Valve’s Gabe Newell probably wasn’t the pin-up of most PS3 fanboys until last Summer, his spitting, derogatory comments attracting more vitriol than one of TSA’s opinion pieces. “A waste of everybody’s time,” he said once. We’ve never said that…
But, regardless, at E3 last year he righted all the wrongs by saying that not only would Portal 2 [review] appear on the PS3, but it would be the “best version”, complete with Steam integration. And, you know what, it looks like he might have been right; A2 posters are available now.
But let’s backtrack to the way Valve treated the PS3 up until now: basically, the support was bordering on risible – inferior ports like The Orange Box on the PS3 weren’t even handled by Valve, EA had to pick up the duties because the developers simply weren’t interested.
Sorry. I mean they “didn’t have the resources” – whatever.
But he was sorry. “If you look at the customers that I feel we’ve done the worst job at taking care of is the people who bought our product on the PS3 – Orange Box on PS3,” he said back in 2009. “Those are the people who I have trouble saying anything to other than ‘Yeah, I’m sorry. You have legitimate beef with us.”
The PS3 missed out on Left 4 Dead, too, although that’s a different story entirely. But here we are, in April 2011, and Portal 2’s just about to be released for the PlayStation 3. And, from what we’re seeing and hearing, a minor miracle has happened, at least for those that form Sony’s longstanding hardcore fanbase: Portal 2 really is “best on PS3”.
PC owners aren’t happy. The user scores on Metacritic might be up at just over 7 at the moment, but they were down at just over 5 yesterday. Metacritic’s evolved into something much bigger than most intended over the years, but it’s a shame it still harbours the moaning of fanboys with respect to its user score.
Why the whinging? Because some PC owners feel their version is actually a port of the PS3 version, complete with “do not switch off your console” messages when saving, and the rather in-your-face paid for DLC available on launch day. It’s not a ‘port’ at all, of course, but you can’t account for everybody. Fancy that.
But the Xbox 360 version, which everyone assumed would be the slicker version after Valve’s past experience with the platform? Not so. Read, if you will, Lens Of Truth’s screenshot comparison. I’m not aware of any particular slant taken by the site, I don’t personally frequent it, but those screenshots are certainly telling.
The lighting looks blander, the resolution considerably lower. At least to me. Or, rather, not just me – AotF offers up similar criticism. “The question is: did Sony pay for Steam exclusivity, or did MS refuse it?” asks the site. “Either way, Valve rewarded Sony users with a ‘Steam-lite’ that includes access to custom user made levels, online play with PC/MAC users, and file saves on the steam system.”
The Steam integration isn’t on the 360, presumably due to the closed nature of the console.
An interesting situation, then. From Valve casting the PS3 aside, to totally embracing it with a passion, Portal 2 shows just what a developer can do when they have the resources. Naturally, the game’s brilliant whichever platform you decide to go for, but at least PS3 owners can rest easy knowing their version isn’t, for once, sub-par.
yogh_wayne
I’d love to see ‘Portal: Still Alive’ with trophy support on PSN. C’mon Valve :)
Forrest_01
I would second this.
Tuffcub
Now all Gabe has to do is make his face fit his head. I screamed when I opened up TSA this morning, looks like someone has painted eyes on a ballon.
simplebob
Dont upset the man, they may change their mind and stop making games for PS3 again. (I won’t mention Peter Griffin, I won’t mention Peter Griffin…..)
jcor
Trouser laugh haha.
Kenny
I’m reading this on my phone, and so I can’t see the comparison. I saw a really convincing hdmi one linked on n4g, it may be the same one, as I can’t remember the name of the site. But it had a slider you could move to shift between the two consoles. And the ps3 looked quite a bit crisper and smoother. I’m glad valve held their promise.
RedStarGlow
Portal 2 came yesterday in the US. I picked up the cases and it rattled a little. I thought, “Maybe a launch day treat was included in the box!”.
Turns out the disc was loose in the case banging around inside. Luckily it did not look scratched or anything.
R4U Eldave0
Given my brother will only play games on his PC I love the fact I will now be able to fire up my PS3 and play some co-op portal2 with him :) Cheers Valve!
Flash
For all the times PS3 versions of games have looked sub-par to the 360’s versions, to now watch 360 fanboys squirm is well worth it. Fanboys, this is proof that the hardware of both consoles is as good as the same, and its the time and effort put into each version that makes all the difference.
Dange
Nice, good to see the PS3 getting some love from Valve, this is very high on my to buy list.
PriceKitty
See?
Now if Valve can do this, then the other developers who claim they can’t do it, actually can.
It’s all about Microsoft bribing developers.
Don’t believe excuses.
Awayze
I never understood this game, I downloaded the first one for free on Mac when Steam came to Mac and I didn’t get what to do :/
lukieboy1981
Am I right in reading that 360 players won’t get access to custom levels :-O
a inferior race
If that is true, then that is a bloody joke. I can tolerate one version looking slighty better than another but to actually omit major features is a disgrace.