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Portal Pre-Load Underway, Half-Life 2: Episode Two Pre-Load This Week (Updated)

by Chris Faylor, Oct 02, 2007 3:04pm PDT

Related Topics – Portal, Team Fortress 2, Portal: Still Alive, , Steam, Valve

Update: Though no specific date has been set, a Valve representative tells Shacknews that Half-Life 2: Episode Two will be available for pre-load later this week. Original Story: Those who pre-purchased Valve's first person brain twister Portal through Steam, either in the $44.99 ultra compilation The Orange Box or by its separate $19.99 listing, can now begin downloading the game's assets. Commonly referred to as pre-loading, the idea is to let gamers gradually download a game in advance so they only need to download a small enabling file on the day of its release, preventing owners from being held back by slow download speeds and clogged servers.

While buying a physical copy of The Orange Box at a retailer sidesteps the pre-loading process, retail consumers will still need to go through the same Steam-based activation process in order to play the included games. With The Orange Box gone gold and confirmed to release on October 10--that's next Wednesday--for PC and Xbox 360, the pre-load for Half-Life 2: Episode Two is expected to begin shortly.

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8 Threads | 20 Comments

#1

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By: zerog83 x Show Full Post

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I can feel the excitement building already... Been waiting a long time for this! Considering the quality of each Valve release, I'm less inclined to bitch and moan about 18 - 24 month development cycles.

Oct 02, 2007 9:54am PDT

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I can feel the excitement building already... Been waiting a long time for this! Considering the quality ... : zerog83
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 2 replies.
- i hear ya, i cant wait either, woo hoo, for the first time ever im more excited about a valve game than a... : techx4

#16

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By: Waverider x Show Full Post

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So is the Orange Box the best way to go value-wise? Is there pretty much no chance of the Black Box coming out?

It occured to me that by giving away HL2 and Ep1 to others, Valve is forcing those that receive the gifts to purchase the Orange Box and give their copies of HL2 and Ep1 away, thereby perpetuating sales. An interesting tactic; almost viral marketing, but definitely a unique method of customer acquisition. I wonder what the purchase rates on Orange Box have been like for people who have been gifted HL2 and Ep1?

Oct 02, 2007 5:37pm PDT

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So is the Orange Box the best way to go value-wise? Is there pretty much no chance of the Black Box comi... : Waverider
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 2 replies.
- Black box isn't coming. Orange box is your best bet, and I hear it's on sale next week at circuit city fo... : DM7

#17

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By: Waverider x Show Full Post

Reply

So is the Orange Box the best way to go value-wise? Is there pretty much no chance of the Black Box coming out?

It occured to me that by giving away HL2 and Ep1 to others, Valve is forcing those that receive the gifts to purchase the Orange Box and give their copies of HL2 and Ep1 away, thereby perpetuating sales. An interesting tactic; almost viral marketing, but definitely a unique method of customer acquisition. I wonder what the purchase rates on Orange Box have been like for people who have been gifted HL2 and Ep1?

Oct 02, 2007 5:38pm PDT

toggle
So is the Orange Box the best way to go value-wise? Is there pretty much no chance of the Black Box comi... : Waverider
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 2 replies.
- Black box isn't coming. Orange box is your best bet, and I hear it's on sale next week at circuit city fo... : jonin

#3

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By: ahk-med x Show Full Post

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I know you won't get the "beta" access to TF2, but Circuit City has Orange Box and ET:Quake Wars for $37.99 next week:

http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?sduid=194643&t=620876

Oct 02, 2007 9:56am PDT

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I know you won't get the "beta" access to TF2, but Circuit City has Orange Box and ET:Quake Wars for $37.... : ahk-med
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 5 replies.
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  nice deal : jonin
  - toggle
    that's actually a crazy awesome deal. : pixelat3d
    - toggle
      Wow, I could just write off my $5 preorder at GameStop and still come out ahead : Schnapple
      
      No need to - they will return the 5 bucks anyway : malus72

#8

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By: titanium x Show Full Post

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If you want to check out a "Portal" type game in the meantime, check out Narbacular Drop (http://www.nuclearmonkeysoftware.com/). It is the project the developers of Portal worked on before getting hired by Valve.

Oct 02, 2007 10:23am PDT

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If you want to check out a "Portal" type game in the meantime, check out Narbacular Drop (http://www.nucl... : titanium
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 2 replies.
- yep, that one was fun to play i remember : humbleone

#13

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By: humbleone x Show Full Post

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The possibilities with Portal tech centered around mp should make for some excellent mods.

Oct 02, 2007 3:01pm PDT

The possibilities with Portal tech centered around mp should make for some excellent mods. : humbleone

#4

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By: Visceral Monkey x Show Full Post

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Does portal have multiplayer?

Oct 02, 2007 10:11am PDT

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Does portal have multiplayer? : Visceral Monkey
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 3 replies.
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  singleplayer only I believe. Be fuin to have multiplayer tho....mabey they will add it in later like the... : austere01
  - Multiplayer Portal would be excellent. I'd put one portal next to the other player's mouth and the corres... : nudel

#2

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By: niceguynick x Show Full Post

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Nice one, I guess I'll get it out of the way now eh?

Looking forward to this unique type of gameplay

Oct 02, 2007 9:55am PDT

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Nice one, I guess I'll get it out of the way now eh? Looking forward to this unique type of gameplay : niceguynick
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 3 replies.
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  Pre-loading done, yay! Now let me at it and call it pre-gold stress test or something! : Fjornsvavne
  - oops its gold already though. : barichnikov

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