Valve Dev Claims Steam Makes PC and PS3 "One Big Happy Family"

Logan Westbrook

Transform, Roll Out, Etc
Feb 21, 2008
17,672
0
0
Valve Dev Claims Steam Makes PC and PS3 "One Big Happy Family"

Steam on consoles is more convenient for gamers, says the Portal programmer.

Valve's Jeep Barnett says that the release of Steam on the PS3 has brought PC and PS3 gamers closer together. And not just a little bit either, as Barnett says that what was once "two separate universes" is now "one big happy family."

Speaking to PSM3 magazine, Barnett said that the majority of PS3 gamers also played on the PC, so bringing Steam to the PS3 allowed them to play with all their friends, without having to compartmentalize them into platform specific groups. He added that Steam on PS3 gave people the chance to play on the platform of their choice and of their convenience. This functionality is restricted to just Portal 2 co-op at the moment, but Barnett said that he'd be happy to see more Steam games come to the PS3 in the future, especially downloadable ones, and thought it was just a matter of time.

"Maybe I'm answering these too personally. I think it's a great idea and it's going to become much more common," he said. "Having downloadable games is another one of those inevitabilities, like it was with the music industry. It's on the way."

Barnett may be overstating things a little when he says that Steam has fused two universes, but Portal 2's cross platform play has brought the PC and PS3 at least a little closer together. It won't be the first time that a publisher or developer has tried its hand at cross platform gaming, but with the high level of commitment that Valve is making to getting Steam up and running on consoles, it might just work out this time.

Source: CVG [http://www.computerandvideogames.com/298986/news/valve-ps3-and-pc-now-one-big-happy-family]




Permalink
 

Delusibeta

Reachin' out...
Mar 7, 2010
2,594
0
0
We shall see. Personally, I'd imagine there will be plenty of PC gamers shouting at PS3 gamers in Portal 2 right now (and vice-versa).
 

Chrono212

Fluttershy has a mean K:DR
May 19, 2009
1,846
0
0
But doesn't this remove the competition in the market if everyone is just running the same thing?

Monopolies only benefit Uncle Moneybags the companies and not the consumers.
 

Roxor

New member
Nov 4, 2010
747
0
0
Looks like Valve is working to end the platform wars. I wish them good luck in their endeavour.
 

RA92

New member
Jan 1, 2011
3,079
0
0
Let's just hope, unlike Microsoft's venture, this doesn't rely too much on FPS titles. ^_-

http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/9/2010/07/nomnom.jpg
 

Smooth Operator

New member
Oct 5, 2010
8,162
0
0
Logan Westbrook said:
Steam on consoles is more convenient for gamers, says the Portal programmer.
And then suddenly PSN goes down, something smells fishy here, maybe they were working on a bit more then Portal 2.
 

Owlslayer

New member
Nov 26, 2009
1,954
0
0
Delusibeta said:
We shall see. Personally, I'd imagine there will be plenty of PC gamers shouting at PS3 gamers in Portal 2 right now (and vice-versa).
I don't own Portal 2 myself, so I'm wondering, is it possible to see in-game if the other player is playing the game on a PS3? Cause, people shout at each other in multiplayer games quite often. Though, in co-op games, a bit less.
On topic, i think it's good if the two get closer. It might even reduce the number of flame wars being started. But again, as i said, "it MIGHT". You never know.
 

Denamic

New member
Aug 19, 2009
3,804
0
0
It's not like Final Fantasy XI did this 8 years ago.
Cross platform gaming has been possible since ever.
No one bothered making an effort to make it happen.
 

SilverUchiha

New member
Dec 25, 2008
1,604
0
0
ANImaniac89 said:
Does this mean that PS3 will get the Left 4 Dead games anytime soon?
^^ This! I got a bud who bitches about how he cant use PC controls and that his PC is messing up on him. If L4D2 or L4D were for PS3, then we could kill zombies, no problem. (unfortunately, just not on custom maps most likely).
 

googleback

New member
Apr 15, 2009
516
0
0
SilverUchiha said:
ANImaniac89 said:
Does this mean that PS3 will get the Left 4 Dead games anytime soon?
^^ This! I got a bud who bitches about how he cant use PC controls and that his PC is messing up on him. If L4D2 or L4D were for PC, then we could kill zombies, no problem. (unfortunately, just not on custom maps most likely).
This, if only to boost the numbers of people playing it!
 

The Artificially Prolonged

Random Semi-Frequent Poster
Jul 15, 2008
2,755
0
0
As a pc/ps3 gamer I'm very happy looking forward to more steamworks titles on the ps3. That being said I feel co-op in portal 2 is going to end more friendships judging by my experince playing splitscreen with my brother (who's head incendently now has a dent not to unlike a dual shock controller), God help you if your friend doesn't have a headset.
 

WilliamRLBaker

New member
Jan 8, 2010
537
0
0
So thats why Portal 2 on ps3 can use keyboard and mouse right? oh it can't lol Valve pretty much assured no pc portal player will want to play coop with a ps3 user.
 

Jordi

New member
Jun 6, 2009
812
0
0
When you buy a game on Steam, do you get it for both PC and PS3, or are there still separate "games" for both platforms? In other words, if I use Steam to buy Portal 2 "for PS3", can I then also download and play it on my PC?
 

therandombear

Elite Member
Sep 28, 2009
1,649
0
41
Owlslayer said:
Delusibeta said:
We shall see. Personally, I'd imagine there will be plenty of PC gamers shouting at PS3 gamers in Portal 2 right now (and vice-versa).
I don't own Portal 2 myself, so I'm wondering, is it possible to see in-game if the other player is playing the game on a PS3? Cause, people shout at each other in multiplayer games quite often. Though, in co-op games, a bit less.
On topic, i think it's good if the two get closer. It might even reduce the number of flame wars being started. But again, as i said, "it MIGHT". You never know.
Yes, if one of your friends is playing Portal 2 on the PS3 it says "*insert name* is playing Portal 2 on PS3©"
 

gigastar

Insert one-liner here.
Sep 13, 2010
4,419
0
0
Oh crap, i just realised Valve has just forged another liscence to print money.
 

Megacherv

Kinect Development Sucks...
Sep 24, 2008
2,650
0
0
Denamic said:
It's not like Final Fantasy XI did this 8 years ago.
Cross platform gaming has been possible since ever.
No one bothered making an effort to make it happen.
That's a fair point, and also remember that Quake 3 also had cross-platform gaming between PC and Dreamcast. The major point here though is that Steam has already been going for 7 years and is as strong as ever. Instead of having something that is brand-new and unknown, Valve are using something that is already a fantastic and robust service anyway, and then integrating that into the cross-platform support, meaning that it's something that will easily stick. Heck, it might even convince some PS3 gamers to widen their views and try PC gaming, since they'll already have a Steam account.