Well, bobdog just told me that a
little bird on Steam site told him that Valve intended to release the new content featured in The Orange Box package (that is
Half-Life 2 Episode 2,
Portal and
Team Fortress 2) as separate retail items. Up until now, only The Orange Box is available retail -- which of course means that either you get everything or you get nothing -- the games are available separately but only via Steam.
All three games should be available April 9th in North America and two days later (or April 11th for those who need clear points) for the rest of the world. Both Half-Life 2 Episode 2 and Team Fortress 2 will come with a price tag of $29.99 as for Portal, it will be available for $19.99.
So why the late retail release? If you bet on a marketing related thing then.. Well you're right. But let's Doug Lombardi (Valve marketing vice president) give us the details of the why:
Given the unique nature and length of the games inside The Orange Box, the compilation approach was the right vehicle for the debut of these titles at retail. With the flexibility of having different pricing and packaging options via Steam, we were able to test the market viability of the individual products. The results show an overwhelming demand for these stand-alone offerings as well as The Orange Box. This gives us tremendous confidence as we bring gamers more ways to get these titles at retail.
More
money sorry, I mean "power" (which is about the same thing in our world) to Valve then!
