An Evening with The Newell

[CSN NewsBot]

1UP recently had the opportunity to chat up Valve's Gabe Newell. You may have already read that there won't be a PS3 update for TF2 coming from them, but what about the Xbox 360? Left 4 Dead update plans? Episode 3 development? A Wii MMO? Gabe's thoughts on achievement farming?

1UP: One thing I've noticed from playing TF2 on the PC is that every time you have a content update, many of the players flock to the one class that gets improved in the update. It's obviously difficult since you're doing only one class at a time. How do you feel about people that cheat the system, hop in the cheat rooms, and complete each new Achievement, one by one?



GN: There are different flavors of cheats. Some of them will get people banned. [For] some of them, we'll get people's Achievements reversed. If people want to get together on a server with their friends to crank out the Achievements, then that's an interesting way to play the game, and as long as they're having fun, they can go ahead and do that! [Laughs] If it gets them to play TF2, to sit in the spawn room with their friends and eat sandwiches — one of the Heavy Achievements is to eat 100 sandwiches — then that's fine. I think the community has a good understanding on what a valid way of getting an Achievement is or what is going to get your account banned or Achievements all turned off. I only think we've turned off 13,000 people's Achievements for clearly hacking the system opposed to being really determined to get their Achievements.

Sadly, not much was really revealed on Episode 3 other than that it'll have the most innovative gameplay of any of the Episodes. Cross your fingers for the Portal gun to make an appearance!



Newell also revealed that EA is interested in doing a PlayStation 3 version of Left 4 Dead, but nothing has been finalized or confirmed yet. So, as it stands, the PS3 is still sans Left 4 Dead.