http://www.ebgames.com/ebx/categories/products/product.asp?pf_id=235059
I say it ships as promised on September 30th. Anyone else want to take a whack at guessing the actual ship date?
Winner gets to gloat, Dave Long style, in all future threads about how right they were. And how by association everything they’re ever going to post will also be proven correct.
I’m betting 9/30 as well.
That way, you can gloat for the two of us, since you’re so experienced at it.
Ok, here’s my dollar, I’ll play. I think the Sept. 30 date is the end of Sierra’s third quarter and they want it out on the last day to fill a huge hole in their calendar. It gains holiday sales, but it applies to Q3. However, I don’t think it is ready, and I think it is going to slip a little…so…I’ll say…hmmm…November 18th. That way it gets out before the Thanksgiving buying orgy. So that’s my blind toss on the dart board.
Having said that, I really, really hope it comes out September 30th because I’m sitting here clapping my legs together in fevered anticipation as if I have to pee badly.
I initially thought so too, since the end-of-quarter thing seems too convenient to be coincidental. The thing is, Valve is very quick to point out that Half-Life 2 has been 100 percent self-funded from the get-go. (I don’t know if this is completely true, mind you.) So it would seem that Valve would have nothing to gain by sticking to Vivendi’s schedule all of a sudden. The September 30 release seems completely self-imposed by Valve, and the company has expressed nothing but confidence about hitting that date worldwide.
I’m as skeptical as anyone that Valve will manage to hit that date, but I’m impressed with how firmly the company’s committed to it. If they miss it, they’ll be hurting themselves. Anyway, you have to wonder why Valve would commit to a hard release date if there’s any question whether the company could actually hit it? Why not say “this winter” or “when it’s done” or something? That’s still completely acceptable in this industry.
Also, while publishers will often announce hard release dates, developers very rarely do.
Anyway, all that’s to say I’d have to bet in favor of the 9/30 release also.
After having seen the mad skillz that Half-Life 2 has to offer, does anyone think any other game has a legitimate shot at 2003 PC Game of the Year?
I bet it’s out before September 30th.
Oooh. Well. That changes things a bit. In that case, I’m changing my guess to September 30th. But I’m still holding on to my November 18th ticket. I don’t want to risk losing my chance at that shiny new Dave Long Gloat I’ve been wanting to win.
I’d say it’s way too early to guess. There’s a lot of good PC stuff onthe horizon, and we won’t even know which titles will make this year until, well, the end of the year. Including Half-Life 2.
My wager on HL2 is that they’ll make their date. If they do slip, I’d guess that it won’t be by much. Take that for what it’s worth.
I just watched the HalfLife 2 600MB E3 presentation.
I think HL2 will be the biggest game release since … the original HalfLife. My GOD this game looks fantastic !
I am with the September 30th crowd. Also with the game of the year 2003 crowd.
– Xaroc
I believe Half Life was delayed to Nov18th itself.
do the losers buy the winners halflife2??
I already put my $50 down for Half - Life 2. Consider that my bet.
I sure hope I turn out to be right.
Sierra and VU Games had nothing to do with the September 30th date Valve is giving. They set that themselves. It has nothing to do with our financials.
Gee… thanks for nuttin’, Adam! :roll: Hey, if you’re gonna chime in on this here thread with a comment, you gotta dish! :wink:
Anyway, while I raise my eyebrow at the fact that the game was not presented in a playable form at E3, I throw my dollar into the 9/30 hat. There’s no way they keep this thing secret for 4 years, only to come out with a firm ship date, and then miss that date. My guess is that when the announcement came down, they already had an alpha build.
Q1 2004
I’ll do the comedy wild-ass extremely specific guess option and go for the third Tuesday in March (edit:2004, this isn’t DNF!). :shock:
With no year? That’s a DNF guess…
Plenty of good arguments both ways, so I’ll give a farcical guess: Valve shows an amazing sense of humor and announces that HL2 will, unfortunately, be delayed - until October 1, 2003.
My guess is sometime late October to early November. I want it to be spotless. I’ll even wait til Christmas!
etc
Tuesday, December 9, 2003.
About tea time.