[HEADING=2]Meanwhile at the Electronic Entertainment Speculation and Prediction (EESP) Headquarters[/HEADING]
Army Spokesman: EVeryone, please have a seat.
Seven days ago, on June 2, 2010, the Valve Corporation canceled a special event at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (also known as E3) concerning one of their upcoming games.
As many of you may know, the Valve Corporation is responsible for several of the Gaming industry's most critically acclaimed games, among them Half Life 2, Team Fortress 2 and Portal. The planned event at the Electronic Entertainment Expo was to promote the upcoming sequel of Valve's second most awaited sequel to the 3D puzzle game Portal.
On the Second of June, Valve sent an email to various online Video Game news agencies, the message is the following:
Dear Subject Name Here,
Aperture Science is pleased to inform you that we have partnered with Valve to announce the gala CANCELLATION of the June 14 Portal 2 event at the Regal Theater. The event will be replaced by a surprise. And even though the cancellation of the event certainly counts as a surprise, we are pleased to further announce that the cancellation of the event is not THE surprise. However, per International treaties regarding the definition of the word "surprise", of which both Aperture Science and Valve are signatories, the time, date and content of the actual surprise will only become available as you experience the surprise.
If you'd like to ask fruitless questions about the E3 Portal 2 surprise or, more fruitfully, schedule an appointment to attend a Portal 2 screening at the Valve booth during E3, please contact Valve's Special Envoy to Surprises, Doug Lombardi.
Thank you for [[RECORD SCRATCH!!!]]
PS: The surprising record scratch is also not the surprise.
The upcoming game of Portal 2 has been the result of an Alternate Reality Game and Viral Marketing campaign on March, and the E3 event was hinted during a Valve presentation at the Game Developers Conference on March. Therefore, such a cancellation after a period of purposely fueled hype is extremely unusual.
During this period of time, the Valve Corporation was also developing a third episodic installment to the game Half Life 2, considered one of the greatest video games of the industry and the Valve Corporation's finest work. Their previous episodic installments, Half Life 2: Episode One, and Half Life 2: Episode 2, were released in no more than two years from the previous installment. As of three years from the release date of Episode 2, Episode 3 has yet to be released.
Half Life 2: Episode 3 is currently the
most awaited game being produced by the Valve Corporation, and all content for the game has been kept under tight confidentiality.
Since the recent cancellation of the Portal 2 event for the Electronic Entertainment Expo, our department has traced a significant increase of hype from the Valve fanbase. In light of the cancellation of the event, various Gaming websites and discussion forums have made the speculation that the "surprise" replacing the Portal 2 event is no other than
Half Life 2: Episode 3. Multiple images of promotional material for the new Valve event at the E3 (figure 1) have also fueled rumors that Episode 3 will be revealed in place of Portal 2.
However, these images were declared to be fake by the Valve Corporation, and the head of the Valve Corporation, Gabe Newell, has personally denied that the new "surprise" at the E3 is in any way Half Life 2: Episode 3.
Based on observations of various Primary sources, the EESP has made the following general possibilities about the Valve Corporation's presentation at the Electronic Entertainment Expo:
-The event is indeed the revelation of Half Life 2: Episode 3.
-The event is the revelation of both Half Life 2: Episode 3 and Portal 2
-The event is neither Half Life 2: Episode 3 or Portal 2.
Observations based on other sources including Anonymous sources, unofficial online evidence and development of Valve Corporation's other games and products point to the following possibilities:
-The event is the revelation of a new Graphics Engine and a successor to Valve Corporation's current Source engine.
-The event is the release of one or two of the remaining class trailers for Team Fortress 2.
-The event is the revelation of the third installment of the Left 4 Dead series.
The Electronic Entertainment Speculation and Prediction department is continuing to monitor this event and the Valve Corporation, and we will establish more accurate predictions once more information is released or discovered.
The Electronic Entertainment Expo is set to run from June 15 to June 17. Hopefully, our Department will produce a much narrower prediction before that date.
Any questions?
Reporter: Yes. According to one of our sources [http://steamunpowered.eu/valve-to-release-duke-nukem-forever/], Valve Corporation posted a hidden image on their company website hinting that they're releasing Vaporware#1254, most commonly known as Duke Nukem Forever. Is this true?
Army Spokesman: Well, that would still be very improbable. Duke Nukem Forever is currently being developed by 3D Realms, and the Valve Corporation has ownership of neither Duke Nukem Forever or 3D Realms. Furthermore, since the cancellation of the Portal 2 event, there has been a large increase of hoaxes concerning the Valve Corporation's new "surprise" at the Electronic Entertainment Expo, so your source may not be a most valid one.
Any other questions?
Good. Any further questions or inquiries should be submitted to the EESP public relations center. Thank you.
