Should Valve concentrate on Half Life and not L4D?

[Snotnarok]

Valve should concentrate on making Left 4 Dead 2 be an update for Left 4 Dead since they hardly fulfilled their promise to add more survivors, guns, levels and have TF2 like "post release content".

 

[blankedboy]

I say yes, because L4D is R18 and I'm 13. Still looks awesome, though.

 

[VTNC]

As long as Valve makes a lot of money and doesn't get bought out by EA or Ubisoft or VU, I'm good

 

[Chipperz]

Left4Dead is a more commercially viable game. Half Life is a gamer's game, but Left4Dead will reach a larger audience who aren't put off my the more intellectual game stylings of Half Life. At the end of the day, you can say what you like about them, but Valve is a company and their main goal is to make money.

Therefore, Valve concentrates on Left4Dead, the one that makes them more money.

Half Life 2 has sold over 6.5 million copies, and is one of the most critically acclaimed games in existence. How does that not make them more money than L4D?

OK, both games were released in November. Thank you, Valve, for making this easier...

By the 2005 GDC, Half Life two had achieved 1.7 million sales on the PC alone [http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/half-life-2-sells-17-million-units-through-retail]. Within the same release span, The Orange Box sold 1.5 million copies [http://liveforgaming.wordpress.com/2008/02/23/the-orange-box-sales-figures-on-consoles/], but on the website that is itself sourced from, many admit that they already own Half Life 2 and got The Orange Box purely for the other games included in the package. I have included it's sales in full as it represents console gamers getting Half Life 2.

Conversely, by the 2009 GDC, Left4Dead had notched up 2.5 million sales [http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/57883], which is just on that game alone. It would be quite interesting to see what happened to the sales figures if, say "The Green Box" was released in November of this year (or, more likely, next year) with L4D 1 and 2, Portal 2 and Team Fortress 3...

Based on these figures, I'd have to say that while Half Life 2 has sold 3.7 million copies in total in the same time that Left4Dead has sold 2.5, the fact that The Orange Box was lumped in with many other games that were, in some cases, what sold the Orange Box instead of Half Life 2, means that their estimate sales figures are probably quite a bit lower. Combine this with the brand-name recognition of Half Life which Left4Dead now has, and Left4Dead two could very well be a bigger earner. This is likely due to it's more console-friendly "shoot everything" nature and more accessible premise.

Also, I found this [http://uk.gamespot.com/news/6199592.html] while I was looking for corroborating evidence for when I am inevitably called out on this. I hope you all find it as interesting as I did...

 

[wordsmith]

You're an idiot.

Valve is divided into teams. One team is working on Half-Life, while another works on Left 4 Dead.

Half right. Valve employees get to choose what they work on. Obviously more people wanted to work on L4D2 then wanted to work on Ep3. Whilst there are "core" teams, that's only because they want to work on nothing but that game.

I could be wrong but I have a memory of hearing that left 4 dead was a mod that valvue bought the rights too and then had published.

Nope, L4D came from the CS devs dicking around with their game post-release, a small group of armed players against huge numbers of knife-wielding AI bots. They decided it was fun to have that pressure, so began developing L4D. (Very first commentary node on No Mercy)

 

[Bellvedere]

I would prefer they release the final half life then a sequel to L4D but you know whatever. Valve's reputation for community support seems to have backfired somewhat. I mean, just because they listen to and implement community ideas doesn't mean they need your permission to make a game...

Also a funny thing... I was talking to a girl who considers herself to be a gamer - studying software design and everything - never heard of half life, like not just never played it or didn't like it (understandable I guess...) but never even heard of it. Ever. Haha people these days...

I could be wrong but I have a memory of hearing that left 4 dead was a mod that valvue bought the rights too and then had published.

Nope, L4D came from the CS devs dicking around with their game post-release, a small group of armed players against huge numbers of knife-wielding AI bots. They decided it was fun to have that pressure, so began developing L4D. (Very first commentary node on No Mercy)

L4D was developed by Turtle Rock which was then acquired by Valve. Turtle Rock worked on CS. Did the Xbox port I believe and some other stuff prior to the acquision.

 

[sirdanrhodes]

You're an idiot.

Valve is divided into teams. One team is working on Half-Life, while another works on Left 4 Dead.

He's an idiot, just because he doesn't know some useless trivia? Wow, judging by all the useless facts I know, I must be the smartest man alive.

On topic, I wish that Valve would get Episode 3 out the door reasonably soon, episodic content was supposed to be released fast, but on reflection, this IS a company that delays everything.

"2012, Episode 3 is released to critical acclaim".

 

[Anachronism]

Half-life's team are still there, still chugging along, eating all the cake.

They need to take naps between eating all the cake, as well. It's very tiring stuff. This is why they always take so long to get anything released.

Joking, of course. While I think Half-Life should be their priority, they're going to make more money from L4D2, so they're quite likely to prioritise it. It is irritating that they're taking so long to release Episode 3, but if the increased wait means that it's as good as the rest of the HL series, then I'm not going to complain. A delayed but polished game is better than a rushed and buggy one.

 

[AngloDoom]

Isn't it kind of ungrateful to attack Valve for releasing a game they want to do before making a game you want? If they released Episode Three and it was crap, people would say they were slipping and were being lazy. L4D is in the public's eye right now, and can have glaring flaws so long as it keeps up the formula of co-op mayhem. It's not as 'perfect' as Half-Life, and as such it's easier to make that game and improve on it than a game people have hailed as the Messiah of gaming.

They can take as long as they want, so long as they keep squirting out other games in the meanwhile so they don't just disappear from existence.


In the end, people are still waiting for Episode Three patiently, it's not like nayone is losing interest.

 

[Soulgaunt]

I can't believe what a 1 and a half minute teaser at E3 has caused amongst us gamers. Steam groups formed to boycott Left 4 Dead 2, other Steam groups formed to boycott the boycotters, and HL2 fans duking it out with their L4D brothers. I don't get it. New awesome game from an awesome developer to further tide people over while the Half-Life team completes Episode 3 shouldn't be hated, it should be loved. Even if you don't like the game, saying its un-Valve like, don't buy it. Just don't get all pissy when other people do. Whoa, I went WAAAYYY off topic there. Ahem, ah yes, I think that both games are amazing and that Valve should get them both done. Sooooo, yeah.

.........This.
EDIT:They're both great games, and waiting isn't some sort of hellish torture developed by Valve.

 

[DannyBoy451]

I felt that Left 4 Dead was a glorified mod, so naturaly i'd like to see some more development with Half-Life.

EDIT: Was pretty sure that there were two development teams, but didn't know for definate.I guess that makes my post invalid. Ah well...

I could be wrong but I have a memory of hearing that left 4 dead was a mod that valvue bought the rights too and then had published.

Sounds about right, that's what they did for Counter-Strike, Team Fortress, Garry Mod, and some of the others too.

 

[JC175]

You're an idiot.

Valve is divided into teams. One team is working on Half-Life, while another works on Left 4 Dead.

Dude that wasn't very friendly he was just asking a question! I wouldn't have known that either.

I would love to see Episode 3 come out soon, I know it sucks waiting but in the end that's why the games are of such a high quality.

I know it wasn't nice, but come on.

People keep saying that this will interfere with Episode 3 production. People keep pointing out that Valve is divided into teams. He didn't even read the other Left 4 Dead threads before making this one. Otherwise, he would not have made it.

Keep in mind that the OP is not really bringing the concept of development teams into this, he's simply talking about Valve as a whole. If they wanted to get Episode Three out at the most efficient rate they may put some of the ex-Turtle Rock staff onto development as well.

Personally I don't know enough about Valve's operations to comment properly. However I think we all need Episode Three much more than we need L4D2, as good as a game I'm sure it will be.

 

[LackingSaint]

I must say, i'm disgruntled to hear that Left4Dead 2 should be here by Christmas when L4D1 only came out a little while back. I mean, HL2:Ep2 and Portal came out about 2 years ago now, and surely Portal 2 would be quicker to make than L4D2 anyway. And HL2 has never been a massively high-tech game, whereas L4D2 supposedly has new weapons, dismembering physics and a COMPLETELY different scenery.

 

[Kellerb]

You're an idiot.

Valve is divided into teams. One team is working on Half-Life, while another works on Left 4 Dead.

What he said

how does not knowing about A GAME make someone an idiot? come on man.

 

[Steelfists]

Left4Dead is a more commercially viable game. Half Life is a gamer's game, but Left4Dead will reach a larger audience who aren't put off my the more intellectual game stylings of Half Life. At the end of the day, you can say what you like about them, but Valve is a company and their main goal is to make money.

Therefore, Valve concentrates on Left4Dead, the one that makes them more money.

Half Life 2 has sold over 6.5 million copies, and is one of the most critically acclaimed games in existence. How does that not make them more money than L4D?

OK, both games were released in November. Thank you, Valve, for making this easier...

By the 2005 GDC, Half Life two had achieved 1.7 million sales on the PC alone [http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/half-life-2-sells-17-million-units-through-retail]. Within the same release span, The Orange Box sold 1.5 million copies [http://liveforgaming.wordpress.com/2008/02/23/the-orange-box-sales-figures-on-consoles/], but on the website that is itself sourced from, many admit that they already own Half Life 2 and got The Orange Box purely for the other games included in the package. I have included it's sales in full as it represents console gamers getting Half Life 2.

Conversely, by the 2009 GDC, Left4Dead had notched up 2.5 million sales [http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/57883], which is just on that game alone. It would be quite interesting to see what happened to the sales figures if, say "The Green Box" was released in November of this year (or, more likely, next year) with L4D 1 and 2, Portal 2 and Team Fortress 3...

Based on these figures, I'd have to say that while Half Life 2 has sold 3.7 million copies in total in the same time that Left4Dead has sold 2.5, the fact that The Orange Box was lumped in with many other games that were, in some cases, what sold the Orange Box instead of Half Life 2, means that their estimate sales figures are probably quite a bit lower. Combine this with the brand-name recognition of Half Life which Left4Dead now has, and Left4Dead two could very well be a bigger earner. This is likely due to it's more console-friendly "shoot everything" nature and more accessible premise.

Also, I found this [http://uk.gamespot.com/news/6199592.html] while I was looking for corroborating evidence for when I am inevitably called out on this. I hope you all find it as interesting as I did...

What you forget is that almost all of the people who bought Half Life 2 will buy episode 3, and even though L4D's rate of sales outpaced HL2, HL2 has still sold more overall.

Considering the narrative power of HL2, I am certain that most of the people who bought HL2 will buy Ep 3.

Not so with L4D 2. I suspect that even though it will sell well, many will not want more of the same. Not saying that it will be a bad game, just that much of the casual PC and 360 audience won't want to play something so similar so soon.

 

[Steelfists]

You're an idiot.

Valve is divided into teams. One team is working on Half-Life, while another works on Left 4 Dead.

He's an idiot, just because he doesn't know some useless trivia? Wow, judging by all the useless facts I know, I must be the smartest man alive.

On topic, I wish that Valve would get Episode 3 out the door reasonably soon, episodic content was supposed to be released fast, but on reflection, this IS a company that delays everything.

"2012, Episode 3 is released to critical acclaim".

Its not useless trivia. You'd think before starting a thread he would actually try to find out some more about the topic, since he was completely wrong.

 

[Trivun]

You're an idiot.

Valve is divided into teams. One team is working on Half-Life, while another works on Left 4 Dead.

Ninja'd by the first poster. Now that is embarassing for me...

But yeah, basically this. I believe I mentioned it earlier on another thread, after all...

I think actually that youre wrong, but only in the detail,

I believe that Valve just published L4D and that Half-life is their own property, and VAlve studio would work on that,

So its not as simple as they have two teams, because they didnt MAKE L4D - they published it

Hmmm, I have the game, looked at the box just now and it was definitely developed by Valve. I may be wrong, but according to that the finished product at least was all Valve's own development. Whether it was based on a previously purchased mod I have no idea, but the finished product at least is definitely a Valve development.

 

[sneak_copter]

I like Left 4 Dead better so Valve should put all their energy into Left 4 Dead.

Oh yes, because you represent 100% of Valve's fanbase, yes?

Ok, I'm sorry. That wasn't very nice. But I seriously want Ep. 3 first. I can't count how many times i've been rick-rolled by "HALF-LIFE EP3 GAMEPLAY!!11ELEVEN!"

 

[Sneaklemming]

You're an idiot.

Valve is divided into teams. One team is working on Half-Life, while another works on Left 4 Dead.

Ninja'd by the first poster. Now that is embarassing for me...

But yeah, basically this. I believe I mentioned it earlier on another thread, after all...

I think actually that youre wrong, but only in the detail,

I believe that Valve just published L4D and that Half-life is their own property, and VAlve studio would work on that,

So its not as simple as they have two teams, because they didnt MAKE L4D - they published it

Hmmm, I have the game, looked at the box just now and it was definitely developed by Valve. I may be wrong, but according to that the finished product at least was all Valve's own development. Whether it was based on a previously purchased mod I have no idea, but the finished product at least is definitely a Valve development.

Arent the developers turtle rock studios? (I should really look this up, but I fail atm