Posted by Ben Huber on May 18, 2013 in
Hobbies and Collections,
Videogames
ThreeA has some skilled people working there. I love the character and design put into their figures and models, but their recent penchant for picking up licenses is really neat too. Next up? Atlas and P-Body from Portal 2! These two will be available for an unknown amount sometime this month on the Bambaland store. As soon as the pre-orders go up you’ll probably want to rush in and claim a pair for yourself, because these typically go very fast. Check out some more images below of these excellent 1:6th scale figures. Read more…
Tags: Portal 2, ThreeA, Valve
Posted by Bob Muir on Jan 9, 2013 in
Tech,
Videogames 
The rumors were true! At CES, Valve confirmed they are making their own videogame console — well, sort of. The as-of-yet unnamed “Steam Box” (codenamed “Piston”) will run their already-existing Steam game delivery system, which is by far the market leader when it comes to PC gaming due to solid service, simple DRM, and ridiculously cheap sales and vast bundle deals. Valve has recently introduced “Big Picture” mode, a menu system designed to be viewed on HDTVs instead of PC monitors, so it made sense that Valve was eyeing the couch gaming market. Read more…
Tags: CES, Steam, Valve
Posted by Ben Huber on Jan 6, 2013 in
Videogames 
Valve and their slow, secretive process towards creating a TV box has been a big focus of the gaming community. Gabe Newell declared Windows 8 a “catastrophe” and proceeded to initiate work on Steam for Linux, which is now in beta. Now, Valve engineer Ben Krasnow has said that the box will indeed run Linux, and they plan to show off more about it this year, possibly at GDC or E3, and release it later this year. Given Valve’s penchant for delays, I won’t hold my breath for a 2013 launch, but hearing all about this does get me excited. Read more…
Tags: Steam, Valve
Posted by Ben Huber on Dec 21, 2012 in
Videogames 
It’s one of the best times of the year! Your family comes close, you share gifts with each other, maybe a cup of hot cocoa, and you hover your browser on the Steam web page mashing the F5 button to see new daily deals. Valve has started up the latest Steam Sale, and there’s some great deals going around. Scribblenauts, Hitman, Borderlands, and more are on sale for 50% to 75% off, and that’s only the first day. Flash deals are also still a feature, although Valve seems to have thankfully extended the time limit on many of them. The sale runs until January 5th, so keep checking back for more deals. Also, don’t forget to also watch Amazon for some competing sales as well!
Tags: Steam, Valve
Posted by Ben Huber on Dec 16, 2012 in
Videogames 
Ever had a virtual gun you wanted to sell? Perhaps a virtual hat you no longer need? Well Valve is taking the first steps into establishing a legit digital market within Steam, starting with Team Fortress 2, their eternal guinea pig, and Dota 2. Currently, you’re now able to sell and buy “Tool” items for real money, and eventually Valve plans to add weapons and cosmetic items into the mix as well. While this sort of market has existed for a while, it required third-party websites or middlemen to make the transaction happen (because you better not be PayPal-ing money to random people for virtual hats by yourself – that’s scam city). Now, with a solid trading system backing it, Valve will be able to monitor and foster their virtual economy even more. It’s pretty fascinating stuff! Read more…
Tags: Dota 2, Steam, Team Fortress, Valve
Posted by Ben Huber on Nov 25, 2012 in
Videogames 
I love me some Humble Indie Bundles and Steam Sales. So whenever one pops up, it’s my duty to bring the news to you. The latest one is Steam’s Autumn Sale, and as the brown and red leaves fall around your desolate computer tower, surely the one thing you must be wanting this holiday season is games. Because not enough of those come out in November. Anyway, fill you backlog up easily with the constant Flash Sales (short sales that only go on for a few hours) or the Daily Deals. At time of writing, Deus Ex: Human Revolution is $4.99! How can you not get it at that price. See all the latest deals and sales here.
Tags: Steam, Valve
Posted by Ben Huber on Nov 18, 2012 in
Videogames 
Team Fortress 2′s annual fan-made video contest, the Saxxy Awards, have started up for their second year. You can now vote on the best Source Filmmaker video and best replay, as well as their individual categories. Comedy, drama, and all the variety and entertainment of a real awards show, without all the pomp and fancy dresses (except for maybe that Magical Heavy Fairy video). The voting period goes until November 27th, and the winners will be announced on November 30th… aside from Best Overall. That one will be shown live on Spike TV’s Video Game Awards pre-show and aired on TV. Now that’s pretty sweet!
Tags: Team Fortress, Valve
Posted by Bob Muir on Oct 25, 2012 in
Videogames 
God bless Valve for having the sort of corporate structure that lets them do pretty much whatever they want. Take Team Fortress 2, for example. Making up a crazy hat-based economy seems strange (and kind of destroys the benefit of having distinctive, recognizable character designs, even in silhouette), but it allowed the game to go free-to-play with pretty much no negative consequences. The latest idea isn’t exactly new — a Halloween scenario, still to be announced, has been done in previous years — but another event means another delightful comic book that feels less like an advertisement and more like a free gift of hilarity. Read more…
Tags: Valve
Posted by Ben Huber on Sep 2, 2012 in
Videogames 
For a while, several indie developers have complained that it’s been difficult to get their games on Valve’s Steam service. Given that it’s the most popular online games store, that can be a bit of a problem. Steam is now addressing this with Steam Greenlight, a new section in which indie developers can submit their games and the community can vote up what looks good. You game doesn’t have to be finished – you can use Greenlight to gauge interest in your concept as well. I hope this works out for people who want to get their stuff on Steam!
Tags: Steam, Valve
Posted by Ben Huber on Aug 18, 2012 in
Videogames 
Dota 2 (Defense of the Ancients) is hugely popular online. The action real-time strategy game genre is a massive industry with an enormous player-bases, and Dota 2, despite still being in beta, is already a major force and one of the most-played games on Steam. Valve, after picking up the creators of the original mod, made it into a polished, full-fledged game and now they want to document it. Not the game development, though – the players themselves. The doc will follow the lives of 5 professional gamers, their struggles and triumphs. Watch the full trailer after the break! Read more…
Tags: documentary, Dota 2, Valve
