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XBox (Games)

Half-Life 3 on the XBox 360? 88

Posted by Zonk from the that'd-be-neat dept.
BizidyDizidy writes "According to a slide taken from a spanish XBox 360 presentation, Half-Life 3 will be developed for the new system. Could this be the Halo of the next generation? Combining this with the reported 300 dollar price point and early release date, a rosy picture for XBox seems to emerge. Is a killer-app like HL3 enough to sway you to choose a system?"
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Half-Life 3 on the XBox 360? More

Half-Life 3 on the XBox 360?

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  • HL3 on the XBox 360 only helps if it's exclusive or relatively far in advance of the PC Release of the same game.
    • No, it helps it only if it's far in advance of the Playstation release. the PC gaming market is very different to the console one. The X-Box 360 will not really be competing for those gamers.

      No one who was thinking of buying an X-Box 360 is going to change their and buy a PC 3 or 4 times the price instead. Half life 3 or not. It's a weapon against Sony, not Alienware.
    • Given how long it takes Valve to put out a game, I would say that HL3 will be out for the Xbox-3...whatever that will be called.
  • Being a hardcore HL player for years, as well as a PC only gamer, this would dissapoint me quite a bit if it was not released on the PC as well.

    As long as it comes out for PC, I'm happy.
    • If Valve abandons the PC, the mod community abandons them.

      90% of the playtime in the original halflife was in mods
      • For the sake of us all, I hope they see that.

        I wonder what the Xbox will do for the mod community.
      • But then again, if they figured that console games sell and profit just as much than putting on PC having its life prolonged against mods, would you still make for PC?

        With all the software/hardware compatibility issues that they receive against support and the test they have to go through dozens and dozens of different configured machines...

        People buy game if it works on their hardware, wouldn't pick it, if costs you $500 upgrade on your pc...

        And yes I'm a big fan of PC gamer, only play console games for so
    • given Valve's strong community ties and the fact that HL and its mods are the #1 played multiplayer game on the net, I can't see why they wouldn't develop it for PC. They are where they are today because of the mod community, and that's something that can't be continued on a closed console (at least not as easily).

      As for HL3 on xbox, I'm not sure what to make of that picture. If I'm squinting properly it looks like the entry above Halflife 3 reads Id Quake/Doom, which means what? That quake and doom are
      • As for HL3 on xbox, I'm not sure what to make of that picture. If I'm squinting properly it looks like the entry above Halflife 3 reads Id Quake/Doom, which means what?

        ... And they're in a box which appears to be labelled 'Game Engines'.

        The Half-Life 2 engine is called Source. If this crappy presentation had any real input from Valve, wouldn't the Half-Life 3 engine name be given (e.g. 'Source 2' or whatever)?
      • Word on the street is that they will be using the SOurce engine for HL3. Since a lot of the delat between 1 and 2 was caused by development of the engine, I seriously doubt the same delay can be expected for 3. All they need to do is the content.
        • And... under the Steam system, they've constantly been tweaking and updating the Source engine. It is not the same engine it started out as. So long as Valve don't go on a whole redesign, the engine could be updated (for selective HL3 customers?) via the Steam system reasonably easily...

        • Word on the street is that they will be using the SOurce engine for HL3. Since a lot of the delat between 1 and 2 was caused by development of the engine, I seriously doubt the same delay can be expected for 3. All they need to do is the content

          Valve has stated that Source will be used for HL3, they intentionally built it to be extensible enough to keep it up-to-date with the latest technologies and hardware.

          Still, I'd expect HL3 is still several years off, my guess would be 2-3 years. They will probab

  • ... And Valve would throw away all its modders? [valvesoftware.com]

    It's highly likely that a Half-Life 3 would be ported to at least one console, like with the first two games, but a successful PC game developer chucking away modders, its Steam distribution platform, audience etc.? Hmm...
    • And what's to say they won't release editors on the XB360? One thing that Microsoft has been saying about the console, People will be able to share/sell their maps and content to other xbox live people. Of course, that does require games to come with editors...
      Could be interesting...
      • How are you going to mod on the console? A simple map editor isn't the same as the modding that takes place in PC FPS games, or even the more complex mapping.

        Definately seems to make more sense having a PC and a 360 version, then allowing interoperability for mods between the two versions.

  • HL3 (Score:2)

    by muel ( 132794 )
    Sure, HL3 is reason enough to grab a system........ whenever HL3 comes out, anyway. (2 years? 5 years?)

    I mean, imagine if Super Mario 64 didn't come out for the N64 until a few years into the system's life, and you basically have the same opening launch lineup that the XBox 360 is looking at right now.

    November fast approaches, Microsoft... where's your killer app?
  • No - I wouldn't buy an xbox just for HL3. Don't get me wrong, HL2 was good - but by no means a killer app nor has it the swaying power to make me get a single console over another...
    • Without the graphics HL2 would be just any other FPS game. People bought it to see what their video cards can do. The plot and action isn't all that outrageous.

      Counterstrike was readily available anywhere. HL2 itself just can't provide 300-400 playing hours. HL3 would need its own version of counterstrike.

  • Halo was the killer-app for me for xbox 1. Problem was, at the time, I thought there was enough on the xbox to keep me in gaming bliss for a while. Turns out there wasn't, and then my system started to crap out on me(dvd drive isn't reading right anymore), basically leaving me with not only a few games I can't play elsewhere, but I system I almost wish I hadn't gotten.

    Prior experience with the xbox will shy me away from buying the xbox 360, but even still, at the time, Halo was enough to get me to buy. I
    • You may want to look into modding your XBox so you no longer need to use the crappy crappy crappy XBox DVD drive. As long as you can get the drive to read the game disc once then you don't have to worry about dirty disc errors again. The drive in my XBox has almost completely crapped out now so I primarily load games onto it's HD via the network now.... On the down side XBLive will ban you if they catch you with a modded XBox, but you do get to use XBMC [xboxmediacenter.com] which was one of the reasons I originally bought an XB
  • I'd buy an Xbox360 for HL 3 if a variety of conditions were met, and I doubt they will be:

    1. HL 3 will have to be good (this is probably the easiest condition to meet. Say what you will about Valve, they know how to make a great single player FPS).

    2. XBox 360 will have to support usb keyboards and mice. I'm not going to bother with an undersized, overpriced, semi-functional, half-supported pseudo-keyboard/mouse combo. FPSes simply aren't nearly as enjoyable without this method of control (at least not
    • but wouldn't it be amazing if it DID have mod capability? MS has been showing of its new xbox-live stuff, what makes you think it simply couldn't download an HL3 mod? Perhaps MS and valve would team up to release a free compiler for xbox 360 to be used for mods, and the rest of the mod should work the same from PC to Xbox360. Ok, so maybe its a little far fetched, but hot damn, that would be a reason to buy an xbox. If they can do it with hl3, they could do it with other games, and take a few points awa
      • It would be awesome, but real modding is more than just making a new map. It's access to an SDK which lets you rip up enough source code to actually change a few gameplay mechanics. I just don't see MS allowing people the ability to execute any kind of unsigned code.

        And serious modding would also require a real keyboard and mouse. Those have been promised in the past and they've only been delivered on in relatively minor ways (no sensitivity adjustment, programable keys etc.)
    • All in all, I don't think a game not designed for the console's native control scheme is going to be much of a 'killer app'. After all, it's the mods that made the HL series truely great, and I don't see MS supporting the community...

      Clearly, the game WILL be designed for a console control scheme, if it's going to be made for a console. I'm not sure if you've played a game called Halo, but it's available for both the PC and the xbox, and both control flawlessly. It's not that hard.

      I really am sick an
      • It's not a question of "better," as some people argue-- it's just a question of what you like. I don't like playing FPS games without my trusty keyboard and mouse, so I don't buy FPS games for my xbox. Online DDR and Burnout 3 are all I really play on it, though-- I'm just not finding a lot of games I really want that I can't already get for the PC or the 'cube.

        It's just what he likes. You're allowed to be tired of his argument, but it doesn't make his opinion invalid. You like both. We don't.
  • Is a killer-app like HL3 enough to sway you to choose a system?"

    What use is a game console without any games!?!? (and this is coming from a mac user :P)
  • Wow, that's some hard-hitting journalism there. You're really going out on a limb with this one.
  • The game that made me consider the XBox 360 is Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

    Usually it's single games that affect my decision. I bought an N64 back in the day just to play Zelda64. It was perhaps the only likable game I had for the system, but it was well worth what I paid for it, even if I only used the console for that one game. Next I got a PS2 in order to play the Final Fantasy games, which was mostly what I did with my SNES. I own other PS2 games, but I haven't played them as much or gotten as much e

    • I'd skip Oblivion on the Xbox 360. ES3: Morrowind was released on both the PC and original Xbox, and the PC verion came with modding tools and had a nice community behind it. The Xbox version was hacked to support some (maybe all I don't know) mods if you had a modded Xbox and played the game off the hard drive.

      Reading about all of the features with AI and such in Oblivion I cannot wait to see what cool things the community will bring out. Sure the 360 might support the downloading of some mods over Li

      • The thing to remember with Morrowind is that the Mod community really didn't come into its own until at least a year after the games release, and many months after the two expansions. There were some early mods, but the Morrowind modding community that we know today is only a little over a year old.

        The #1 reason to get Oblivion on the XBox 360 is that it will likely run flawlessly upon release, and there won't really be any mods for it at that point. Maybe a year down the road the PC version's mod communi
        • But then you'd be paying for the game more than once and probably waiting for the expansions just like with the Xbox version of Morrowind. Also Oblivion is supposed to work much better on older hardware than Morrowind. One of the main developers is running it in debug mod on a P4-2.6GHz /w a Radeon 9800Pro. If the game will fun ok on this type of machine on release I don't have any worries about running it.
  • Lord, I hope so. That would be awesome. That's where all those doucebag CS kids need to be anyway, either begging their parents for some expensive-ass kiddie konsole or out looking for work, not on Dad's computer looking at porn and playing Manhunt and San Andreas.

    CounterStrike has the worst community of any FPS. I dare you, try to play CS:S for 5 minutes without someone insulting you ethnicity or your sexuality. It happens to me every time I get a kill. Just look at all the New Games Journalism pieces t
    • I really hope this was parody. The language is no better than that of the obnoxious kids you meet on Counterstrike.

      It is always your option to find a properly moderated server that suits your needs. I find them all the time without looking that hard. I certainly don't see anything in CS that "corrupts our children" since the game encourages teamwork and planning.

      Besides this, I don't see what this has to do with Half-life 3, which would presumably be primarily a one-player experience like the previous tw

    • Valve would be doing a service to the entire online gaming community, and for the children of America, if they went to Xbox 360 exclusively (an AMERICAN made console BTW).

      Ummm... American Made?

      The ATI GPU is being manufactured by TSMC is Taiwan. The hard drive is being manufactured by Seagate in Singapore. The memory is being manufactured by NEC in Japan. The DVD drive is manufactured by Toshiba in Japan. The connectors are being built by FoxLink & Ji-Haw in Taiwan. The final assembly is being done

      • Actually they use Western Digital Hard drives made in Thailand. And DVD-ROM drives from Korea.

        Seagate from Singapore is probably just way too spendy.

        Also don't forget the assembly and packaging in Mexico or China! mmmm hmmm made in America!
  • Hmm, maybe the Spanish translators had issues and its actually just Halo 3 being developed for the XBOX360....
  • Since when has a Half Life ever even been an exclusive among consoles? HL1 was released on DreamCast, PS2 AND XBox. There is absolutely nothing even hinting at that Valve wants to make this an XBox exclusive. It's simply the case of the first man spilling the beans, most likely too early (it's in Spanish, right? Then most likely they don't have the best ties with Valve (you know, 'cause they speak English and all) and therefore could easily have slipped up when they were supposed to make it secret).
  • I would buy a 360 just for Half Life 3(that's after the game is reviewed). The thing though is that I will already have a 360 just for PGR3 and Gears of War. I don't game on my computer. I do everything but game on it. Though playing GBA games doesn't count.:dodgy:
  • "Is a killer-app like HL3 enough to sway you to choose a system?"

    Not if I can't use a mouse and WASD!
    • Yeah, because jamming your fingers together on a keyboard and trying to hit the keys on a large field of identical keys is a much better gaming experience than playing on something designed expressly for playing games.

      While the mouse makes a lot of sense for aiming, using the keyboard is makeshift and very far from ideal. I actually bought another controller to use for PC FPS games - a Microsoft Strategic Commander - because a keyboard is SO INCREDIBLY FAR from a good controller for such games.
      • Wait, all the keys on your keyboard are the same? That *would* suck. Fortunately, mine has little raised bumps to let you feel where you are, and the shift/ctrl/alt/space/tab keys I use are shaped differently.

        Plus, it doesn't hurt that I get free keyboard training every day at work. I'd probably be better with a console controller if I used them all day at work, too.
      • Jamming my fingers together on a keyboard and trying to hit keys? You must have either a) very large fingers, or b) a very small keyboard. My fingers naturally fall on ASDF with my thumb perfectly resting on the space bar. There is no cramming, and this is the natural at rest position of my hand. I think having 5 fingers perform 7 functions with the keyboard and 3 fingers performing 4 with the mouse is much more natural than 2 thumbs and 2 index fingers doing all the same stuff. Each finger has to do t
        • It's also funny you mentioned the Strategic Commander for FPS games, since it was designed for strategy games and wouldn't work very well at all (from the reviews I read) for FPS gaming... they do have the Dual Strike for FPS games, but although it is an interesting take on aiming, I'm not sure how well it would work. The reviews I read of the strategic commander also said the buttons were too close together, and he felt he had to jam his fingers to hit them.

          I doubt anyone reviewing the SC for FPS games gav
  • Valve is not stupid enough to abandon Steam. Steam is their vision and plan for the future, without HL3 they would lose a lot of money. Obviously Valve is very close to MS with Gabe Newell being a former employee and all, so perhaps we'll something like HL3 being exclusive to the Xbox360, among the consoles only.
  • This simply won't happen. It would take Valve YEARS to develop a sequel to HL2. It is taking them well over a year to develop Lost Coast. Moreover, still under development is TFC2 and CS2. More likely is that HL2 will be ported to the 360 rather than the XBox so that no loss of quality (other than controls) is necessary (see Doom3 for example of quality loss). Unless the XBox 360 will be able to run Steam I highly doubt HL3 will be released for it anytime near the PC release.
  • My answer is no. I waited till November of 2004 to get my first X-Box. I was able to buy it new for $180 and got four games and a racing wheel from a Toys'R'Us sale. I'll wait a few years until a deal like that comes around for the 360.
  • Is a killer app like HL3 enough to drive me to buy an XBOX 360?

    No. Half Life has never been a killer app. HL2 is not either. They are both incredible games. Great stories. But I would never make a hardware purchase based on them alone.

    A series of killer apps or really good games is what it would take me to buy any console. I did not buy a PS2 until recently. It now has a very solid base of very good games. I did not buy it because of any one game.

    Yes, I too can not see the logic in an exclusive deal for any
  • Enough of this price point jargon. Just say PRICE you richard craniums.
  • It'll come down to just how much money Microsoft is willing to dangle in front of Valve up-front for exclusivity (or at least semi-exclusivity).

    Valve, of all companies, knows what a huge sales driver the mod / aftermarket community is. Just look at the record sales of Halflife 1 Game of the Year, Counterstrike, Opposing Force, Day of Defeat, etc. Packs, which basically involved NO development cost on Valve's part. These packs were either retail packaging of community created mods (Counterstrike, Day of De
  • The list with HL3 on is a list of engines not a list of games... for example it also includes Crytek...not Far Cry
  • The PS3 and 360 are both going to be FPS/sports/big-name developer/licensed content consoles. They are just too expensive and lengthy to develop for. Only the big fish are going to be developing for them which means more of the same with no innovation. Who can afford to innovate when games will be moving into the 7-8 digit range in costs?

    HL3 and all the FPS titles in the world are not enough to draw me and my gaming dollar.

  • Is a killer-app like HL3 enough to sway you to choose a system?

    No. Otherwise, I would be running Windows so I could play all of the great and exciting games that come out and are never ported to my platform of choice. Maybe it is just me, but I think the idea of purchasing a piece of hardware, particularly a console, on the sole basis of a single game is insane. Wouldn't it make more sense to buy the system that is more likely to have the games that you want? Maybe even support a company that has alway

  • It took Valve nearly five years just to create Half-Life 2, and they still haven't even released the expansion level (Lost Coast) for that game yet. There's no concievable way they could have Half-Life 3 ready for the Xbox 360 release. Not to mention the massive investment they've made into their content delivery system Steam. This is just an incorrect rumor.
  • FPS games should be confined to the PC, and possibly systems that have some other way to control it, because dual analog just isn't worthy in comparison to mouse and keyboard. Too bad people don't have this common sense.
  • No 360, period. I just don't like controllers for FPS or TPS games. I have an Xbox now, and have bought several titles (and rented several more) that are not fun at all to play because of the controller. Some people can blaze away with the Xbox or other controllers, but I can't. Keyboard and mouse are simply more ergonomic for me.
  • If HL3 (or HL2, anything that uses Steam) was released on a console, wouldn't that be the first time crippleware was released for a console? It's not even that common on PC is it? Windows XP, Norton and HL2 are the only ones I know of personally.
    Could such activation even work on a console, they all have Internet access these days, but AFAIK HL2 requires mass downloading to unbreak on first use? Does the 360 have a HDD as standard?
  • half-Life 3 would be a good edition to the xbox 360 line up.

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