Pay to Play info from Gabe Newell

[StarMonkey]

Kamakiri has emailed Gabe Newell about the pay to play rumours floating around, and has received the following information:

Gabe Gabe Gabe!!!

As I'm sure you are aware the HL2 community is going crazy with the rumour that HL2 is going to be like a MMORPG and you will have to pay a fee each month via Steam to play HL2 multiplayer.

I don't believe this to be true but can you please put it to rest once and for all. PLEEEEEEASE.

Kind Regards

Matt

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.

Gabe

Gabe confirmed the validity of this email in the thread below, and also gave the following further information:

Yes, the mail was from me. Let's see ...

Vivendi owns Sierra. Sierra is the publisher.

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.

For more information, see this forum thread

 

[IchI]

hmmmm, so that means we will have to pay seperatly for each mod we want to play? also if we get that mod and iyts crap we have just wasted 30pound. Also people who make the mopds are not getting any money out of it when valve are...... thats ****ing stupid if they do it for all mods. I can see them making u pay for cs2 and tfc2. This is just a joke. Keep it the way hl1 is. Its not like they didn't make enough money from hl1 anyway.

 

[Feath]

Originally posted by IchI
hmmmm, so that means we will have to pay seperatly for each mod we want to play? also if we get that mod and iyts crap we have just wasted 30pound. Also people who make the mopds are not getting any money out of it when valve are...... thats ****ing stupid if they do it for all mods. I can see them making u pay for cs2 and tfc2. This is just a joke. Keep it the way hl1 is. Its not like they didn't make enough money from hl1 anyway.

You're making stuff up. The mod makers themselves decide whether or not you pay for the mod, not Valve. Most mods will be free.

It is the way Half Life 1 is. It's just there's a subscription offer as well.

When Gabe talks about new content with the subscription he's talking about Expansion packs and other Valve games NOT Mods. These were things you were expecting to pay for anyway.

 

[dawdler]

Has anyone that preordered mailed and asked about? I mean, for example, Webhallen here in sweden just have Half-Life 2 for preorder. Nothing about any SP or MP or anything. Just Half-Life 2, at standard PC game price. Is it the "real" HL2 version or not? My guess is yes, but still, how can we know? Is it SPECIFICLY just the stores mentioned?
Or will there only be the "real" HL2 for sale in Europe (I havent seen a Walmart here yet, and I have no idea something called Costcos even existed )?

This is LOUSY information from Valve. And much to late. We really need the full deal on this, cause its we that gonna buy it...

 

[Mold]

Yea ichi. If you read the second qoute you will see that it says the subscription only covers the things THEY make. I think that means that if an independant modder charges for his mod, even the subscribers will have to pay the extra amount to play because it wasnt made by Valve and isnt part of the subscription. Thats just a guess though.

 

[genocide604]

Costco is a wholesale outlet for food and alot of other shit inclduing games.

 

[Mold]

i wonder if there will be a cheap way to upgrade the single player only version to multiplayer without having to buy an entire new game.

I have a feeling that any mods that arent made by vavle and charge a fee wont make any money :-p

 

[Cujo]

I got an idea. Let's wait until things get cleared up and see.
Don't panic. Nobody robbed you yet.
If you not gonna like one way to get HL2 then go for another option.
Gee...

 

[Massif]

I wonder how many people are actually going to pay by subscription. Think about this:

Hardcore HL2 fans - Definitely going to buy HL2 either over steam or in box. They'll be playing it ALL THE TIME for years. Paying by subscription wouldn't make any sense.

Regular HL2 Fans - I'll guess most of them will buy it at stores. These are the people who enjoyed the first game but don't really know much about this whole "Steam" thing. They most likely don't even know there is a subscription option.

Casual Gamers - Don't know anything about HL or HL2. Just saw the pretty box in the store and decided to pick it up. These people know nothing about steam or the online community. They probably won't even find out that there are other mods for HL2 unless they really get into the game. Paying by subscription would probably be best for them, but they're the least likely to know that it exists.

Did I miss anything?

 

[dscowboy]

Heck, I'd subscribe. But only after they've released some games / expansions worth subscribing to. If 1 year from now there's two expansions and two multiplayer additions I haven't bought, I'd subsribe for a month and pay my ten bucks just to try them all out. Even if I stayed subscribed for four months before I got bored of the expansions it would be well worth it.

 

[Morbo]

Let's wait and see. It's not like it will be a long wait anyway...

 

[alehm]

Lets see, I have played HL for 5 years now. If I had subscribed to Steam at $10 a month for HL1 all that time I would have paid $600.

Since Valve said that the subsciption would pay for any new games they released and assuming the same timing will apply to HL2 Valve would have to release 15 games @ $40 (US retail) over the next 5 years for me to break even on my subscription.

Now I know I haven't bought 15 Valve games in the past 5 years since HL's release, more like 3 (Opposing Force, Gunman, CS Retial (i lost my original HL cd and case)) so I think I am going to stick with the traditional buy the game at the store method.

However, I will buy HL2 on Steam if it were attractivly cheaper than getting the box and manual at the store.

 

[EVIL]

I totally want that collectors edition. i am willing to pay a hundered bucks for that

 

[Mr.Reak]

I think it was mistake on Gabe's part to give anything away about the way they will sell HL2. Too much panic without any point to it.

 

[Frank]

Well I'm just going for the SinglePlayer so I won't have to commit suicide

 

[Fendie]

Originally posted by EVIL
I totally want that collectors edition. i am willing to pay a hundered bucks for that

Indeed

 

[PaRaNoId]

OMG!

Different versions of one game this is silly just imagine if every game had three versions the shops would be jam packed full of one game.

Oh yeah I'm sure I heard some where that there will be a DVD version of the game I wonder which version that will be.

Are we sure that Valve have not been taken over by Microsoft as this seems the sort of stunt that they would pull. Money Money Money :flame:

 

[h3nkoS]

wow that really shocked me that walve would du this crap.

It would be allright with 2 verison, one sp and one both sp and if the sp was at half the price but the rest just sucks.

 

[Calcio]

I think in principal the whole steam subscription thing has a lot of plus points.

BUT

There are a few logistic points that need addressing :
When you bought Half Life - and then went on to buy the upgrade packs you chose to go out and buy them.
If the reviews of Blue Shift had said DON'T buy this game you could simply not pick one off the shelves.
With the steam system and subscription it seems you are unconditionally accepting whatever is produced.
Obviously on track record the quality wil remain high - but I think it sets a dangerous precedent to accept things as is.
Say the upgrades/expansions suck - will the consumer have the opportunity to do anything other than cancel their subscription?
Cheers Cal

 

[Feath]

Originally posted by PaRaNoId
OMG!

Different versions of one game this is silly just imagine if every game had three versions the shops would be jam packed full of one game.

Oh yeah I'm sure I heard some where that there will be a DVD version of the game I wonder which version that will be.

Are we sure that Valve have not been taken over by Microsoft as this seems the sort of stunt that they would pull. Money Money Money :flame:

Red Alert has 2 versions: DOS and Windows (in the US.)
Age of Mythology had a collector's edition as well.

This isn't a new thing. And I really don't understand what your problem is. Are you angry that some people are going to get Half Life 2 cheaper because they only want the single player?

What's this got to do with money, it's about people getting a better deal.

 

[Feath]

Originally posted by h3nkoS
wow that really shocked me that walve would du this crap.

It would be allright with 2 verison, one sp and one both sp and if the sp was at half the price but the rest just sucks.

2 Versions is okay but 3 versions "just sucks"? I don't understand your logic here at all.

 

[Immacolata]

Why does "3 versions just sucks"? Since when has choices of consumer goods turned into something bad? Overnight? The version to buy is of course the "regular" boxed MP version if youre like me. Im already subscribing to one MMORPG and there is no way a chance that I am going to sign up for yet another sub. Too dag nabbin' many companies wants to have their money sucking trunk down in my wallet on "subscription". So at least with HL2 I can get my boxed game with netplay for the premium retail price Im used to paying. Im buying eventual expansion packs if the reviews say they are worthy. Or Ill just stick to vanilla HL2 DM. And if any worthy mod comes out, Ill download or buy that too. Just like I used to.

So if Im able to do what I used to do, then you are too. SO WHATS ALL THE FUSS ABOUT?

You can even download the game at launch from steam. Bar warez I think it is a first time for a real full blooded computer game. Instantly available in stores and online.

 

[Sageh44]

Screw that.

This seems like a very bad idea in my oppinion .. I for 1 wont buy 2 or 3 types of the same game...
The whole "paying Mods" is a contradiction in terms.
Mods are "addon's free of charge". Created by ppl in the there own spare time.

I want everything in 1 box .. I am on a low income and will not be giving valve $10 or what ever it is a month for the pleasure of online gaming.
There are plenty of other games to play.
The internet costs me an arm and a leg as it is.

I am disappointed in valve (if this is true).

 

[dawdler]

Re: Screw that.

Originally posted by Sageh44
This seems like a very bad idea in my oppinion .. I for 1 wont buy 2 or 3 types of the same game...
The whole "paying Mods" is a contradiction in terms.
Mods are "addon's free of charge". Created by ppl in the there own spare time.

I want everything in 1 box .. I am on a low income and will not be giving valve $10 or what ever it is a month for the pleasure of online gaming.
There are plenty of other games to play.
The internet costs me an arm and a leg as it is.

I am disappointed in valve (if this is true).

What's the problem? If you want it in 1 box, then buy that box (aka the SP/MP version).