Valve Software, which announced the retail packaging of the upcoming Half-Life 2: Episode Two last month, has today revealed a new estimated release date. The Black Box will ship for the PC and will include Half-Life 2: Episode Two, Portal,and Team Fortress 2. The Orange Box will ship for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 and its contents everything in The Black Box, along with Half-Life 2 and Half-Life 2: Episode One. Not mentioned in the press release but revealed through websites are the suggested retail prices for each package: The Black Box will be $39.99, The Orange Box, $59.99. Each title is expected to be available individually on Valve’s broadband delivery system, Steam.
But the big news here is that Episode 2–and subsequently, the two Box versions of the game–have been delayed yet again, and are now set for a Fall 2007 release. Originally planned for a late 2006 release date, the game was delayed in August 2006 to early 2007. Then just a few weeks ago, it was revealed that the game has been pushed back again to Summer 2007.
Gabe Newell, co-founder of Valve, has expressed his desire while working with EA, publisher of the Half-Life series. "In less than 18 months, we’ve shipped 10 new products to retail outlets with EA Partners. The Black Box and The Orange Box represent a new approach to publishing multiple products, on multiple platforms and we know through our experience that no organization in the industry is better equipped to successfully launch new product types on multiple platforms than EA Partners."
Not only is this another blow to HL fans, but these consistent delays have been drawing criticisms to Valve’s strong stance on delivering episodic content. With Half-Life 2: Episode One released back on June 1, 2006, it’ll be well over a year before the second episode hits store shelves. No one likes delays, so for Valve’s sake, these delays had best yield a more polished product than what would have been released on time, or the once-beloved studio may be facing the wrath of the HL community.
