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Game developers can deliver a better service to Xbox 360 customers if Microsoft eased its data restrictions, the president of Valve has said.
Gabe Newell wants the Steam service incorporated into Xbox Live in the same way it is available to PS3 owners. But the main hurdle “is having Microsoft get comfortable with it and let us do it,” Newell told Eurogamer.
Steam’s integration on PlayStation 3 allows Washington studio to directly and quickly feed game updates and new content into Sony’s flagship console.
Whether Sony still guards the gates is unknown, but Newell has been highly respectful of the platform holder’s open approach, and last week told Develop that PlayStation deserves reward for increasing dev accessibility.
But Microsoft’s tighter network restrictions have left its customers and developers in the dark, Newell said.
“There’s a huge amount of updates and free content we’ve been able to deliver to people who have The Orange Box that we haven’t been able to deliver to the Xbox because of the restrictions that have been placed on us on Xbox Live.
“We’d love to see those relaxed. Other developers on the PS3 are starting to benefit from Sony’s more open approach. Hopefully that will help Microsoft see that’s a good strategy for making customers happy, that the barbarians won’t tear down the walls of Xbox and turn it into some chaotic wasteland.”
