[ArcticCelt]

I also think that Valve used him a bit as convenient scapegoat to explain why the release of the game was pushed back another year.

[flomo]

Probably. Background: Half-Life 2 was contending with Duke Nukem Forever for the greatest vaporware title ever, when Valve released gameplay footage and a definite release date. The half-done state of leaked game and the subsequent one year delay caused people to think it might never ship.

Of course, when the game finally came out to rave reviews, all was forgiven.