Then again, I wasn't talking about loading SteamOS onto your own hardware. I was talking about buying a SteamBox: a pre-built, pre-configured computer, designed primarily to be used as a "just turn on and play" style of console.
  
  So, what I "honestly believe" that people are going to do is: buy the fucking SteamBox console that's cheaper than their PC, plug it into the TV in their living room, and play the damn games they already paid for. In the meantime, I will "go fucking around setting up boot managers, installing a new OS and screwing around with drivers to play a game that would run just fine on the OS that [I] already use".
  
  --
  It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue.
57. Re: I sure hope this means... by Kielistic · 2013-10-03 05:21 · Score: 1
  
  Okay, so the gap is a bit bigger than I remembered, but it's still in a similar ballpark.
  Ignoring the fact that a JavaScript benchmark isn't that useful in comparing gaming performance we still have one of the most modern and most expensive ARM chips having 60% less performance than one of the cheapest and weakest modern x86 chips. I'm not sure you can count that as ARM being in a similar ballpark as x86.
  
  Is Battlefield 3 [androidandme.com] on Tegra 5 capable enough for you?
  If that video was any indication? Absolutely not. If Valve released a flagship Half Life 3 that looked like that no one would ever take them seriously again. Low poly environments, no anti-aliasing. Sorry but that's quite a few years old in x86 gaming. Great on a tablet but it just does not hold a candle to what x86 is capable of right now.
  The issue is not "can ARM play games"; clearly it can. The issue is "can ARM compete with x86 in the gaming realm". And at present and the foreseeable future the answer to that is a resounding "No".
58. Re: I sure hope this means... by khellendros1984 · 2013-10-04 09:01 · Score: 1
  
  A SteamOS release implies a SteamBox release, by the very nature of the product, so a release for the former denotes compatibility with the latter. If the game's released as a "SteamOS exclusive", it's automatically a "SteamBox exlusive" as well. Troll harder.
  
  --
  It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue.
Half-Life 3 Confirmed by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-01 10:17 · Score: 5, Funny

Half-Life 3 Confirmed
First Duke Nukem Forever, now this... by DangerOnTheRanger · 2013-10-01 10:18 · Score: 4, Funny

We'll be left with no speculationware to joke about pretty soon, looks like.

--
My blog
1. Re:First Duke Nukem Forever, now this... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-01 10:48 · Score: 1
  
  We'll always have the year of linux on the desktop. They won on servers, tablets and getting there on phones but still no desktop.
2. Re:First Duke Nukem Forever, now this... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-01 10:52 · Score: 2, Insightful
  
  There's always GNU\Hurd
3. Re:First Duke Nukem Forever, now this... by jones_supa · 2013-10-01 15:38 · Score: 1
  
  We'll be left with no speculationware to joke about pretty soon, looks like.
  Compared to DNF, HL3 is a bit different though: Valve itself has yet not officially promised or advertised anything (unless you really want to count the cliffhanger at the end of HL2EP2). So it's only speculation among fans, unlike DNF which received a bunch of screenshots with a good dose of hype every now and then.
4. Re: First Duke Nukem Forever, now this... by Therad · 2013-10-01 15:51 · Score: 1
  
  Year of android has already happened.
5. Re:First Duke Nukem Forever, now this... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-01 18:48 · Score: 1
  
  We need a "year of the desktop"!
I guess by bitt3n · 2013-10-01 10:19 · Score: 1

that's more encouraging than if they trademarked Half-Life Forever

--
how many pairs of boxer shorts should you own?
1. Re:I guess by ProzacPatient · 2013-10-01 10:47 · Score: 1
  
  That would actually be rather funny if they did
2. Re:I guess by aliquis · 2013-10-01 11:08 · Score: 1
  
  Half-Life Forever.
  For your Linux desktop.
Comment removed by account_deleted · 2013-10-01 10:21 · Score: 5, Funny

Comment removed based on user account deletion
Great Way to Promote Steambox by cervesaebraciator · 2013-10-01 10:21 · Score: 4, Interesting

Early HL3 for users.
Episode 3 by sd4f · 2013-10-01 10:23 · Score: 1

What happened to it? Some time ago, all the talk turned to HL3 instead.
1. Re:Episode 3 by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-01 10:38 · Score: 1
  
  Valve originally stated they had plans to release new episodes for HL2 approximately every 6 to 8 months, with episodes 1 to 4 already planned. When this window passed without the third episode, many speculated that Valve had abandoned the episodic strategy and are working on an entirely new game.
  From an interview in 2006
2. Re:Episode 3 by ZombieBraintrust · 2013-10-01 10:40 · Score: 1
  
  Since the release of Half-Life 2: Episode Two in October 2007, there has been very little news from Valve on the next Half-Life game. Half-Life 2: Episode Three, the third and final instalment of the Half-Life 2 episodes, was expected to follow soon after Episode Two, as Valve had stated that they aimed to release a new episode every six to eight months
  You don't call something released 7 years later a new episode.
3. Re:Episode 3 by petermgreen · 2013-10-01 11:01 · Score: 1
  
  No one outside valve is sure but the suspicions are that what was originally targeted to be episode 3 grew and evolved into a project too large to be called an "episode"
  
  --
  note: i'm known as plugwash most places but i screwd up registering that here somehow in the past and now can't register
4. Re:Episode 3 by GarethIwanFairclough · 2013-10-01 11:48 · Score: 1
  
  Since the release of Half-Life 2: Episode Two in October 2007, there has been very little news from Valve on the next Half-Life game. Half-Life 2: Episode Three, the third and final instalment of the Half-Life 2 episodes, was expected to follow soon after Episode Two, as Valve had stated that they aimed to release a new episode every six to eight months
  You don't call something released 7 years later a new episode.
  Likely eps 3 and 4 have been rolled into hl3. Perhaps as a pair of prologue chapters?
5. Re:Episode 3 by sd4f · 2013-10-02 10:46 · Score: 1
  
  I'm not really a fan of half life, i don't get what all the hype is about. I've still got to finish ep2, although I found ep1 moderately enjoyable because it was short, and you had Alyx the whole time. I find HL odd, because I've always enjoyed games that work to make other NPC's really make the game 'alive' so to speak. Half life on the other hand, sort of turned FPS games back to doom and wolfenstein 3d, in that sense. Lots of people are fans of HL, but when I've asked around, what they like about it, they can't answer.
6. Re:Episode 3 by Xest · 2013-10-02 22:21 · Score: 1
  
  So in other words, to put that in normal software development parlance, it was a victim of scope creep?
Re:Me too. by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-01 10:25 · Score: 2, Informative

Now you're thinking with Portmans!
Why did Valve even bother? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-01 10:29 · Score: 1

Does this mean that, if someone had released a game called "Half-Life 3" before this trademark was filed, Valve wouldn't have been able to sue them for trademark infringement?
If the answer is "yes, Valve would have been unable to sue" then the system is really prone to squatting.
If the answer is "no, Valve could have successfully sued the maker of a game called 'Half-Life 3' based on Valve's ownership of the 'Half-Life' trademark," then why did they even bother filing? Doing so doesn't give them any new capabilities (they can still effectively protect the name with their existing trademark registration), takes time and money, and forces them to give away information on a future product (e.g. allowing competitors plenty of time to act on the information, or reducing the time window when the project's existence is a secret and they can decide to delay or kill it without disappointing fans).
1. Re:Why did Valve even bother? by NettiWelho · 2013-10-01 10:49 · Score: 1
  
  I want a whiff of whatever youre smoking.
  
  Valve could have successfully sued the maker of a game called 'Half-Life 3' based on Valve's ownership of the 'Half-Life' trademark," then why did they even bother filing?
  Firstly, suing someone would cost many times over what simple trademark registration costs.
  
  Doing so doesn't give them any new capabilities (they can still effectively protect the name with their existing trademark registration), takes time and money, and forces them to give away information on a future product (e.g. allowing competitors plenty of time to act on the information, or reducing the time window when the project's existence is a secret and they can decide to delay or kill it without disappointing fans).
  Secondly, Valve would be dissapointing fans anyhow if they decided to kill off continuing half-life series regardless if they had never(still actually havent) announced it.
  
  Thirdly, I feel sorry for the poor EA CEO's and whatnot who didn't see Valve eventually possibly coming out with HL3.
w00t! by nightsky30 · 2013-10-01 10:30 · Score: 2

Very much looking forward to this :) Although I think I might be more excited about SteamOS in general than HL3.
Hard Sell by ZombieBraintrust · 2013-10-01 10:34 · Score: 1

It needs to have full voice acting and performance capture.(think Beyond Two Souls) It will also need to bring in the people who never played the first two. The engine used in Portal 2 won't be good enough. Of course it could go with a retro ugly look and focus on story. That would be okay if the price was right.
1. Re:Hard Sell by Nethemas+the+Great · 2013-10-01 11:10 · Score: 1
  When was the last time anyone in the mainstream focused on "the story?"
  The recipe usually goes something like:
  
  Find a dead horse
  Beat it
  scoop up the fetid remains and place in a horse shaped mold
  seal with CGI and plastic
  unmold
  beat it
  repeat steps 3 through 6 until no one will fund a remake
  --
  Two of my imaginary friends reproduced once ... with negative results.
Re:Episode 1 by ZombieBraintrust · 2013-10-01 10:44 · Score: 2

unless your george lucas
Re:Gotta Have SOMETHING To Bankroll SteamOS by nightsky30 · 2013-10-01 10:56 · Score: 1

While I agree that building a Steam, PC, HDTV setup is easily done by anyone, I applaud Valve for thinking outside the "Box" and giving the everyday consumer choices. I won't be buying a SteamBox, but I will continue supporting their OS and platform. It will be interesting to see how Valve takes Linux and makes it their own.
HL3 Will Suck by sexconker · 2013-10-01 10:59 · Score: 2

HL1 was great.
HL2 was okay. Episode 1 was poop. Episode 2 was okay.
HL3 will suck.
It all makes sense, of course. With each Half Life there's only half of the original(ity) left.
Not in US? by Nethemas+the+Great · 2013-10-01 11:01 · Score: 5, Funny

There is no equivalent trademark on record at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Maybe that's because their office is closed.

--
Two of my imaginary friends reproduced once ... with negative results.
1. Re:Not in US? by nightsky30 · 2013-10-01 11:05 · Score: 1
  
  +1 Sir!
2. Re:Not in US? by umafuckit · 2013-10-01 11:27 · Score: 1
  
  (see Apple biting themselves in the butt recently).
  I'd love to. Where are the images?
  
  --
  soylentnews.org
3. Re:Not in US? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-01 12:46 · Score: 1
  
  There is no equivalent trademark on record at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
  Maybe that's because their office is closed.
  Not quite.
  Scroll down a bit, it's still open.
Re: Episode 1 by binarylarry · 2013-10-01 11:12 · Score: 5, Informative

I've unlessed my george lucas, your move, creep!

--
Mod me down, my New Earth Global Warmingist friends!
Coming soon, look out for by Anaerin · 2013-10-01 11:34 · Score: 1

Half-Life 2: Episode 2, Part 2. 'cause everyone knows VALVe can't count to 3. On another note, I'm surprised they didn't have this already trademarked.
Half-Life 3 guranteed within 1-2 years by sharklasers · 2013-10-01 11:51 · Score: 1

Valve couldn't obtain a trademark as a "placeholder". A trademark has to be used on something within a year or so for it to be defensible in a court of law. Hence, if they're specifically getting the trademark now, they're confident they'll have something which it can be applied to reasonable soon.
Of course, getting die-hard Half-Life fans out of the woodwork and interested after all this time might be difficult.
1. Re:Half-Life 3 guranteed within 1-2 years by flimflammer · 2013-10-01 12:10 · Score: 1
  
  Of course, getting die-hard Half-Life fans out of the woodwork and interested after all this time might be difficult.
  Somehow, I doubt that.
2. Re:Half-Life 3 guranteed within 1-2 years by sharklasers · 2013-10-01 13:20 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  I'm the parent poster and I'm one of them. I was a kid when HL1 was release and in Uni by HL2. Now I've got a job, family and less of an interest in gaming than I used to. The time-frame for when the franchise might have mattered has passed a lot of us now.
3. Re:Half-Life 3 guranteed within 1-2 years by flimflammer · 2013-10-01 14:05 · Score: 1
  
  I understand your rationale, but I think the Half-Life franchise has managed to maintain a level of interest on par or greater than franchises like Duke Nukem. Sure there are many who moved on, but it has been shown time and time again that there is still a very large following for the franchise to resume. It might not be all the same individuals from back in the day but it will definitely thrive if and when it comes out.
4. Re:Half-Life 3 guranteed within 1-2 years by hattable · 2013-10-01 16:01 · Score: 1
  
  Good, now they can be left to make the game they want to despite all of the fanaticism and buildup that it can in no way live up to. Not saying they didn't appreciate your business in the past, but maybe waiting until there was 'no hope left' by the original fans is the only way to set the stage for a decent (and appreciated) game.
  
  --
  OMG facts!
5. Re:Half-Life 3 guranteed within 1-2 years by Lanforod · 2013-10-02 03:46 · Score: 1
  
  I was a kid when HL1 came out. In Uni during HL2. Done by the time Ep2 came out. Now married with a kid due in a few weeks. Less of an interest in gaming as well. Main difference is I've had a job since I was 14 in some form or another other than some short breaks in between jobs.
  My point? I'll buy HL3 within a week of it coming out. HL2 was just too good to pass up HL3. It may just take me a lot longer to get through the game, which just means to me that it's better value to me personallly for my money.
Fine, I'll do it by lexman098 · 2013-10-01 12:40 · Score: 1

I can't believe no one has said it yet, but I guess I'll be the one.
Damnit Gabe just take my fucking money. Take it now!
It shouldve ended with Ep 2 anyway by GodfatherofSoul · 2013-10-01 13:37 · Score: 1

The story ran its course and Gordon won. The writing had gotten much less interesting than the first 3 parts. Episode 2 had the "rescue the girl" and "emotional daddy death" that I had predicted the instant I met those characters. It was still fun, but that ending was a slapped on setup for a sequel you'd expect from any franchise fishing for a reason.

--
I swear to God...I swear to God! That is NOT how you treat your human!
Comment removed by account_deleted · 2013-10-01 13:37 · Score: 1

Comment removed based on user account deletion
It's been so long... by Kaenneth · 2013-10-01 14:46 · Score: 5, Funny

I hope they can get the same voice actor for Gordon.
1. Re:It's been so long... by Andtalath · 2013-10-01 20:30 · Score: 2
  
  *Whoosh*
  He doesn't have a voice.
  He's never said anything and is the epitome of the silent protagonist.
  Unless I'm mistaken, he doesn't even grunt when hurt or when jumping.
2. Re:It's been so long... by jones_supa · 2013-10-01 21:52 · Score: 2
  
  Unless I'm mistaken, he doesn't even grunt when hurt or when jumping.
  I can at least remember him saying "hfffffft" when hurt by fire.
3. Re:It's been so long... by i+ate+my+neighbour · 2013-10-02 20:20 · Score: 1
  
  I think his HEV makes that sound.
Q- Why do they have to trademark their sequels? by aiadot · 2013-10-01 16:17 · Score: 2

Since this is the perfect opportunity to answer a question I had for aeons: Why do media companies have to register trademark for their numbered sequels of their already registered franchises?

It makes sense for a company like Square to trade mark a game like Chrono Cross (Chrono Trigger sequel) because its a different name. But for games like Half-Life, Final Fantasy, GTA, MGS, I just don't get it. If I, or anyone else no matter how rich, tried to independently release a game called Half-Life 3 I'm sure I'd taste GabeN's wrath, so why to spend money on that?
Re:Don't you have to file first in Europe? by ledow · 2013-10-01 21:20 · Score: 1

You're thinking of patents.
And, really, it's not that easy to confuse them unless you are really daft.
Copyright is about content you've made and covers only *your* content that *you* made.
Patents are about things you've thought of and cover anything that uses that idea in a real-life "machine" (at least in most places, where just having an "idea" of some maths can't be patented).
Trademarks are about your branding and product names, and cover only branding and product names in the same area of business as yours.
Was expecting with Steam's Announcement by randomErr · 2013-10-02 00:55 · Score: 1

I thought this was going to be the third of the recent three part Steam announcements. I think they were planning on releasing HL3 art but weren't ready to go yet and released the controller instead. HL3 as a packing would sell a million Streamboxes alone.

--
You say things that offend me and I can deal with it. Can you?
Bryan Cranston is now available by Immerial · 2013-10-02 01:31 · Score: 3, Insightful

That's why Half-Life 3 can be produced now ;)
That was the HEV suit by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-02 02:57 · Score: 1

That sound was the HEV suits Halon canister extinguishing the fire.
Re:Time, Dr. Freeman? Is it really that time again by davewoods · 2013-10-03 02:28 · Score: 1

Wow, despite playing HL2 at least 6-7 years ago, I still said that sentence with the same creepy cadence as the G-man.