Valve can't fail with HL2EP3. They just can't. It's like the latest Duke Nukem. By itself the game is pretty horrible, but it's DUKE NUKEM and we waited 15 YEARS for it to come out (some may remember my opinion stated here on SF about DNF being as good a game as Gearbox managed to make it etc.).
The next Half Life will sell nevertheless, even if solely on hype (just like the last 4-5 COD games, lol). But here's the thing - Valve wouldn't won't just make a crappy HL game. They never did allow it to happen! Even back in the HL1 days, when Gearbox developed the expansions and Sierra published them, those expansions were EPIC awesomeness. Yes, even the Half Life: Decay... you know, that PS2 exclusive that got an unofficial PC port in 2007 or 2008 or whatevs.
... trying to remember exactly which year that was, I did a search on Wikipedia and I just remembered that Portal 1 and 2 are listed as a part of the Half-Life franchise. Since my mind is being random again and I'm starting to kick into an ADD induced fantasizing mode (lol xD), I'm starting to think that HL2EP3 (and, perhaps, HL3 possibly in the years to come) is still a long way - and I mean that as just part of a huge franchise. If you think about it, the two Portal games concentrate on an entirely different storyline, but the setting being within Aperture Science labs (which HL fanboys remember is the biggest rival to Black Mesa; like Apple is to MS) shows, perhaps, a third side to the well known "factions" in the franchise. Aperture Science, as a factor in the series, only had two games so far, and perhaps little to tell, but I have a feeling that the whole Portal thing is just the beginning for something UBER major in the next HL games.
And if that's the case, I can't really blame Valve for making other games like Left 4 Dead. I mean, it's somewhat similar to the Gearbox/Sierra period. Gearbox developed the expansions to the original HL while Valve concentrated on HL2. Now Valve is now a much, MUCH larger company than it used to be (and I'm not just talking about Steam), so it's not really surprising the next game is taking so long to develop. L4D and even Portal 2 perhaps had a different dev team that did the long work while someone else concentrated on creating the story, gameplay, features etc. for HL2EP3. EP1 and 2 were pure treats, but the (only) bad side to them was their length - those episodes were (somewhat) short; it didn't dumb down people's excitement and praise towards Valve, but it DID, I assume, affect today's development.
Considering that EP2 was released in 2007, the period between that and EP3 is getting closer to the time period between the initial HL1 and HL2.
We have a long year ahead of us, and even if Valve decides to just make a Portal 3 instead of continuing HL, something tells me that there just might be some (HL storyline driven) hints in it, which wouldn't really be that bad, now, would it? Worst case scenario, we get nothing. Otherwise, even a Portal 3 would be just as entertaining as the continuation of HL.
Our problem is that we're just not patient enough, and it gets under our skin; and then people make petitions and initiatives and stuff like that. Personally, I have nothing to worry about, as long as the development DOES continue on. I'm ready to wait for as long as it takes, despite my impatience, because I know that I, like many others, WILL be blown away.
