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[Mooreberg]

http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=59893

Ritual Entertainment's long-awaited Sin 2 is to be released episodically over Valve's Steam digital distribution system, with episodes lasting around six hours each to be released "every three to four months" for around $20 (£11.38) an episode.

The first episode is set to be released on Steam this Winter, but it's not yet known whether the game will also be released in boxed form.

In a rare interview with PC Gamer, Ritual CEO Steve Nix said: "We've been talking to Valve about Steam for about four years now, and we've always wanted to get back to the SiN universe.


"We talked to publishers about doing it, but we never felt able to make the product we wanted to make with the next SiN." That is, until the relative freedom offered by Steam came along; something several developers must be seriously looking into at this point.

The Valve-Ritual relationship is to go even further than that, with SiN 2 being developed using a tweaked version of the same Source engine that powered the legendary Half-Life 2.

An exclusive eight page cover feature on the game is the main focus for the UK version of PC Gamer (available to subscribers today, and on sale in newsagents soon), and goes into detail regarding the hopes of the team, and some of the core innovations. Check back shortly for an overview of what to expect.

Interestingly, the Ritual feature is followed by an exclusive four page interview with Bill Van Buren, Marc Laidlaw and Bill Fletcher from Valve - the key men behind Half-Life 2.

I wonder how many other developers are gonna start doing this.

 

[Ghost]

This is how Episodic content should work. 6 Hours for £10.


So long publishers.


(Good riddance)

 

[tenchir]

I hope other developers won't follow this. If I don't play a game for a month, i will lose interest in playing it. I'm sure other people feels the same way, you just can't get back into a game and continue if you haven't played it for a while.

 

[Kewk]

This is how Episodic content should work. 6 Hours for £10.


So long publishers.


(Good riddance)

lol I love how people like to hate on publishers. There are so many AAA titles that would have never been made without the deep pockets of the publishers.

 

[Agent Icebeezy]

I hope other developers won't follow this. If I don't play a game for a month, i will lose interest in playing it. I'm sure other people feels the same way, you just can't get back into a game and continue if you haven't played it for a while.

IAWTP

 

[Attack You]

Really should've had one ep or volume ready to go per month. Doesn't have to be as long, but shave something off of the price to accommodate the more frequent and shorter releases.

 

[Wario64]

i dont like this idea.

 

[Zaptruder]

lol I love how people like to hate on publishers. There are so many AAA titles that would have never been made without the deep pockets of the publishers.

On the flipside of the coin, there wouldn't be as much shovelware published on the basis of low cost minimum risk returns, if publishers weren't so damn greedy.

That said, Sin 2 isn't exactly AAA fare...

 

[ManaByte]

I hope other developers won't follow this. If I don't play a game for a month, i will lose interest in playing it. I'm sure other people feels the same way, you just can't get back into a game and continue if you haven't played it for a while.

...and what the hell does that have to do with Steam?

 

[ManDudeChild]

That said, Sin 2 isn't exactly AAA fare...

Nor is Steam

Spoiler

ing pile of shit

 

[Mooreberg]

One problem I see with this is that if they plan on releasing more than three episodes, they'll be going beyond what people are used to paying for this type of game (ignoring the price on the collector's edition of HL2). On top of that, if there's a multiplayer component with each episode, they run the risk of either fracturing the audience with each release, or making it available to everyone, and not getting the additional purchases from people who don't care as much for single player. Then again, a lot of games drop to $20 pretty fast at retail anyway, so maybe they figure it's worth the risk.

 

[Ghost]

Publishers arent the only people with deep pockets, they control the industry by controlling the distrubution, with Steam and alike (obviously at the moment its far too small a scale, but in the future maybe) publishers will have to be a hell of a lot nicer to the average developer to stop them just getting their money from other investors.

 

[Error Macro]

SiN 2??!?!

OH GOD

OH JESUS

TODAY I CELEBRATE

OUR SINDEPENDENCE DAY!!!

 

[Funky Papa]

SiN 2??!?!

OH GOD

OH JESUS

TODAY I CELEBRATE

OUR SINDEPENDENCE DAY!!!

Can I get a hell yeah?!

Seriously, news of the year. I'm ready for SiN 2, steamed or not.

 

[tenchir]

...and what the hell does that have to do with Steam?

I meant the episodic part. Though I think Steam still sucks.

 

[Mrbob]

This is how Episodic content should work. 6 Hours for £10.


So long publishers.


(Good riddance)

Huh? If there are 4 episodes this is 80 bucks. Hell if it is 3 episodes this is still 60 bucks. Fuck that.

 

[Ghost]

Not my fault the dollar is weak

£40 for 24 hours of gameplay sounds good to me.

 

[M3wThr33]

I'm sure subsequent episodes will include a discount of sorts.

Also, I find this funny because SiN originally launched against Half-Life as the main competitor.

 

[Wario64]

microtransactions

the future of gaming

 

[Mrbob]

Steam = cheap ass gamers lose

If these are priced at 10 us dollars each I may be interested. For 20 dollars each the SiN series can stay buried in the ground.

 

[golem]

20$ for 6 hrs sounds good to me

there are alot of fps' that are barely longer than that in gameplay going for $50 (not saying that they shouldnt though.. really depends on the experience)

 

[Rain]

20 bucks an episode is a fucking ripoff.

I can understand you paying 60 bucks for a game and getting a box/disk/manual/nice art..

I though the point of creating this alternate type of distribution was to lower prices (as in, you don't have to pay the distributer)...

20 bucks an episode is WAY too much

something to the lines of 8,99 to 10 bucks a episode would be better.

 

[Gattsu25]

SiN 2??!?!

OH GOD

OH JESUS

TODAY I CELEBRATE

OUR SINDEPENDENCE DAY!!!

I'm with ya...this news is just about the only news that could've gotten me to think about installing Steam again...

 

[Ulairi]

How much Sin can I play before I goto hell?

 

[teepo]

EXCITED IS AM

 

[Wario64]

 

[Pimpbaa]

Who is that? the new lead character? And why doesn't she have huge boobs?

 

[vireland]

I though the point of creating this alternate type of distribution was to lower prices (as in, you don't have to pay the distributer)...

Silly. It's about control and more money for the developer. Any other words are lip service.

 

[Error Macro]

http://www.sinepisodes.com

RITUAL ENTERTAINMENT UNVEILS “SiN EPISODES”
Action-Packed Return to Freeport City Powered by the SourceTM Engine

Dallas, TX - July 7, 2005 -- Ritual Entertainment™ today announced the development of SiN Episodes™, featuring the highly anticipated return of Elexis Sinclaire, the world’s most dangerous and seductive biochemist, and the only man who stands in her way, John R. Blade. The sworn enemies face off in Freeport City, a near-future mixture of San Francisco, Tokyo and New York, all set inside the unrestricted SiN universe.

The upcoming SiN Episodes chapter entitled Emergence is the first in a series of episodic adventures powered by the award-winning Source ™ engine developed by Valve®. Delivered on Steam™, the online content delivery system, Sin Episodes takes a bold new step into the future of gaming.

“Combining the incredible power of the Source engine with episodic content delivery via Steam has empowered us to raise the bar on key features of the SiN universe, interactivity, character driven gameplay, and emergent AI,” said Tom Mustaine, cofounder and Director of Development for Ritual.

“Digitally delivered episodic content is the next frontier in the games industry,” said Steve Nix, Ritual CEO, affording the award-winning development studio unprecedented flexibility. “Episodic development gives Ritual the opportunity to be much more responsive to community feedback and industry trends. We can adjust our content to deliver maximum entertainment value with each installment.”

"One of our goals for Steam and Source is to provide a viable platform for independent developers who would rather be working on original IP," said Gabe Newell, founder and president of Valve. "It's great to be working with Ritual again as they take this pioneering step for the industry. I look forward to purchasing my copy of SiN: Emergence."

SiN Episodes expands on the role of Colonel John R. Blade, a battle worn hero in charge of HardCorps, an elite strike force with a long history of conflict with SinTEK, a powerful multibillion dollar empire headed up by Elexis Sinclaire, a beautiful, brilliant, and ruthless scientist who is out to remake humanity according to her own twisted vision. Joining Blade on his mission are JC, a HardCorps hacker with a secret to keep, and Jessica Cannon, a fiery rookie who can find her way into any secure facility.

SiN Episodes: Emergence features never before seen weapons, characters and environments along with a host of interactive options, paying homage to its predecessors, SiN and its expansion pack, Wages of SiN, which set a new bar for interactivity. Additional information and purchasing options will be announced on www.sinepisodes.com or www.steampowered.com at a later date.

An 8-page preview of SiN Episodes: Emergence is featured in PCGamer UK's August issue, which hits newsstands on July 7th, 2005. The article includes exclusive images from the game along with additional materials available on the accompanying PCGamer UK DVD.

About Ritual
Ritual Entertainment, a Dallas, Texas-based game development studio, has been a consistent leader in the evolution of content and technology for some of today's most successful console and PC games. Established in August 1996, Ritual is known for its ability to develop both internal and external properties with award winning results. More on Ritual Entertainment can be found at www.ritual.com.

About Valve
Valve is an entertainment software and technology company founded in 1996 and based in Bellevue, Washington. The company's portfolio of entertainment titles includes Half-Life®, Counter-StrikeTM, Day of DefeatTM, and Team Fortress®. Valve's portfolio of titles accounts for over 18 million retail units sold worldwide, and over 88% of the PC online action market. In addition, Valve is a developer of leading-edge technologies, such as the Source game engine and Steam, a broadband platform for the delivery and management of digital content. For more information, please visit www.valvesoftware.com.

Valve, Source, Steam, Half-Life, Counter-Strike, Day of Defeat and Team Fortress are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Valve Corporation.

© Ritual Entertainment Inc. All rights reserved. Ritual Entertainment and Sin Episodes are trademarks or registered trademarks of Ritual Entertainment Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

For all press information, contact press@ritual.com.