"VIVENDI UNIVERSAL GAMES ANNOUNCES PLANS TO LAUNCH THE MOST ANTICIPATED PC ACTION GAME OF 2004

Half-Life® 2 to Ship to Retail Outlets Globally This Holiday Season


LOS ANGELES (October 18, 2004) – Vivendi Universal Games (VU Games) today announced that Half-Life® 2, the sequel to one of the most critically acclaimed PC titles in gaming history, will ship to retail outlets around the world in November. The Company confirmed that Half-Life 2, developed by Valve Software, has gone gold with a planned retail street date of November 16, 2004. The countdown to the highly anticipated retail street date has begun around the world, as VU Games completes plans to ship localized versions of Half-Life 2 simultaneously in English, French, Spanish, Italian, German, Traditional and Simplified Chinese, Korean, Thai and Japanese.



“Half-Life 2 has surpassed our expectations in every sense – its high-quality graphics, ground-breaking physics and immersive first-person shooter gameplay set a new standard for PC action games,” said Bruce Hack, CEO of VU Games. “Half-Life 2 will go down as one of the best-selling PC titles, and we are thrilled to deliver this ground-breaking title to the worldwide gaming community this fall.”



Hailed as “...the best game ever made” by PC Gamer, Half-Life 2 earned a top-rated review score of 98, the highest score bestowed by the magazine in more than six years. The game has received numerous accolades for its technical excellence, captivating story and addictive game play, including more than 10 awards and nominations at the 2004 Electronic Entertainment Expo. In addition to being named “Best PC Game” by 1up.com (Ziff Davis) and Gamespy.com, the title also received a “Technological Excellence on PC” award from IGN.com. CNNMoney.com stated that “Half-Life 2 will redefine what gamers expect from their games visually – and the gameplay is a lot of fun as well.”



The global anticipation for Half-Life 2 has reached unprecedented heights, as consumers around the world mark their calendars to buy the game at retail on November 16th. The Half-Life 2 product will include Counter-Strike: Source. VU Games will also release a Half Life 2 Collector’s Edition that will include Half-Life 2 in DVD-ROM format, Counter-Strike: Source, Half-Life: Source, a free limited edition t-shirt, and a Half-Life 2 Prima strategy guide book.



The original Half-Life game was launched in 1998 under VU Games’ Sierra Entertainment publishing label. It earned more than 50 game-of-the-year awards and has been heralded as one of the best PC first-person shooter games of all-time.



About Half-Life® and Half-Life® 2

In 1998, Half-Life revolutionized the game industry with its combination of pounding action and continuous, immersive storytelling. Valve’s debut title was named “Best PC Game Ever” by PC Gamer and launched a franchise with more than eight million retails units sold worldwide. In 2004, Half-Life 2 will take the suspense, challenge and visceral charge of the original to new heights of realism and responsiveness. Half-Life 2 opens the door to a world where the player’s presence affects everything around him, from the physical environments to the behaviors – even the emotions – of both friends and enemies. The player again picks up the crowbar of research scientist, Gordon Freeman, who finds himself on an alien-infested Earth being picked to the bone, its resources depleted and its population dwindling. Freeman is thrust into the unenviable role of rescuing the world from the wrong he unleashed back at Black Mesa. And a lot of people – people he cares about – are counting on him. The intense, real-time gameplay of Half-Life 2 is made possible only by Source, Valve’s new proprietary engine technology. Source provides major enhancements in the advanced facial animation system, physics, graphics and AI. Half-Life 2 will be available for the PC.



About Vivendi Universal Games

Headquartered in Los Angeles, VU Games is a leading global developer, publisher and distributor of multi-platform interactive entertainment. Its development studios and publishing labels include Blizzard Entertainment, Sierra Entertainment, Fox Interactive and Massive Entertainment. VU Games’ library of over 700 titles features multi-million unit selling properties such as Warcraft®, StarCraft®, Diablo® and World of Warcraft® from Blizzard Entertainment®; Crash Bandicoot®, Spyro The Dragon™, Empire Earth®, Leisure Suit Larry™, Tribes® and Ground Control®."

"RUMOR #1: Half-Life 2 is gold. Really. No foolin'. Honest.


Source: If we told you, we'd have to kill you.

The official story: Both VU Games and Valve declined comment.

What we heard: Ever since the release candidate for Half-Life 2 was submitted to VU Games in mid-September, a piñata has hung in the lobby of Valve's headquarters. The plan: to bust the sucker open when the game achieved gold status. Earlier today, GameSpot learned from an informed sourced that "the piñata has been broken" and the game has gone gold. Further evidence of the game's completion was a press release issued this afternoon touting the first review of "the entire game." Though nothing official has been announced yet, it appears the fat lady is at last clearing her throat.

Bogus or not bogus?: Not bogus."

"Speaking under strict conditions of anonymity, an industry insider squealed earlier informing us that 'as far as Vivendi is concerned, the game [Half-Life 2] is finished' before saying that the title had been passed to PEGI (Pan European Games Information age rating system) for classification, which in turn passed the sequel to the BBFC for certification."

"The sixth phase of the Half-Life 2 preload begins to Steam account holders today. This will allow users to download the Half-Life 2 maps in encrypted form. No purchase is required to pre-load Half-Life 2, but is required to activate the game. The moment the game is made available, those who have pre-loaded and purchased the game via Steam will be ready to start playing."

"The first-person shooter used to be a frag fest. Quick-paced action, rocket launchers, respawns, and overall chaos that we all grew to love with our twitching mouse finger. Then came a small modification for Half-Life that changed the community and fit into a little genre that I would call the tactical shooter. Games like SWAT, Delta Force and Rainbow Six helped fill the war buffs simulation needs, but something was always missing. Counter-Strike came along with its mix of the genre, and quickly became a cult classic, then mainstream addiction."

"In terms of visuals and sounds of the software playable on today's hardware, yeah, I think we're approaching a point of diminishing returns.

"However, I do think the hardware will evolve to offer more advanced 'surround' display units, and perhaps more efficient input devices, like true voice input, and the introduction of these would naturally open the door to new experiences and designs."

"The first thing one will notice upon launching the game is the huge graphical upgrade from previous iterations of the series. Valve has been graphically improving its games for some time now; but after the higher-poly models released for Half-Life Deathmatch and Team Fortress Classic, the High-Definition pack released with Blue Shift and the upgraded map geometry and texturing in Condition Zero, the aging Half-Life engine has become a bottleneck. Valve has taken the freedom the Source engine brings and created new maps and models to breathe new life into an old game. The new grenade explosions are fantastic - particularly the flashbang’s blinding and dizzying effects. The changed weapon models may take some time to get used to but are uniformly excellent. Everytime, you can apreciate the fantastic Shaders effects, it is absolutely impressive to see how good is the lighting, brightness, water effects, real-time shadows....the engine is running perfectly. If Half-life 2 is that good, It will be hard to find a better game in the future."

Fall-Winter 2004! - 50%

2005 and beyond! - 19%

NEVER! Cause VALVe sucks and I suck worse! - 15%

No idea, Who knows!!! - 6%

When it's done. - 1%

"Counter-Strike: Source has drop-dead gorgeous graphics. With some of the latest technology implemented, Counter-Strike: Source gives the eye something to stare at. Be careful though, I have found myself many a time playing with the physics and looking at the graphics, only to have an opposing force sneak up behind me and take me out. I suggest starting your own private server to play in and investigate."

"Pros - "Everything: Graphics, plot, gameplay. Its what experts have been predicting for this medium"

Lows - "Squadmates sometimes get in your way; low res textures in huge outdoor scenes"
"Valve has forged the framework for the next generation of games, demonstrating what our medium can and should be able to accompolish"

"An exhilarating entertainment that can emotionally move you one moment, kick ******* the next, and keep you immersed the whole time."

"BRONZE -- $49.95

Half-Life 2*

Counter-Strike: Source
*To be made available upon product's release.


SILVER -- $59.95

Half-Life 2*

Counter-Strike: Source

Half-Life 1: Source*

Day of Defeat: Source*

Valve's back catalog currently available on Steam
*To be made available upon products' release.


GOLD -- $89.95

Half-Life 2*

Counter-Strike: Source

Half-Life 1: Source*

Day of Defeat: Source*

Valve's back catalog currently available on Steam

Complete Half-Life 2 Strategy Guide from Prima Games

3 different Half-Life 2 posters

Half-Life Collector's box

Half-Life 2 hat

Half-Life 2 postcard

Half-Life 2 stickers

Half-Life 2 Soundtrack CD

Chance to win a trip to Valve! (1 trip offered for every 5000 Gold packages purchased)."

"Also on the subject of making the game world more believable, the team is relying on a vocabulary of facial expressions. Using about two dozen key frames representing various emotional states, the developers can script emotional reactions to events that will have you believing that the characters in the game have genuine responses to the story. This expression system works in conjunction with a multi-boned mouth animation system that translates sounds into mouth movements. Simply plugging in a .wav file results in thoroughly credible lip syncing. Elliptical eyes (rather than perfectly spherical) also add to the subtlety and believability of the characters."

"The fifth phase of the Half-Life 2 preload begins to Steam account holders today. This will allow users to download the Counter-Strike: Source maps in encrypted form. No purchase is required to pre-load Half-Life 2, but is required to activate the game. The moment the game is made available, those who have pre-loaded and purchased the game via Steam will be ready to start playing."

"Hello,

The ATI coupon vouchers will be transfered automatically to the Bronze Package. We will be offering upgrades to silver and gold for additional cost, but the details have not been fully worked out yet.

Thanks,
Jon
Steam Tech Support"

Retail Boxes

Standard Edition — includes HL2 and CS:Source. Ships on six CDs, in one of three box-art packages (Gordon, Alyx or the G-Man).

Collector's Edition — includes Half-Life 2, Counter-Strike: Source, Half-Life 1: Source, a Half-Life 2 T-shirt and a Prima book sampler. Ships on a single DVD.

Steam Packages

Bronze — HL2* and CS:Source.

Silver — HL2*, Counter-Strike: Source, Half-Life 1: Source*, Day of Defeat:

Source*, Valve's back catalog currently available on Steam.

Gold — HL2*, Counter-Strike: Source, Half-Life 1: Source*, Day of Defeat: Source*, Valve's back catalog currently available on Steam, Complete Strategy Guide from Prima Games, 3 different Half-Life 2 posters, Half-Life 2 hat, Half-Life 2 postcard, Half-Life 2 stickers, Half-Life 2 Soundtrack CD, Chance to win a trip to Valve! (1 trip offered for every 5000 Gold packages purchased).

"Icarus: What was your reaction when you found out you would be the first to review Half-Life 2?

Chuck Osborn: It was a mixture of excitement and trepidation, because of the responsibility of being the first one to review it.

Icarus: Was Half-Life 2 what you expected?

Chuck Osborn: More

Icarus: Was it worth the wait?

Chuck Osborn: Absolutely

Icarus: How long is the review?

Chuck Osborn: Nine pages, plus we have a four page story telling you what you need to know about running Half-Life 2 on your system.

Icarus: Did it seem dated?

Chuck Osborn: Not at all.

Icarus: Are there any spoilers in the review?

Chuck Osborn: There are some mild spoilers, because you can’t review it without giving away something. I say very clearly when to stop reading if you don’t want to know anything. If you read the entire review, there are a lot of surprises I don’t talk about, because I want you to be surprised. This is not a spoiler review.

Icarus: Does it have multiplayer, if so what are they?

Chuck Osborn: Counter-Strike Source is the multiplayer.

Icarus: Only CS:S, no Deathmatch?

Chuck Osborn: Only CS:S

Icarus: Has it (CS:S) changed any from Beta?

Chuck Osborn: It’s what they say it’s going to be, but with a few surprises

Icarus: Who did you get to play it with?

Chuck Osborn: Valve as well as playing in within our own offices

Icarus: Did you get to play HL Source?

Chuck Osborn: Yes.

Icarus: Can you tell me anything about HL:Source?

Chuck Osborn: Nope

Icarus: Is it (HL:S) included in the review?

Chuck Osborn: Yes, it's discussed in a sidebar along with a few screenshots.

Icarus: Anything you want to say the users before I go?

Chuck Osborn: I'm just glad I don't have to keep my playing Half-Life 2 a secret anymore! It was killing me. Trust me...you won't be disappointed."

"The fourth phase of the Half-Life 2 preload begins to Steam account holders today.

This will allow users to download the majority of Counter-Strike: Source in encrypted form. No purchase is required to pre-load Half-Life 2, but is required to activate the game. The moment the game is made available, those who have pre-loaded and purchased the game via Steam will be ready to start playing."

"Valve has announced that it will deliver a release candidate version of Half-Life 2 (HL2) (a game required under the 2001 SPA) to Sierra/VUG within the next few weeks. If Valve delivers a release candidate version that complies with the contract and is a Final Milestone, then VUG will have six months to release the product under the 2001 SPA. Valve is pressing VUG to release the product early within that six month window, and its representatives have made a number of public statements without our consent or concurrence that the product will be published and released to the general public in September of this year."

"GameSpy: It appears that part of Valve's complaint with Sierra started over a cybercafé distribution dispute, and yet Valve has been doing something similar with the CS:Source beta and STEAM. Would you consider that an accurate comparision?

[Doug Lombardi]: Yes, this began with Valve suing Vivendi for copyright infringement back in 2002 over their unauthorized distribution of our products to cybercafé's for commercial use. Valve owns the right to distribute its games in the cybercafé channel."

""Valve sued Vivendi for copyright infringement back in 2002 over their unauthorized distribution of our products to cyber cafés," Lombardi told GameSpot last Friday. "We later had to add breach of contract claims for, among other things, refusing to pay us royalties owed and delaying Condition Zero out of the holiday season."

That lawsuit became more complex when Sierra fought back with a counterclaim. "Almost a year and a half into the lawsuit," Lombardi continued, "Vivendi responded by making a number of claims in an attempt to invalidate our agreement and be awarded the ownership of the Half-Life intellectual property. We expect to prevail in this lawsuit."

Though the density of the legal documents makes for arduous reading, they yield many fascinating nuggets of information. For example, the first Half-Life, which went on to win numerous awards and reap huge profits for both developer and publisher, was delivered to Sierra after an almost laughably meager $800,000 advance--the initial payment was a mere $30,000 when Newell and Sierra On-line reps signed their first software publishing agreement on April 27, 1997."

"Yes, the RC went to VU yesterday."

"HomeLAN - What are some of the more surprising or interesting things you learned about game development while writing and researching the book?

David Hodgson - Well, without giving much of the content away, there were dozens of interesting anecdotes and information pieces that no one's read about before. For example, one of the company's original names was Rhinoscar (I even got Gabe to draw me the logo!). Gabe talks about Prospero, there's an extremely amusing story about Ted Bachman's interview with Gabe and the inception for some of the freakier looking critters in the game. How Gordon's name came about. Who influenced Hal Robins' during his vocal recordings for Dr. Kleiner. Then there's the photography models for G. Man and Alyx; they're are really cool to see! The Source code theft is talked about candidly. The sheer insanity of the modeling that went on in City 17 shows how meticulous Valve are. Some of the entities that got cut from HL2... how development stalled for months when the physics engine was finished and everyone started building crazy contraptions... I mean, there's loads of surprising elements I wrote about during the development of Valve's games -- that's just a smattering!

HomeLAN - Half-Life 2 took quite a long time to develop and release. Is that long development time dealt with in the book?

David Hodgson - Yes, in fact Doug talks about the "September 30th" nightmare from last year, and Gabe (plus others) chat about the reasons why the game took so long to complete. Gabe wanted to make sure the successes AND the failures in the development are talked about and explained. That's one of the reasons why I think fans who are more critical of Valve's release schedule may be interested in this book. Valve wanted to make sure the problems and successes were discussed."

"The third phase of the Half-Life 2 preload begins to Steam account holders today.

This will allow users to download the majority of the models of Half-Life 2 in encrypted form. No purchase is required to pre-load Half-Life 2, but is required to activate the game. The moment the game is made available, those who have pre-loaded and purchased Half-Life 2 via Steam will be ready to start playing right away."

What do you think of Half-Life 2's story so far from what you've read?

It's incredible!-26%

It's....damn good!-37%

It's.....okay.-18%

It's fair...sorta!-3%

It blows!-16%

"RUMOR #1: Half-Life 2 will ship in November.

Source: A Wedbush Morgan report issued earlier this week.

The official story: "No comment." – a VU Games spokesperson.

What we heard: Analyst Michael Pachter's report states it clear as day: "…we also expect three PC games to break the million-unit threshold in 2004, including… November's Vivendi-Universal (V-Not Rated) release Half-Life 2."

Before asking Vivendi for confirmation, we went to marketing rep Doug Lombardi at Valve. "We're currently planning to send release candidates to Vivendi by September 15th," he told us. The timing's right. "However," he adds before we can get our hopes up, "VUG hasn't given us a ship date yet. Might be best for you to ask them directly. Let me know what you hear."

"The second phase of the Half-Life 2 preload begins to Steam account holders today.

This will allow users to download the majority of the audio of Half-Life 2 in encrypted form. No purchase is required to pre-load Half-Life 2, but is required to activate the game. The moment the game is made available, those who have pre-loaded and purchased Half-Life 2 via Steam will be ready to start playing right away."

"I believe the editors of that magazine took a guess when they went to press.

Rest assured, either Gabe or I (or both) will be sending up flares when HL2 is done.

Cheers"

"PHL: Is Blue Shift a dead product? Is there a Steam version and/or will there be a Source version?

DL: Blue Shift is not currently on Steam, but there's certainly a chance it will appear on both Steam and remastered on Source."

"Tokyo Game Show is the next big one that comes to mind, but not sure yet if we'll attend."

"An email request to Newell last night to confirm the post was never answered.

Newell has been releasing information slowly to the community over the last couple of months. Just recently, he announced preloading of encrypted Half-Life 2 files to individuals via Steam."

"Maybe he shouldn't have used 'gaben' for his password. Come on Gabe, you could of [sic] thought of something better than that

After a quick double-check, it seems that this was exactly what happened."

It seems that gamers eager to experience Gordon Freeman's latest adventure will have to wait a bit longer after all."

"We're going gold monday..."

"Even now no fixed date has been given for its release and some gamers speculate that it may not appear until November.

Others believe that release is imminent because Valve is happy for the game software to be downloaded.

Some also speculate that the relatively small size of the files means that the encrypted version is not the full game. Many expect to have to download more code when the full and final game is released."

"Half-Life 2 pre-load begins tonight at 6:00 PM PST."

"Auto-detecting hardware is good for gamers who know little or nothing about their PC’s hardware. The typical consumer frequently knows little about the hardware within his or her PC other than the processor inside. These guys know nothing about shaders, trilinear and anisotropic filtering, or anti-aliasing. By auto-detecting their hardware, Valve can configure these settings appropriately with no intervention from the end user. This is a win-win scenario for both, as Valve can deliver the best overall gaming experience for that user’s hardware, while at the same time he doesn’t need to know all the fine details about his PC in order to play the game.

Auto detection is also good for those who don’t have the patience to tweak the plethora of visual settings present within Half-Life 2. Checkboxes for model, texture, water, and shadow detail are located within the video section’s advanced menu, while anti-aliasing and texture filtering can also be adjusted here. This still doesn’t include the console! It can all be pretty intimidating if you don’t know what any of these settings does.

Arguing the case for auto detection is an easy one, clearly it benefits all parties. But what happens if end users are forced down one set path, and aren’t allowed to adjust certain settings? This appears to be the case for GeForce FX card owners."