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Half Life 2: Valve and Vivendi in legal battle

leeroybrown · 2004-09-21 10:59:24

It appears that Valve (Half Life 2's developers) and Vivendi (the licenced distributor) are engaged in a legal battle regarding copyright and distribution rights. Valve claims that Vivendi had no right to sell cyber-café distributions without it's permissions and Vivendi is countersue'ing on the basis that Steam is…

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21-09-2004 11:59am

#1

leeroybrown

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It appears that Valve (Half Life 2's developers) and Vivendi (the licenced distributor) are engaged in a legal battle regarding copyright and distribution rights. Valve claims that Vivendi had no right to sell cyber-café distributions without it's permissions and Vivendi is countersue'ing on the basis that Steam is breaching their distribution agreement. For more information:

http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=18598
http://www.gamespot.com/news/2004/09/20/news_6107712.html

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#2 21-09-2004 12:02pm
super_furry

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There is no Half-Life 2. It's all just a great big practical joke.

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#3 21-09-2004 12:02pm
Gizzard

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leeroybrown wrote:

It appears that Valve (Half Life 2's developers) and Vivendi (the licenced distributor) are engaged in a legal battle regarding copyright and distribution rights. Valve claims that Vivendi had no right to sell cyber-café distributions without it's permissions and Vivendi is countersue'ing on the basis that Steam is breaching their distribution agreement. For more information:

http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=18598
http://www.gamespot.com/news/2004/09/20/news_6107712.html

oh for god sake, they have only been working on steam for years!, hope this is not another excuse to delay release

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#4 21-09-2004 12:02pm
RE*AC*TOR

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and you know who'll lose.... Joe Public.

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#5 21-09-2004 12:07pm
Gizzard

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wel HL2 full has poped up on the warez radar, but Im resisting the urge to download it, I want to buy it, but for god sake how long do they have to draw it out.

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#6 21-09-2004 12:47pm
amp

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My take on this is that Valve want to be free of Vivendi and that they have probably deliberately delayed production and developed an alternate delivery method (Steam) to piss Vivendi off so as to either be free of them or to get better contract terms. They have allegedly done this before.

This troubles me as I agree that Valve would probably be better off without Vivendi but I want to play Half Life 2 sometime this decade.

Looking at the court time table, the trial is scheduled for March next year. If Vivendi succeeds in getting an injunction to stop delivery via Steam this could mean that HL2 will miss this years Xmas market. It'd still sell bucketloads in March but probably not as much as it would during the festive season.

Hopefully they'll sort something out of court as it's in their own best interests to get HL2 out the door before the end of the year.

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#7 21-09-2004 12:53pm
[CrimsonGhost]

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HAHAHAHAHA
They should just rename the project Duke Nukem: Forever and ever!

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#8 21-09-2004 1:13pm
DeVore

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They'll lose a fortune, not only because it'll miss the xmas sales but because the warez monkeys will flood the market with it and people will warez it.

At this stage if its delayed I dont think people will stay loyal to them, it is, after all, just a game. I also have a terrible feeling that it couldnt possibly live up to the fevour-pitch hype now...

DeV.

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#9 21-09-2004 1:23pm
leeroybrown

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I think the beancounters will have to sit down and realise that releasing the game soon makes more financial sense than procrastinating eternally.

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#10 21-09-2004 2:27pm
Deadwing

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This Just In: Hl2 Source Code Stolen By 'one Armed Man'.

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#11 21-09-2004 3:41pm
mr_angry

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Sierra / VU definitely have the rights to produce and distribute the boxed version of the game anyway. The chances are that they'll release that version as soon as its ready, unless the release candidate isn't good enough and Valve decide to p*ss them off by holding out on another one.

However, the liklihood that it will be available via Steam at the same time is diminishing fast, and that means us EU-nationals will probably have to wait another week after the Yanks to get our hands on it.

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#12 21-09-2004 3:50pm
RuggieBear

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mr_angry wrote:

However, the liklihood that it will be available via Steam at the same time is diminishing fast, and that means us EU-nationals will probably have to wait another week after the Yanks to get our hands on it.

...a week of DOOM3esque warez party. :eek:

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#13 21-09-2004 4:10pm
Scruff

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well theinq is also reporting that vivendi are after buying 35 radeon 9800pro's to start testing hl2. http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=18584
didnt know they had an irish base. anyone know someone on the inside who can give us an update on the slyy?...hmmm?

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#14 21-09-2004 4:36pm
glimmerman

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I think VU have offices in Eastpoint business park? Wonder if the testing is done there...??

Also, CombatCow has been hinting pretty severely that he knows something more than the rest of us mere mortals about HL2.... perhaps he works for vivendi...?
http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=182074&page=3&pp=20

come on, spillit CC

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#15 21-09-2004 4:50pm
chabsey

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The testing for HL1 was done there. I played it quite a while before it was released. They mainly do the testing for the international language versions of games in the Dublin branch.

HL1 was unusual back then cause you weren't allowed take a copy to test offsite, most other games were let off site no problem. Obviously HL2 will have the same if not more restrictions on how it's tested. Which, if Valve 'security' is imposed will mean there'll be a security guard making sure everyone that leaves the building is provided with an un-copy-protected version of the game with complete manual, full game script ,a HL2 promotional mug, and instructions on how to setup Emule, Kazaa and Bittorrent on your home pc.

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#16 21-09-2004 5:02pm
glimmerman

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Chabsey, can you remember how long it took to test HL1? Many reports are saying HL1 took just 2 days to test, but that sounds a bit.... unlikely... to me.

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#17 21-09-2004 6:14pm
chabsey

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glimmerman wrote:

Chabsey, can you remember how long it took to test HL1? Many reports are saying HL1 took just 2 days to test, but that sounds a bit.... unlikely... to me.

Can't say for 100% cause it was a long time ago, but my memory was of seeing them testing it over the course of weeks rather than days. Again, the version I played was in English but the foreign lang versions might take longer to test, although don't see why really.

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#18 21-09-2004 8:09pm
projectmayhem

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it wouldn't be HL without another snag. it's great. things were looking up an awful lot, now this. hoorah.

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#19 21-09-2004 10:28pm
BLITZ_Molloy

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I'm surprised that Valve didn't manage to set up a good deal. There must have been publishers begging to publish the game. It's a sure fire seller for five years to come. alve could have set whatever terms they wanted.

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#20 22-09-2004 9:39am
[CrimsonGhost]

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Scruff wrote:

well theinq is also reporting that vivendi are after buying 35 radeon 9800pro's to start testing hl2. http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=18584
didnt know they had an irish base. anyone know someone on the inside who can give us an update on the slyy?...hmmm?

Well, from what the SINGLE official irish tester has seen of it, it is pretty much production ready. And should have been out by the end of october apparently. Legal battles may delay it. I can just see an injunction happening against either company releasing the game in any form. If that happens we could be waiting another 2 years.

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#21 22-09-2004 9:49am
glimmerman

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I can't see either company delaying release tbh. Vivendi is hurting too much financially to delay this, and Valve can't afford to lose retail sales.

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#22 22-09-2004 10:57am
[CrimsonGhost]

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glimmerman wrote:

I can't see either company delaying release tbh. Vivendi is hurting too much financially to delay this, and Valve can't afford to lose retail sales.

The sales will be there regardless. And valve will have massive revenue from sale of the engine too.

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#23 23-09-2004 2:22pm
mewso

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It seems PCG are promising a review next issue - http://forum.pcgamer.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=51308

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#24 23-09-2004 3:18pm
RuggieBear

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musician wrote:

It seems PCG are promising a review next issue - http://forum.pcgamer.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=51308

Groovy!!!! it'll be out soonish then

Altho
They must have signed over all dignity and journalistic integrity to get that exclusive...it will get 96% no matter how good/bad it is....

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#25 23-09-2004 6:52pm
mewso

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Aye sure PCZ have made it a fine art so PCG might as well do the same.

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#26 23-09-2004 7:00pm
RuggieBear

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musician wrote:

Aye sure PCZ have made it a fine art so PCG might as well do the same.

Yeah...tis a pity but i don't really trust any scores now from any of the magazines....like the content of their reviews tho....

Anyway, i can't see this legal battle delaying the game much....once there is some version out there, VU will want to be quick or there will be pirated copies everywhere....

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#27 23-09-2004 8:46pm
The Real B-man

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super_furry wrote:

There is no Half-Life 2. It's all just a great big practical joke.

im begging to think so

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#28 23-09-2004 8:58pm
mewso

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and Duke Nukem 4Ever is in stores tomorrow.

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#29 23-09-2004 10:44pm
SantaHoe

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DeVore wrote:

They'll lose a fortune, not only because it'll miss the xmas sales but because the warez monkeys will flood the market with it and people will warez it.

Tbh I can't see it being as badly hit as DOOM3 was, in the case of HL/2 and its massive online following, I'd say most of the same people will want official CD-Keys to play online with.

I wish they'd just put an end to this crap and release it now... surely the PC gaming public is well used to bug-riddled games and the need for patching up before you can even load the game properly. :mad:

I didn't even read that press release, I'm sick of hearing about HL2 and release dates... the only thing I'll read about HL2 are the first few posts on boards.ie from people saying they just bought it a few hours ago and can hardly tear themselves away from it.

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