Steam On PS3: Is There A Point?

Remember how excited we were when it was announced that Steam would be coming to PS3 along with Portal 2? “Hark!” we exclaimed, “this will forever change the face of modern console gaming!” we added, prone to hyperbole as we are.

Yet here we sit, almost a year removed from the release of Portal 2 and Steam on PS3, and what have we got to show for it? Not a single follow-up release has taken advantage of the system. No further functionality has been added over the last almost-year and generally it has sat there, ignored and stagnating.

Even though it’s a very good idea and hugely interesting addition to the PS3’s online infrastructure.

We’re going to see something else pop up in the shape of Counter Strike: Global Offensive, which will take advantage of Steam. But that’s it.

It’s a good system, why aren’t we seeing more advantage taken of it? Not even by other publishers – why isn’t Valve pushing more with it? Is it showing how it’s a pretty redundant system when the whole shop aspect of it is removed? Does the fact that the PS Store exists render most of Steam on PS3’s functionality useless?

Sony would be unlikely to agree to allowing Valve to put its back catalogue up for sale through Steam, for example. So what else is it going to do apart from being an extra bit of software through which to deliver patches and achievements?

I have no idea. I am merely thinking aloud. But to me it seems like Steam on PS3 is all bluster – a PR stunt that’s been all but forgotten about.