Episode 2 Delayed Until Winter...

[CSN NewsBot]

... or is it? First of all, let's hit up the facts as we know them. Today, EA and Valve officially announce the Episode 2 Black Box and the Orange Box package deals for consumers.

The Black Box will ship for the PC, and includes Half-Life 2: Episode Two, Portal and Team Fortress 2. The Orange Box will ship for the PC, Playstation 3 computer entertainment system, and Xbox 360(TM) videogame and entertainment system, and includes all the content of The Black Box, plus the original Half-Life 2 and Half-Life 2: Episode One.

Those are the facts, which we have already known for some time now. Now, this is where things get tricky. Different sites are reporting different release time frames for these Episode 2 packages.



Yahoo is reporting a Fall 2007 release date. Their source is a direct copy and paste of a press release from EA. CVG is going a different route and stating that a Winter 2007 release date has been confirmed. They state their information comes from the bottom of a press release where the "Winter 2007" was tucked in at the end. Finally, GamerSquad has both a Winter 2007 and Fall 2007 mention in their article.



UPDATE: Straight from Mr. Lombardi himself:

Fall is what we're targeting.

This is still another delay from the previously delayed date of Summer 2007, which was a delay from the original Quarter 1 of 2007. I'm about to start begging on my hands and knees here if I don't get a little Team Fortress 2 fix soon.

[ph03nix(k)]

It honestly gets old after awhile. Digital distribution leading to quicker game releases is a fucking joke.

[omgomgz]

I think I speak for all of us when I say..



Come onnnnnnnnnnnn



I guess we still have www.fortress-forever.com

[-AK-]

I'm not the least bit surprised

[Zips]

Digital Distribution really has nothing to do with this. DigiDistribution does speed up releases, but only for finished products. Otherwise, that has nothing to do with anything.



This is probably a matter of the console versions of the games, quite possibly the PS3 version to be more precise as that's the only version I've heard as being the biggest pain to make out of all three.

[ph03nix(k)]

Fucking Sony bitches are now fucking with my favorite game series?



THANK YOU SIR MAY I PLEASE HAVE ANOTHER.



Screw EA and screw Sony.

[Zips]

Fall is what they are targeting. This info is straight from Doug Lombardi.

[kalabalana]

Awesome. They are more then likely under some contract that restricts the release of the completed PC products before the console counter-parts.



The "Black Box" option was created to make the PC market [us] who has supported/built Valve, not feel/realize they are ditching us for more money.



Valve is giving it to us from behind without so much as a reacharound. We are not getting our product any time soon because of the money. It's completely within their rights to do so, but it is a greedy horrible thing they are doing.

I hate to say it, but they need another attack, I'd like to see the PC work released to the Black-Market. But lets just call it the "Orange-Market".

[Zips]

If it's written in a contract with EA, their retail distributor, that they cannot release a game before all criteria are met, then their hands are just as tied. It wouldn't be about money then if that were the case.

[ph03nix(k)]

You talk as if EA put a gun to their head and forced them to sign a contract. They are the ones who chose to partner with them. The console games were obviously done for money.

[WooFerPPK]

Zips wrote..

This is probably a matter of the console versions of the games, quite possibly the PS3 version to be more precise as that's the only version I've heard as being the biggest pain to make out of all three.

So? we are PC, release the fucking PC version. I don't give a flying fuck about the failed PS3 or any other console. Why must we wait for the consoles to be ready? If the PC version is ready, than release the dam game.



Its not like they cant stop working on the PS3 version after they are done releasing it. Seriously this is bullshit, episode 1 was released June 1st. It should not take them longer than a year to release an episodic game, especially one that was pretty much finished in June. Didn't they say episode 2 is pretty much done?

[Zips]

WooFer: Read my last response...

ph03nix(k) wrote..

You talk as if EA put a gun to their head and forced them to sign a contract. They are the ones who chose to partner with them. The console games were obviously done for money.

No kidding, but they signed with EA, gun or not that doesn't matter in the slightest. If they released the games on PC via Steam now and it is written in their contract that they cannot, they are in breach of contract and more serious matters would arise than getting a game out a few months ahead of a target release date.

[ph03nix(k)]

Im not the one who said they should breach the contract, I'm saying they never should have done it in the first place.

[WooFerPPK]

Zips wrote..

WooFer: Read my last response...



No kidding, but they signed with EA, gun or not that doesn't matter in the slightest. If they released the games on PC via Steam now and it is written in their contract that they cannot, they are in breach of contract and more serious matters would arise than getting a game out a few months ahead of a target release date.

bah i hate ea.

[Phuck]

Not really surprised or angry to hear its delayed. There is never any new game to play during the summer anyway.

But yea, if you're going to release episodic games then you better have a tight and strict schedule and stick to it.