Developer Valve has revealed that it plans to offer a $9.99 monthly subscription system to purchasers of Half-Life 2, as well as releasing three separate versions of the game - which has now seemingly slipped to November.
In an email, later confirmed as authentic, posted to forums on Half-Life2.net, and a later follow-up on the forum thread, Valve boss Gabe Newell confirmed that the company intends to offer an optional subscription which will grant members free additional content for Half-Life 2, delivered over the Steam digital distribution system.
This content would include Valve's official modifications such as Counter-Strike 2 and Team Fortress 2, and any other content released officially for the game during its life span - which will also be made available to non-subscribers for an additional fee.
The subscription plan is entirely optional, but according to Newell, "we're pretty sure that the $9.95 guys are going to get the better value, as we've been pretty good over the years at generating a lot of content."
The company is also planning to offer three different SKUs of Half-Life 2 at launch, with a basic version of the game stripped of its multiplayer and mod capabilities being the cheapest, followed by a "standard" edition which includes these capabilities, and a "collector's edition" which will feature what Newell describes as "lots of cool bonus stuff".
Some of these versions will be available for download on Valve's own Steam service, which is sure to be watched with interest by publishers and retailers alike - as it represents the first concerted effort by a developer to bypass the traditional value chain and deal directly with its customers.
However, both gamers and interested industry observers may have to wait longer than expected to see Half-Life 2. Although Vivendi maintains that the release date for the game is "TBC", and Valve issued assurances at ECTS last week that the game would make its ship date at the end of September, UK retail chain GAME this week informed customers who had pre-ordered the game that it has slipped back to November.
It's not clear whether this is based on new information received by GAME which is not being circulated widely by Vivendi, or whether the company is simply responding to earlier rumours that the game had slipped - which were denied categorically by Valve.
News source: Gamesindustry.biz
In an email, later confirmed as authentic, posted to forums on Half-Life2.net, and a later follow-up on the forum thread, Valve boss Gabe Newell confirmed that the company intends to offer an optional subscription which will grant members free additional content for Half-Life 2, delivered over the Steam digital distribution system.
This content would include Valve's official modifications such as Counter-Strike 2 and Team Fortress 2, and any other content released officially for the game during its life span - which will also be made available to non-subscribers for an additional fee.
The subscription plan is entirely optional, but according to Newell, "we're pretty sure that the $9.95 guys are going to get the better value, as we've been pretty good over the years at generating a lot of content."
The company is also planning to offer three different SKUs of Half-Life 2 at launch, with a basic version of the game stripped of its multiplayer and mod capabilities being the cheapest, followed by a "standard" edition which includes these capabilities, and a "collector's edition" which will feature what Newell describes as "lots of cool bonus stuff".
Some of these versions will be available for download on Valve's own Steam service, which is sure to be watched with interest by publishers and retailers alike - as it represents the first concerted effort by a developer to bypass the traditional value chain and deal directly with its customers.
However, both gamers and interested industry observers may have to wait longer than expected to see Half-Life 2. Although Vivendi maintains that the release date for the game is "TBC", and Valve issued assurances at ECTS last week that the game would make its ship date at the end of September, UK retail chain GAME this week informed customers who had pre-ordered the game that it has slipped back to November.
It's not clear whether this is based on new information received by GAME which is not being circulated widely by Vivendi, or whether the company is simply responding to earlier rumours that the game had slipped - which were denied categorically by Valve.
News source: Gamesindustry.biz
What's New in This Release:
· The WBZ/WBC support has been removed! (At request of www.webshots.com)
· Support for Adobe 8BF filters: Image->Effects menu (PlugIn)
· Support for JPM format (JPEG2000/Part6, LuraDocument.jpm, PlugIn)
· Support for DDS format (Direct Draw Surface) (Formats PlugIn)
· Support for DXF format. PlugIn from: http://www.cadsofttools.com (Shareware)
· Support for DWG format (AutoCAD 13 or later, preview only)
· Simple saturation option added (Image->Enhance Colors and Batch mode)
· New options for GIF/ICO transparent saving (save dialog options)
· New edit menu: Create custom selection
· New advanced batch option: Add overlay text
· New batch scan option: Skip existing files
· The image selection can be moved using the right mouse button
· Expanded Copy/Move dialog (more folders)
· Option to set JPG Comment/IPTC for multiple files (from Thumbnails window)
· Option to set the cut color (Properties->Misc 3)
· Option to sort files in "Create multipage TIF" dialog
· Option to set the start image index in the slideshow dialog (double click)
· Option to enable/disable dithering for color reduction
· New option: "Properties->Misc. 1->Show TGA alpha color"
· Improved JPG lossless operations: Use as JPG cleaner possible
· New options for HTML export
· Change: PSP, CAM, SFW formats moved to FORMATS PlugIn
· Wallpaper save location changed (Folder: "Application data")
· Slideshow movement in now possible in automatic mode too (space/backspace ...)
· Improved SGI, TIF reading
· Improved command line option: /slideshow; Examples:
i_view32.exe /slideshow=folder
i_view32.exe /slideshow=folder*.jpg
· New command option: /aspectratio; Enable aspect ratio for /resize and /resample
· New command line option: /info=txtfile; Write image infos to text file
Example: i_view32 c:test.jpg /info=test.txt
Example: i_view32 c:*.jpg /info=jpgs.txt
· Most PlugIns are changed/updated, please install the newest versions
· Some minor bugs/features fixed/added (Filter Factory, RAW)
You knew the mod teams worked for Valve, there's no reason why it won't be very high quality content. If you were to buy all the mods as they appeared in stores then you'd end spending more over time.
There's no L in your curse word either, please learn to spell.
When has subscriptions ever NOT turned gamers AGAINST the publisher/producer???????
BAD VALVE, BAD.
9.99??? 120$ a year??? The special edition better not cost more then 30$ then if thier expecting me to chuck 120 f'in bucks thier way.
A fan by the name of Kamakiri mailed Valve's Gabe Newell about those "pay to play" rumors, and received the following response (which has been confirmed as being legit):
Gabe Newell: "Here's my current thinking: Some people want to buy Half-Life 2 in a store. Right now we have three SKUs planned at three price points. One will have single-player only and not play MODs and we think of that as the mass market SKU (sold mainly at the Costcos and Walmarts of the world). The second is our traditional single-player plus multiplayer SKU that runs MODs and is sold at places like EBX. The third is the collector's edition SKU with lots of cool bonus stuff for people who like cool bonus stuff.
In the Steam world, some people will want to buy it once, like the middle SKU above. Other people will want to buy the game on subscription (e.g. $9.95/month). The good news for the "buy it once" crowd is, well, they only have to pay once. The bad news is that when we come out with new content (expansion products, TF 2, and presumably other games) then they have to pay separately for those. We're pretty sure that the $9.95 guys are going to get the better value, as we've been pretty good over the years at generating a lot of content.
Now nobody has done this before, so we're scratching our heads and massaging the plans to make sure we've got the best set of options. We've had some feedback that we should sell the top SKU (single-player only no MODs) on Steam, and my reaction has been "yeah, right, for the three people in the world who have a broadband connection, are sophisticated enough to purchase software over the Internet, but DON'T want to play MODs and multiplayer". Some people have said "I want a subscription, but I think the box and the manual are cool, so what about sending me those" and I think that's pretty interesting and we're trying to figure out what to do for them (needless to say Sierra isn't exactly jumping for joy at the idea of selling us boxes so people don't buy Half-Life 2 in stores).
But nowhere has there been a suggestion that people pay in the store and then pay a monthly fee on top of that a la the MMORPG."
And Gabe makes this follow-up response in this forum thread:
"The various SKUs will be available at the other stores. It's just how we think of them (we think of the lowest price one as the "Walmart" SKU even though Walmart will probably be the biggest single seller of all three SKUs given their volume).
TF2 isn't a MOD, correct. However the subscription will be for anything we make. So when TF2 ships, the subscribers get it as part of their subscription.
We've been talking with retailers about the retail SKUs for a long time. Steam pricing was what I was trying to explain. Steam options seemed to require an explanation of the retail SKUs."
This clears up a lot, and I think this is the first public mention of the collector's special super edition. Oh, if you don't know what an SKU is, "SKU stands for Stock Keeping Unit and is a number associated with a product for inventory purposes. Each product must have a SKU, and each SKU must be unique.
And a later followup...
"For people who buy the less expensive version, they can always upgrade to MOD and multiplayer using Steam. The price difference will be about the difference there was between the two versions.
The theory is that it helps out retailers like Walmart who have very broad reach into customer bases that don't care about multiplayer and who are very price conscious. Rather than having to wait a year for the product price to come down, there's a special version for them on day one."
LEARN TO ****ING READ! YOU EITHER BUY THE GAMEBOX OR THE SUBSCRIPTION! THE ONLY ADVANTAGE OF THE SUBSCRIPTION IS THAT YOU GET AUTOMATICALLY ACCESS TO COMMERCIAL PAY MODS, WHICH AREN'T INCLUDED IN THE GAMEBOX!!!! CLEAR???
Goddamnit!
Doesnt remove the fact that your paying 120 f'ing bucks for some damn mods.
YES I KNOW ITS OPTIONAL
(and to stop anyone else from ranting on again from my comment, YES I WAS WRONG. Tom is right.)
Last edited by 11909 on 04 Sep 2003 - 11:11
ESAD.
YOU'RE ****ING NOT!!!!
You need to pay for all damn mods like DOD2, CS2 and also for the TF2 game if you buy them in a damn store! So you don't need to get a goddamn Steam subscription to get those mods. Free mods won't be charged for! Idiot!
as i said, bell ends.
im confused, im sure customers are gonna be confused too... stupid idea
besides soon as i buy my copy from steam and download it... im going to sell it on ebay
I will do the same thing, buy it for 10$ and cancel right after...
Valva's will eat my nuts!
Cygoku
omg. NO! thats not what it says. you ONLY have to pay a subscription fee if you want to subscribe to the steam service. if you do that, you get half life 2 and any future games/expansion/mods they release because you subscribe to the service.
if you buy the hl2 collector's edition, theres NO monthly fee and you can download any free mods for free as much as you want. the ones they're referring to that you'd need to pay for are separate retail ones like CS2, TF2, etc. if you don't subscribe to steam. thats no different than it is right now.
see post #6 and 6.3 to reiterate what i just said.
i swear, are people reading the article or what?
Cygoku
this isn't rocket science
F**KING MORONS !!!!!!!!!
I remember playing ... 1 mod for the original HL, called Counter-Strike. It was free. I have a hard time believing many people are gonna go for this scheme when the packaging deals for the original HL sucked so bad.
Come on Valve spend the 150 and buy a clue...
The subscription plan is a subscription to not only Half-Life 2 but what ever various retail expansions/MODS that they may release. You don't have to subscribe to play Half-Life 2 online or any of its MODS (free or retail). You will still be able to purchase Half-Life 2 and its various retail expansions/MODS separately. Either way you will still be able to download free community developed MODS and play them whether or not you have a subscription to steam (Unless you purchased the Single Player only version of Half-Life 2, but even then you could always upgrade that to include multiplayer support by paying the difference over steam).
1. Half-Life 2 as the game, no support for mods or online play. Cost - $30
2. Half-Life 2, full support for online play as well as mods. Cost - $50
3. Half-Life 2 Collectors Edition, same as #2 only with things like a soundtrack, poster, figurines, making of movie, etc. Cost - $60-$70
4. Half-Life 2 via Steam, no box, manual or CD. Full support for online play and mods. Cost - $30-$40
5. Subscription to Steam, Includes unlimited access to HL2, TF2, CS2, DOD2, all Expansions and any mods. Cost - $10 a month
It's purely up to you to decide which path you want to go with. No one is forcing you to subscribe to anything. Valve is simply providing a host of options for those people who may actually want them. If you choose method #2, like most games are purchased, you get HL2 and access to as many free mods as you want. You simply have to pay extra if you want to get TF2 once it's released, like any normal expansion for a game.
In my personal opinion, 9.99 a month is too expensive. It should be more like 4.99 a month. However, this all depends on what will be available in a years time period. If TF2, CS2, etc. are all released within a couple months to a year after HL2 then the 9.99 a month would be worthwhile. It nothing or very little is released in that time frame than it's too expensive. At least, that's how I see it.
Commenting has either been disabled on this article or you are not logged in. Click here to login or register, its free!
Note: Anonymous commenting is disabled in order to keep the quality of responses to a high standard.