Valve spends $10 Million on Left4Dead advertising

[HeXploiT]

Originally posted by: BladeVenom

Originally posted by: Perry404

Originally posted by: ja1484

Originally posted by: Perry404

It's going to be fun watching this release. I hope valves money is well spent. Who knows what they may concoct in the future if they all get rich.

Uh...what exactly makes you think they aren't rich already? The reason the Half-Life series turned out so well is because Valve doesn't have to kowtow to a mega-publisher. They're financially independent, with Gabe Newell able to run the company out of his pocket if need be.

I'm not worried about Valve. I'll have my copy of Left 4 Dead, and I'm sure plenty of other people will too.

These guys aren't rich. Gabe and a couple others may have a couple million on the side but that's nothing by today's standards. We look at games like HL & CS:S as successful but really they haven't touched the monies that games like WOW and Halo have produced.

Half-Life sold 8 million copies. Halo sold 5 million copies.

Pretty sure halo 3 sold far more copies than HL2 did.

 

[videogames101]

Originally posted by: PingSpike
I think this is probably a good move. Just going by common mod projects and listening to people it feels like there is a lot of pent up demand for this kind of game. WWII pseudo shooters are pumped out at dime a dozen status, but this genre which seems to have become even more popular lately still hasn't really seen a hit title to give the fans what they want. There have been a lot of games that danced around this with similar concepts (Resident Evil series and clones, Dead Rising, House of the Dead in arcades) but nothing that really hit the spot. The closest have been a few mods that for the most part were really just clumsy hacks.

I know I've had a hard on for some co-op zombie survival featuring a small team for a long time, the closest contender has been the killing floor mod for UT2K4...but we really need a full blown polished retail entry here.

if anyone can do it, valve can!

 

[videogames101]

Originally posted by: Perry404

Originally posted by: BladeVenom

Originally posted by: Perry404

Originally posted by: ja1484

Originally posted by: Perry404

It's going to be fun watching this release. I hope valves money is well spent. Who knows what they may concoct in the future if they all get rich.

Uh...what exactly makes you think they aren't rich already? The reason the Half-Life series turned out so well is because Valve doesn't have to kowtow to a mega-publisher. They're financially independent, with Gabe Newell able to run the company out of his pocket if need be.

I'm not worried about Valve. I'll have my copy of Left 4 Dead, and I'm sure plenty of other people will too.

These guys aren't rich. Gabe and a couple others may have a couple million on the side but that's nothing by today's standards. We look at games like HL & CS:S as successful but really they haven't touched the monies that games like WOW and Halo have produced.

Half-Life sold 8 million copies. Halo sold 5 million copies.

Pretty sure halo 3 sold far more copies than HL2 did.

The Half Life franchise has sold 15+ million units (http://www.valvesoftware.com/news.php?id=648 and that was in Christmas 2007, before Episode 2 was released), and Half Life 2 is the 2nd most played PC game ever, only surpassed by the original Half-Life.

We can talk sales if you want, HL wins anyways, but metacritic says it all.

Half Life 2 - 96 (http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/pc/halflife2)
Half Life - 96 (http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/pc/halflife)

Halo 3 - 94 (which is inflated, as we all know Halo games are hugely overrated for being simply average...) (http://www.metacritic.com/game...atforms/xbox360/halo3)

And the user scores on metacritic,

HL2 - 9.3
HL - 9.1
Halo 3 - 7.2

(not to mention, HL2 won over 35 game of the year awards, and HL won over 51 game of the year awards)

/thread

(just play singleplayer Halo 3, then singleplayer in any half-life game, it's astonishing how pathetic Halo 3 is in comparison)

 

[Czar]

Originally posted by: Zenoth
The day when a video game costs more to make and advertise than a blockbuster movie we'll need to ask ourselves some questions about our standards and desires in gaming, at least I'd think so. It's a little ridiculous to see those mega 3 to 4 years in-production $40 to $50+ million games projects only to fail flat and be forgotten merely a year after release, it doesn't happen often but when it does all I can think of is "what a waste...".

the gaming industry has been bigger than the movie industry for years

 

[grohl]

Originally posted by: Zenoth
The day when a video game costs more to make and advertise than a blockbuster movie we'll need to ask ourselves some questions about our standards and desires in gaming, at least I'd think so. It's a little ridiculous to see those mega 3 to 4 years in-production $40 to $50+ million games projects only to fail flat and be forgotten merely a year after release, it doesn't happen often but when it does all I can think of is "what a waste...".

I get TONS more entertainment from a videogame at $40-60 for 100's of hours of fun rather than some overhyped/overpaid actor/actress in a movie that costs me $40-60 to take my family to.

 

[videogames101]

Originally posted by: grohl

Originally posted by: Zenoth
The day when a video game costs more to make and advertise than a blockbuster movie we'll need to ask ourselves some questions about our standards and desires in gaming, at least I'd think so. It's a little ridiculous to see those mega 3 to 4 years in-production $40 to $50+ million games projects only to fail flat and be forgotten merely a year after release, it doesn't happen often but when it does all I can think of is "what a waste...".

I get TONS more entertainment from a videogame at $40-60 for 100's of hours of fun rather than some overhyped/overpaid actor/actress in a movie that costs me $40-60 to take my family to.

Also, the game can be amazing too, not fall flat on it's face, the devs just have to make sure to not partner with EA, in any developmental way. Valve with like HL2, millions spent, greatest PC game ever, so, and now we have the source engine too.

 

[PsharkJF]

Originally posted by: Modular
I saw several billboards off of I-90 in Chicago yesterday. Pretty cool!

Same with I-55 between Harlem and Central (iirc?)

 

[Eeezee]

Works for me, I've already ordered it on Steam

 

[PsharkJF]

Check that, NB I-55 between Central and Cicero.

 

[GodlessAstronomer]

Originally posted by: Sniper82
I must be the only one not impressed with the game lol.

I've seen several videos and I honestly don't know what all of the fuss is about. Looks boring and repetitive, and even worse it looks like it is 100% designed for consoles.

 

[flyboy84]

I saw an ad on the side of an M103 bus in NYC the other day. That being said, I'm also not impressed with the gameplay videos. I was hoping for a feeling of creeping, sneaking through dark buildings and alleys and then BAM! a zombie pops out at you. The videos I've seen just show the four players mowing down rows of charging zombies with automatic weapon fire (and the weapon effects don't even seem that satisfying). I'll still check it out more once it comes out. Maybe they'll have some free play weekends on steam?

 

[amddude]

This game is 4v4 only.

 

[Polish3d]

I'd be surprised if the core Valve group is not rather wealthy

 

[flyboy84]

Originally posted by: amddude
This game is 4v4 only.

I wouldn't characterize it that way. I'd call it 4 player co-op with the option of 4 more players coming in to spice things up as "super zombie" type characters.

 

[fallenangel99]

I saw at least 5 L4D ads along the New Jersey Turnpike