Thu, May 20, 2010 | 15:28 BST
EA: Orange Box PS3 was a “challenge situation”
EA Partners boss David DeMartini has said that the development of the PS3 port of The Orange Box was a “challenge situation”.
Speaking to CVG, he said the company was still pleased with the reception it claimed, but added it wasn’t sure if it would do a similar move for any future games from developer Valve in the future.
“Valve focuses on 90-rated everything: 90-rated marketing programmes, 90-rated people, 90-rated games” said DeMartini.
“They have a focus on excellence. What they do with all their partners, is they hold us to that same standard. If you don’t reach it, they’re going to get a little prickly – and appropriately so.”
On The Orange Box itself, he added: “To my earlier point, I think the Orange Box on PS3 was 86-rated; around that point. It was still very good and the team in the UK did a great job. It was a challenge situation.
“We were trying to do parallel development. Valve hadn’t been on PS3 and they had made some statements about the platform which didn’t exactly help. It really was a challenge situation.
“I don’t know if we’d do another situation where we’d be doing one of the platforms and they’d be doing the other platform.”
While EA did port the PS3 version, Valve went on to develop the game on PC and Xbox 360.
But despite previous comments from boss Gabe Newell that the system is “a waste of everybody’s time”, the dev’s previously said in the past, however, it would like to develop for the system first-hand.
So there you go. If Left 4 Dead or Portal 2 come to PS3, don’t hedge a bet on EA doing it just yet.
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13 
Posted in: Action, EA, PS3, Puzzler, Shooter, Valve
Tags: David DeMartini, the orange box, valve
13 comments
#1
tenthousandgothsonacid
19/05/10, 2:21 pm
So “challenge solution” is a euphemism for “pile of shit”.
#2
Aimless
19/05/10, 2:32 pm
Orange Box on PS3 isn’t anywhere near as bad as people make out. Sure the 360 version was better — the PC iteration leapfrogging that by a considerable margin — but given the situation I think EA did a good job porting it.
#3
Blerk
19/05/10, 2:34 pm
So in other words, “hard luck on Portal 2, PS3 owners”.
#4
Shifty
19/05/10, 3:09 pm
lol ps3.
#5
The Hindle
19/05/10, 3:13 pm
I dont know about that Blerk, go through the link and he goes on to mention Valve are a business and now that the Ps3 has come of age they will find it harder to ignore it so i think Portal 2 may come to the Ps3.
#6
Howie Feltersnatch
19/05/10, 3:16 pm
Don’t matter when you got both systems!
#7
theevilaires
19/05/10, 3:52 pm
+1 for #6 but as you can see that some posters above you don’t own both (plus its a valve game, I’LL NEVER BUY ANOTHER VALVE GAME EVER IN MY LIFE)
#8
Johnny Cullen
19/05/10, 4:11 pm
Best game I’ve ever bought in terms of value and quailty. Cracker.
Anyone missing this needs shot. Yes, you too TEA.
#9
Blerk
19/05/10, 4:13 pm
The Orange Box is indeed super-awesome. Half Life 2 is the nuts.
#10
theevilaires
19/05/10, 4:17 pm
Johnny I said I’ll never “buy” another Valve game ever, I never said I wouldn’t play another Valve game. You nuts or something?
Portal and Half-life are awesome! 
(Left4Dead is shit though
)
#11
Howie Feltersnatch
19/05/10, 4:25 pm
You know what’d be kick ass?
If they bundled Portal 2 with Episode 3. They could call it “The HOT Box” cause that shit would be HOT and I’d bang the shit outof it!
#12
Happy Hardon Harry
19/05/10, 4:26 pm
The 360/PS3 versions weren’t that different from each other.
Any decent gamer would be playing OB on PC. Period. No console version can touch it.
Also, Team Fortress 2 on the 360 is unplayable as it lags like a bastard!
#13
NiceFellow
19/05/10, 5:13 pm
Let me see – you’re porting code written and known inside out by another company to a console that’s fairly new and has an architecture almost designed to be difficult for the PC optimized code you’re trying to port, the developer of the code has publically slatted the platform you’re trying to port said code to…
yep – that’s challenging. Truth be told, having fired up Orange Box on a PS3 it wasn’t even that bad a port really when you consider the situation.