Orange Box PC to be Split into Separate SKUs

During yesterday's third quarter conference call, EA CFO Warren Jenson mentioned that the PC version of Valve's value-packed Orange Box would be unbundled and released at retail as separate titles.

The Orange Box, which includes Team Fortress 2, Portal, and Half Life: Episode Two, is currently only available on retail shelves in bundled form for the PC and console alike. The games were available on Valve's digital distribution platform Steam from day one. The plan comes as part of EA's strategy for the current fiscal quarter.

Distributor EA is quite pleased with the Orange Box's performance, noting in the conference call that the title "exceeded expectations." The move to break up the Orange Box may be a result of the difficulties marketing a bundle that contains three radically different games featuring unique themes, graphical styles and gameplay schemes.

No mention of pricing for the individual games was mentioned during the conference call, but the retail versions will likely be made available at prices comparable to Steam: Portal at $19.95, and Team Fortress 2 and Half Life: Episode Two for $29.95 each.