Chris Remo from Gamasutra writes:

"A new study by analysis firm DFC in conjunction with social media company GamerDNA has extensively compared Left 4 Dead user activity habits across PC and Xbox 360 -- and finds Valve's strategy of combining promotions and free updates may extend a game's shelf life dramatically.

Results of the study were released in the latest edition of the DFC Dossier publication, and are based on the activity of over 180,000 PC and Xbox 360 gamers via Steam, Xbox Live, and Xfire from the time of the game's release until May."
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Valve is gearing up for another Steam update that will incorporate more community content into Left 4 Dead. The beta authorizing tools which were released several weeks ago enabled users to create their very own campaigns. With this new update, those campaigns will now be easily accessible withing L4Ds UI. "Add-Ons" will be available under Extras for easy installing as well as under Multiplayer to play said campaigns online. One such custom campaign that has us pretty impressed even in its Beta stages is an homage to Resident Evil 3. The Authorizing tools will also be officially releasing with several new updates and tweaks. The update is expected to hit Steam next week.Is Valve trying to please some of those angered fans? Perhaps, but at least we will get to see more unique content headed to L4D.
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Valve didn't want to use Photoshop so they got one of their artists, Andrea Wicklund, to bite her thumb for reference pictures..
For the upcoming sequel Left 4 Dead 2 Valve says they simply tucked in two fingers for the box design..
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Left 4 Dead 2 has been announced for a release in November, less than a year after the original. Is this an odd choice? Sure it is. Is it a BAD choice? That's debatable. Did the announcement make you ANGRY? Now you've gone too far!

Obviously, people are pretty angry about this. But WHY? You have your knitpicks, your dislikes, and you wish they didn't release it so soon. But it isn't like Valve is FORCING you to buy it! If you don't like it, then just don't get it! It's that simple! Stick with the original L4D.
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The Group has hit an outstanding 30,000 members in only a short time, and raising valid points.
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Kotaku Writes:
I could be reading from the Nacogdoches phone book to you right now and you wouldn't care. You saw "nude zoey" and clicked the link, right? Hope your boss/girlfriend/mom isn't in the room.

Modder Zaigo has painstakingly recreated Zoey as a quite deshabille zombie fighter. It goes without saying that if you go to L4D mods to view all the nude Zoey screenshots, you should consider that you are looking at porn.

Notes the creator:

This is not a skin, this is a completely new model for Zoey. She has some clothes on, but hardly enough to cover anything at all.

You will also notice that her "lovelies" bounce when she runs or walks and Francis, Louis and Bill can't stop staring. Now get your tissues out, lock the door, download the mod and enjoy, you pervert.

I like it that this guy calls me a pervert. That's like getting a disapproving glance from the clerk working at a porn store. I might be a creep, but they work at a porn store. And this guy spent God-knows-how-many hours retouching Zoey's labia just so he could get her triangular love patch to Penthouse quality.

Next up, nude infected! Who wants to help me render some decaying Boomer dong?
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Valve responds to L4D2 boycott. Amidst the retaliation from gamers due to the hasty announcement of L4D2. Gabe Newell has issued a response to Kotaku.com in an effort to ease the tension from many of the L4D supporters.
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CVG writes: "Valve has responded to the wave of negative feedback surrounding Left 4 Dead 2, asking gamers to "give us a fair shake" before writing the sequel off.

A Steam 'boycott' group has managed to amass almost 20,000 members, claiming that "the announced content of Left 4 Dead 2 does not warrant a stand-alone, full-priced sequel and should instead become updates (free or otherwise) for Left 4 Dead".

"We want to wait and weed through the comments, I'm already getting e-mails, and I'm responding to them," Valve's Chet Faliszek said.

"Looking back, was the Orange Box a ripoff?" He said, on initial complaints at having to "buy" Half-Life 2 again in the compilation..."
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Speaking to VideoGamer.com at E3 last week, writer Chet Faliszek said that Left 4 Dead 2, which was originally called "this big thing" by the development team, is a large enough game to justify it not being DLC, pointing to all the new announced content.
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Kotaku:

"Whatever your view is of internet boycotts, Left 4 Dead might be the first critically acclaimed franchise whose announcement of a sequel was answered by nearly 10,000 fans pledging not to buy it.

Since the game was unveiled June 1 at E3, a Steam group called L4D Boycott (NO-L4D2) has assembled 9,742 members as of Saturday, and seems to be growing. Far from being enthused about a new game, they have nine complaints, most of which concern L4D2 obviating the need for, and undermining the value of, L4D1 - and just a year after the fact:"
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Valves recent unveil of Left 4 Dead 2 at this years E3 has cause a huge commotion in the gaming industry. Thousands for fans of Left 4 Dead are pissed. Why ? Because Left 4 Dead 2 is coming out in a little under a year than its prequel and previous promises of L4D1 being a long lasting experience are not being met. Valve has gone on record multiple times stating that this new game will be a better chance to build upon the Left 4 Dead experience. L4D2 is supposed to include an advance A.I Director 2.0 and new effects. Thats where the boycott comes in. 10,000+ outraged fans are boycotting the game all together stating that Valve has wronged its user base by forcing a purchase on what should be a expansion and not a stand alone game. How will Valve respond to this boycott? We will have to wait and see, but Valve is know for its loyalty to its fans so perhaps L4D2 will become an downloadable expansion and retail. Thats our best bet.
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The crew over at Valve revealed that a sequel to their hit game Left 4 Dead will be receiving another zombie-infested sequel in Left 4 Dead 2. PwnorDie has a few screenshots, the box art, the logo, a trailer, and a few gameplay videos from E3 2009 that they have lumped together for our viewing enjoyment.
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These are twelve examples that show that video games can actually be a benefit in "real life". A few of these are counter arguments to unfounded claims while others are examples of the gaming industry doing things to better the world, many of which widely go unnoticed.
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This week's new releases:
(subject to change)

Xbox 360:
Battlestations Pacific
Left 4 Dead: Game of the Year Edition
Raiden Fighters Aces
Sacred 2: Fallen Angel

PLAYSTATION 3:
Sacred 2: Fallen Angel

Wii:
Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus
Help Wanted
Pirates Vs. Ninjas Dodgeball
Puzzle Kingdoms

DS & DSi:
Desktop Tower Defense
Dreamer Series: Shop Owner
Girl Time
Mission Runway
My Farm Around the World

PSP:
no new releases
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Valve has released another Left 4 Dead update, now available on Steam. The patch removes an exploit and corrects some issues in Survival Mode along with some server and matchmaking fixes.

The applicable fixes will be applied to the Xbox 360 version in a group update sometime soon.
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Valve has released an update for Left 4 Dead that addresses a survival mode exploit as well as fixing some minor issues.
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Chris Remo from Gamasutra writes:

"Valve's Left 4 Dead swept the ELAN Awards, the Vancouver-based award show honoring the video game and animation industries.

The multiplayer zombie shooter took the overall Video Game of the Year award, as well as three other awards: Best PC Game, Best Game Design, and Outstanding Technical Innovation."
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Left 4 Dead came out last year on PC and Xbox 360. But not on PS3. Now, retailer GAME's Australian website reckons it's finally coming to Sony's system.

Before the game launched, Valve's Chet Faliszek said there'd be no PS3 version because, while porting from PC to Xbox 360 was a piece of cake, making a PS3 version would require starting from scratch.

Then a few weeks later, GAME's UK website advertised a PS3 version. Back then, Valve once again denied its existence.

But the following day, Valve did admit publisher EA were interested in a PS3 version.
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An update has been released for Left 4 Dead and is now available on Steam. The patch fixes several exploits in the recently added Survival Mode and brings gameplay tweaks and other adjustments.

As promised by Valve, the Xbox 360 version will receive the changes later in a group update.
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The Valve Store has updated adding several Left 4 Dead items including a poster, t-shirt, hoodie and coffee mug.
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