Valve and the Great Marketing Misadventure

Famously known for their knack at generating hype for their games through viral sites, puzzles and hidden references Valve certainly haven’t broken this ritual with Portal 2. Weeks before its intended release Valve released “The Potato Sack”, a collection of indie gems at a discounted price, initially this was just thought to be another Steam sale, but as Portal 2 drew closer this façade was dropped. All of the games contained within the bundle included references to Portal (An “Aperture” map for Killing Floor, a Weighted Companion Cube in The Ball etc.) Astute players quickly found these and a plethora of other tiny pieces of information. Valve then released a countdown website, after 15 hours of tension Valve revealed this website. Much to delight of PC gamers Valve will be releasing Portal 2 early IF there are enough people playing the games in the Potato Sack. Clever fan service or sleazy marketing ploy? You decide.