According to this Edge Online report pre-orders of Valve’s upcoming survival-horror-co-operative-shooter-extravaganza are 60% higher than those for the Orange Box.

Valve managing director Gabe Newell has this to say regarding the pre-orders:

“People had really strong reactions to Left 4 Dead when we started showing it. Our pre-orders are running 60 percent ahead of Orange Box. This in combination with the fact that it is a new IP made us think that an extensive marketing program made a lot of sense.”

Valve have launched a massive promotional campaign for the game costing $10 million and covering television, online, print and outdoor advertising. The promotional posters for the game (as seen below) feature the logo of the game, the disfigured hand that is now synonymous with the game.

These advertisements will run hand in hand with a massive television campaign with 30-second adverts appearing on a wide variety of US TV networks from November 9th to the 28th. The ads will be mixing humour and horror, and I assume with bear classic Valve stylings.

The Xbox 360 and PC demo of the game is slated to be released in early November and will feature 1-4 player gameplay from the game’s “No Mercy” campaign. Newell is also positive regarding the future success of the game.

“Well, Left 4 Dead has a long way to go to beat Half-Life and Counter-Strike, but our fans’ excitement when they play the game has certainly infected us. It will be a top five title for the year, but beyond that we’ll have to see how big it gets.”

Pre-orders up 60% on the Orange Box, a $10 million advertising campaign? I am sure that Left 4 Dead will be a hugely successful game.

Tags: Left 4 Dead, pre-orders 60% higher than Orange Box, Steam, Valve

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