Dear Valve,
I have the utmost respect for you as a developer. When the credits roll on your games, everyone's name is listed with no title; you are a team and you recognize that aspect of game design. It took all of you to make the game, no one person should be set above another due to titles and such. I genuinely appreciate your philosophy when it comes to designing video games.
Recently one of your team members had this to say: "In hooking up with your friends and the community aspects, I think the Xbox 360 is head and shoulders above the PS3." This was said in regards to Left 4 Dead 2 and the disinterest in bringing the game to the PlayStation 3.
While I do believe it's true that the way you can play games with other people on the Xbox 360 is really easy and intuitive, I find it strange that a respected developer such as yourself would make such a claim. And, honestly, I think it's a slap-in-the-face to people who only own PlayStation 3's.
Not to get into the specifics of what the PlayStation 3 "is" and "is not" capable of doing in regards to online play, let me just say that the PlayStation 3 is capable of having a group of players from any part of the world play a single game together online. Furthermore, those people who choose to use their PlayStation 3 to play games online with others continue to do so despite the "inferiority" of the platform.
I try to refrain from thinking the worst of anyone, but I have to wonder if the comments were stated simply because the Left 4 Dead 2 team is incapable of developing a great game for the PlayStation 3 platform. In other words, the only reason the game would be "inferior" to its Xbox 360 counterpart is lack of knowledge on the team's part when it comes to making a game for the PlayStation 3. I highly doubt this is the case and almost feel foolish for writing these words as I know you employ some of the most talented people in the video game industry.
At the beginning of my letter I stated that I respect you, Valve, as a developer -- I still do. Your philosophy regarding game design is truly special, as you try to only put out the best of the best. There are many gamers who would love to play your games but can only afford one system; or in my case, was able to afford one system long ago and now, due to a growing family, am unable to spend large amounts of money at any given time.
I would absolutely love to play Left 4 Dead and its sequel. But as it stands I simply cannot.
As a PlayStation 3 owner I ask that you reconsider your stance on the system as a viable platform for the quality products you develop. The Xbox 360's online and community aspects may be better then ours, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't be able to enjoy great games. And when it comes down to it, just like when the credits roll on your games, we're all equally gamers -- and we all delight in playing video games.
Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
J. Cosmo Cohen
Comments (11)
Kidding!
Good post. I suspect that those comments were related in some way to dissatisfaction with the PS3 port of The Orange Box, but of course we'll never know.
The system is on the rebound and it's only going to get more and more controversial to bash the systems viability as a platform as time goes on. If they develop for the system or not is their own buisiness, but claiming the system isn't worth developing for is a dumb move.
I don't think they're really "bashing the system's viability as a platform" nor "claiming the system isn't worth developing for". All they're saying is that they think the 360 has a superior multiplayer/social infrastructure setup so they choose to develop for that platform.
This is where I think the biggest disconnect is - Valve isn't saying "don't develop for PS3", they're effectively saying "it's easier for us to focus on one console and the 360 has better networking features, as far as we're concerned, so we're making the business decision to choose it as our console platform". Some things just aren't necessarily personal.
Japanese business practices and ethics are much different than American practices, and it seems as though they are more resistant to change. Also, because the xbox360 and pc are easier to develop for, I can understand why Valve may not think it is financially viable to develop for a platform where they do not already have a huge following.
The sheer number of people who play on the 360 and on live make it almost a no-brainer to continue working with this platform. Perhaps when the PS3 has reached its peak and can rival the 360 on the networking side, maybe then Valve will see some incentive to go after that audience but for now, the number of PS3 owners who would be interested in playing LFD is much much smaller than you might think. Valve sees Left For Dead as a multiplayer experience at heart and in that regard it makes the most sense to develop it for platforms who have the best online capabilities.
Again, they are not bashing the PS3, but until there is a large enough demand for it, and maybe when their games are not selling like hotcakes on the PC and 360, Valve might consider going after the market share on the PS3. Just a thought, but it is after all a business, and despite their reluctance to make games on the PS3, Valave is still one of the best and generous developers out there. Just look at Steam and you will see them doing some revolutionary things.
But they shouldn't pretend that it's anything other than a financial call by implying that the platform is somehow flawed.
I would like to see these games on the PS3. I'm not bothered so much by the actual decision than I am by the way it was presented.
