Valve Reveals Portal 2 for PlayStation 3: Steam Details Arrive

[PS3 News]

Valve VP of Marketing Doug Lombardi has revealed Portal 2 for PlayStation 3 Steam details today for fans, as follows:

A few months back, http://www.valvesoftware.com/ announced some initial details of Steam's debut in the PS3 version of http://www.valvesoftware.com/games/portal2.html.

While people were excited to hear about the PS3 game's inclusion of Steam access to Portal 2 on any PC or Mac, they also had a bunch of questions.

So, here's a bit more info about Steam on the PS3.

Portal 2 for PlayStation 3 is the first title to support Steam on a console. Specifically, that means it offers cross-platform matchmaking, gameplay, friends, chat, and achievements, all powered by Steam.

Steam on the PS3 also saves co-op game progress and single player saved games to the Steam Cloud, enabling players to pick up where they left off on any PlayStation 3.

Steam makes its appearance on the PS3 as an overlay within Portal 2. Here, the Steam overlay provides access to Steam Friends, displaying their in-game or online status and providing a quick pathway to text chats, player profiles, friend requests, and game invites. Steam Achievements are earned in lockstep with PSN Trophies and are also accessible within the Steam overlay.

Steam on the PS3 provides access to all of these features once the player has linked their PlayStation Network account with a Steam account, which is done right within the game. A Steam user can login to an existing account, and anyone new to Steam can create an account with the click of a button.

With all these features, Portal 2 on the PS3 is the best console version of the game, just as it was suggested it would be back at E3 last year. If you're still hungry for more details, head over to http://store.steampowered.com/ and https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=5477-WPJM-9388.

Portal 2 will be available next Tuesday, April 19th.



More PlayStation 3 News...

[elser1]

interesting concept.. so i can play co-op with my ps3 and my mate on his pc... is this what it is?

that would be ok if it works well..

[Transient]

I wonder if the PS3 version will support keyboard and mouse?

[B4rtj4h]

Unfortunately NOT. We can only play Co-op on another PS3, and the save games do not work on PC.

[GrandpaHomer]

Steam on the PS3 also saves co-op game progress and single player saved games to the Steam Cloud, enabling players to pick up where they left off on any PlayStation 3.

Stuff THAT Sony including your defacto useless PSN+ sub ...

Hope that more game developers will follow.

[leukotic]

Guys, you will be able to play online co-op on the PC and PS3 using only the PS3 version with the free PC download code. With the new FAQ and reading dev replies over at the Steam forums, this is indeed possible.

Here's how:

1. Boot up Portal 2 on your PS3 and create/link your main PSN account to Steam from inside the game.

2. Log-off your main PSN account and log into one of your alternate PSN accounts.

3. Boot up Portal 2, and link this account to a new Steam account (Obviously different from the one you linked to with your main PSN account). At this point you will now have two completely separate PSN/Steam accounts on one PS3.

4. Enter the PC download code provided with the PS3 version of Portal 2 for this PSN account, and then do whatever is required to download the game on Steamplay.

5. Log-off this PSN account and go back to your main account, boot up Portal 2, log into Steam and go online to co-op.

6. Goto your PC and boot Portal 2 using the different steam account you created with your alternate PSN.

7. Add each-other as friends and enjoy online co-op over Steam using only one version of the game (PS3 version of course).

Here is why I believe this will work. From the FAQ it is clear that the PS3 version of Portal 2 has a code inside the gamecase (separate from the disk) that will allow you to download the PC version on Steam. From what I have read, this code is not required to create or link a PSN/Steam account. It is only needed when you want to download the PC version on Steam.

With that said, VALVe stated that multiple PSN and Steam accounts can be played from one PS3, meaning this... you can use that PC code for ANY PSN account you want and is not restricted to just your main account, as it is not required to play or link a PSN account to a Steam account.

Some facts to backup my theory. Proof that the code is separate from the gamedisk.

From the FAQ posted here - https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=5477-WPJM-9388

When you purchase a new copy of Portal 2 for PlayStation®3, you will receive an in-box code which provides your linked Steam account with access to your copy of Portal 2 on your computer.

Below is proof of concept that you can have multiple PSN/Steam accounts on one PS3. This also proves you do NOT need the PC download code to register/link Steam to a PSN account. Meaning you can use the PC download code you got with your PS3 version of Portal 2 on ANY PSN account you want (only one time of course).

http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showpost.php?p=21763715&postcount=12

Online co-op on PS3 requires a Steam login, but you can auto-create a Steam account when first playing co-op with a single button. You don't have to type in a username or password, you don't have to do anything. It's super easy, you can also do this multiple times for different PS3 local user profiles/PSN accounts, so for instance you and your brother can both have separate PSN and Steam accounts and play the game online on PS3, just not at the same time with a single disc of course. It's not meant to be intrusive DRM in anyway, in fact Steam on PS3 is not DRM at all, it's there to improve the multiplayer matchmaking experience and to support cross platform play.

For split-screen you do not need to link/create a Steam account and you can play totally offline.

[barrybarryk]

Sid, PSB: Another reader question: If a user gets Portal 2 for the PS3, can two people play that copy at the same time? One on the PS3 and one on the PC?

Joshua, Valve: Well, of course you can play two-player splitscreen on one PS3. But otherwise, it works the way Steam play does now - you can only be logged into one device at a time.

Good luck with that.