Steam Gets "Big Picture Mode" For PS3

Devin Coldewey

Devin Coldewey is a Seattle-based writer and photographer. He has written for the TechCrunch network since 2007. Some posts he’d like you to read: The Dangers of Externalizing Knowledge | Generation i | Surveillant Society | Choose Two | Frame Wars | The User’s Manifesto | Our Great Sin His personal website is coldewey.cc. → Learn More

Monday, February 28th, 2011


Portal 2 may be coming to the PS3 and bringing cross-platform play and some Steam elements with it, but the Steam interface is really designed for mouse navigation, not analog sticks. Valve is looking to fix that with a special “big picture mode” designed for use with big TVs and console controllers.

Newell has said they’re working really hard to make the PS3 version as good as possible, so I wonder just how deep the faux-Steam integration goes? Will you be able to buy hats through PSN? How deep is the social aspect integrated? Will friends carry over?

We’ll find out more at GDC, I suppose, where Valve will be making a few announcements. I might get the PS3 version of Portal just because it comes with the PC version. Just in case.

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