It just seems that valve catches a lot of unnecessary shit for the things they do especially from their "fans." Personally I think Valves a great company who seem to take pride in their work and I don't understand why people seem to take issue with them as if Valve has personally offended b/c they weren't given everything they wanted or feel betrayed by something. In conclusion: Fuck the Haters!
Examples of Stupidity
1. Left 4 Dead 2 boycott
2. Bitching about the Potato Sack and subsequent non-release of Portal 2 early
3. Complaints of there being completely optional DLC in Portal 2
4.

People will complain about literally everything.

"There's a Steam sale today!!"
"THOSE DUMB MOTHERFUCKERS, WHY DIDN'T THEY TELL ME 4 YEARS AGO WHEN I BOUGHT THE DAMN GAME. FUCK IT, IM NEVER BUYING ANOTHER GAME FROM STEAM AGAIN AAAAAAAAAAAAARGH"

If haters hate then let em hate and watch the money pile up.

well portal 2 was released in the UK early so no complaints from me

people are stupid, so yeah. that.

I'm guessing that you hit the enter button early, but I'm going to pretend that #4 is a fill in the blank answer. Here's my answer:

There was even hate when they gave Portal away for free a while back.  People are assholes.

Yup^^^

i don't really know why people hate on valve either. yeah, left 4 dead 2 was kind of a surprise but it's a good game. valve did release DLC for free for pc gamers. i hope that they release more DLC for it. i was thinking of more of the original people in the game.

" There was even hate when they gave Portal away for free a while back.  People are assholes. "

"( I know metacritic is a cesspit of human scum and trolls but non the less) "

Getting upset over cosmetic DLC is really weird to me.

I laugh at any and all valve hate. Until they start producing shit games and stop giving such amazing deals and support for steam then maybe I can get the hate. Right now I dont get why people hate on the stores in TF2 and Portal, they only offer shit that has little effect to the game, it is just there for people who are willing to spend money. So if you arent spending, then dont be bitching. 

" @Video_Game_King: It was when they released Steam for the MAC. There were a few days after where it was free. "

" Yup^^^

I think that the only hate that comes Valve's way is from people who don't really play games. I think the L4D2 boycott was kind of a joke because they all bought it anyway, and yes, metacritic is crap. Basically everything you listed, and this isn't a dis on you, is whiny kids complaining. Here's what it comes down to. People will hate on everything as long as there is something to hate. Which there will be. 

So, in retrospect, I leave you with this:

"

No company treats it's customers better than Valve, and no company takes as much unnecessary shit as Valve. Bunch of spoiled, entitled little brats.

I don't know why you think this is just a valve thing, people literally hate everything.

Come on guys, they clearly need to funds to make Episode 3.

" 2. Bitching about the Potato Sack and subsequent non-release of Portal 2 early "

Just goes to show that even internet darlings are not immune to internet rage. 

Lots of people think that they're entitled to everything. People were mad because the early release of Portal 2 wasn't early enough. 

" Lots of people think that they're entitled to everything. People were mad because the early release of Portal 2 wasn't early enough. 

"

 It's the internet, if you're not raging indignantly with your bizarre entitlement issues you're not doing it right. Also, on the internet, we don't like it when games or companies enjoy success, if they enjoy success it is our sworn duty to cut them down. Welcome to the internet, it's uh...great?

" @TheVeteran13 said:

" 2. Bitching about the Potato Sack and subsequent non-release of Portal 2 early "

This was entirely deserved and a retarded move on the part of Valve. Not all marketing is a good idea, by the way. "

People like the bitching that´s all they either entitled assholes who still live in their moma´s but talk like if they were freaking business/software genius or they slackers loosers who can´t afford games.

i'm going to explain this hate a bit.
1. portal 2 isn't really worth the $50 asking price, 10 hours tops of both single and co-op play.
2. the DLC i hated valve ever since they started this. making you pay full price for a game and then offering paid dlc.
 i don't care if it doesn't effect the game, its a slippery slope people. this strategy should only be used on FTP games, not paid ones(im looking at valve and blizzard here)
3. portal 2 is well done, a great story, perfect voice acting and narrative. but far to short and not in the least challenging.
4. the whole potato sack thing, i watched my roommate go through tater hysteria over this. so for people who enjoyed it i guess. but you have to see that it was a money grab.
plus while the whole thing was going on portal 2 was already done and ready to go. now you may say it was good for the indie dev(well it was), but some people probably never really played their games, they were just their for the potato's.

This dlc thing valve is doing is probably going to show up now in every new game they put out, and its probably go to spread to other publishers. and like i said its a slippery slope, right now your buying skins, but soon your going to be buying levels of the game that should have been in the original game.

" @TheVeteran13 said:

" 2. Bitching about the Potato Sack and subsequent non-release of Portal 2 early "

This was entirely deserved and a retarded move on the part of Valve. Not all marketing is a good idea, by the way. "

" i'm going to explain this hate a bit.1. portal 2 isn't really worth the $50 asking price, 10 hours tops of both single and co-op play.2. the DLC i hated valve ever since they started this. making you pay full price for a game and then offering paid dlc. i don't care if it doesn't effect the game, its a slippery sloop people. this strategy should only be used on FTP games, not paid ones(im looking at valve and blizzard here)3. portal 2 is well done, a great story, perfect voice acting and narrative. but far to short and not in the least challenging.4. the whole potato sack thing, i watched my roommate go through tater hysteria over this. so for people who enjoyed it i guess. but you have to see that it was a money grab. plus while the whole thing was going on portal 2 was already done and ready to go. now you may say it was good for the indie dev(well it was), but some people probably never really played their games, they were just their for the potato's.This dlc thing valve is doing is probably going to show up now in every new game they put out, and its probably go to spread to other publishers. and like i said its a slippery sloop, right now your buying skins, but soon your going to be buying levels of the game that should have been in the original game. "

" @Napalm said:

" @TheVeteran13 said:

" 2. Bitching about the Potato Sack and subsequent non-release of Portal 2 early "

This was entirely deserved and a retarded move on the part of Valve. Not all marketing is a good idea, by the way. "

Yeah fuck those guys for releasing a bunch of great indie games super cheap. Fuck them right in the ass for that. And the gall of them to try and promote it by tying it into a bigger game. THOSE FUCKTARDNUTS.

It was brilliant marketing by the way. A ton of people ended up buying portal 2 because of their ARG and most of the people complaining are the "hardcore" internet idiots who buy anything that comes out no matter what so they can complain about it. 

"

This dlc thing valve is doing is probably going to show up now in every new game they put out, and its probably go to spread to other publishers. and like i said its a slippery sloop, right now your buying skins, but soon your going to be buying levels of the game that should have been in the original game. "

I find that modern Pc gamers bitch about almost anything if given half the chance.   I dont see the big problem with the hat store.  its not like valve are charging you for map packs.    The potato sack ARG was a lame though.   Valve deserve some flack for the way they handled that.   

" I find that modern Pc gamers bitch about almost anything if given half the chance.   I dont see the big problem with the hat store.  its not like valve are charging you for map packs.    The potato sack ARG was a lame though.   Valve deserve some flack for the way they handled that.   

The only thing I can see getting remotely pissed off about is the ridiculous amount of day 1 DLC. As far as I know this sort of thing is a first for Valve (aside from TF2) and it goes to show exactly how much EA is rubbing off on them. The only thing that mitigates the existence of  85 fucking dollars worth of DLC is the fact that it's all cosmetic bullshit along with a few animations which any level-headed gamer who knows the value of a dollar should scoff at. Considering all of the good will Valve has garnered, I find it rather puzzling that they would start nickel and diming their customers now. If they don't realize how much gamers hate this, continue to do it and, god forbid, do this for Half-Life Episode 3, the internet will explode.

" @Amilmitt said:

This dlc thing valve is doing is probably going to show up now in every new game they put out, and its probably go to spread to other publishers. and like i said its a slippery sloop, right now your buying skins, but soon your going to be buying levels of the game that should have been in the original game. "

Like why? it doesn´t affect game play if I want a squirrel hat for my Team Fortress toon how is that evil, I get something I like, plus I support the company I like and developers get more money to make better games. I don´t really understand the close minded set up of some people about this..  Seems to me paranoic and frankly remains me of my old ass grumpy grandpa who rants every time the milk price goes up. "

" The only thing I can see getting remotely pissed off about is the ridiculous amount of day 1 DLC. As far as I know this sort of thing is a first for Valve (aside from TF2) and it goes to show exactly how much EA is rubbing off on them. The only thing that mitigates the existence of  85 fucking dollars worth of DLC is the fact that it's all cosmetic bullshit along with a few animations which any level-headed gamer who knows the value of a dollar should scoff at. Considering all of the good will Valve has garnered, I find it rather puzzling that they would start nickel and diming their customers now. If they don't realize how much gamers hate this, continue to do it and, god forbid, do this for Half-Life Episode 3, the internet will explode. "

" The only thing I can see getting remotely pissed off about is the ridiculous amount of day 1 DLC. As far as I know this sort of thing is a first for Valve (aside from TF2) and it goes to show exactly how much EA is rubbing off on them. The only thing that mitigates the existence of  85 fucking dollars worth of DLC is the fact that it's all cosmetic bullshit along with a few animations which any level-headed gamer who knows the value of a dollar should scoff at. Considering all of the good will Valve has garnered, I find it rather puzzling that they would start nickel and diming their customers now. If they don't realize how much gamers hate this, continue to do it and, god forbid, do this for Half-Life Episode 3, the internet will explode. "

The failure of the ARG to release the game early was not great. It sucked for anyone who paid any attention to it and got any potatoes. At the end of week it doesn't really matter because the game still came out and was still great so its a non issue now.

The paid accessory hate is straight up dumb. The model they are following can be seen in TF2. They charge money for things that are purely cosmetic or can be achieved or randomly dropped in game. You are paying for convenience. With that money they can justify to continue to support a 4 year old fps with free updates, free maps, and cheap sales to keep the player base up. In Portal 2 it looks like it is just a bunch of silly stuff that has zero bearing on anyone's ability to enjoy co-op.

Also Metacritic is dumb and I wouldn't expect anything different from people leaving user reviews on it.

There are too many things I can say about Valve, both positive and negative. They are one of the best developers out there with some quality entertainment from their end and they are acually innovative, on the other hand, they are really hungry for money and... why not? They have to feed themselves right? But at what cost? I think people are not that pissed about valve, they are afraid since they control the biggest online gaming store in the world... And that is scary. You may laugh about this but as uncle Ben always said, "with great power comes great responsability". its obvious that people are going to whine or cheer at whatever Valve does. They are too big and powerfull not to. For my part, I support them. They have offered me great content at a great price and I will continue to give them my money as long as they give me the quality games and service Ive come to expect from them.

Whaaaaa...
Valve is like the most worshiped developer ever.

DLC is optional. Its kinda like a regular edition of a game and the collectors. If you want to fork over an extra 50$ for an action figure an art book and a behind the scenes dvd then please do, if not there's still the regular edition . Another  example would be if your an avid book reader, and there's a series you love you'll fork over that  extra 10$ for the hardcover.It plays on your need to own 100% of the possibility for the product, its psychology. Kinda like if your a stamp collector you don't only want one random WW2 stamp you want them all.  If you love portal enough to buy the dlc then good on you, if you don't then enjoy what you bought.

If you want to talk about dishing out cash, what about all the people building new PC rigs for BF3. I know its not 100% for BF3, but its the main catalyst. That's a 1000$ + per person for one game being the main driver. The thing is people attribute a different amount of worth to different commodities. Some people won't buy a pair of shoes unless it comes with polish and 2 pairs of extra shoelaces.

Also most dlc for games is terrible. Personally am glad they cut out the shitty parts of a game , and sell it to hardcore lovers of the franchise later if they want it.

Another point, if people feel dlc is a rip off they wont buy it, be it day one or not. Money talks, and it seems the money says you're wrong.

They literally forced me to hand my money over for the stupid Potato pack. Why the hell would I want to pay for all of that crap? In case YOU PEOPLE hadn't noticed, those were indie games. Indie, as in non-AAA, you guys. Valve said, and I quote, "Give us your money for these stupid games made by a bunch of nerds in a basement and we promise you can have Portal 2 immediately, a.k.a. the day it SHOULD have been released. Suck our dicks, we're Valve."

" They literally forced me to hand my money over for the stupid Potato pack. Why the hell would I want to pay for all of that crap? In case YOU PEOPLE hadn't noticed, those were indie games. Indie, as in non-AAA, you guys. Valve said, and I quote, "Give us your money for these stupid games made by a bunch of nerds in a basement and we promise you can have Portal 2 immediately, a.k.a. the day it SHOULD have been released. Suck our dicks, we're Valve."

How can I support these bastards who obviously worship the almighty dollar. You make me sick to my fucking stomach, Valve. Trying to make money instead of doing it for the love; disgusting. It's bad enough you allow console kiddies to partake in gaming, and intentionally sabotage the PC version so that your precious cash-cow can be milked by hardware that was out of date years ago. Please go out of business forever and stop RUINING MY LIFE.

"

I think Valve is great.  They put the screws to us sometimes (like the Potato sack and the Mann Co store in TF2) but I admire how they screw us over.  I'ts always genius shit like the Crates in TF2 or the 85 percent off sales on Steam.  They're evil geniuses but often use their powers for good.  That is why I'm okay with Valve.

" @SBYM said:

" They literally forced me to hand my money over for the stupid Potato pack. Why the hell would I want to pay for all of that crap? In case YOU PEOPLE hadn't noticed, those were indie games. Indie, as in non-AAA, you guys. Valve said, and I quote, "Give us your money for these stupid games made by a bunch of nerds in a basement and we promise you can have Portal 2 immediately, a.k.a. the day it SHOULD have been released. Suck our dicks, we're Valve."

How can I support these bastards who obviously worship the almighty dollar. You make me sick to my fucking stomach, Valve. Trying to make money instead of doing it for the love; disgusting. It's bad enough you allow console kiddies to partake in gaming, and intentionally sabotage the PC version so that your precious cash-cow can be milked by hardware that was out of date years ago. Please go out of business forever and stop RUINING MY LIFE.

"

Well thanks a lot! My sarcasm detector just exploded! "

I don't hate them, but when it comes to the Portal 2 store fiasco, I simply I refuse to support any Developer that thinks it is ok to cut/withhold content from a game to nickel and dime it back to the consumer the day it came out. If it was ready for you to sell the day the game launches, then it should have been in the game. I don't care if it's some stupid little emote, or vanity item, the fact that they cut some aspect from the game and are now expecting me to pay even more money to buy it if I want the complete game is wrong, and I refuse to support any Developer that thinks it is ok to treat their customers like that

" @TheVeteran13 said:

" 2. Bitching about the Potato Sack and subsequent non-release of Portal 2 early "

This was entirely deserved and a retarded move on the part of Valve. Not all marketing is a good idea, by the way. "

I can honestly see valid reasons of complaint in all of those things.

" @PrivateIronTFU said:

" @SBYM said:

" They literally forced me to hand my money over for the stupid Potato pack. Why the hell would I want to pay for all of that crap? In case YOU PEOPLE hadn't noticed, those were indie games. Indie, as in non-AAA, you guys. Valve said, and I quote, "Give us your money for these stupid games made by a bunch of nerds in a basement and we promise you can have Portal 2 immediately, a.k.a. the day it SHOULD have been released. Suck our dicks, we're Valve."

How can I support these bastards who obviously worship the almighty dollar. You make me sick to my fucking stomach, Valve. Trying to make money instead of doing it for the love; disgusting. It's bad enough you allow console kiddies to partake in gaming, and intentionally sabotage the PC version so that your precious cash-cow can be milked by hardware that was out of date years ago. Please go out of business forever and stop RUINING MY LIFE.

"

Well thanks a lot! My sarcasm detector just exploded! "

Sarcasm Detector? Oh, yeah, that's a REAL useful invention. "