Opinion: Let’s see if Left 4 Dead 2 is a bad game before boycotting it

Valve Software has spoiled its loyal customers with an embarrassment of riches with online support for their previous games. Of course, its had to because the company is notorious for taking its time with releasing much awaited games. It took almost two decades for a Team Fortress sequel, after all.

So when the word about Left 4 Dead 2 hit, angry gamers began calling it a patch for the original game.

Yes, it’s true very few sequels that hit shelves a year after the original are groundbreaking titles. I think the ad campaign for Madden one year was, “John Madden football, this year the windmill TD celebration!” And yes, I know that you’re not required to make a zombie game update every year. But as a business, you are supposed to give consumers what they want, within reason.

Valve says preorders for the sequel are double what they were at this time last year. Some of those preorders are surely because of the success of the first game but the demand is there.

I’m hoping Valve is working its way toward a happy medium for its games. More than a year but certainly less than 15 years. And I would urge everybody to reserve judgment on the game until it actually comes out. If it turns out to be an unplayable pile, then it’s obvious they needed more time.

Valve has also promised it will continue supporting the first game even after Left 4 Dead 2 comes out. Again, I say we need to wait and see if they’re true to their word. The boycotts are providing lots of blog fodder but will likely not change any of Valve’s plans at this late stage. Gamers already have boycott power. We vote with our wallets. If this game hits store shelves and stays there, that will tell Valve all they need to know.

Of course, for that to happen the game will have to be lackluster. Sorry, I just don’t have a lot of faith in the possibility of gamers boycotting a good zombie game because its prequel didn’t get all the downloadable content some people wanted. Millions of bad games sell every year. Sequels to popular games traditionally do well, even when they haven’t had all the pub Left 4 Dead 2 is getting.

I suspect this is going to be a big seller and even some of the thousands of people claiming they will never support Valve again will end up buying it. What, are you really going to let your friends have fun beating zombies about the head with frying pans and then tell them you’re not playing because of the “boycott?”

Best of luck with that.

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