With the Portal 2 In Motion DLC releasing today, we’d like to share a little more about its content and development. The DLC now available on PSN is a campaign designed by our team at Sixense to take full advantage of the capabilities of the PlayStation Move controller. We started with all of the great features that already exist in Portal 2. Then we envisioned Portal 2 In Motion as a new game experience (including a new campaign) built for motion control – not just the addition of motion controls on top of existing gameplay that was designed for a traditional PS3 controller. So the result is a new gaming experience that requires new thinking and use of the PlayStation Move motion controller. We’ve included a video here that demonstrates the new features you’ll get when you buy the DLC. I’ll discuss these features a little more. I’ll also discuss at the end of this post the Move support for Portal 2 that we have implemented in the PSN downloadable version of the game and the patch for the Blu-Ray version, all of which is available today.

Sixense designed three new motion mechanics for Portal 2 In Motion and tuned them to feel like a natural extension of your body. The “One-to-One” mechanic allows the player to manipulate objects as if they were held in the player’s own hand. This means that when using One-to-One you can change the object’s position and orientation by moving and rotating the Move controller. This opened the door to a lot of new possibilities for our team in terms of puzzle design, which you’ll see in Portal 2 In Motion. It is very satisfying to reach out with the controller and redirect lasers with the Discouragement Redirection Cube to light up some poor Sentry Turrets.

The “Portal Surfing” mechanic is the ability to move and rotate a portal along a “portalable” surface. Portal Surfing allows you to change an object’s trajectory as it passes through a portal by rotating the portal. Spraying gel with a Move controller is quite a different experience than when using your typical input device.

The “Scaling” mechanic went through a number of iterations in development until we found a balance between required motion complexity and functionality. Scaling is performed by reaching out with the Move controller while holding a cube in the game, pressing the scaling button and moving the controller horizontally to increase or decrease the size of the cube. To scale along a different axis, the user rotates the cube prior to scaling. The mass of the object also scales with its size, allowing for plenty of satisfaction as you use giant objects to crush turrets or punch through glass.

Finally, for the basic aiming of the cursor in the game, we implemented the highly intuitive view mode that we call “Freeaim”. Freeaim uses the Move controller’s orientation to determine cursor position. The controller’s absolute position does not affect the rotation of the view, so the user can adjust the camera view using only small wrist movements. The result is a camera system that is much more fluid than using the analog stick on the traditional PS3 controller. We have a great demonstration of this in the video. With Freeaim, aiming and firing portals also becomes extremely natural and intuitive and the overall experience becomes much more immersive.

The features that I’ve described to this point are all included with the Portal 2 In Motion DLC. Because the patch and the downloadable Portal 2 are both releasing today, I want to make clear what is included in those products with regard to the work Sixense has done. Both the digital download Portal 2 and the patch include PlayStation Move support, meaning that the full single-player and co-operative Portal 2 campaigns can be played with Move, and users will be able to take advantage of the Freeaim mechanic to play (or replay) the game. You can even play split screen with both players using Move motion controllers. Only the Portal 2 In Motion DLC, however, includes the advanced mechanics of One-to-One, Portal Surfing and Scaling, as well as the new campaign consisting of test chambers that require the use of the new mechanics. The patch and Portal 2 on PSN do contain a short tutorial designed familiarize the user with the Move motion controller and the Freeaim feature. At the end of the tutorial, we provide a taste of the One-to-One feature that is otherwise exclusive to the Portal 2 In Motion DLC.

Check out the video, and experience Portal 2 In Motion today!

We gave the world a glimpse at E3 back in June, and now it’s official. On November 6th, 2012, Sixense will launch Portal 2 In Motion, a motion DLC campaign for Valve’s Portal 2 on PlayStation Move. Our development team at Sixense has applied our expertise in motion gaming to create what we believe will be the defining experience for PlayStation Move. The Portal 2 In Motion DLC will be priced at $9.99 on PSN. We’ll also have a special launch promotion of 30% off for PlayStation Plus members.

Those who are familiar with Sixense know that over the past few years we have focused on delivering motion gaming experiences that are intuitive and natural for users. We are excited to now work with Sony and Valve to deliver content that takes advantage of the advanced motion tracking of the PlayStation Move. Portal 2 In Motion introduces gameplay mechanics, including scaling and rotation of objects as well as portal surfing. These new abilities are all required as the player progresses through an increasingly challenging set of test chambers that look familiar from Portal 2, but require new thinking to solve.

We are timing the release of Portal 2 In Motion to coincide with Valve’s release of Portal 2 for digital download on PlayStation Network, which now includes PlayStation Move support (implemented by Sixense) for the entire single-player and cooperative campaigns. PS Plus members will also receive 30% off on Portal 2 when it launches on PSN. Owners of Portal 2 on Blu-Ray will receive PlayStation Move support through a free patch, which will provide a touch of the motion experience provided by Sixense. While the original Portal 2 campaigns will be fully playable with PlayStation Move, only Portal 2 In Motion features the gameplay mechanics designed by Sixense specifically for motion.

We hope that Portal 2 In Motion will mark the beginning of much more to come! Look for everything on November 6th!

With everybody jumping online to get a taste of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive since its launch last week, we wanted to hear some stories about your experiences with the legendary original iteration of the game. PlayStation gamer MrPatrick16 wrote in to tell us about his first foray into the first person shooter genre with Counter-Strike.

Counter-Strike: Eyes Wide Open

Back in 2007, I went over to a buddy’s house with my PlayStation 2 and Guitar Hero. I was overly excited to be able to play co-op with him, when he told me that he had another game he wanted me to try out. He took me into the garage where they had a PC and handed me a controller. At first I was confused because I had no clue that a PC could even play games. Boy was my mind blown that day! He took the game out of its case, put it in the computer, and opened my eyes to a new genre. I never knew anything outside of side-scrollers, RPGs, music games, action, and racing games. That day, I learned about first person shooters.

The game started up and I was shortly introduced to the title — Counter-Strike. I was told to go to the multiplayer and so I did. The game loaded pretty quickly and the match started up. I selected my weapon and was adjusting to the controls when I was met with a shotgun blast. As the shell exploded into my characters body, I felt a sense of annoyance. It happened time and time again and finally I gave my buddy the controller to show me how it works. He was getting kills pretty easily and I probably looked like a ghost with my mouth opened as I watched him play in sheer amazement. He finished the match and gave me the controller again and I felt ready to go. Luckily, this time I was able to get out of the spawning area and I was off to the races. My team was the counter-terrorists and I was tasked with taking out the terrorists. The level was a warehouse and not too long after playing, I encountered my first enemy. I fired away at him and felt a little pride as I got my first ever kill. Long story short, my team won, but I definitely didn’t help that victory much since I only got a few kills and tons of deaths. Still, I had definitely become hooked.

From that day on that I was over at his house, and we pretty much went straight to that game. There was so much to Counter-Strike that it took a while to finally be able to see everything. There were a lot of guns and servers, man the servers were CRAZY! There were custom servers relating to other games like Metal Gear Solid and a certain Italian plumber we all grew up with. There were even movie based servers, so the game obviously didn’t lack creativity. The modes were plentiful and my favorite was the zombie mode where one person was “the infected” and had to hunt all the other players down with only a knife and a few enhancements. When I was a soldier, I felt afraid and immediately flocked to the best spot to stay away from being infected. When I did become infected, it was a bummer but it was fun trying to get other players. This was an amazingly fun, well-crafted game, and I’m glad I was introduced to it.

When Global Offensive was announced, I felt the rush of those early experiences all over again. I was telling everybody about this game and even got them interested. I have been following it since its announcement and still to this day flock to the Internet for information about it. Counter-Strike opened my eyes to other shooters like Call of Duty and Battlefield, and without it, I would’ve never even given those games a chance. The series is an eye opening experience and I will definitely be getting Global Offensive as soon as I can. Counter-Strike is not only a game but, the defining of a genre and everyone should try it out because it might open your eyes too.

See you on the battlefield and as always, game on and stay thirsty my friends.

Thanks for telling your story MrPatrick16. Hopefully you’ve been enjoying your time with Counter Strike: Global Offensive.

Next week, you can tell any story you want as long as it’s about the PlayStation brand. Click here to check out more info on this call to action.

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive brings the industry’s leading team-based action gameplay and adds new weapons, dramatically improved visual effects, and a skill-based matchmaking system to provide all players with a competitive and engaging experience.

Developing for PlayStation 3 gave us a great opportunity to take advantage of the unique qualities of the platform. For example, we’re supporting a wide range of input devices including the PlayStation Move, PlayStation Move sharp shooter, and even keyboard and mouse.

Naturally, support for these devices means that different players in the same match might be using different controllers. Players using mouse and keyboard might end up playing against players using a joystick or motion controls. Our matchmaking system allows us to support all of these input devices without disrupting the balance of the game – you’ll be matched against players who perform at your skill level, regardless of what controller you (or they) choose to use. The system maintains a separate ranking for each input device, so players should feel free to experiment with each one.

In addition to the standard classic gameplay, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive has two extra game types – Arms Race, and Demolition mode. These are fast-paced “gun progression” modes where a player begins with a certain weapon and advances through a sequence of weapons whenever they score a kill. In the Arms Race, players take part in a massive deathmatch with instant respawns, where new weapons are awarded immediately after a kill. Backstab an opponent to take them down a level, and rack up kills as you work toward the final weapon: a golden knife.

Demolition mode provides a twist on the classic bomb-planting formula. Players attack (and defend) a single bombsite armed with similar starting weapons. Get one kill and you’ll receive a new weapon in the next round. Get two or more kills in a round and you’ll be rewarded with bonus grenades. Dominate the match and get a kill in every round to reach the ultimate weapons, powerful sniper rifles!

Arms Race and Demolition mode both come with new maps designed for fast-paced gameplay. These modes provide new players with an opportunity to try out the core shooting mechanics of Counter-Strike in a fun and competitive environment, and provide veteran players with more ways to show off their skills.

As part of the PSN PLAY 2012 line-up, players will have a chance to pre-order and receive a bonus XMB theme during the week prior to launch. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive will be released on August 21st for $14.99 (PS Plus members pay $11.99).

Grab your friends, and join the action.

Valve Software has repeatedly described Portal 2 for the PS3 as being “the best console version of the game.” And for good reason, given that you’ll get a free PC or Mac version of Portal 2 along with your PS3 copy, as well as exclusive cross-platform PS3-to-PC co-op gameplay and voice chat, Steamworks features and much more. Good stuff!

Not long ago, we asked you to submit your very best PS3 Portal 2 questions. We wanted every nerdy, detail-obsessed question possible and, as we’ve come to learn, PS3 fans never disappoint. Last week, we finally cornered Portal 2’s Project Lead Joshua Weier and Writer Erik Wolpaw in a bare concrete room under harsh florescent lighting. We slapped a thick stack of your questions on the table, cracked our knuckles, and extracted the answers via a combination of brow beating, idle threats, and good old-fashioned seduction.

Actually, we just called them on the phone and goofed off for an hour or so. It went something like this:

Jeff Rubenstein, PlayStation.Blog: I’m one of the people who played Portal via The Orange Box on PS3, and I’m told it wasn’t the best version of the game. Why not?

Joshua Weier, Valve Software: We learned a lot from The Orange Box, which was ported to the PS3 by an external group. This time, we developed it in-house at Valve and made it a full-fledged PS3 title. At the time of The Orange Box, we just didn’t have any internal PS3 knowledge at the company. As we worked on Portal 2, two things happened. One was that PlayStation had a very open stance on their platform and they were willing to do a lot of work with us to make Steamworks on the PS3 a reality. And Steamworks is a huge thing for Portal 2 and for Valve in general, so that really made us want to work with PlayStation.

The second thing is, as we’ve grown the company internally, we’ve hired people who have experience at great studios such as Naughty Dog and who have a lot of experience on the PS3. They were able to look at our engine and make the required tweaks to make sure Portal 2 works really well with the PS3.

Jeff, PSB: Steam and PS3: Two great tastes that taste great together? Tell us how you’re getting your chocolate in our peanut butter.

Joshua, Valve: We wanted to make sure that if you’re a Steam user, the PS3 experience is very familiar to you. When you’re playing the game on the PS3, you press the Select button to bring up the Steam overlay — that’s very similar to the PC and Mac version. From there, you can see your Steam friends, text chat, and invite them into Portal 2. And we also have Steam Cloud, which works the same way as it does on the PC or Mac, where your games are backed up to the Steam Cloud automatically via your Steam account. If you delete them or move to another PS3, they will be restored.

And this time around, you can actually play with your PC and Mac friends on your PS3, which is a pretty big deal. They show up as any old friend on your Steam friends list — you don’t even need to know whether they’re on a Mac or PC. You’re playing the same content, the game works the same way…it’s super-seamless for everyone. We’re all about giving gamers choices. Being able to hop into the game, find a buddy, and not care what platform he’s playing on is a pretty cool thing.

Jeff, PSB: You will need to sign up for a Steam account to take advantage of that, yes?

Joshua, Valve: If you want to take advantage of that, yes. We don’t require that you sign up if you want to use simple matchmaking or to play with your PS3 friends.

Sid, PSB: Given the Steamworks functionality, will the PS3 version be getting the same updates at the same time as the PC and Mac versions?

Joshua, Valve: It’s our goal that, as we update the PC or PS3 version, we keep them all in lockstep. Especially because we have co-op gameplay between both platforms. Not all of the PC updates we do will matter for the PS3 — there might be a videocard-specific update on the PC, or a PS3-specific tweak. But as far as content goes, we want to keep them in lockstep.

Sid, PSB: Another reader question: If a user gets Portal 2 for the PS3, can two people play that copy at the same time? One on the PS3 and one on the PC?

Joshua, Valve: Well, of course you can play two-player splitscreen on one PS3. But otherwise, it works the way Steam play does now — you can only be logged into one device at a time.

Sid, PSB: Obviously the PS3 version will have Trophies. Will Trophies be synchronized between both the PC/Mac and PS3 versions?

Joshua, Valve: For your Steam account, we have Steam Achievements that mirror the Trophies and those are always up to date between the PC and PS3. That does not include Trophies, however. Trophies have to be unlocked on the PS3.

Sid, PSB: A lot of PS3 owners have pre-ordered Portal 2. Will their pre-order bonuses apply to both the PC/Mac version and the PS3 version?

Joshua, Valve: Yes. We combine that into your Steam account and that will show up wherever you’re playing.

Sid, PSB: Any chance for supporting a USB mouse and keyboard control scheme?

Joshua, Valve: No, unfortunately we don’t do that. The whole game is built around playtesting, which extends to the hardware and how people use it. We have people internally who played on the PS3 — we use it all the time — and we constantly iterated it. Luckily, Portal 2’s not a super twitchy, complicated game, so we just focused on making a comfortable controller experience.

Sid, PSB: Does Portal 2 on PS3 require a hard drive install? How much space does it take up?

Joshua, Valve: We do not require users to install to the hard drive [note: there’s no hard drive install at all], but you’ll need 22 MB for saved games.

Sid, PSB: If the Steamworks system and Portal 2 are well received by the PS3 community, do you see any opportunity or chance of re-releasing older Valve titles through that framework onto the PS3?

Joshua, Valve: You know, we’ll see. If customers are super excited and there seems to be an opportunity there, we’re always interested in looking at that kind of thing. Right now, we’re just waiting to see how everyone responds.

Sid, PSB: On that note, are you thinking about DLC for Portal 2 in general?

Erik Wolpaw, Valve: We’re definitely thinking about DLC. I believe we’ll be talking about some of those details soon. We are doing DLC, we just haven’t released the details yet.

Sid, PSB: Tell me about the split-screen support for the PS3. How has it been implemented?

Joshua, Valve: It’s pretty straightforward. If you start a co-op game, you have the option of doing it remotely with another PS3 or PC/Mac, or you can do local splitscreen. Splitscreen is a really fun way to play Portal 2, actually, because the co-op is all about communication. Having the person right next to you on the couch makes it much easier to give them a high-five.

Sid, PSB: Is Portal 2’s co-op play drop-in, drop-out?

Joshua, Valve: It’s not drop-in, drop-out because you can’t play the co-op game by yourself due to the way the puzzles are structured in the co-op mode — you’ll always need two players. You can invite whoever you want into your game, and then the game figures out where you both are in your game progress based on what the two of you have done. It’s probably best to play with one friend, as you’ll learn together and build a rapport, but it’s not necessary.

Sid, PSB: A common question: Will the PS3 version have a smooth framerate and look great?

Joshua, Valve: Oh yeah. We’ve done a lot of work to make sure that’s the case.

Sid, PSB: Let’s settle this once and for all: there’s no PlayStation Move support in Portal 2, right

Erik, Valve: There is no Move support.

Sid, PSB: What is your favorite feature in Portal 2 that didn’t make it into Portal?

Erik, Valve: Co-op is the biggest one. It’s just a huge game changer — it makes you re-think the way you solve puzzles with portals. It’s a whole different experience in co-op.

Jeff, PSB: I’m trying to wrap my head around having another set of portals in co-op… what are you doing to make sure I’m not punching my partner rather than high-fiving them?

Erik, Valve: The puzzles are a little bit more complex in co-op, but you’ve also got a second brain to work with you on those puzzles. Playtesting is the cornerstone of Valve’s development philosophy — we playtest early and often. Two people looking at a puzzle can make a difficult thing a lot, lot easier. And we train you; the game is a gradual progression in terms of puzzles. By the end of the game, you’re doing things that would have seemed really daunting at the beginning of the game.

Sid, PSB: Another popular question from our readers: Is Portal 2 a longer, beefier game than the original Portal?

Erik, Valve: Oh yeah, it’s definitely longer. And…I’m not quite sure what the definition of ‘beefier’ is, but…sure, it’s beefier. Less cake, more beef?

Joshua, Valve: It’s tough to talk in terms of hours, as everyone plays through the game at their own pace. But just the single-player part of Portal 2 is about two-and-a-half to three times longer than all of Portal 1. So that should give you an idea. Then co-op, which is a separate track, is about two times longer than Portal 1.

Erik, Valve: It’s definitely a more elaborate story in terms of what happens from beginning to end. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed by the amount of story that’s in the game.

Jeff, PSB: I hate to get into the cake thing…but were you guys taken aback or surprised by how persistent a meme the “cake is a lie” thing became?

Erik, Valve: Yeah, it was a shock. But I assume that’s probably always the way it is, you know? It’s really hard to manufacture a meme and have it catch on. It probably always comes as a shock to whoever had a hand in making it.

Jeff, PSB: Was there a moment in Portal 2 where you thought, “I wonder if this is going to stick like the cake meme?”

Erik, Valve: Usually in a joking sense. You pick the dumbest thing possible you just wrote and you say, “this is it, this is the one!” But at no point did we seriously consider it. Process-wise, you stick with what works. At no point in our process is “thinking up the meme” part of the process. It either happens or it doesn’t. You do the thing you always do and hope for the best. Most things come out and there’s no meme, so it’s very possible there’s no meme here. Hopefully you’re just entertained for eight or nine solid hours.

Sid, PSB: Are you sick of “the cake is a lie?” Are you over it?

Erik, Valve: Well, it’s not like we’re angry about it! It’s flattering that people latched onto it like that. It’s more that we figure everyone else is most likely sick of it. Internally, we thought, “if we go back to that cake well, people are going to be livid!” Actually, I don’t know if they’d be mad — they’d probably be sad. It’d be so pathetic, you know?

Sid, PSB: So will you be moving on to other pastries in Portal 2?

Erik, Valve: Well, that would be a spoiler. Actually, I’m going to spoil it — no! No, no, no. None of it! The cake has been retired, it’s gone. Well, kind of. I think some geeky artist might have buried a cake reference in there somewhere, but it’s buried deep. You don’t have to worry about it.

So, here’s a bit more info about Steam on the PS3.

Portal 2 for PlayStation 3 is the first title to support Steam on a console. Specifically, that means it offers cross-platform matchmaking, gameplay, friends, chat, and achievements, all powered by Steam. Steam on the PS3 also saves co-op game progress and single player saved games to the Steam Cloud, enabling players to pick up where they left off on any PlayStation 3.

Steam makes its appearance on the PS3 as an overlay within Portal 2. Here, the Steam overlay provides access to Steam Friends, displaying their in-game or online status and providing a quick pathway to text chats, player profiles, friend requests, and game invites. Steam Achievements are earned in lockstep with PSN Trophies and are also accessible within the Steam overlay.

Steam on the PS3 provides access to all of these features once the player has linked their PlayStation Network account with a Steam account, which is done right within the game. A Steam user can login to an existing account, and anyone new to Steam can create an account with the click of a button.

With all these features, Portal 2 on the PS3 is the best console version of the game, just as it was suggested it would be back at E3 last year. If you’re still hungry for more details, head over to steampowered.com and learn more about Portal 2 for PS3.

Portal 2 will be available next Tuesday, April 19th.

E3 may have come to a close, but we couldn’t be more excited by the plethora of great games and content available for PlayStation fans. Along with PlayStation Move and a host of exclusive titles coming from our first party developers, our publishing partners were out in force taking full advantage of everything PS3 and PSP have to offer.

One of the biggest surprises at E3 was Gabe Newell from Valve’s arrival on the stage at the press conference earlier this week. He acknowledged his appreciation for the PS3 as “the most open platform of all the current generation consoles.” He went on to not only announce that Portal 2 was coming to the PlayStation 3, but also to state that it’ll be the “best version on any console.”

EA also introduced several exclusives to PS3 including the special edition version of Medal of Honor that comes with the 2002 classic Medal of Honor Frontline, which has been updated and re-mastered with HD visuals. And those of you looking forward to Dead Space 2 can pick up the premium edition, which includes Dead Space Extraction. A prequel to the original Dead Space, Dead Space Extraction will be fully Move compatible and also offer trophy support. Offering these packed-in hits like Medal of Honor Frontline and Dead Space Extraction is something only possible on PS3 because of Blu-Ray.

Fans of Assassin’s Creed can look forward to an exclusive beta of the new multiplayer campaign within Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood, with the beta hitting PSN in late summer. 2K Games’ Mafia II will also feature unique content for PS3, including exclusive day-one content including missions, story and gameplay. There’s also the much-anticipated shooter from Crytek, Crysis 2, which will sport 3D-compatible graphics on the PS3.

These along with other great titles, including Kojima’s recently-released masterpiece Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker and Sony Online Entertainment’s much-anticipated MMO DC Universe Online, are expanding our library of titles and offerings for gamers, and help make our family of products some of the best of the industry.

Once you’ve digested all things E3, keep an eye out in the coming weeks and months for further news and updates from our publishing partners.