Portal rejected from XBLA

by Scott Jon Siegel { Apr 28th 2008 at 2:14PM }

Considering Valve released Portal as a separate title on its Steam digital distribution service, gamers might have been confused as to why the developer didn't pursue a similar avenue with the game on Xbox 360, via the Xbox Live Arcade service. As it turns out, it did, but the title was rejected due to size limitations and other unnamed reasons.

GamesIndustry.biz reports that during Portal's development, Valve did approach Microsoft to make the title available through XBLA, but several factors made the title an undesirable candidate for the service. Still, marketing director Doug Lombardi does state that the company is always happy to renegotiate. Maybe we'll see Portal on XBLA one day, after all.

Tags: microsoft, portal, steam, valve, xbla

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

klitorisaurus @ Apr 28th 2008 2:18PM

Maybe they should put it on PSN then, since GT5P proves that it can't be too big.

tmacairjordan87 @ Apr 28th 2008 2:22PM

zing?

FOXHOUND @ Apr 28th 2008 2:42PM

It'd be nice, but Gabe Newell hates PS3 because it killed his father and raped his mother... or some weird vendetta like that. :p

Ninjakamster @ Apr 28th 2008 2:59PM

It also ate his prized puppy, Snookums.

Yeah, Gabe and Capcom officially hate the PS3. Anyone know any other developers?

Phranctoast @ Apr 28th 2008 3:07PM

I think it was more serious than that. I believe Sony took a cheeseburger away from him.

Tiptup300 @ Apr 28th 2008 3:24PM

Would we want portal with all those other freeware rejects and shovelware? There are very few exceptions.

Envoy X @ Apr 28th 2008 2:26PM

I hope they put it on PSN.

Co @ Apr 28th 2008 2:38PM

I think this officially puts XBLA at the bottom of the online service barrel.

MarkHawk @ Apr 28th 2008 2:42PM

Who needs friends and voice chat when you got Home coming this fall...

I sound like such a fan boy... I'm leaving...

MarkHawk @ Apr 28th 2008 2:26PM

They Already have Xbox Originals and have had Betas like COD4 and H3 so I do see this happening. Microsoft (or the Live team) may not want to throw Portal up there and then promise a smooth transaction every time when the size is just to big to handle. Portal would be purchased tons of times. Much more then a Beta or Xbox Orignal... Then you'd have players re-downloading it when they go to a friends house.

I do not think the PSN is perfect just yet either. I've had really slow downloads dealing with Warhawk and more recently MGS (though that was Konami and not strictly the fault of PSN other then not hosting it themselves)

Phranctoast @ Apr 28th 2008 3:09PM

If they stream large movie to you guys, they can certainly make it possible to DL larger files. WTF do you pay for then?

Phranctoast @ Apr 28th 2008 3:11PM

I reread my post and it seemed dickish. I know live has its reasons for people to pay. What I was trying to say is..you pay for the thing, so larger downloads shouldn't be out of the question due to bandwidth restraints.

SneezyPorcupine @ Apr 28th 2008 2:30PM

Frankly, I prefer to have Portal on disc as opposed to on Live. I dunt know why, feeling of security that I can't really explain. Besides, its such an excellent game and i wonder if it would have obtained the same numbers had it gone solely on Live as opposed to being one of the cornerstones to The Orange Box...?

Eitherway, in my opinion, this does not excuse Microsoft for taking such a pig-headed attitude towards the content placed on XBLA. They really pick and choose their plays based on who their competition is and who is their new pet. I wouldn't be surprised if Steam didn't factor into their decision given the fact that in which case they would be in direct competition with Steam itself.

Frankly, these days, I can go either way as far as PC vs. 360 goes. I find it harder and harder to bring myself to even turn on my 360, simply because everything is getting so repetitive. The only game i tend to play now is Geometry Wars and MAYBE Lost Odyssey.

MarkHawk @ Apr 28th 2008 2:40PM

I disagree with the pig headed argument. Portal is a big $$$ maker. I know they have a policy about releasing content for free but this is something M$ could make money off of. If they are turning it down just based on size I am sure they aren't happy about it either... I am sure there is more then size on this issue. If it is just size then I would expect Portal to come maybe by years ends.

tmacairjordan87 @ Apr 28th 2008 2:33PM

I hope they do this cause Portal was the only orange box game I enjoyed and I traded it in towards GTA 4. Wouldn't mind spending $10 to download this again on PSN or XBLA

xFenixKnightx @ Apr 28th 2008 2:40PM

I rented The Orange Box JUST for Portal and I loved it. Didn't really touch Half-Life2 and TF =/ Just never got into them for some reason.

Roy @ Apr 28th 2008 3:21PM

It wouldn't be $10, it would be $20. It would match the current retail box.

Phranctoast @ Apr 28th 2008 3:14PM

blasphemy........

its a great game, but I love it on the PC so much better. It hardly taxes older PC's and I have the resolution bumped up to its highest setting.

tmacairjordan87 @ Apr 28th 2008 3:22PM

Definitely not spending $20 on portal. It was fun but not worth that much for something I can beat in about an hour.

xFenixKnightx @ Apr 28th 2008 2:36PM

Note to MS...

http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l115/pnutbuttrcups/blinkie/reneediota.gif

Sesur @ Apr 28th 2008 2:40PM

STUPID STUPID STUPID!!!

Mr.ESC @ Apr 28th 2008 3:12PM

The freaking Fallout boi is a spy!

Dirt @ Apr 28th 2008 2:50PM

Makes you wonder what other fantastic games have been rejected so they could put up another game of Frogger or Battlezone.

I really hope someone with the power of Bill Gates reads these gaming blogs and smacks a few people upside the head for running their service into the ground like this.

Mr.ESC @ Apr 28th 2008 3:13PM

FAIL

Andrew K @ Apr 28th 2008 3:18PM

Microsoft has the size limit so people without a HDD can download it to their MU. With the gamer profile, it enables you to delete the title anytime and redownload it with out paying again.

Its MS way of saying they don't want to leave the Core owners out but what they are really doing is screwing pretty much 95% of 360 owners.

Wow, thats the most I never typed on a comment section of a blog. LOL

CB @ Apr 28th 2008 4:09PM

Seriously, MS should just stop selling the Arcade version and have the Premium the lowest sku, and then remove the XBLA limit altogether.

Po0py @ Apr 28th 2008 4:05PM

Wow. If such a great casual game as Portal cannot get on to a service like XBLA then something is truly fucked up at Microsoft. In one fell blow it exposes the idiocy of their policies.

hvnlysoldr @ Apr 28th 2008 3:29PM

Portal XBLA still alive

colin @ Apr 28th 2008 5:15PM

and the science gets done and you make a neat gun
for the people who are still alive

FSK405K @ Apr 28th 2008 3:35PM

"Undesirable" = too many people would buy it instead of the other BS on XBLA.

Benny @ Apr 28th 2008 5:19PM

Whether someone buys Portal or a BS game from XBLA, Microsoft still makes money. You don't just earn profit on crap (despite Microsoft's best efforts to prove otherwise).

FSK405K @ Apr 29th 2008 1:39AM

No, as in they'll be following the Nintendo Gamecube strategy. Release one good game every six months (on XBLA) and a lot of crap in between, so that people will buy more games just out of the need for new.

zero2dash @ Apr 28th 2008 3:51PM

This was a failure.
I'm making a note here: EPIC PHAIL.
It's hard to overstate my disappointment.

(sorry...had to)

UltimateQ @ Apr 28th 2008 4:31PM

Wow Microsawft is a big bunch of dumb dumbs. I'm glad I don't rely on consoles for my games.

ssuk @ Apr 28th 2008 4:55PM

The problem is, there was already a HUGE fanbase ready and waiting for this game's release since the game was announced. Just shows how out-of-sync Microsoft can be sometimes...

Either way you cut it, MS shot themselves in the foot here.

Chase @ Apr 28th 2008 4:55PM

Screw Arcade owners. If you're an Arcade system owner or the idiot who first recommended and implemented the Arcade model, you suck. Serious suck. You sucktards almost ruined Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix. Way to suck, Arcade owners; way to suck.

SeriousKriss @ Apr 28th 2008 5:01PM

Well they'd have to bump up the current size limit from 150 to 600MB. Since they already went from 50 to 150MB recently (it was like 1, maybe 2 months ago?), I don't see that happening any time soon. And since Microsoft won't accept new games sold at budget price, Valve is indeed stuck.
Then again it's just better to get the PC version with free additional content if you can.

Nate @ Apr 28th 2008 6:08PM

Man, they totally need to bring this to the PSN.

Gran Tourismo HD - 600+ megs
High Velocity Bowling - 500+ megs
Warhawk - 800+ megs
Toy Home - 600+ megs
Tons of PS1 games at 300-500 megs

And probably many more. PSN is where it's at.

Wes @ Apr 28th 2008 6:29PM

I'm kind of disappointed by this news. Sometimes, Microsoft seems to make decisions that seem counter-intuitive to making money. If they can fit xbox originals, why not fit Portal?

I'm sure it would sell well and Microsoft would collect at least a portion of the profits.

Tuxy79 @ Apr 28th 2008 6:30PM

MS = f#cking dolts.

Otto Zero @ Apr 28th 2008 6:35PM

Who cares if MS doesn't want it on XBL. Sony Wake up and Kiss Valves ass and Get this Game NOW on PSN...... Hey anybody play the 2d Version of Portal, Really fun game (only for PC though)..

BTW having nothing to do with this topic, but When in the Hell is Shenmue 3 Comming out....WAKE UP SEGA!!!!!!!

cheese @ Apr 28th 2008 6:35PM

Gabe Newell, former Microsoft employee... explains alot.

From Wikipedia:

After dropping out of Harvard University[1] Newell spent thirteen years working for Microsoft Corporation, ultimately becoming a "Microsoft Millionaire." Newell has described himself as "producer on the first three releases of Windows".[2] Inspired by Michael Abrash, who left Microsoft to work on the Quake game at id Software, Newell and another Microsoft employee Mike Harrington left Microsoft to found Valve in 1996.[2] He and Harrington used their money to fund Valve through the development of Half-Life.

During production on Half-Life 2, he spent several months focusing on the Steam project.[3]

Gabe is notorious for expressing his displeasure for the Playstation 3 on numerous occasions, having stated that it is "a waste of everybody's time"[4] and "A disaster on many levels" and that "I'd say, even at this late date, they should just cancel it and do a do over. Just say, 'This was a horrible disaster and we're sorry and we're going to stop selling this and stop trying to convince people to develop for it"[5]. Because Valve did not want to handle the port of the The Orange Box from the Xbox 360/PC version to the Playstation 3 version, the project was given to EA, resulting in a sub-par Playstation 3 experience according to several previews.[6]

Otto Zero @ Apr 28th 2008 6:56PM

Actually I owned the 360 version and the PC version of Half life 2 and Of course the PC version is Much better cause of the Superior Graphics card That was in my PC. I nolonger have a 360 cause it RRODed on me, so I repurchased the Orange Box for my PS3..and to be honest maybe just a few hiccups here and there... Gotta Say though, had Valve put in the effort to optimize the Game for the PS3 would would of Run Much Better then the 360 version (but of course not as good as the PC hehe!!). I feel that Gabe didn't like the PS3 Hardware, cause it didn't have any Direct X similarities, which made it more difficult to develope for.

Here is an old saying You sow what you reap... So if you only stick to one particular hardware system then most of your games will better on a that system then compared to multi-systems.

Ridgecity @ Apr 28th 2008 8:08PM

Last year there was this 3d and game developent expo here in Mexico, and Microsoft was running a bunch of courses on XNA and promoting xboxlive as a launchpad for new games. After 3 days, they concluded the course with a "even if your game never gets approved, at least you know you can do better after learning the XNA tools and maybe we can buy it from you...".

If Portal wasn't approved, what the fuck get approved? Microsoft Yaris? $omething $mell$ fi$hy...