# SQUEEEE!!!! 10 days till Half-Life 2!! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 20, 2003, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/squeeee-10-days-till-half-life-2/202781 "2003-09-20T07:16:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![DeadlyAccurate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@DeadlyAccurate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadlyAccurate)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2003, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/squeeee-10-days-till-half-life-2/202781/21 "2003-09-22T12:52:58Z")
Doesn’t **Jonathon Chance** work for a gaming news site? I mean, more directly than I do? Maybe he’ll know. (I don’t know any more than anyone else about release dates and stuff, because even when my editors know, they rarely share that stuff with freelancers). I’ve been enjoying Tron 2.0 and Temple of Elemental Evil in the meantime. ToEE will keep me plenty busy for the next few weeks and I’ll switch between the two games for variety (and will hopefully rinse the foul taste of the game I played last week). Ooh, has anyone seen that 600 MB technology video of HL2? It’s unbelievable. My jaw dropped the entire 30 minutes I watched it. Speaking of which, I think I’ll watch it again. ---
**Author:** ![elf6c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c57346/32.png) [@elf6c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elf6c)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2003, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/squeeee-10-days-till-half-life-2/202781/22 "2003-09-22T13:45:47Z")
Half-life 2 looks great- but it ain’t coming out Sept 30th- the gone gold announcement would have to come out by now. Figure end of November when will see it-- just in time for X-mas. Halo PC should be in stores soon- that should be great fun. ---
**Author:** ![elf6c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c57346/32.png) [@elf6c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elf6c)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2003, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/squeeee-10-days-till-half-life-2/202781/23 "2003-09-22T14:21:48Z")
From [Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com): > [@](#): > > Availability: This item will be released on December 1, 2003. You may order it now and we will ship it to you when it arrives. Hope they are wrong, but end of November sounds about right- especially with all of the Steam problems. Just pre-ordered Halo PC to tied my over. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![elf6c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c57346/32.png) [@elf6c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elf6c)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2003, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/squeeee-10-days-till-half-life-2/202781/24 "2003-09-22T18:26:06Z")
More: > [@](#): > > When is Half-Life 2 going to be released? That’s the question on everyone’s mind. It was originally scheduled to come out on September 30, 2003. I’m sure there was an “or when it’s done” clause, but everyone has been expecting it September 30 anyway. I think it’s a safe bet that we won’t see it on store shelves at the end of the month. So why are Valve employees still saying September 30? Judging from forum posts, people think this is the word of God: “Half-Life 2 will be released on the 30th. Mr. X at Valve said so!” > > But Valve is only a developer; the game will never be put into production without the publisher, Vivendi Universal Games. This actually makes me very curious, because Vivendi has remained tight-lipped so far. Vivendi appears to be talking to retailers, because companies like EB have it listed for a November release. Yet Vivendi still says nothing to the consumer, not one press release smacking down Valve’s claims. As successful as Valve is, the company can’t go against its publisher. [http://www.gamespot.com/gamespot/features/all/gamespotting/092103continue/5.html](http://www.gamespot.com/gamespot/features/all/gamespotting/092103continue/5.html) Click and enjoy. Maybe we should start an informal pool? ---
**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2003, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/squeeee-10-days-till-half-life-2/202781/25 "2003-09-22T19:21:29Z")
Steam will ruin that game. It’s a traversty. Just look at the farce which is HL MP, now Steam has come into force. ---
**Author:** ![Amp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Amp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amp)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2003, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/squeeee-10-days-till-half-life-2/202781/26 "2003-09-22T20:40:51Z")
Just looked at Best Buy’s website. Half Life 2 is still listed as pre-order with an estimated ship date of Nov. 3 - Nov. 11. Sorry **Muad’Dib**. But if you really must spend money Halo is coming out for the PC at the end of this month. That may tide you over if you don’t have it for the Xbox already. ---
**Author:** ![Muad\_Dib](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/35a633/32.png) [@Muad\_Dib](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muad_Dib)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2003, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/squeeee-10-days-till-half-life-2/202781/27 "2003-09-23T00:36:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by elf6c \* > \*\*Half-life 2 looks great- but it ain’t coming out Sept 30th- the gone gold announcement would have to come out by now. Figure end of November when will see it-- just in time for X-mas. > > Halo PC should be in stores soon- that should be great fun. \*\* Vivendi did say that there would be no gold announcment. ---
**Author:** ![Apos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2003, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/squeeee-10-days-till-half-life-2/202781/28 "2003-09-23T01:42:10Z")
Store dates are never a useful guide to releases. They generally know no more than anyone else (often, less), and we don’t know what their system is for listing dates anyway. Some say Feburary, some October, some Sept. 30, some November. Obviously, if any of them are getting private information from Vivendi, they aren’t getting the SAME information. Gold dates are also no longer two week prep-time affairs, though the lack of gold status by today is certainly troubling. They’ve apparently said that Steam is going to start taking pre-orders for HL2 a week or so before the release, so that they can pre-load parts of the game on people’s computers to save themselves from as huge a bandwidth cruch they expect to see on release. Vivendi doesn’t have a say in when the game comes out. The guy in the article is clueless, even while trying to be high and mighty laughing down at all the peons. Vivendi is the game’s distributor, and no doubt has a contract (which almost certianly stipulates no early, steam-only release, as Valve has said no to that idea already), but it doesn’t own or control Valve, which is privately owned by the team itself. Vivendi can’t postpone the release. Gabe said there WILL be a public gold announcement: from Valve. It hasn’t happened yet. None of this helps us determine whether the game will out on the 30th (and, as I’ve said, be very worried at this point), but it does clear up some misconceptions. [Full disclosure: I’m a mod and news poster at a Half-life 2 fan site] ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2003, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/squeeee-10-days-till-half-life-2/202781/29 "2003-09-23T03:02:45Z")
If you’re looking for something to tide you over, try Castle Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory. It’s totally cool and totally free. Yes, free. A brand new game, free download. The single player team didn’t make their deadline, so rather than throw the multiplayer half in the trash they decided to release the multiplayer half for free. And it is really good. ---
**Author:** ![Apos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2003, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/squeeee-10-days-till-half-life-2/202781/30 "2003-09-23T04:51:56Z")
So many conflicting rumors. Rumors of a recent trade show at which Valve said that HL2 would not make the 30th and would be trying for the holidays. Rumors also of stores having stock lists with suspiciously HL2 sounding names, due to arrive next week. Rumors that they will be saying SOMETHING on Tuesday (PST) ---
**Author:** ![elf6c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c57346/32.png) [@elf6c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elf6c)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2003, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/squeeee-10-days-till-half-life-2/202781/31 "2003-09-23T14:12:14Z")
**Apos** while there wasn’t going to be a formal “gone gold” announcement with the massive amount of CD’s to be duped and shipped with word would get out quickly, especially with the scrutiny over the ship date. Valve is in a bit of a pickle- I don’t think the game and Steam (and multiplayer)-- are ready yet. We waited this long, I can go another month. Get it right. As the old saying in the game industry goes- “its only late until it ships”. I was really into the much rumored ATI 9800 XT & Halflife 2 bundle. I had my spending wallet out. But, given the fuzzy and contradictory information out there this is what I did. 1. Ordered Halo PC 2. Found a smoking deal on a full retail ATI Radeon 9800 Pro on Dell of all places. it was 10% off, plus a 30 dollar coupon off too, and free shipping. Sweet! Got charged tax though-- I will have to call on that. Goodbye 64 meg Nvidia Geforce 4200! Anyone need a decent video card on the cheap? 1. I will pick up Halflife 2 when it is released- someone will have a deal on it. Interesting thoughts on this from gonegold: > [@](#): > > I’ve been thinking about it today and it appears that these are the possible scenarios. > > 1. Valve announces that they’ve been unnecessarily jerking our chain and the game is indeed delayed until the end of the year. 9800 XT’s are launched at the end of September with white slips of paper in them good for a copy of Half-Life 2. This scenario blows chunks, obviously. I’m also hoping that it’s unlikely. Why would Valve so stubbornly refuse to make an announcement about the delay unless they had something up their sleeve? > 2. Valve releases something on September 30, but it’s not the full game. Maybe it’s a two level demo with one multiplayer map. That would build anticipation to a fever pitch. ATI could ship that CD and also include a coupon for the full version when available. Again, though, if this was the plan, it could have been announced weeks ago. > 3. The grassy knoll, X-Files, green men from outer space conspiracy theory. This is my favorite. Now before I even mention this, let me say explicitly that I have absolutely no inside information to indicate that any of what I’m about to say is true. However, this scenario would resolve many seemingly contradictory pieces of information. > > Let’s say that after the Blizzard founders left Vivendi (which probably reduced the asking price for their games division by several hundred million dollars), someone from Valve went to Vivendi and said that they were leaving as well–unless Vivendi allowed them to release Half-Life 2 via Steam without it being tied to the retail package release date. Vivendi, desperate to sell off the games unit and even more desperate to not have the price lowered any further, agrees. Plus Vivendi is thinking “How many copies could people buy through Steam, anyway? Ha!” > > That ‘Ha’ was with a French accent, by the way. And the answer to that question is ‘a freaking huge number of copies.’ [http://www.gonegold.com/](http://www.gonegold.com/) ---
**Author:** ![Apos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2003, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/squeeee-10-days-till-half-life-2/202781/32 "2003-09-23T16:31:51Z")
> [@](#): > > Apos while there wasn’t going to be a formal “gone gold” announcement Gabe said there would be: from Valve. It was Vivendi that downplayed the possibility of a public gold announcement. The gonegold guy has gone crazy. It’s not clear what Vivendi has been telling people, because they are obviously saying different things to different people. ---
**Author:** ![elf6c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c57346/32.png) [@elf6c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elf6c)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2003, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/squeeee-10-days-till-half-life-2/202781/33 "2003-09-23T16:52:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Apos \* > \*\*Gabe said there would be: from Valve. It was Vivendi that downplayed the possibility of a public gold announcement. > > The gonegold guy has gone crazy. It’s not clear what Vivendi has been telling people, because they are obviously saying different things to different people. \*\* One way or another there will be a gold announcement. The fact that its the 23rd and we have not had it yet, combined with the contradictory information, and the Steam problems leads me to think November is the probable date. I don’t think they have one, other then shoot for the 30th and move it back as needed. That being said, you will notice that pretty new ATI Radeon 9800 Pro will be delivered and installed by the 30th. Just in case. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Apos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2003, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/squeeee-10-days-till-half-life-2/202781/34 "2003-09-23T18:31:26Z")
Same here. Since I’m upgrading from a TNT2(!!!) and a computer that hasn’t been able to handle the last generation of fames, I don’t really even need HL2 to feel good about my purchase. ---
**Author:** ![elf6c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c57346/32.png) [@elf6c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elf6c)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2003, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/squeeee-10-days-till-half-life-2/202781/35 "2003-09-23T19:20:46Z")
Ouch!! You will love all the eye candy your new machine can run. My computer is a P4 2.53, with 768 of RDRAM, a 120 Gig Special Edition (8 meg buffer- speedy) hard drive Dell. Adding the Radeon 9800 Pro to it will hopefully let me run most to all of the eye candy on Half-Life 2. [starts drooling uncontrollably . . .] 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Apos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2003, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/squeeee-10-days-till-half-life-2/202781/36 "2003-09-23T19:24:54Z")
You’ve seen the new HDR video, right? Sweetness. I just hope we see it soon. If they don’t say something today, yea or nay on Sept. 30, people are going to go bonkers. ---
**Author:** ![Muad\_Dib](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/35a633/32.png) [@Muad\_Dib](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muad_Dib)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/squeeee-10-days-till-half-life-2/202781/37 "2003-09-24T04:57:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Apos \* > \*\*Same here. Since I’m upgrading from a TNT2(!!!) and a computer that hasn’t been able to handle the last generation of fames, I don’t really even need HL2 to feel good about my purchase. \*\* So am I. You have to admit, though, that the TNT2 was one of the finest all around cards ever made. No other card could have lasted as long as it did. ---
**Author:** ![emarkp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3be4f8/32.png) [@emarkp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emarkp)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/squeeee-10-days-till-half-life-2/202781/38 "2003-09-24T07:48:22Z")
Looks like the news is finally hitting the fan. HL2 is delayed officially. See [http://www.planethalflife.com/](http://www.planethalflife.com/) or other HL sites for info. (Finally this looks legit. Why did Valve/Vivendi wait so long?) ---
**Author:** ![Badtz\_Maru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e36b37/32.png) [@Badtz\_Maru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Badtz_Maru)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/squeeee-10-days-till-half-life-2/202781/39 "2003-09-24T09:50:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Muad’Dib \* > \*\*So am I. You have to admit, though, that the TNT2 was one of the finest all around cards ever made. No other card could have lasted as long as it did. \*\* A friend of mine is using a TNT2 card from my old 450Mhz PIII (which I think I got about 5 years ago), and it serves him pretty well (I have upgraded a few times since then, have a GF4 Ti4400 and plan to upgrade soon). ---
**Author:** ![elf6c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c57346/32.png) [@elf6c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elf6c)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2003, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/squeeee-10-days-till-half-life-2/202781/40 "2003-09-24T15:43:39Z")
More confirmation on the official Half-Life 2 delay- sadly it looks like I was right. ☹ [http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/28497](http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/28497) > [@](#): > > We’ve managed to get an official statement from Valve Software on the release date of Half-Life 2 being pushed back. Here is word that I got directly from Doug Lombardi of Valve Software. Valve seems to have been having some mail issues so you may not see this on other sites, however we can confirm with absolute certainty that this is valid: > > The previously announced September 30th release date for Half-Life 2 is being pushed back. We are currently targeting a holiday release, but do not have a specific “in-store” date to share at this time. We will release that information as soon as we have confirmed a new date. > > As more information becomes available from Valve we’ll have it here for you. Thank God for Halo PC. . . Still, I would rather get it _right_, rather then _right now_. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/squeeee-10-days-till-half-life-2/202781.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/squeeee-10-days-till-half-life-2/202781.md?page=3)