Kotaku: Doug Lombardi

Portal 2's First DLC Will Still 'Technically' Arrive This Summer

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 11:30:00 EDT

That first (and free) downloadable content pack for Valve's Portal 2—originally announced in April for a summertime release—will be released mid-September, says the company. That's "still technically summer," Valve's Doug Lombardi assured Kotaku at Gamescom. More »

Valve: Left 4 Dead DLC Announcements Coming Soon

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 18:20:38 EDT

Making good on its intentions to continue supporting the original Left 4 Dead, Valve says that the next batch of downloadable content for the Xbox 360 and PC game will be announced sometime this Summer. More »

Left 4 Dead Makes Versus Vomit Funny

Brian Ashcraft — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 04:00:00 EDT

The royal we have a bit of vomit phobia. The last time I threw up was college (go figure), but the time before that was grade school: Fruit roll-ups everywhere. Upcoming shooter Left 4 Dead from developer brings out the puke for the Versus mode hi-jinx. Valve's Doug Lombardi explains: More »

Here's Who To Blame For Half-Life 2: Episode 3's Long Gestation

Luke Plunkett — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 03:30:00 EDT

Half-Life 2's "episodic" expansions are hardly what you'd call episodic in the gaming sense of the word. Other series can knock out two, sometimes even three full games in the time it takes Valve to cobble together a single 4-6 hour mission pack. Of course, the wait's always worth it, since nobody does it quite like Valve does it, but still. Long waits hurt. And when something hurts, we like to blame somebody. So who can we blame for the agonising wait between Episode 2 and Episode 3? Blame Left 4 Dead. And blame Team Fortress 2. More »

So, How Long Until Half-Life 2: Episode Three?

Michael McWhertor — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 17:00:22 EDT

If there's one thing Valve excels at, it's making us wait. If you thought the wait between Half-Life 2 and the episodes that followed it were long, expect to wait even longer for the third (and final?) episode in the continuing adventures of Gordon Freeman. Valve's marketing man Doug Lombardi tells Kikizo that Episode Three is going to be longer than the wait between every other entry in the series — longer than the wait for Episode One, longer than the wait for Episode Two. More »

Left 4 Dead To Follow Portal, TF2's Example

Michael McWhertor — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 20:20:04 EDT

What we'd seen of Left 4 Dead at Games Convention, we'd mostly seen before. Just prior to E3, we played through the entirety of the game's first scenario, a sprint to the roof of a hospital through a cluster of zombies, where the four survivors await evacuation by helicopter. And, should you be too lazy to check out our impressions from that gameplay session, we'll just tell you it was tight, adrenaline pumping stuff. There were only a few noticeable changes in the Games Convention build. It was our first look at the updated models and skins for the four playable characters, each given a new coat of paint to help further distinguish them from the hordes of undead. But it was the new touches of detail — and the promise of more Left 4 Dead — that sparked our interest once again. More »

Team Fortress 2 Updates Coming To Xbox 360 Later This Year

Michael McWhertor — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 09:30:00 EDT

Owners of the Xbox 360 version of Team Fortress 2 will be scarfing down sandviches and delivering payloads later this year, as Valve is finally bringing all the updates delivered via Steam to the Xbox Live Marketplace. That means new, class-specific Achievements, new unlockable weapons for the Pyro, Medic and Heavy, new gameplay modes and new maps, all on your Xbox 360. Valve marketing director Doug Lombardi got that piece of business out of the way just before our latest Left 4 Dead demo, saying that the developer wanted to build up a massive update for Xbox 360 users before delivering. Given that Valve is being forced to charge for the update, they wanted to ensure that 360 owners were getting their money's worth. So, how much? The price isn't final, but Valve is hoping to go as low as possible, aiming for a ten dollar price tag. Not too shabby. Sorry, PS3 owners, no word on when or if Valve will be giving you the same Team Fortress 2 updates. More »

PS3 Left Out of Left 4 Dead

Brian Ashcraft — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 09:00:00 EDT

Rumors have been swirling on the internet that Valve's eagerly awaited zombie shooter Left 4 Dead for the Xbox 360 and PC would also be hitting the PLAYSTATION 3. Seems those rumors have been smashed pretty hard for the time being by Valve's Doug Lombardi, who states: More »

E308 Justify Your Game: Left 4 Dead

Adam Barenblat — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 11:00:00 EDT

In this terrifying edition of Justify Your Game, Doug Lombardi takes a crack at justifying Valve's upcoming co-op FPS Left 4 Dead. Can he persuade us in 15 seconds? More »

Portal Still Alive Will Include New Puzzles, But No New Plot

Brian Crecente — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 13:41:19 EDT

Speaking with Valve's Doug Lombardi earlier this week at E3, we got onto the topic of the upcoming Xbox Live Arcade version of Portal. I wanted to know what gamers could expect from the game and why Valve decided to tweak it for the XBLA release. More »

Will Half-Life 2: Episode Three Be At E3? Valve Says 'No'

Michael McWhertor — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 19:20:00 EDT

According to E3.net and various excited internet reports, Half-Life 2: Episode Three will be making its debut appearance at E3, just a few weeks away. According to the site, it will also be joined by titles like Kid Icarus and Animal Crossing for Wii. That'd be great news, if E3.net were the official E3 site, as some reports have claimed, and not an unofficial UGO owned web site. More »

Valve Would So Love To Make A Kids Game For The Wii

Luke Plunkett — Thu, 01 May 2008 22:40:00 EDT

Valve might make some of the best games for grown-ups around, but that doesn't mean they're a one-trick pony. Speaking with CVG, Doug Lombardi has said that they're actually interested in making games for kids as well:

There's a lot of people at Valve who are parents and would love to make a game for kids.

Valve Would "Love" To Micro-Transaction You

Brian Ashcraft — Thu, 01 May 2008 08:40:53 EDT

Micro-transactions aren't the future, they're the now. While companies like EA are totally on board with nickel and diming players for added content, some companies aren't. Take, Valve for instance. It hasn't gone micro-transactional. But would it? Let's hear what Valve's Dough Lombardi has to say: More »

Microsoft Rejected Portal For XBLA

Mark Wilson — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 12:40:00 EDT

Portal may have proven itself to be a big deal, but it's still a small game. That's why Valve's Veep of marketing Doug Lombardi would love to see it on Xbox LIVE Arcade. But Microsoft? Microsoft wasn't having it.

I'd love to sell Portal on Xbox live. [But] the platform holders aren't doing that right now. There's a size limit and all kinds of other things.

He continues: More »

Team Fortress DLC Price Is Up To Microsoft And Sony

Mark Wilson — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 14:40:39 EDT

Recently, Valve went on record saying that they'd like their upcoming Team Fortress 2 map pack to be free on both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, but admitted that such a situation might not be possible. Many wondered if this uncertain future was the result of EA meddling or interference from the platform holders themselves. More »

Valve Crushes Dreams Of Portal On Wii

Michael McWhertor — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 20:40:22 EDT

With almost every game announcement comes the cry from at least one gamer "Why isn't this on the Wii?" Take Valve's Portal, for example. It may seem like a perfect fit, what with the game's emphasis on pointing at things and pressing buttons, but according to head marketing honcho Doug Lombardi, there's "nothing in product" at Valve. Crushing, I know. More »

Half-Life 2 Black Box Cancelled

Michael McWhertor — Fri, 18 May 2007 22:20:39 EDT

Valve has officially cancelled Half-Life 2: The Black Box for the PC, according to a report from IGN. Originally scheduled to ship alongside the more complete Orange Box at a reduced price, it would have contained Half-Life 2 Episode Two, Portal and Team Fortress 2. The company will now focus on a single SKU for the PC when it ships this fall. More »

In-Game Ads Coming To Counter-Strike 1.6

Michael McWhertor — Fri, 08 Dec 2006 21:20:21 EST

Attention Counter-Strike players, your game is about to become infested with in-game advertising courtesy of Valve and IGA. In an interview with Valve's Doug Lombardi, CS-Nation questioned the marketing director on how the ads would be implemented and the reasoning behind the commercial change to the seven-year old mod with a diehard community. More »

Half-Life 2 Episode 2 Delayed. Again.

Michael McWhertor — Fri, 10 Nov 2006 18:40:02 EST

Look I hate to keep being the bearer of bad news, but here it comes again. Valve's Doug Lombardi confirmed the Half-Life 2 Episode Two delay to Computer & Video Games, offering up a heartbreakingly vague "summer 2007" release date. And that's the "target". More »