Valve insists all Portal 2s are the same

Valve Software has insisted that, when it comes to content, all versions of upcoming first-person puzzler Portal 2 are exactly the same.

The famed developer did, however, admit that for gamers who care about cross-platform co-op play, the PlayStation 3 version is "the one to get".

In January Valve boss Gabe Newell said: "We made a promise to gamers at E3 that Portal 2 for the PS3 would be the best console version of the product."

The PS3 version of Portal 2 supports Valve's Steam platform, facilitating quick updates and cross-platform play and chat with the PC and Mac versions.

These benefits have left some Xbox 360 owners feeling left out, but Valve said they'll get exactly the same experience as their PC and PS3 gaming cousins – when it comes to content.

"When you buy them they're all the same," Valve writer Chet Faliszek told Eurogamer. "They're all exactly the same. Content-wise, you're getting the same experience in them.

"It's just once you start looking at co-op. The Mac, PC and PS3 can all play together, they will all get updates quicker. For some people that will make a big difference.

"But the actual experience coming out of the box is going to be great. It is the most stable and solid game we've ever released.

Fellow Valve writer Erik Wolpaw went one further. "If playing cross PC and PS3 is important to you, then pretty clearly it's not even a matter of opinion. PS3 is the one to get."

So what, exactly, does the PS3 version get you?

"On PS3 you get the cross-platform play, you get the frequent updates," Faliszek explained. "The frequent updates allow a lot of things. They allow the cross-platform play to happen. You get the Steam cloud. So if you're playing a PS3 over your friend's house, and play on his PS3 the save is recorded.

"You also get the Steam copy. It's not a copy we just give away. It's attached to your PSN and Steam account. But yeah, there are some cool things you can do there."

Faliszek said Valve pushed for the extra features because, like you, they're gamers.

"That kind of stuff comes from us because we like to play games," he said. "We buy games. We do all the stuff other gamers do. We look at that stuff and go, this kinda sucks. I don't want to buy a game five times. We look at it that way."

"Also, the co-op is perfectly suited to cross-platform play in the sense that the differences between the control schemes don't factor in," Wolpaw added. "It's not competitive. It's all a bit more deliberately paced. Nobody's going to be at a disadvantage based on their controller of choice."