Half-Life 3 Mistakenly Appears on Gamescom Listing

[tehweave]

UGH. I wish the whole world would stop talking about Half Life 3.

Honestly? I wish Half Life 3 to sell no copies. None. I hope Valve never sells a half-life game ever again.

This back and forth between teasing us and presenting ABSOLUTELY NO NEW INFORMATION FOR FIVE GODDAMN YEARS has made me so pissed. I've had it.

I will not buy any Half Life game from this point forward. None. I don't care. I'm finished. Done.

 

[SpAc3man]

If there is any HL3 related stuff it will be in the form of an ARG stemming from a CS:GO related video at Gamescon. A big hint to keep an eye out for will be if DA3 has any coverage. If so then it will be safe to assume that there is substance to this supposed "mistake".

 

[RADIALTHRONE1]

Stay tuned for Tokyo Game Show later this year, where developers will surely be showing off Kingdom Hearts 3, Diablo IV, and Mirror's Edge 2.

The words "Kingdom Hearts 3" caught my attention more than anything else in this article. You would be crazy not to want another KH game (by that i mean a direct sequel, not just a spin-off in the same universe)

Captcha: just dance
I hate dancing.

 

[Lenvoran]

If I remember right, Valve kinda uses a strange company structure where projects are only really done if a bunch of people get together and decide "Hey. Let's do this thing."

My question is: Why would Valve make Half Life 3?

From a personal standpoint: Everyone is constantly bothering them about it like a group of children throwing a tantrum over not getting some ice cream and that's exactly the sort thing that would make me respond with a simple, "Get over it."

From a business standpoint: Why make a one-shot game when they make way more money from hats and things? They could make a game that sells to people once or they could use their hat-lottery system more by making games that people would want to stand out in. TF2 went free to play because they figured out that it would make them more money, not because they wanted to bring TF2 to the world or something.

The only reason to do it would be to silence the constant bitching for a couple weeks and even that wouldn't last very long.

TLDR; From both a business metrics and a personal irritation standpoint there's almost no reason for Valve to make Half Life 3.

 

[bafrali]

If I remember right, Valve kinda uses a strange company structure where projects are only really done if a bunch of people get together and decide "Hey. Let's do this thing."

My question is: Why would Valve make Half Life 3?

From a personal standpoint: Everyone is constantly bothering them about it like a group of children throwing a tantrum over not getting some ice cream and that's exactly the sort thing that would make me respond with a simple, "Get over it."

From a business standpoint: Why make a one-shot game when they make way more money from hats and things? They could make a game that sells to people once or they could use their hat-lottery system more by making games that people would want to stand out in. TF2 went free to play because they figured out that it would make them more money, not because they wanted to bring TF2 to the world or something.

The only reason to do it would be to silence the constant bitching for a couple weeks and even that wouldn't last very long.

TLDR; From both a business metrics and a personal irritation standpoint there's almost no reason for Valve to make Half Life 3.

Well there was no reason for Gabe to found Valve and risk his millions after his retirement from Microsoft so there is that and Half Life is their most famous, succesful and flagship franchise so no your argument doesn't hold water

 

[ResonanceGames]

From a personal standpoint: Everyone is constantly bothering them about it like a group of children throwing a tantrum over not getting some ice cream and that's exactly the sort thing that would make me respond with a simple, "Get over it."

Valve has said many, many times that they not only appreciate fan feedback (including whining for HL3) but actually thrive on it. Listen to the seven day cooldown podcast, Newell touches on the issue. This isn't even a non-issue for them, it's actually something they actively like.

From a business standpoint: Why make a one-shot game when they make way more money from hats and things? They could make a game that sells to people once or they could use their hat-lottery system more by making games that people would want to stand out in. TF2 went free to play because they figured out that it would make them more money, not because they wanted to bring TF2 to the world or something.

...because it would still sell millions and millions of copies? If Battlefield shipped 10 million at launch, I reckon HL3 is at least a few million more than that.

To put it in perspective, the entire size of the TF2 hat economy is $50 million (or was, as of about 6 months ago). That's not how much Valve has made off it, that's the whole economy. HL3 would make several times that in preorders alone. A game the size of HL3 would bring revenue in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

Besides, they already said they're working on more Half-Life (whatever form it takes), so it's a moot point anyway.

 

[Pinkamena]

I love people who say Valve will never make HL3. Yeah, dudes. They just hung up their most successful, beloved franchise (yes, bigger than L4D and Portal) on a whim after a cliffhanger ending.

That makes perfect sense!

It'll come out when it's done. The fact that they've spent so much time on it just shows that they're committed to making as a big a splash as they did with HL and HL2.

I don't know man. If it has been in production for the last 3 or 4 years, we should have something to hint at its existence. Unless Gaben is pulling every Valve fanboys wet dream by announcing it the same day it's up for sale. I would love that.

 

[Lenvoran]

Valve has said many, many times that they not only appreciate fan feedback (including whining for HL3) but actually thrive on it. Listen to the seven day cooldown podcast, Newell touches on the issue. This isn't even a non-issue for them, it's actually something they actively like.

Statements by a marketing representative in regards to how a company that tends to create things based on how the collective of their employees decides to develop things is not always the best idea. If it's a true statement and not actually a marketing thing, then that's great.

...because it would still sell millions and millions of copies? If Battlefield shipped 10 million at launch, I reckon HL3 is at least a few million more than that.

To put it in perspective, the entire size of the TF2 hat economy is $50 million (or was, as of about 6 months ago). That's not how much Valve has made off it, that's the whole economy. HL3 would make several times that in preorders alone. A game the size of HL3 would bring revenue in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

Besides, they already said they're working on more Half-Life (whatever form it takes), so it's a moot point anyway.

Selling many copies doesn't necessarily lead to the optimum number of profits anymore (at least in the long-term based on the effort required). Free to play is a great way (if your game is actually good) to maintain a player base and get a more consistent revenue stream as well as make the development of new content require less work.

As for the working on more Half-Life thing, that could mean anything from optimizing their Source Engine stuff or making more Portal 2 DLC (same universe and stuff).

On one-hand, I personally think Half-Life as a whole is over-hyped. On the other, I genuinely hope you guys get the game you want both for your sake and the great many friends who keep getting caught up in the HL3 hype and the get continuously let down.

If this does turn out to be a Gamescom jumped the gun on things and there actually is going to be a HL3 announcement (I'd be really surprised considering they're already in the process of making a couple of other games at the moment. Though CS:GO might be proof that they still believe in the box copy business model) then I will gladly state that the HL3 hopefuls were right. Otherwise... Yeah. That's pretty much it.

 

[ThePS1Fan]

I think Valve should just covertly release HL3 one day. No announcement or anything. It just shows up on Steam.

 

[Evil Smurf]

Yep, HL3 will never be made.....ever. They already canned ep3 years ago. Im not that bothered as the ending of HL2 was bullshit. But the rest up to then was good.

BLASPHEMER.

On a more serious note:
I think this is yet more of Valve continually winding us up. I hate loving them.

I love hating it

I think Valve should just covertly release HL3 one day. No announcement or anything. It just shows up on Steam.

The forums would expload!

 

[ResonanceGames]

Selling many copies doesn't necessarily lead to the optimum number of profits anymore (at least in the long-term based on the effort required). Free to play is a great way (if your game is actually good) to maintain a player base and get a more consistent revenue stream as well as make the development of new content require less work.

Not really sure what this lecture about the benefits of making a free to play game has to do with my point. Everyone already knows that F2P is a successful money making formula for certain kinds of games. Valve even has two of them already.

What I said was that HL3 would make more money on preorders alone than the entirety of the TF2 economy circa Jan. 2012. The entirety of it. So your point that they make "way more money" selling "hats and things" just isn't true.

Pretty much everything you're saying just tells me you don't know very much about Valve -- which is fine -- but isn't really going to help you have a productive discussion about their future games.

 

[Iyon]

I think Valve should just covertly release HL3 one day. No announcement or anything. It just shows up on Steam.

I have a theory something like this.

One day I'll just be playing HL3, not being able to remember how or when I got it.

 

[Vigormortis]

Gamescom is massive as it is, they don't need to do stuff like this to get attention.

If it was put there on purpose (which it probably was) it was a joke.

It shocks me that people still think Gamescom is just a small event. It's easily one of the biggest gaming related events we have anymore, in terms of influence and being a crucial showcase of new games and tech.

Some of the biggest and most influential industry insiders make it a point to either attend or vehemently pay attention to Gamescom. With shows like E3 and PAX, most studios and publishers think, "Do we really need to go? Do we need more coverage or hype?" Whereas with Gamescom it's pretty much, "We need to go."

I think Valve should just covertly release HL3 one day. No announcement or anything. It just shows up on Steam.

[future prediction]

Valve secretly releases Half-Life 3. It's only "advertisement" being it's image on the Storefront and the box copies on retailer shelves.

Ten minutes later, all Steam servers crash and armed forces are deployed at game retailers worldwide to stem the resulting riots.

Gabe Newell: The harbinger of Humanity's demise.

Didn't we have some fun, though? Remember when Gamescom was coming and we were like "Half-Life 3", and you were all like "NO WAAAAAAYYYYYY!" And then we were like, "we were just teasing you!" That was great...

Spoiler: Seriously, you deserve this. A palettes worth, in fact.

Captcha: pleased as punch
At this news? I wish I was, Captcha. I wish I was.

 

[CardinalPiggles]

I'm guessing this was the work of one or more trolls, nothing more. We keep seeing "news" and "announcements" and little apparent treasure trails relating to HL3, all trolls.

 

[CardinalPiggles]

I think Valve should just covertly release HL3 one day. No announcement or anything. It just shows up on Steam.

I kept telling my friend the same thing, ha.

It would be pretty darn amazing if they did this, I think Valve are the only ones capable of pulling something like this off with the fabled HL3.

 

[ThePS1Fan]

armed forces are deployed at game retailers worldwide to stem the resulting riots.

All I can imagine is Valve having a privately funded paramilitary force Umbrella Corp. style.

 

[Goofguy]

Doesn't really bother me. I refuse to believe anything HL related until Gabe Newell looks me in the eye and announces it. Don't let me down, you bearded bastard.

 

[Lenvoran]

Not really sure what this lecture about the benefits of making a free to play game has to do with my point. Everyone already knows that F2P is a successful money making formula for certain kinds of games. Valve even has two of them already.

What I said was that HL3 would make more money on preorders alone than the entirety of the TF2 economy circa Jan. 2012. The entirety of it. So your point that they make "way more money" selling "hats and things" just isn't true.

Pretty much everything your saying just tells me you don't know very much about Valve -- which is fine -- but isn't really going to help you have a productive discussion about their future games.

And I'm saying that I would be highly surprised if it actually made that kind of money on preorders alone. The value of Hats in TF2 and the "Hat Market" is the value of a small portion of the total amount gained through micro-transactions. If I recall correctly (which I might not)Hats, especially the more expensive ones, are actually rather rare and are a rather random thing.

It may be as good as you say, but I'd be very surprised if it were as drastic as you say.

Really, unless one of us has connections at Valve or intensive metrics is all just speculation anyway.

 

[GameMaNiAC]

Accidentally? Yeah, sure. They're just being assholes and doing it for the hype.

MY LIFE FOR NERZHUL

I BOW TO YOUR WILL.

 

[Dogstile]

At this point if I worked for a company I would do it as a prank. The gaming world is hanging desperately on for this game for some strange reason, its fun to poke the bears.