Valve on Left 4 Dead 1-2 cross-play: "That's something we're trying to work out"
This interview with Valve’s Doug Lombardi offers him a chance to explain what’s going on, and also to address the possibility of cross-game play.
I played Left 4 Dead 2 at E3, and while it was certainly fun, it was far from the level of improvement we’ve come to expect from a Valve sequel. The improvements are there, but 20 new weapons? What? The guns I used were new models for the old weapons. And the melee weapons, while fun, are limited in use because they don’t allow for headshots (that I know of), a critical trash-talking point. But this isn’t the place for that.
Lombardi says of cross-platform play:
That’s something that we’re trying to work out right now, the details of it. So nothing specific to say today, but we understand that it’s a very valid thing to be working on and looking at.
Not exactly forthcoming, but at least he didn’t say “No, we made a game and we’re stickin’ to it.” I’m not sure how they could enable cross-platform play without making a purchase of one or the other pointless, but I guess we’ll find out soon.
It takes a big man to admit he’s wrong, and Valve is… well, getting there. This is really their first mistake if you think about it, so it may take a bit for them to set it right.