Valve: We’re “Not PS3 Developers,” but Left 4 Dead PS3 Still Possible
Posted by Chris on Monday, May 5th, 2008 at 10:09 pm under Sony, Valve, Game Consoles, Games, Game Platforms, Game Companies
Tagged: doug lombardi, half life, left 4 dead, pc, Playstation 3, Port, PS3, Team Fortress, the orange box, valve and Xbox 360
As things stand, there are no plans to bring the co-op friendly zombie shooter Left 4 Dead to any platform aside from PCs and Xbox 360. If you’re wondering why that is, Valve’s Doug Lombardi put it quite simply: they’re “not PS3 developers.”
Lombardi explained, “EA came to us and said ‘Wow, Orange Box was an incredible project, can we do a PS3 version?’” But while games like Half-Life and Team Fortress already have an established name, Left 4 Dead is a completely new IP, so it’s not guaranteed to sell like a new Half-Life game. “Left 4 Dead doesn’t have that guaranteed appeal yet - it’s a new IP,” Lombardi told CVG.
“If you mention a new Half-Life, people want to make as many versions of it as possible. If Left 4 Dead is big, then we may see a PS3 version later, or if and when we do a sequel, people may be more interested in that.
“We’re only 150 people, so there’s only so many things we can do. But it’s one of those things with partners, wanting to take on that investment and risk. I think until L4D is proven, you’ll probably just see what we make in that franchise.”
If Left 4 Dead proves to be a success EA seems like a potential suitor to port the game to PS3. As for the game being successful, let’s be realistic – a co-op zombie game on 360/a shooter developed by Valve on PC is about as much of a formula for success as you can have without naming your game Halo or Grand Theft Auto.
Should EA handle the port, though, let’s hope it’s less shoddy than that Orange Box port.
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May 6th, 2008 at 9:15 am
this game is going to be amazing, I don't think it would have the same effect on consoles though, especially the PS3, since the average console player is younger than the average PC gamer, and is generally not interested in games that require this much cooperation, as opposed to a regular zombie shooter.
May 6th, 2008 at 9:26 am
It sounds to me like Valve doesn't like the PS3 much…Perhaps Valve is feeling the same thing as other developers about how difficult it is to develop for the PS3, they just have the balls to admit it. Good for them.
Go Marlins!!!!
May 6th, 2008 at 11:16 am
There goes another 360 exclusive
May 7th, 2008 at 1:17 am
Halo 2… Halo 3… Success? Financial you must mean. Game-wise… ugh, i can't really praise it much.
As i say, YoYo, you suck. It's not an xbox exclusive, it's available for the PC too. And also, as i have aaaaaaalways said, Valve games are meant to be played on the PC, not on anything else (YEP, not even a Mac, Mac's sucks).