After a brief period of exclusivity, Valve has opened up the Steam Mobile beta to the general public. Previously just a select group of Steam users were allowed to try the beta, although invites handed out to testers gradually increased the userbase. Free Android and iPhone versions of the mobile client are available.
Valve has partly fulfilled one of the most common wishes of gamers Thursday by posting Steam Mobile. Versions for both iOS (App Store) and Android (Market) lets users both keep up with their Steam chats and groups while away. They can go so far as to buy games for the Mac or Windows that they can start downloading immediately when they get home.
Valve Software co-founder Gabe Newell warned in a message to users that a forum hack found on November 6 had also touched on vital account information. After an investigation, the Portal 2 developer found that the unnamed intruders had gotten into a database that also had account names, e-mail, encrypted credit card numbers and passwords, and purchase records. While Valve had no reason to think the account information itself had been compromised, Newell advised gamers to watch their credit card activity "closely."
Developer Valve Software has released Portal 2, a sequel to a game originally bundled with The Orange Box in 2007. Portal 2 differs not only in being a separate retail product, but also a full-length title rather than a small side-project. Windows, Mac, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions are launching simultaneously. The Mac and Windows versions are bundled together, whether on Steam or at retail.
Valve Software today began giving out cryptic teases for what's presumed to be the launch of Portal 2 for the Mac. MacNN was given a piece along with several others that all follow the same theme. Our copy read "troops be cores," which like the others is an anagram of "reboot process" and hints at the reborn GlaDOS AI that became the villain of the original game.
Valve is investigating the possibility of expanding Steam to iOS and Android, a member of the official Steam forums claims to have learned. The person says he was told of the company's plans in speaking with co-founder Gabe Newell at Valve headquarters in Bellevue, Washington. Steam is currently only available for Windows and Mac, and even then with a much stronger emphasis on the former.
Razer had an unusually strong presence at CES this year and brought two big devices: its Hydra motion controller for computers and its Switchblade handheld PC, both of which we saw first-hand at the show. The Hydra was the truly functional example and impressed us with a specially optimized version of Valve's Portal 2. The new version had a handful of new objects and puzzles designed around the controller's dual motion, dual analog stick setup.
Microsoft's Windows 8 could have a much stronger focus on gaming, a slip alleged today. The developer is said making gaming not just important but a "key component for the whole OS." What that would entail wasn't given to the TechRadar source.
Driven by fears of its developing an unassailable monopoly, big games retailers in the UK have said they will boycott selling games that support the Steam digital games distribution platform. According to a Thursday MCV report, retailers' concerns are growing that selling games with Steam will bring gamers to buy games using the download service exclusively. It;s estimated the US studio Valve that runs Steam commands 80 percent of the PC download market.
As promised yesterday, Valve has launched the Mac version of Left 4 Dead 2, its zombie-themed first-person shooter. To promote the game though the company is now also offering a special discount, pricing the title at $6.79 instead of a standard $20. A free expansion, The Sacrifice, has been made available simultaneously.
The Mac port of Left 4 Dead 2 is set to launch on Tuesday, Valve has announced. Players assume the role of one of four armed survivors, trapped in the middle of a zombie apocalypse ravaging the American south; five primary campaigns chronicle the group's escape. While playable with AI teammates, the game is meant to be experienced online, where modes such as Versus and Survivor allow a second four-player team to control the zombies.
Olympic Developments has filed a lawsuit through the US District Court for the Central District of California, LA Division, charging several companies with violating two of its patents. The first patent, Transactional Processing System, describes a way of offering products and services through credit card transactions. The concept also involves real-time authorization. The second patent, Device for Controlling Remote Interactive Receiver, specifically describes a remote that can save financial information.
Valve will provide some extra resources to Mac developers using the Steamworks community infrastructure, says Jason Holtman, the company's business development director. In exchange for the closer integration with Steam, developers should soon get "a portion" of Valve's graphics code to accelerate production. Specifically the code is meant to help with the Mac OS X graphics layer, considered the biggest obstacle to Mac game development. Windows is typically more concentrated on game support.
Following up on an earlier claim, Valve has released the first Mac version of Counter-Strike: Source through Steam. Players take sides with a team of terrorists or counter-terrorists as the former try to plant a bomb and ensure it isn't defused. Until today, the popular multiplayer game has only been available for Windows users.
A Mac version of Counter-Strike: Source should be available through Steam next week, developer Valve says. The company has generally committed to releasing new Mac games once a week, but missed this week as a result of having to present at E3 in Los Angeles. There the company showed early gameplay footage of Portal 2, due to come to the PC, Mac, PS3 and Xbox 360 in 2011.
Apple, ATI and NVIDIA are working with Valve on improving the performance of Source-engine games, says Valve's Robert Barris. Source is used in all of Valve's current titles, such as Portal and Team Fortress 2. These have so far suffered in speed, however, next to the original versions developed for Windows. Drivers are largely to blame, according to Barris.
According to Valve’s official Team Fortress 2 blog, the multiplayer warfare game may be coming to Steam for Mac tomorrow. While the company has yet to explicitly state the exact date, the latest post suggests the big announcement rhymes with “Speem Gortress amavailable on the Babac”. Back in March of this year, Valve announced that all of its Source engine games would be coming to the Mac platform. The announcement answered several questions regarding the Mac version of Team Fortress 2.
The launch of Steam on the Mac has seen the Mac surge to 8.9 percent of the audience in less than a month, Valve's May hardware survey said. The platform was only available from May 12 but has already overtaken Windows Vista 64-bit in share. Most of the Mac share was using a 64-bit version of Snow Leopard.
Valve on Wednesday added several new titles, including Half-Life 2, to the Steam gaming service on Mac or Windows platforms.. The company also added two earlier versions of the game, Half Life: Episode One and Episode Two.
Valve gave Mac users a hint of Half-Life 2's release on Steam tomorrow with a teaser video (posted below). The spot parodies Apple's 1984 ad and uses Half-Life 2 characters in place of the original actors, such as Dr. Breen as Big Brother, Alyx as the runner and City 17 residents in place of proles. The short spot proclaims freedom from having game ownership "dictated by platform," an allusion to the option of re-downloading some games for free through Steam Play.
Valve as part of its first weekly update to the Mac Steam library revealed that Macs make up a disproportionately large number of game buyers. About 11 percent of downloads on the service now go to Macs, two thirds of which are portables. The developer also took a jab at Windows and noted that Portal was a fifth as likely to crash on Mac as it was on Windows platforms.
Wrapping up a beta period, Valve has officially released the first Mac version of Steam. The software functions as a way of buying, launching and updating games, as well as well as joining multiplayer matches and tracking groups and achievements. Titles bought through Steam can be installed on multiple computers and multiple platforms at no extra cost.
Mac users with gaming roots are no doubt eager to load Steam for Mac when it hopefully goes public on May 12th. It will mark the first time that many of the best games in recent years will be available for the Mac and could catch the platform up to Windows in grand fashion. MacNN and Electronista have had the opportunity to participate in the beta and can give a clue as to whether or not it will be worth the wait -- as well as a test to see if it's worth abandoning that Boot Camp partition.
Valve Software tonight sent a quick note that Steam for the Mac will officially launch May 12th. The news comes shortly after the start of a beta but puts the release about a month later than its original April target. Which games would launch, and the final system requirements, weren't publicly mentioned.
Apple participated in bringing Valve games and the Steam platform to Macs, says John Cook, Valve's director of Steam development. Cook elaborates that Valve has been "working with them [Apple] a bunch" while growing accustomed to Mac development. "They've been a great partner so far and we look forward to growing our relationship with them over time," he tells AppleInsider.
Confirming earlier reports, Valve on Monday announced that it will brings its Source gaming engine and Steam distribution service to the Mac platform sometime next month. Previous leaks indicated Portal 2 will represent the company's first simultaneous release on Mac and Windows.
One of the Valve games coming to the Mac has been confirmed as Portal 2. The information comes from a preview in Gameinformer magazine, which also cites the Xbox 360 as an intended platform alongside the main target, PCs. The game is due in the fall, though whether all three versions will release simultaneously is uncertain.
Valve is indeed planning to port some of its most popular games to the Mac, confirms the developer's marketing VP, Doug Lombardi. A teaser image (seen below) makes reference to Apple's famous "Get a Mac" ads, and the characters of Mac and PC played by Justin Long and John Hodgman. Standing in their place are turrets from Portal and Team Fortress 2, implying that these will be two of the first games to be ported.
Valve is preparing a Mac version of the Steam gaming platform, evidence suggests. On Wednesday, Windows users were given the option of downloading a new beta interface, featuring changes like a WebKit-based browser, an improved appearance and customizable game groups. Buried within the Steam/Graphics folder, however, are images for 10 Mac-specific buttons. Within Steam/Resource/Menus, there is also a new "osx.menu" file.
(Updated with official response) Google may buy Half-Life developer Valve Software to give itself an edge in content distribution, according to a new rumor. Allegedly "well placed" sources of the Inquirer claim the early search engine company is aiming to buy Valve for its Steam platform, which so far has been used as a store for users to download free and paid games as well as a small number of videos and other content. The system has been heralded for making an end-run around traditional retail and provides an edge over some other online app downloads by remembering a customer's purchases should they lose an existing copy to a computer crash or upgrade.
