If there’s one thing that most gamers can agree on it, it’s the universal hype for Half Life 3. It currently exists in flux state of existing and not existing, as Valve Software itself is unsure what to do with the game. So what is Managing Director of Equity Research at Wedbush Securities Michael Pachter’s opinion on the game’s delay? Is it too focused on free to play titles like Dota 2 and its digital service Steam to care about crafting another single-player epic like Half Life 3?
According to Pachter, “I think Valve is a brilliant company, and I think – they won’t do this, but I think it would be brilliant of them – that they release Half Life 3, and they make it exclusive to Steam Machine, because that would sell 10 million Steam Machines right there. So, I don’t know what they’re doing, but it’s possible they’re doing something just like that. I mean, they could put it out on PC and sell 15 million copies just like that, but I do wonder if part of the delay involved is somehow tying it in with the Steam Machine.”
As for the current direction of the Steam Machines, especially since Valve hasn’t been able to deliver a concise message thus far, Pachter said, “It’s very expensive. And there’s really not any justification to buy one, unless you’re an uber hardcore PC gamer, and you have a very strong desire to play in your living room, and you’re somehow not technologically capable or inclined to connect your PC to your TV, because if anyone really wants to, they can just use their TV as a monitor, and just play their PC games on the TV that way. But I will say, the way that Steam Machine sells and gets content is for Valve to create that content, and the best content they have is Half Life 3, I think.”
Valve has said time and time again that it won’t be creating exclusive titles for the Steam Machine/SteamOS. Could that change down the line? Let us know what you think in the comments.