Even if you're the man most responsible for one of the FPS genre's most idolized games, and most sought after guy in gaming to get information from, you still have to go through the proper channels. Valve's Gabe Newell learned that when he tried to kick off his AMA on Reddit yesterday afternoon, only to be told he was a wee bit ahead of schedule.
Mr. Newell's pre-approved time came and went, but no one heard from the man since he posted proof that he was indeed the mythic that sneezed Half-Life and Steam into the world.
A mod was quick to provide an update on the matter, writing that since the initial post, "no one has heard from Mr. Newell. We've been constantly monitoring his Reddit account, and the admins have reached out through their contacts at Valve. But unfortunately, after an hour of waiting, we have been unable to confirm anything."
So close, and yet so far. Maybe he confused his Reddit login with his Steam name. Or, as the mod theorized, "It is possible that he intended to answer on a different date (which does occassionally happen sometimes)." But the irony of the man who is the only legitimate source on Half-Life 3, missing an AMA scheduled for March 3, or, 3/3 to you and me, was not lost on the fans.
Some posters in the thread, as well as Kotaku, claim that a follow up AMA is set for to 2:00 PM PST today, but at the time of this posting, a future date and/or time for Mr. Newell's AMA has not been scheduled on the AMA calendar for the month of March.
However, "When we do get in touch with him, he will either create a new AMA, or possibly will be added to our calendar, so keep an eye out both there and the /new queue. Just to be clear: there is no indication that the AMA is cancelled; just that we don't know when he plans to actually come answer questions."
Newell had promised to do an AMA back in mid-January, provided donations made to the Seattle Children's Heart Center reached $500,000, and charitable parties came through in spades. According to the organization's Don Kitch Jr., as of today, the total amount donated this year has surpassed Newell's challenge by thousands of dollars.