One of major selling points for Portal 2 is the cross platform play between the PS3 and PC. Valve has had an interesting relationship with the PlayStation 3 up until now. An inability to see eye to eye with Microsoft, pushed Valve to incorporate steamworks with the PS3 version of Portal 2. This is what will ultimately facilitate the cross platform play between the two systems.
Jeep Barnett, a programmer at Valve that worked on the game that inspired Portal 2, Narbacular Drop, spoke with Games on Net about some of the challenges of developing for the cross platform game. Noting that eventhough games may see a difference between how a game controls or looks across different platforms, he ensures that the game will run smoothly for all parties in the cooperative modes. But when asked about the possible inclusion of the functionality for the Xbox 360, Barnett responded:
“maybe we’ll get it next time. We’ll see what they think of the PS3 version.”
It’s really unclear how its all going to pan out for the PS3 version of Portal 2. If it plays out anything like Valves other online games on PC like Left 4 Dead , Left 4 Dead 2, or Team Fortress 2, you can expect that Portal 2 will be a game that keeps on giving. Valve games have notoriously big value, partly because of the awesome community which builds content for the games, expansion packs and updates from Valve themeselves. Portal 2 is readying for an April launch on PS3, PC, and Xbox 360. You can catch the full interview here
