Portal 2 on PS3: Redeemable Steam Play copy explained

[Razorwing]

wait, so we can't play cross platform? even on steam? bummer.

[Athernar]

What about this...

So if one can go to their PS3 and pick up, surely it works the other way too?

Taken from here...

EDIT - Oh, I see, it only works from PS3 to PS3. Well that kind of sucks then.

Does not change my plans to get it for the PS3, but that does seem kind of stupid, if it works from PS3 to PS3, why not the other way around, especially when cross platform play is an option.

Probably due to limitations in the save format, the PC and Mac releases are essentially identical save for a couple of OS APIs swapped out, console versions likely have a myriad of technical differences..

[Corris Veteran]

wait, so we can't play cross platform? even on steam? bummer.

Where did you get that from?

[D!ABOL!C]

Saw this on the PS3 section of Joystiq. Here is a link to the Steam forums explaining how the PS3 and Steam interact: https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=5477-WPJM-9388#features

What are some features the Steam Overlay on PlayStation?3 provides?

Among the features available in the Steam Overlay on PlayStation?3:

? Play cross-platform from your PlayStation?3 with Steam friends on Windows or Mac.

? Access your Steam friends list, enabling you to chat with, add, or remove Steam friends.

? Access redeemed downloadable content registered in Windows or Mac, and vice-versa

? View your Steam friends? community profiles.

? View your earned Steam Achievements, as well as global achievement stats, for Portal 2.

? See the latest news and announcements for Portal 2.

If you are curious about what Steam provides on a PC, please go here to learn more.

Note:

Steam achievements are earned in lockstep with PSN Trophies: earning a PSN Trophy while logged in to a Steam account will award you the corresponding Steam Achievement once you have linked your PSN and Steam accounts. Achievements earned on a PC do not unlock PSN Trophies.

[spenser.d]

Did it ever occur to you that Valve's primary motivation is not making a profit?

Of course it is. You can't be a business without your primary motivation being profit. If you don't profit you can't grow and you can't continue to provide customers a service. Treating customers well can be right up there next to making a profit (and it seems it is with Valve), but their motivation is profit. Interestingly enough treating customers well has likely been one of the leading reasons they're profiting. They can create deals and give away free stuff because of how Steam works. They've done their research. They've probably also done plenty of market research and cost/benefit analysis and figured that they'll profit more by providing a deal like this even though there's an off-chance of a few people abusing it. Most people wouldn't by a game on both the PS3 and the PC anyways, so giving away a PC copy with a PS3 copy isn't losing any money (for lack of better terms, as its really only potential money). They're probably going to make more money than they would have because this deal will attract some buyers who wouldn't have bought Portal 2 on any system. Its about profit.

[DirtyLarry Veteran]

I would assume the save formats aren't compatible between what the PS3 uses and however the PC saves will be used, they would at least would need some sort of converting between them for it to work, and then there is always the chance something could go wrong, corruption, loss of data, etc.

It would have been a neat feature, but I can see why it might not work at this point, maybe in future games or through an update or something.

Probably due to limitations in the save format, the PC and Mac releases are essentially identical save for a couple of OS APIs swapped out, console versions likely have a myriad of technical differences..

I see both of your points, I do, but surely if they are writing some whatever code that is unlocking the same achievements, they could write a similar type of code that just lets the game know where one is in a game.

I know I am over simplifying it, but since one seems achievable, for some reason I just think the other should be as well.

It just kind of destroys my whole main desire for owning it on both platforms TBH. I will still take a free version, that is in essence how I see it, but would have been really sweet if it worked with saves, that's all.

[Corris Veteran]

I see both of your points, I do, but surely if they are writing some whatever code that is unlocking the same achievements, they could write a similar type of code that just lets the game know where one is in a game.

I know I am over simplifying it, but since one seems achievable, for some reason I just think the other should be as well.

It just kind of destroys my whole main desire for owning it on both platforms TBH. I will still take a free version, that is in essence how I see it, but would have been really sweet if it worked with saves, that's all.

It is no doubt achievable in some way, but it probably either comes down to having to spend more time than they want on it, or something to do with the checks behind save game locks on PS3 saves and Sony might not want Valve unlocking save games openly or they just aren't compatible, but I don't really know enough about the technology behind it to have a proper guess.

But who knows, but I would guess it is a bit more complicated than sending a bit of data to Steam to unlock an Achievement/Trophy, lol.

[Athernar]

Of course it is. You can't be a business without your primary motivation being profit. If you don't profit you can't grow and you can't continue to provide customers a service. Treating customers well can be right up there next to making a profit (and it seems it is with Valve), but their motivation is profit. Interestingly enough treating customers well has likely been one of the leading reasons they're profiting. They can create deals and give away free stuff because of how Steam works. They've done their research. They've probably also done plenty of market research and cost/benefit analysis and figured that they'll profit more by providing a deal like this even though there's an off-chance of a few people abusing it. Most people wouldn't by a game on both the PS3 and the PC anyways, so giving away a PC copy with a PS3 copy isn't losing any money (for lack of better terms, as its really only potential money). They're probably going to make more money than they would have because this deal will attract some buyers who wouldn't have bought Portal 2 on any system. Its about profit.

Says who?

Arguably while Valve certainly are a very profitable company, if not due to Steam rather than their games; companies like Activision can drag their customers over hot coals and as much as I hate to say it, are even more profitable.

So no, Valve's main goal is not to make a profit. If it was they would be churning out regular Left 4 Dead and Counter-Strike releases.

Valve's ethos is and has always been to make great games, profit is merely an enabler for them to continue their work.

I see both of your points, I do, but surely if they are writing some whatever code that is unlocking the same achievements, they could write a similar type of code that just lets the game know where one is in a game.

I know I am over simplifying it, but since one seems achievable, for some reason I just think the other should be as well.

It just kind of destroys my whole main desire for owning it on both platforms TBH. I will still take a free version, that is in essence how I see it, but would have been really sweet if it worked with saves, that's all.

As someone who regularly works with Valve's WebAPI platform (I run a popular TF2 Backpack viewer), I can tell you unlocking achievements cross-platform is trivial. Save files are a little more complex than just a simple HTTP request containing an API key and a AchievementID + SteamID.

[Singh400]

Just ordered the PS3 version for ?29.99.

[DirtyLarry Veteran]

As someone who regularly works with Valve's WebAPI platform (I run a popular TF2 Backpack viewer), I can tell you unlocking achievements cross-platform is trivial. Save files are a little more complex than just a simple HTTP request containing an API key and a AchievementID + SteamID.

Okay, that actually does make some sense to me, as I have a, albeit it rather limited, understanding of the language you are using.

Maybe in a future update though. :laugh:

[CentralDogma]

Nice thing Valve is doing for PS3 owners. But I guess it balances out after the whole Orange Box thing.

I?ll probably get it on PC, though. Wait for a nice Steam sale for it.

[soniqstylz]

I see both of your points, I do, but surely if they are writing some whatever code that is unlocking the same achievements, they could write a similar type of code that just lets the game know where one is in a game.

I know I am over simplifying it, but since one seems achievable, for some reason I just think the other should be as well.

It just kind of destroys my whole main desire for owning it on both platforms TBH. I will still take a free version, that is in essence how I see it, but would have been really sweet if it worked with saves, that's all.

I don't think achievements are unlocked cross-platform. I think that was actually part of the issue, Sony didn't want people tampering with trophies, seeing as how it's extremely easy to hack Steam Achievements.

Also, they said they just ran out of time on it, but they will try cross-cloud saves next time.

[+Audioboxer Subscriber²]

[Dirk]

So if my friend buys it for the PS3 can he link my PSN to his steam and we can both play it at the same time?