And Quit Being a Bunch of Ungrateful People

• Left 4 Dead 2 is the result of the original L4D team wanting to create more and greater content. The fact that they turned it out so quickly is only a result of their dedication to the project, not out of half-assed money grabbing. As a side note, if you played through L4D's commentary, you would know that The Director makes it much quicker and easier to make new levels, as it takes a large portion of the placework out of the equation.
• Just because we're getting Left 4 Dead 2 doesn't mean Left 4 Dead is going to suffer the XBOX/360 conversion situation; it's not just going to come to a crashing halt for something new and shiny. There's still going to be new content added to the original Left 4 Dead. While I understand there's still a fear of "splitting the player base" (not that I've ever had a problem finding PUG's), that's like bitching that Halo 3 was going to split the Halo 2 user base. You're just being childish at that point, honestly.
• Xbox is a problem. There is no way around it. Left 4 Dead is a huge presence on the 360 and Microsoft has a bunch of weird rules set in place to keep the regular kinds of content Valve wants to push onto the platform. Just look at Team Fortress 2. It hasn't seen any of the class updates at all. Hell the Pyro still doesn't even have a compression blast to his flamethrower. There's also the problem of people not having hard drives and not being able to receive the content due to various problems, none the least of which are M'soft's restrictions and practices. Valve is trying to find solutions, but it's not always so easy.
• And on a personal note from me: has Valve ever put out a bad game? I mean really put out a bad game? I think at this point they've earned enough "brownie points" with the years of absolutely top-notch, high-quality products and services. Is the benefit of the doubt to much to ask?

And Quit Being a Bunch of Ungrateful People

• Left 4 Dead 2 is the result of the original L4D team wanting to create more and greater content. The fact that they turned it out so quickly is only a result of their dedication to the project, not out of half-assed money grabbing. As a side note, if you played through L4D's commentary, you would know that The Director makes it much quicker and easier to make new levels, as it takes a large portion of the placework out of the equation.
• Just because we're getting Left 4 Dead 2 doesn't mean Left 4 Dead is going to suffer the XBOX/360 conversion situation; it's not just going to come to a crashing halt for something new and shiny. There's still going to be new content added to the original Left 4 Dead. While I understand there's still a fear of "splitting the player base" (not that I've ever had a problem finding PUG's), that's like bitching that Halo 3 was going to split the Halo 2 user base. You're just being childish at that point, honestly.
• Xbox is a problem. There is no way around it. Left 4 Dead is a huge presence on the 360 and Microsoft has a bunch of weird rules set in place to keep the regular kinds of content Valve wants to push onto the platform. Just look at Team Fortress 2. It hasn't seen any of the class updates at all. Hell the Pyro still doesn't even have a compression blast to his flamethrower. There's also the problem of people not having hard drives and not being able to receive the content due to various problems, none the least of which are M'soft's restrictions and practices. Valve is trying to find solutions, but it's not always so easy.
• And on a personal note from me: has Valve ever put out a bad game? I mean really put out a bad game? I think at this point they've earned enough "brownie points" with the years of absolutely top-notch, high-quality products and services. Is the benefit of the doubt to much to ask?

Agreed.

I really hope people will listen to him.

So essentially because a company has been great to the consumer for so long...it's alright to fuck that same consumer in the ass once in a while because they have "brownie points"?

Neither of them really addressed the main concerns of the people pissed at L4D2 and that is, "WHY can't this content be released for L4D2 as an update (free or not free, it doesn't really matter)?" If you read the interview Newell dances around this issue and presents the straw man argument that they're still supporting L4D, blah blah blah. Sorry, you didn't answer the FUCKING question Gabe.

I don't want to make this post long because I know where I stand on the issue alongside 25,000 others (feasibly many more).

Am I upset over a new awesome game coming out? Nope not at all.

What am I upset over? I'm upset that this content is being released in a second separate fully priced package which will conceivably split the community down the middle (Was Halo 3 released a year after Halo 2? No. Was Halo 3 developed on the same engine as Halo 2? No. Could any of the Halo 3 content have been released for Halo 2 as DLC? No. There is no comparison between these two incidences so the Halo point is moot) when the content could be released as an expansion for a game (and priced as such) which was sparse as far as content is concerned and for which content was PROMISED (free, but I'll let that pass).

i think the reason they made a new game was they got carried away with making stuff and quickly had the amount of data for a new game, i dont know about you but i dont really want to download a 4 gb+  file of what l4d2 is going to be.

So. Okay. Do you boycott Madden games? Those come out ever year, and have for over a decade now. People seem to love those just fine. The people who are really into that series dig all the little this's and that's, and the occasional leap and bound. Guitar Hero's do it, Rock Band does it. It's not just Valve. God forbid that they make ONE franchise something that's supposed to be their cash cow, and suddenly THE SKY IS FALLING!

Valve is out to shove giant red hot cacti up all of our asses and get the last laugh all the way to the bank! Certainly they've NEVER listened to the people, nope not Valve. They're just a bunch of money grubbing whores.

That's what you are saying. Listen to yourself. That is EXACTLY what is coming out. IF you truly truly believe that, if in your cold, lonely little existance, that is honestly your thought process, than my hopes and prayers go out to you because you are just in for a world of dissapointment in this life, always expecting freebies.

Personally I don't think it's asking much that we pay for content. Only wanting free shit makes you a whiny little brat. Of course it's nice, I love free shit too, but if a developer is going to make something and ask me to shed some dough... It's sort of the capitalist thing to do, to say yes.

Also, I should have made this more clear, thank you KidNixon... Free content IS possible, but generally you don't get a grandiose amount of it AND you can't get achievements. Who doesn't love the points? Also, Criterion is only given us a few free car and bike packs. Then they start asking for money for the super special cars, and you think Big Surf Isle's coming free? You're fucking looney. Does this mean we boycott the new Need for Speed game because they're charged us money for big Surf Isle? Swing and a miss, but at least you're thinking. I can appreciate that.

what concerns me isn't so much the whole idea of "splitting the player base."  i'm more worried that 8 months ago, i bought L4D, and in 4 months, it's going to be essentially a glorified expansion pack for a game that i haven't bought yet.  i like the fact that valve is actually putting out 2 games within 4 years of each other, but if you're going to neglect one of those games content-wise, i'd prefer it if you left that second game for another few months or so and maybe slipped in a few more stages for the first game, or some sort of DLC in that vein (new characters, weapons, zombies, modes, whatever floats your boat).

How is it neglecting the game content wise? 5 brand new levels, a bunch of new weapons, a whole bunch of new modes, more story... What is the problem here? That's more than what the original game offered, and you had no problem plunking down 50/60 bucks then. What's changed? If you're not ready for a new L4D, fine, then just don't buy it. I don't understand why there has to be this frothing outrage against Valve, saying that they all want to Slap Chop our testicles for their own amusement by putting out a new game.

Very interesting. I still want the old campaigns and characters for said campaigns in l4d2.

Whats wrong with just adding new content through updates? adding new characters, updating the ai director, new maps, etc., isn't that all possible to do through just updating?

Criterion was able to add a lot of stuff to Burnout Paradise through updates, granted they are different games. their patches go way deeper than just adding cars and bikes with stuff like tweaking the physics, tweaking the events. Who knows if that restart function was built onto the disk or not, but they were able to add that after all the complaints.

I'm just going to say this. Modern Warfare 1 came out. A year later so did another Call of Duty. Now we're getting Modern Warfare 2. It's all the same engine. It could have been DLC by the very same arguments that L4D2 could be more DLC. All of it could have been. Same engine, maybe some tweaks, few new guns, and a new story. By your logic this is the situation. So where are the pitchforks? Where are the torches? Where are the Slap Chops? (what the fuck is it with me and the Slap Chop?)

*Deep breath*

The game's going to come out in November. It's gonna sell millions of copies, and I will be able to rest easy to know that not only was I right, but the game is a blast and me and millions of other people are going to enjoy it. You vocal minority with your bitching and your worthless little rally's don't mean anything. Deep breath. Deep breath.

You guys... I dont' know why I let the internet get to me so much. And I'll say it, I appologize if anybody took my rants and mudslinging personally, that's not my intention. I just want to bring civility and logic to the internet, and that's the one place it clearly has no home. I'm sorry, I really am. But it's just not worth this stress from all the crazy. I keep thinking you guys are going to make more of an impact than you are, but you know what? I was wrong. Valve will be laughing all the way to the bank. And I'll be laughing all the way to my computer. And you'll all be red faced in the middle (those of you who don't turncoat and buy it day one, anyway. Though I would only respect you more for doing so). I can't wait to play that game. Take care, folks.

I have faith in Valve, I think more people should as well.

Yeah, it may be half-assed, but everyone is making such a huge deal out of it... Just don't buy it, no need to continually whine about it...

I still don't know why people are angry about this game.

The issue people have is that the content in Left 4 Dead was fairly minimal - and this new content should have been added to it to make it a complete product - which it clearly could be, considering how similar it is to the original. If they could make these changes in 1 year there obviously isnt anything too substantial. At the moment it seems like Valve is asking me to pay full retail price for something that looks and sounds very much like an expansion pack.

Even the first game wasn't full price, this probably won't be either, so you can label it an expansion pack if you want.

I'd buy it

I was never against L4D2, but I don't see how this post would change my opinion much.

I think they are releasing it a bit too soon is all, I have barely played L4D.

I think this all could have been avoided if Valve put the release date for L4D2 to come out Spring 2010.
I mean, even if we got no new content at all for the first one, at least people couldn't argue that it is coming out "too soon."

IMO it was a stupid move for Valve, but the game will probably be delayed anyways.

Gabe Newell is the one biggest douches of the video game industry and I will not buy/play any of Valves Games anymore. He hates everything Microsoft, Apple, Windows, Mac, Sony, PS3, 360....it looks like that the only thing he likes are doughnut (yup I went there). I am just so sick of his bullshit. With every interview he does I just hate him more and more. 

Shut it Doug. You jipped all L4D owners. Let Valve feel it by you the consumer boycotting L4D2. BOYCOTT!!

Left 4 Dead has actually received updates quicker then TF2 and as they've promised there still going to release more I can't see hw people can say they're not supporting the game because they really are.

Also L4D2 doesn't split the user base, no new game does. When a company releases a new game in a series they aren't splitting the user base they're just creating a new one. Paid DLC maps or weapons on the other hand are an examples of something that do split the user base as some people playing the game have things that others don't and so therefore can't play with those people in the same game. L4D2 in no way impedes your experience of L4D as the game hasn't changed. This also explains why they're hesitant over releasing content through the 360 because if they give some user things that others haven't got then they would be splitting their audience.

I'm actually excited for this game.

I still have plans to buy this, I really like the new melee mechanics, and I like the setting. As for the Daytime problem, I see nothing wrong with it. People love to complain, it's a fact. I think this game looks pretty good, even if it's a little unlike Valve. And while I prefer episodic gaming to a full price sequel, I'm not going to complain.

To everyone who keeps complaining and is planning on boycotting this you're fucking retarded.  For starters, I doubt your boycott will work.  You'll just wait a few more days to buy it after all of your friends get it.  Secondly, let's assume your boycott is successful, I wouldn't be surprised if Valve just drops the entire series.  And finally, Valve has already said that L4D2 is going to experience updates similar to TF2, they update that game plenty.  I hope no one bitches when Valve doesn't release L4D3 in like ten years because that's the message you assholes are sending.

I love how all of these boycotters are trying to tell Gabe how Valve should be run.  The majority of these idio...people would run a business into the ground if they had one to run.

L4D2 looks to be a great game...Stop whinning about stupid things such as splitting up communities and crap.  Most online multiplayer game communities don't even come close to lasting a year in the first place.  You all will be eating crow after this game is released.

You're forgetting the part about L4D2 looking more or less exactly like L4D1 with different levels.  If you can put the sequel out before the prequel and most likely no one would say anything, there's a problem.
That also, and the fact that L4D1 was, and is, hugely lacking in content for a full priced game.

Linkyshinks is: sickened by the reactions of some supposed Valve fans.

I'm really looking forward to the game, and new content which will arrive on both games in the future.

Valve<3

Gabe knows whats up. In valve we trust...

Price it $29.99 then everyone will be happy.