PS3 Portal 2 owners get PC edition free.

[Azure-Supernova]

I am sold. It's about time someone acted on the flaw in the videogames market... multiple platforms and exclusive games are pointless. I hope this paves the way for the future of Console and PC gaming. PC devs including vouchers for reduced prices or free DLC in with their console releases.

 

[mindlesspuppet]

Well... I don't own any current gen consoles, been kicking around the idea of getting one, seems pretty obvious which one to go with at this point.

Will steam on ps3 allow double copies for all our games?

Probably not. Since Valve makes Portal and owns Steam, they can do whatever the hell they'd like with the game. I think it'd get significantly more complicated when dealing with third party publishers/devs.

Though I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of the indie games on Steam eventually work this way.

 

[odeed]

I literally can't understand how anyone can hate Valve, they just do awesome stuff like this all the time. I hate to sound like a fanboy (I am), but it's hard not to be.

 

[SL33TBL1ND]

Wow, this is actually turning out fairly interesting.

 

[JediMB]

Seemingly, Valve is less concerned profitting of their games, but more concerned about getting Steam on every system available.

I don't think this is entirely true.

Valve is concerned with making a profit, but their DLC strategy is different from that of most companies. Rather than trying to squeeze extra bucks out of their established customers, they attract new customers by continuously updating their games for free.

 

[Jezzascmezza]

I was going to say, "why the hell would you want the same game on two consoles?"
Then I remembered my experience with the first Portal: I downloaded it off Steam to my Mac (which can't play games for crap,) when it was free, and liked it so much, I bought it off XBLA, so I could play it with better graphics and a far smoother frame rate.

 

[mindlesspuppet]

snip...

Seemingly, Valve is less concerned profitting of their games, but more concerned about getting Steam on every system available. This is further evidenced by them doing some insanely low pricing, like for a brief period selling TF2 for $2 and just giving away portal to Mac users.

I'm certain Valve is concerned about profit, I just don't think they are greedy like publishers tend to be.

That aside, they might miss out of a few potential dollars, but I think having the respect and trust of the community they provide for is a significantly better investment in the long run.

Last year they made a big event out of announcing Portal 2 for the PS3. They never said whether they had a change of heart about the PS3 architecture or Xbox Live is restrictive enough to be just as bad.

Actually the did. They never mention the architecture, however Gabe did state that the PS3 platform was much easier to work with and less restricting than Live.

 

[Jabberwock xeno]

Damn it, that's not fair.

>.<

 

[migo]

I literally can't understand how anyone can hate Valve, they just do awesome stuff like this all the time. I hate to sound like a fanboy (I am), but it's hard not to be.

Non Valve stuff on Steam can get screwed up pretty badly. I only buy Valve games through Steam. Everything else I get from GamersGate, GOG or Impulse.

 

[baker80]

So what is this supposed to be good for? If I bought the game for the PS3, it's because I wanted to play the game on the PS3. If I wanted it for the PC I would've bought it for that platform in the first place, so just what do I actually get out of this?

Not that I'm opposed to getting free stuff or anything, that's fairly nice of Valve, it just seems kind of pointless. I can't really see the reason why they're doing this.

 

[the_pleasure_is_mine]

Cool. I don't own a PS3 (though I'm looking for one) and even if I did I still wouldn't buy Portal 2 on it.

Or on PC for that matter.

If I get it at all it'll be on 360, probably quite some time after release.

 

[BurnOutBrighter]

This changes everything. It really does.

I will be able to play co-op with my brother with me on PS3 and him on PC, or even another friend on a Mac. That in itself is mindblowing. The technology to do this has always existed, but Valve and Sony have finally cut down the red tape.

With Steam Cloud, I'll be able to play some of the single player campaign on PS3, then log in with my Steam account on a friend's PC and continue the same game, because my saved game is in the cloud. (edit: Haven't confirmed this 100% - sites say that saves are cloud-based, but cross-platform hasn't been specifically mentioned)

While it is a clever way for Valve to get people connected to Steam, they do it in a way that adds value. And this is huge value for gamers. If you buy the PS3 version, you can play the same game on PC as well, as well as being able to play multiplayer with anyone on a PC, Mac, or PS3.

Yesterday, I was wondering which version of Portal 2 I was going to buy.
Today, I know for sure.

 

[bbad89]

...lucky them?
I don't really see how having 2 copies is advantageous at all.

A copy for playing with your PS3 friends, and a copy for playing with your PC friends.

 

[BurnOutBrighter]

This is really an interesting piece of news... I wonder what the possibilities that arise from this might be. For example, it would be pretty sweet if Steam game saves were compatible in both platforms and furthermore allowed cross-platform multiplayer!

That's pretty much the point of Steam Cloud, so I hope it's there... however I am still looking for confirmation of cross-platform saves though - sites say that saves are cloud-based, but cross-platform saves hasn't been specifically mentioned.

 

[odBilal]

does anyone know if the PS3 version is playable with keyboard and mouse? Didnt see that feature in a game since UT3.

 

[migo]

...lucky them?
I don't really see how having 2 copies is advantageous at all.

A copy for playing with your PS3 friends, and a copy for playing with your PC friends.

It's cross platform play anyway.

 

[migo]

does anyone know if the PS3 version is playable with keyboard and mouse? Didnt see that feature in a game since UT3.

They'd be silly not to support it.