Gabe Newell speaks out over L4D2 backlash

PC News | "We aren't changing our plans for L4D1."

Valve head honcho Gabe Newell has spoken out over the backlash at the recently announced Left 4 Dead 2, telling concerned fans that support of the original Left 4 Dead has not been scrapped to focus on the sequel, also promising that modification tools, community matchmaking, 4x4 matchmaking and more content for L4D1 will be coming to the zombie action title "during the coming months."

Newell was quick to stand by the new title's development, stating that the quick turnaround from the first to the second title will not impact on the philosophy that the company has set for itself. Speaking with Kotaku, he explained: "Doing a sequel in one year is new for Valve. But providing ongoing support for our titles after the initial launch isn't - it has been part of our philosophy since Half-Life was released 10 and half years ago. We see no reason to change that and will continue to support the over three million customers in the L4D community."

Speaking directly in response to the Steam community group which is boycotting the sequel - a group that is now twenty-eight thousand members strong since its launch some 10 days ago - Newell added: "Some in the community are concerned that the announcement of L4D2 implied a change in our plans for L4D1. We aren't changing our plans for L4D1."

Newell has also assured fans that both games will be interoperable, as he points out multiplayer games "are driven by the cohesiveness of their community."

It's too early to say whether Newell's words have done anything to quell the concerns of the Left 4 Dead community, with this argument sure to polarise gamer opinions until we get our hands on the final product in November.

Related Left 4 Dead 2 Content

New Left 4 Dead 2 DLC announced
19 Feb, 2011 Happy trails.

Left 4 Dead: The Sacrifice trailer
02 Oct, 2010 It's your funeral.

First Left 4 Dead 2 add-on revealed
20 Dec, 2009 The original survivors get set for a trip down south.

Page12 Next

26 Comments

rankodour

2 years ago

Is Gabe still really fat?

dloiscute

2 years ago

^^^ Back, and bigger than ever!

Nic_231

2 years ago

Good work Gabe.
You tell those whining kids that they have had it too good for too long.
Seriously, the pricing to content ratio on L4D or L4D2 is not unreasonable. The only reason people are so upset by this is that Valve has spoiled them up to this point and when they act like a regular developer for once it is treated like the coming of the apocalypse...
Also, please consider losing some weight. It's not your appearance that bothers me, I am just concerned for your health. If you die, we will have barely any good developers left

Lord Haart

2 years ago

We'll just have to wait and see.

My faith has taken a hit though.

benspyda

2 years ago

Interoperable hmmm. It would be pretty cool if the steam version of l4d2 blended into l4d. Such as being able to use all the old maps with the new ones, as well as characters n stuff. A bit like the original dawn of wars did with their online play. I doubt it but it would certainly get me to buy it.

Zuka

2 years ago

I dont really care if people do have a cry about this. L4D was a huge success and knowing valve why should this game be worse.

If you went through the developers commentary in L4D they mention about efficient coding that allows them to create more maps, populate them and such in the future without changing anything in terms of code and programming which can save a great effort in time and money. And that allows them to just upgrade several features and just add content, not going back changing the engine or programming code.

G3ck0

2 years ago

Zuka wrote

That makes L4D2 sound even worse... If it is easy to make maps they should just be making more for L4D.

stick_theory

2 years ago

wtf!? im supposed to be happy with content such as mod tools? i have the f****n xbox version!! Let me download modded maps to play on xbox to make it worth it.

notsofat

2 years ago

gabe, all talk.

fatpizza

2 years ago

L4D2 Interoperable with L4D1?? Most expensive expansion pack ever?

arbok

2 years ago

as far as I'm concerned L4D only had 4 campaigns that could be completed within 5 or 6 hours - sure it was very replayable but am i right in saying that there were no new campaigns released afterwards?? Surely one or two extra campaigns were not have gone astray... i think that is why people are upset that they have to pay premium price again for another 5 or 6 new hours of content.

Nietzsche

2 years ago

I brought L4D expecting that more would come. Then L4D2 (worse name ever) was announced. Can see why I am a tiny bit upset, anyway I still support valve but hope that theres more stuff coming for L4D

The Brett

2 years ago

It's not like this is unusual for a games company, but it's definitely unusual for Valve. I don't hate them for doing this but I will certainly be watching with a keen interest to see how they handle this potential PR disaster.

Benza

2 years ago

If left 4 dead had been more substantial I don’t think people would be as upset, but it was tiny, and people basicly bought it under the assumption that it would be getting more content in the future. So this is kind of like a “**** you” to all those people that bought it.

Nic_231

2 years ago

Benza wrote

If left 4 dead had been more substantial I donâ€™t think people would be as upset, but it was tiny, and people basicly bought it under the assumption that it would be getting more content in the future. So this is kind of like a â€œ**** youâ€ to all those people that bought it.

L4D wasn't really 'tiny'. I have put about 30 hours into it and am a casual player. I feel I already have my moneys worth and then some. I have friends who have happily done 100+ hours.
The point is, people don't complain when games like Prototype or Infamous last under 20 hours but seem to feel L4D owes them so much more.

Emuaust

2 years ago

Just give me my Half Life 2 episode 3 or at least a goddamn mention of it...

Tristan

2 years ago

My first reaction to L4D2 was just how completely 'un-Valve-like' it was to have a sequel come out so quickly.

But looking at it a bit deeper; on many games you'd pay $15 (or at least $10) for a new map. 5 Maps x $15 = $75, plus a few extra features and you've got a full priced game.

Plus if you don't agree with the price, or product, don't buy it. Simple as that.

Infested Jibbs

2 years ago

Ill just wait till they have it on steam special.I did that with l4d 1 and got it at about 40 bucks(give or take, cant remember the exact amount) and if i do that with l4d2(or 'left 2 die'....cmon valve, that sequel name is money in the bank!) i'll have 2 games for the cost of one.

Frozencry

2 years ago

Nic_231 wrote

Benza wrote

What? L4D is miniscule. The only reason you get hours out of it, is because it's primarily a multiplayer focused title. The difference between L4D and inFamous/Prototype is that you can go back to the latter at a later date for freeroaming and trophy/achievement hunting. L4D has achievements too, but the amount of levels you get and such can be run through in under 8 hours with ease, and doing them over and over can get boring and quickly. And honestly, comparing sandbox games to a multiplayer focused FPS title? Come on.

I'm just not trusting Valve on this until I see more content that actively justifies a full price sequel. Everything they've shown so far is an easy add on into L4D1, particularly because they're using the Source engine for it, so there's no enormous change in code or optimisation.

Nic_231

2 years ago

My comparison with Infamous and Prototype was perhaps not the most apt, they just happened to be on my mind at the time. However, perhaps the point I was making wasn't clear.
What I meant was that L4D provides a good gameplay hour to value ratio. The content itself is admittedly quite small, but this could be said of most multiplayer focused games, excluding MMORPGS. As L4D is billed as a multiplayer game it is to be expected that you will get most of your value out of playing it as such. While I agree that you can breeze through the single player campaign in a matter of hours, that is by no means all you paid for; and while the campaigns can get boring, versus mode promises a unique experience every time.

stick_theory

2 years ago

Nic_231 wrote

While a completely valid perspective, for me I feel jilted because the reason I bought it was more campaigns were promised.
I also havent gotten many hours out of it because until I upgraded my net, I couldnt get a playable connection on the Xbox. Ive been finding myself playing more CoD *ombies though, the new map is amazing (which makes me realise how much more support this 'add-on' is getting than L4D)

C'mon *ombie MMO!

Benza

2 years ago

Nic_231 wrote

As L4D is billed as a multiplayer game it is to be expected that you will get most of your value out of playing it as such. While I agree that you can breeze through the single player campaign in a matter of hours, that is by no means all you paid for; and while the campaigns can get boring, versus mode promises a unique experience every time.

That argument would hold some water if L4D had been released at the same price as Team Fortress 2, instead of the full $100 bucks.

rufati

2 years ago

I'm so boycotting the next good developer to release a good game. I'm sick of all these quality titles popping up everywhere, it's disgusting!

But seriously.

Denny wrote

the amount of levels you get and such can be run through in under 8 hours with ease

That describes practically every third/first-person-shooter with a single-player campaign. In fact, that describes a lot of games. Full price games.

Benza wrote

That argument would hold some water if L4D had been released at the same price as Team Fortress 2, instead of the full $100 bucks.

At what price point were other titles with short campaigns like CoD4/WaW, Gears of War 1/2, and Halo3 when they were released? L4D adheres to a lot of norms in the shooter genre (6-10 hour long campaign, multiple difficulties, cooperative play, competitive play), but it isn't deserving of the same price tag as other games? Interesting logic you got there.

I'm trying to feel deeply offended/betrayed by the sequel's announcement, but it just isn't working. I wonder why the people complaining aren't also bothered by, like, every other shooter. Ever. What makes Valve so special that they have to work much harder than any other developer to make their customers happy?

stick_theory

2 years ago

^

To me, the other games have more content. CoD, GoW both had fantastic narratives, L4D has none. L4D has a very limited arsenal/less variety. L4D has some of the worst graphics I've seen on the Xbox. I havent played it since a month after it came out, CoD/GoW Im still playing Nazi Zombies/Horde.

Not to mention the DLC (support) provided in less time than Valve has had to provide any. (dont respond by saying Activision/Microsoft have more means, Valve could've at least held a 'comp' to create new campaigns)

This is just my perspective, I paid pretty much equal for each game (and other FPSs) and so far, L4D has by far been the least played game in my WHOLE collection.

And for the love of some god, please keep all patronization out of any replys. It just makes you sound like a self righteous douche. Im trying to remain fair and objective.

Page12 Next

View as forum topic

Add Comment

Like this news?

Share it with this tiny url: http://palg.nu/3w9

| More

Left 4 Dead 2

Pre-order or buy:
PALGN recommends: www.Play-Asia.com

Australian Release Date:
  19/11/2009 (Confirmed)
Publisher:
  Electronic Arts
Genre:
  Shooter
Year Made:
  2009
Players:
  2
System Requirements:
- OS: Windows Vista, XP or 2000
- CPU: 3.0 GHz P4, Dual Core 2.0 or AMD64X2 (or higher)
- RAM: 1 GB for XP / 2GB for Vista
- Disc drive: DVD-ROM Drive
- Hard drive: At least 7.5 GB of free space
- Video: Direct X 9 compatible video card (Video card must be 256 MB or more and should be a DirectX 9-compatible with support for pixel shader 2.0)
- Sound: Direct X9.0c compatible sound card

Read more...