News Valve building a PS3 development team

http://www.bit-tech.net/news/gaming/2009/07/03/valve-building-a-ps3-development-team/1

Valve has commented that it's now building a PlayStation 3 development team in an effort to improve content on that platform.

 

Valve really are making some PR cock ups at the moment with Left4Dead 2 and now this massive U turn on the PS3.

What the hell is going on there? Is Gabe Newell being ousted in a mini coup by the others at Valve, I mean I am at a loss....

 

Yer valve need to get there story right, one min they say PS3 is no good, next they are building a team. Stop farting around and get EP3 done out and on to the next.

 

Gabe probably still hates the PS3. The reason for this is that the PS3 is far from a failure. You cannot ignore 23+ million console userbase.

 

Valve are great, but gotta admit, lately they have made some blunders, why would you want to tarnish your good name by releasing a sub par game on the PS3? That is not the quality they are known for.

On another note, Episodic Content equal failure, when will Valve drop this stupid episode BS with HL? Wait almost 2 years for 4-5 hours of gameplay that leave you feeling the feeling "That was it"?

 

I'm gonna hate myself for this, but...

Bow to Leper Messiah! *grunt* And his logic. While episodic gameplay for Half-Life is great in terms of shorter games, at lower prices, we were promised them more flipping often!

 

I can see it now...

In 2011 we will finally see HL, ep1 , ep2, ep3 (2013) on the PSN !

Some games just live forever... my point proven - Worms released again on the 360 xbox live service week (Armageddon version this time). Very sweet - but at Team 17, developing Worms is a job for life!

As for Valve on the PS3.... Its about the money. Simple as that. Even ports delivered 6 months late will still make them money.

 

This sums it up perfectly.

 

@MaverickWill: err, the episodic content HAS been coming out much faster than it would have taken otherwise. HL1 to HL2 was 6 years. Hl2:EP1 to HL2:EP2 was 1 and a half years. What did you expect new half life every 4-5 months?

 

OK:

HL2, and the entire Source engine, took 6 years. Are you telling me, that although we're getting parts at a time, it should take another 6 years for a "full" new game?

Ep1 took the best part of 2 years.
Ep2 took 15-16 months.
Now, all we've had from Ep3 so far is some concept art. No release date, no details of the game, nothing. And it's nearly been 2 years.

Now, these 3 games go together to make one full game (in theory and in terms of length), yes? So, it takes as long to develop the Episodes as it does to develop Half-Life 2 AND the full, original Source engine, which was designed to make releasing games so much easier and faster?

Pull the other one, Gabey Baby, it's got "Cash Cow" written on it.

 

I do believe the episodes were originally promised at 6-9 month intervals. The problem is, I think, ambition runs away with them and they end up adding more and more bits on to the Source Engine. They did it with Alyx's AI and HDR between HL2 and Ep1, then with Wide Open Spaces and Cinematic Physics for Ep 2.

And don't get me wrong - those additions are great and all. But I played through Episode 2 again recently and I'm not convinced that it was worth the extra five or six month wait just so that Valve could have those four main sections with cinematic physics (the two collapsing bridges, the advisor encounter and the destructible houses at the end). I'd of rather had the same game with the standard physics and no destructible houses.

 

@MaverickWill: I honestly couldn't care less how long it takes, I know it will be brilliant when it comes out and I'm content to wait. Valve doesn't owe you more Half Life.

 

HAHA, Love that Album, Master of Puppets, doesn't get much better.

 

True, but Valve are demonstrating ably the falsehood to their supposition that Episodic Content works as a delivery medium... and purely because they're not good at sticking to their deadlines. In fact, the only example of episodic content I've seen that has actually worked as advertised was the new Sam & Max game - those episodes were fairly close together so the wait for the next bit wasn't too bad.

To each their own on the episodic content front... some are content to get bits in dribs and drabs... others would rather have a complete game arrive at once.

 

Valve developing for the PS3 could be for the greater good, in house team = better port. As for the episodes they would probably end up taking the same amount of time as if they released HL3 instead with the updates to the engine. But then you would have to wait 5-6 years for it and there would be no L4D as only the updates they made to the engine made it possible. It would have been a lot more work if they had to develop the engine from the HL2 state to the L4D state.

 

A sensible long-term move as the console's not going anywhere. Bashing the PS3 was fashionable, they've done it, now they're buckling down and showing they want PS3 gamers to have as close an experience to the PC version as possible. Hardly another PR gaffe - they changed their minds!

 

I disagree it, they and everyone hopped on that bandwagon, ate whatever it was that Microsoft was shoveling. And now in hindsight they are probably realizing it wasn't the most prudent thing to do.

 

I'm whit ya on that one, next up, Valve going public...I said it first..HA!

 

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