14 DAY TRIAL // Valve, the company behind massively successful games like Half Life or the more recent Portal 2, has congratulated Sony on opening up its online gaming strategy for the PlayStation 3, by allowing the company, alongside other developers, to bring their online services to the device.
Home consoles are pretty closed off by their respective manufacturers, with Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo running their own online services and imposing some harsh limitations on game developers and publishers.
But Sony took the first step in opening up its PlayStation 3 by allowing Valve to bring mechanics from its Steam service, alongside Portal 2, on the PlayStation 3, giving console owners the possibility of cross platform play with PC or Mac users through Valve's own systems.
Now, Valve boss Gabe Newell talked about Sony's move and congratulated the Japanese company for taking such a huge step.
"I think Sony will start to benefit from what it’s doing," Newell said. "[Sony has] done the scary thing and I think it's up to us as developers to make sure Sony and its customers are rewarded. We and other developers have to show we're creating value to Sony for opening up its network. We have to show them it's a smart business move."
Sony is also allowing CCP Games to connect its upcoming Dust 514 shooter to its own massively multiplayer PC game EVE Online, so Valve's isn't the only company benefiting from the new stance of the Japanese company.
PS3 and Portal 2 owners will soon realize the impact the presence of Steam on the console has with the upcoming release of the first actual Portal 2 DLC, which is scheduled to arrive in September.
"With the release of the first Portal 2 DLC people will really see the value of Sony allowing Steam to be released on their system,” Newell added. "I think you’ll see us pushing very hard in increasing the overall play value of Portal 2."