I think it's extremely funny. Sorry but I don't buy the 'testing keys' etc. etc. stuff and 'no cd patch' stuff many of you are pitching - not to be mean or anything but c'mon - for years gamers have been playing pirated games and though I am NO advocate of paying 50 for a game, my advice to anyone who can't buy it when it's released or don't want to, for 50 is to WAIT rather than steal it. This isn't like music where they continuously get 12-15 per CD which is worth about 7 dollars (and then the artist gets about 10-15 percent of that and the rest goes to execs and 'videos' etc), this is hard hard hard work and hours put in by teams of programmers and developers, mega coding to work on as many as possible video cards, countless hours of working out bugs to make a video game. They deserve the 50 per box for at least 6 months. I'm no angel, I used to download cracked games and stuff, not because I couldn't afford it I just didn't think it was fair to pay 50 for a game that I'm done with in 12-20 hrs. but that's not their business, it was work and they need to get paid. You all deserve what you get (those who KNOW they pirated the game). Now for the issue of genuinely screwed people who OWN the game legally; I'm pretty sure a call and some proof you purchased the game can win you a new account or another copy of the game. If they are that unreasonable, then oh well - you owe it to all the thieves stealing the game out there, without them - this wouldn't have happened at all. I love RPGish and Grouped Multiplayer Dungeons and Dragons stuff, but I didn't steal Neverwinter Nights, even though I don't play online....I bought it because the game has hours of playability with so many different character building options to choose from and the fun factor of it all, it was well worth it. Star Wars KOTOR I bought recently because I knew though a great product, I wouldn't have the same kind of fun so instead of paying 50 for it I paid 15 and felt good. Lately, I'm into MMORPG stuff because it to me is an ultimately justified scheme....constant world updates and tech support, socialization, fun, fun, fun and 13 a month.

i think it is well justified on there part to do this IF they do 1 thing properly.. have some form of toll free service line or something else where people can call in and complain about trhere copy not working, otherwise this inconvinences users FAR too much then can be justified.

i personally dont buy many games, especially for computers. about the only reason id think to buy one for a computer is online play.. i use my computer to demo alot of games, and if i like it, ill seek out the consol version of it if they have it, or buy it, but if it is a bad game i cant justify 60$ at LEAST for a game i dont like. and i know you can download demo's or play instore, but both of which dont always give a good indication of games (well demo's more so then instore. but i find you really need to play it first... also i DEFINANTLY recomend just borrowing a friends copy for a little while, thats perfect, justified, paid for and everything. and since your borrowing there copy its not like your breaking any laws (i dont believe technically) because your not duplicating it, and there is no feasable way to play it on yours and your friends computer at the same time.... YA~!

Stop pirated or cracked cds. But dont it with
having me put the cd in with every game I play.
I am sick of changeing cds and they get scratched
and I get the royal screw to have to buy the game again.

before the game came out, i had it preloaded, and just for laughs, i put in the key that everyone was talkin about, i knew it wouldnt work but hey its just a key, it didnt work, no harm done!

the next day i purchased the game, played it and enjoyed it, then a few days later, i went to play it again, and guess what, my account was disabled!

what do i do now i think, oh my game is ****ed, fine, i take it back to where i bought it from and got a refund, thanks valve, for loaning me ur game, i had a blast!

Hah, you tried a cracked version and stolen key, and you complain that Valve locked out your account. Guess what, you deserve it. Next time don't try cracked software and go buy the game from a store.

Hopefully it's taught you a expensive lesson...

ok, first off, I think what you guys are doing with the kiddie pirates and whatnot is the right thing to do. what i really want to comment on here tho is the fact that the way you guys have the licensing setup is bulls***. i have a legit copy at home and i can't even play multiplayer at home with my roommate with 1 copy of the game. this is bulls*** im sorry. WHY do we need two copies to play like together? HUH?

dont get me wrong, i work in the movie industry and i personally know people that work at valve and i love you guys so I will support you as much as i can (read: $120 - 2 hl2 boxes). BUT THIS IS SCREWED UP!

Play together? There isn't any multiplayer. and FYI, you can install HL2 on as many machines as you want. , so long as only one computer is playing the game at a time.

don't be a jackass. i was talking about multiplayer counter strike source fyi. but mainly i was talking about steam and it's shady way of making you buy more from them.

you even say it here yourself... "so long as only one computer is playing the game at a time."

what if i have a friend over and we want to play some multi? I can play with more than one person with practically any other game. Bunjie didnt make people all buy a game for themselves so they can play halo2 with their buddies. see what im saying?

I agree with both sides here as far as the "2 copies" go. On a console you can play multiplayer splitscreen usually (cramped screen though) BOTTOM LINE __________ Games cost too much! I paid 54.99 for Half Life 2 at Best Buy. I wanted to purchase Pacific Assault when I was there that day but could not justify spending over 100 bucks on just 2 games (these are "toys") Now like many of you, I AM NOT POOR, I have 2 jobs, own a house (mortgage) etc... My opinion (which is probably not worth 27 cents to many and some may agree with) My opinion is that if games were priced at 34.99 when they are first realeased and then dropped to 19.99 after about 6 months...I would be buying games left and right (like a little kid) I would buy 2 and 3 at a time... AND OFTEN. WHY DOES WAL MART DO SO GOOD? Partially the same basic concept. Price stuff that people may or may not need at prices so "low" they can't resist buying 2 of the things that they didnt really need one of in the first place. I KNOW YOU WORK HARD VALVE GUYS, Bungie guys, etc. BUT 'TARDS LIKE ME would give you more of our hard earned money if we just got a little bit more for it. I GURANTEE THIS ON MY BEHALF...plus, I would rather buy a game and get updates and what not, rather than spend 3 days downloading the thing and trying to play the pirated one (not that I have not...wait I ADMIT NOTHING!) the same goes for DVD's and for Music

thanks...a 30 year old child

Good job Valve. I do not think this was as severe as it could have been. I wouldn't have been surprised to see them openly dump a "hacked" copy on bittorrent or most other P2P apps just to cut down on the pirating. I've waited for *years* now for this game. The first one was good, this game is great. Phenomenal graphics, smooth gameplay, great storyline. The ending leaves you setup for HL3, but that's not really a surprise. At least it gives you more to go on than the first HL :-) Do I dl games off the BT network...I used to. This game is worth shelling out the $$ for. If you've got enough $$ to be able to be checking out the 'net anyway, coming up with the small scruples more to get the game shouldn't be *that* tough. Go and buy.

In response to "I wouldn't have been surprised to see them openly dump a "hacked" copy on bittorrent or most other P2P apps just to cut down on the pirating"...hehe, actually, they WERE behind this entirely, and that's exactly what they did. http://halflife2.filefro...arez_Version_Info;13907

It's good that som companies try to reduce piracy, and since HL2 is a long waited game it's gona make some ones nerves brake down.
But when they banned those who tried to crack HL2 they also banned some who didn't, including mine. I'm banned from steam for no reason, i've sent them a mail about this and i hope they will adjust their mistake soon. Can't hardly wait till christmas when i know i will get HL2 then. :D

Valve has earned every penny they get for HL2. It is the best game that has ever been made, and they deserve to be paid for it. I bought two copies - one for me and one for my wife!

I actually feel bad for valve. I'm not one to care (at all..) about software pirates stealing software. I'll admit I've done it before myself. But Valve has worked their A**ES off on this one. They've put up with source code thieves, beta leaks, and numerous other problems. Half life 1, the game of the year for multiple straight years, was absolutely phenominal. Everyone knows Valve can hold their own when it comes to gaming. Pay for it you fools. I'm going to when I get some spare cash.

My only rant about Valve is Steam. Worst pile of crap I've ever installed -- but hey, you need it to play Counter Strike so I guess I better just deal with it. =)

You say you've stolen before?
When it comes down to that the only way they can impede the pirates from accessing the full advantages of owning a games is to block their online multiplaying. As online games are all the hype these days I can see why you'd want to ban users: so much money to be made.
Buy it, or don't play it.

If you own the game all you probably need to do is proove that you own it and they might re-activate your account i'd assume.

Its great valve are doing this, my friend rarely gets games legaly but half life 2 was one of the few he bought.

Valve did little to stop pirated copys of the game. A lot of people played the game without paying for it. The ones who got cought coud'nt wait for the official release.