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Denver, 3:03 PM
Sun Nov 8
17 posts in the last 24 hours
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11/07/09
Pitchford hit the nail pretty firmly on the head there. #valve
11/07/09
11/07/09
but anyone who buys a Valve product on anything other than a PC is really harming themselves.
Valve tastes best with the PC. just like Chocolate tastes best with Peanut Butter. #valve
11/07/09
hehe, he should watch his step. #valve
11/07/09
11/07/09
And a sad one too.
But nevermind me... just put on your cool face Pitchford. #valve
11/07/09
Otherwise they could have ended up hiring a bunch of PS3 coders to take on the task in-house to maintain not just an engine of high enough quality for them to use, but for them to license to other companies. That would greatly increase the interest in licensing their engine for cross platform games, since the PS3 is a critical system for hardcore games.
Again, I don't know any of this definitively, but this is just what I'm reading into Valve's position. If the PS3 version was plagued with bugs due to foundational engine design issues and requiring way more work and time investment with significantly less profit in return, nobody could blame them for staying away from the PS3 until they are confident they can return with the same level of quality people expect from them on other platforms.
Perhaps the next version of their engine will be designed with all of this in mind (if that was the problem) and they'll return to the PS3 some day, but saying that they left the PS3 owners hanging out of greed and carelessness is a low blow and possibly ignorant. If things had worked out for them on the PS3 there would have been a number of great opportunities for profit without "other fingers in the pie".
As far as fanboyism goes, Valve might have had a bad taste in their mouth from the PS3 issues and made biased comments about the PS3, but that doesn't mean there aren't very real business reasons for the path they've taken. They wouldn't be the first well known developers to talk down the PS3 for going against the established grain. #valve
11/07/09
12:27 AM
This reminds me, I recall reading an interview with Doug Lombardi where he said Vavle didn't have the capitol to invest in a dedicated coding team for the complicated PS3. That being the reason the PS3 version of Orange Box was a sub-par title. I agree that what is most cost effective for a company is usually the best. However, to talk smack about a console simply because your company doesn't have the resources to develop for it is a lame tactic. #valve
04:03 AM
10:33 AM
If so that would throw a basket full of wrenches in their program just to accommodate the PS3 as is, but on top of that they would need to consider the PS3 in any new improvements they make to the Source engine. You could get belligerant and call it laziness, or you could say they're spoiled by the comforts of the way their technology currently works which ferments an aversion to change.
Either way, at least they were sensible enough to realize that if they aren't going to be interested in putting their full force behind the PS3 then they shouldn't be there at all. Otherwise you might just have a string of buggy poorly ported Valve games on the PS3, which wouldn't be good for them or the players. You could then blame them that the Orange Box on the PS3 was a mistake, and they would likely agree and fully take the blame. #valve
11:06 AM
Game developers like to write their engine once and then make improvements here and there for gameplay, very rarely doing full rewrites. Many companies just use 3rd party engine licenses, but some do roll their own technology. For those that roll their own or provide engine licensing, this meant that in order to keep using their existing technology across all platforms including the PS3, they would need to shake their engine designs up.
That's not something you do lightly and if your company already has a heavy investment in the current architecture then it becomes more than just a basic porting job which can result in more headaches than it's worth. In the end, I think they like where they're at and just don't feel like shaking things up too much at this point. They're the developer, it's their choice how they want to operate.
For the most part I don't think Valve is trying to be evil and talk down a system out of some elitist need, but rather out of very real frustrations reflected by many developers. Epic didn't have a choice at all whether they were going to design the Unreal Engine to support the PS3, it's practically required of them given their position in the industry. People who licensed UE3 had plenty of complaints about the issues and delays with it on the PS3. Valve actually had a choice with Source and I think they're ok with that choice for now. #valve
11:51 AM
11/07/09
Borderlands had a solid concept at it's core... surrounded by a boring plot, lackluster gameplay, and glitches galore. Even with 4 player coop and nearly limitless firearm selection, the rest of the game was just so bad I couldn't play it for more than a week.
Maybe you guys should spend some more time working on your games, and a little less time trolling Lombardi? #valve
11/07/09
11/07/09
No...Microsoft did. Judging from their comments, if it was up to Valve, the 360 version would have all of the same updates. #valve
11/07/09
I don't like their comments towards the PS3 Orange Box, seeing how they farmed it out to another developer. Even if it wasn't perfect, that isn't really professional to publicly criticize someone who did some work for you. #valve
11/07/09
Borderlands already shows that quality multi-platform releases on PS3 can work if you put enough effort into it. #valve
11/07/09
11/07/09
I know people enjoying it on PC. /shrugs. #valve
11/07/09
11/07/09
Or Spider-Man 2.
And I'm pretty sure the PC version of Modern Warfare 2 won't qualify as "better" now that dedicated servers and mod support are gone. #valve
11/07/09
Touché on all counts.
Maybe I'm just used to hearing *certain* PC-lovers talk about how superior their versions of the games "always" are. #valve
11/07/09
From my experience, PC games can be better, but it depends. Delayed PC release is usually a good thing - it gives them time to fix bugs, and occasionally add content. It also helps if the developers don't remove features, like multiplayer in Ghostbusters. Pricing the game appropriately is a must; COD4 is still $40 on Steam, which is completely unjustified given the game's age.
Of course, the entire argument falls apart if your PC isn't powerful enough to run games at or near their full specs. :) #valve
11/07/09
"Of course, the entire argument falls apart if your PC isn't powerful enough to run games at or near their full specs. "
And I do not have the money to build and maintain a high-quality PC. #valve
11/07/09
First Valve said "PS3 is too difficult to develop for", then moved on to "small userbase", and now this. It's quite similar to the way fanboys have reacted to the PS3. First there were "no games". Then it was "it's too expensive", then it was "no BC". If it's not one reason, it'll be another.
From my perspective the whole thing is fascinating really; not because this "debate" doesn't amount to anything more than a hill of beans, but because I always get a kick out of the reactions of fanboys. It's like watching a car wreck.
"Those guys are childish and narrow minded" No kidding Pitchford, tell us something we don't already know. #valve
11/07/09
So, if the PS3 were to, say, surpass the 360 user base and tick up more software sales it would probably be something like, "the network," or, "the users' interests aren't in our products."
At that point it would just be, "no shit Valve, no shit." #valve
11/07/09
11/07/09
12:11 AM
12:38 AM
11/07/09
11/07/09
So what you're looking at is someone making a very glib statement about a market group that they are so disrespectful of that they will pawn off the development to someone else, then turn around and bash the developers.
You tell me what part of that is not sleazy. #valve
11/07/09
Valve has every right to call out the developers that did a bad job with the port. #valve
11/07/09
I suspect that, if it had been Valve's decision instead of EA's choice, there wouldn't BE a version of The Orange Box for the PS3. #valve
11/07/09
Oh, wait. #valve
11/07/09
11/07/09
I bet Faliszek's mom left him in the car whenever she went into Toys 'R' Us. #valve
11/07/09
"People ragged on Valve even before their notorious comments"
Their notorious comments started way back in the beginning of 2007 (search Gabe Newell PS3 if you don't believe me) and I don't think anyone was ragging on them before that. #valve
11/07/09
11/07/09
11/07/09
11/07/09