Valve opens Portal demo to Nvidia

  • By TomM_GScom, GameSpot
  • Posted Jan 10, 2008 1:18 am GMT

One of the biggest surprises coming out of Valve's Orange Box wasn't that five games would be packed in, but that one of the best in the package for many would be Portal. Though only a first-person puzzle game, Portal stood up to the likes of Half-Life 2 with its clever portal mechanic and a story...

One of the biggest surprises coming out of Valve's Orange Box wasn't that five games would be packed in, but that one of the best in the package for many would be Portal. Though only a first-person puzzle game, Portal stood up to the likes of Half-Life 2 with its clever portal mechanic and a story that oozed caustic wit and sterilized doom.

Having mysteriously run through its current stockpile of Aperture Science Laboratories volunteers, Valve revealed today its latest effort to bring in new blood. As of today, all owners of Nvidia chipset graphics cards can now download a free, extended demo of Portal through Valve's online distribution service, Steam. Valve noted the offer will be available to all Nvidia graphics card owners, and a link to the offer will also be packed in with Nvidia driver updates.

The move is part of a new collaborative agreement between the Washington-based developer and the Silicon Valley-based chipmaker. While specifics of the arrangement weren't entirely elucidated, Valve did say that it would further its collaborative efforts with Nvidia on development and distribution, as well as competitive gaming events for Counter-Strike and Team Fortress 2.

73 Comments

  • bison131272

    Posted Jun 2, 2008 4:13 am GMT

    OK - so you don'y get something for nothing, but at 26kb/s download.... I don't have 20hrs to wait around for it.

  • Azrectesh

    Posted Jan 15, 2008 7:25 pm GMT

    the cake is a lie

  • xmg0

    Posted Jan 14, 2008 7:03 pm GMT

    I thought Valve was with ATI? Things don't look good for AMD/ATI. I think Intel/Nvidia are going to ultimately win.

  • fox3586

    Posted Jan 13, 2008 9:24 pm GMT

    Skip the demo, get the real thing!

  • blarg_blarg

    Posted Jan 13, 2008 6:31 pm GMT

    w00t? Too bad I have the worst video card possible.

  • ftjx

    Posted Jan 11, 2008 6:45 am GMT

    YES!!

  • fvoska

    Posted Jan 11, 2008 6:09 am GMT

    Although Valve recommends ATI in their games, the reason for this is that the most users use nVidia's GPUs

  • jaredcrazy3232

    Posted Jan 10, 2008 10:06 pm GMT

    nothing say fun like gaming and cake

  • phalluman

    Posted Jan 10, 2008 8:23 pm GMT

    dude thats crazy... if a demo is free why dont they just let everyone download it. i wonder what nvidia paid

  • Tremere1

    Posted Jan 10, 2008 4:24 pm GMT

    What about the other games that we get? HL2 Deathmatch and HL2 Lost Coast... are they also free? If I download them, can I play on Steam servers?

  • azrealhk

    Posted Jan 10, 2008 4:23 pm GMT

    Wonder if the song is included?

    ....The cake is a lie.

  • shanelevy

    Posted Jan 10, 2008 4:20 pm GMT

    "oozed caustic wit and sterilized doom"

    What a great quote.

  • peeweeshift

    Posted Jan 10, 2008 3:39 pm GMT

    i moded and replaced cake with the cubes. i win ftw.

  • SKiLL_SS

    Posted Jan 10, 2008 2:46 pm GMT

    Portal Rocks !
    Steam Portal: First Slice download sucks...
    had a "duplicate account something" error...

  • FeldmanSkitzoid

    Posted Jan 10, 2008 12:47 pm GMT

    It's just a demo though, right?

  • beanie-g

    Posted Jan 10, 2008 12:04 pm GMT

    You don't necessarily need an Nvidia rig to play the demo, you just need the hardware checker to run on any PC with an Nvidia graphics card.

    Steam is set up pretty generously, so once the Nvidia card check is validated, a message pops up saying you can now install and play the game on any computer as long as you log in with the same Steam account.

    I have Nvidia and ATI setups and have the demo working on both now.

  • Poshkidney

    Posted Jan 10, 2008 11:14 am GMT

    i downloaded the demo in this deal and i think its brilliant must pick up a copy of orange box.

  • chrisdojo

    Posted Jan 10, 2008 10:28 am GMT

    so, whoopty doo.... you get a free demo, that's already free. just go buy orange box, you won't regret it!!

  • stone438

    Posted Jan 10, 2008 9:44 am GMT

    People keep saying the cake is a lie. The cake is not a lie. If you watch the end, you will see that there is cake.

  • doctor_kaz

    Posted Jan 10, 2008 7:37 am GMT

    This is kind of funny since Portal is already shorter than lots of demos.

  • wired187

    Posted Jan 10, 2008 6:13 am GMT

    Allready own the "BOX", portal is awsom but I agree with the others that the full game can almost be considered a demo. I finished the game in about an hour, not including the advanced levels. this is still a great deal and worth trying if you haven't allready. If you own an 8800 your in for a smooth ride. As for the rest of the content in the orange box, 5 games one box, it's a great deal. TF2 rocks!!

    intel quad 1.6
    4g ram
    BFG 8800GTX oc2

  • -HCMF-

    Posted Jan 10, 2008 4:47 am GMT

    good stuff, if I hadn't already bought it....

  • raze-boi

    Posted Jan 10, 2008 2:03 am GMT

    How about a full version later on, Valve?

  • Dreski83

    Posted Jan 10, 2008 2:02 am GMT

    sweet deal for anyone who doesn't own the game already...

  • Lucifer_Rus

    Posted Jan 10, 2008 2:01 am GMT

    Already own it, it's really cool!

  • raze-boi

    Posted Jan 10, 2008 1:06 am GMT

    I LOVE MY 8800GTS 640mb!!!!

  • Conor_220

    Posted Jan 10, 2008 12:24 am GMT

    Well with the length of Portal, you would think you were already playing the demo. OHHH SNAP! Love that game though, didn't overstay its welcome.

  • finaleve

    Posted Jan 9, 2008 11:43 pm GMT

    Portal is practically a demo as is. Love the game to death (played it a billion times by now) but a demo to a game that could last about 4 hours...well is pretty much half the game.

  • Mariella_Hotaru

    Posted Jan 9, 2008 11:34 pm GMT

    This is a triumph. I'm making a note here: huge success.

  • sergioalb64

    Posted Jan 9, 2008 11:15 pm GMT

    My lappy has Nvidia; I'll check it out next time I fire it

  • Dirk13

    Posted Jan 9, 2008 10:14 pm GMT

    wow, anyone remember when Doom 3 and Half 2 came out? ATI backed Half Life i recall and Nvidia backed Doom right? Well now Nvidia is king of the roost eh?

    btw, i already own Orange Box,......can i get something else for having an nvidia card

  • perfect_chao

    Posted Jan 9, 2008 9:32 pm GMT

    Steam system check actually stinks, it says i only have 1 graphics cards when i actually have 2 8800 GT's in SLI. oh well.

  • deck2x

    Posted Jan 9, 2008 9:31 pm GMT

    Yes. Now more people will be baked **BZzzzZZZRdddt* cake.

  • jyurakyumihawk

    Posted Jan 9, 2008 8:50 pm GMT

    i cant launch the demo.whats wrong?

  • Kenji_Masamune

    Posted Jan 9, 2008 8:43 pm GMT

    Very interesting. No problems running OB with my 8800GTS, wonder what true nvidia support is going to bring. Oh can never forget:

    The cake is a lie!

  • Netherscourge

    Posted Jan 9, 2008 8:34 pm GMT

    So basically Valve screwed over all the ATI owners... Nice.

  • jyurakyumihawk

    Posted Jan 9, 2008 8:27 pm GMT

    those with the orange box only needs hl2: deathmatch and the portal extension demo.anyway,is the hl2: deathmatch any fun?

  • jyurakyumihawk

    Posted Jan 9, 2008 8:25 pm GMT

    sweet!!!

  • madmike1515

    Posted Jan 9, 2008 8:16 pm GMT

    Yeah, anyone who hasn't played this, you don't know what your missin' man. It's not only awesome, its HILARIOUS

  • metroid_dragon

    Posted Jan 9, 2008 8:09 pm GMT

    bloody hell, there is just more and more reasons building up for me to buy an 8800... I think that a Portal expansion is the tipping point. Sorry ATI, we've had a good run.

  • InfectX

    Posted Jan 9, 2008 7:50 pm GMT

    wth, I thought Valve was partnered with ATI

  • teng247

    Posted Jan 9, 2008 7:42 pm GMT

    lets not forget the star of the whole thing..... the companion cube!

  • dslyderink

    Posted Jan 9, 2008 7:41 pm GMT

    does anyone know just how long "extended demo" is? ie 4 hours instead of 2 or something like that?

  • jaredcrazy3232

    Posted Jan 9, 2008 7:33 pm GMT

    not including ricochet, is there anything that valve is bad at? i mean they offer u high caliber product, always with loads of extras at an outstanding price and then tell u oh ya that is all u need to buy we will update u give u free new content allow u to play anywhere in the world with no disc for free and then hire u as staff if u make a good enough mod.

  • RaiKageRyu

    Posted Jan 9, 2008 7:28 pm GMT

    Nvidia just owns

  • Scorpion13497

    Posted Jan 9, 2008 7:19 pm GMT

    Anyone know what levels the demo is after? Wondering if it's levels not in the game or like the first 2-3 chambers. That'd be kinda cool if it was all new like what they did with Star Wars: Jedi Outcast

  • shadow9669

    Posted Jan 9, 2008 7:18 pm GMT

    i agree with Racnid337 if you dont have the game buy it it a game everyone will love and still love in years t come

  • Valen_Ca

    Posted Jan 9, 2008 7:18 pm GMT

    Hold on a minute, you mean to tell me that there are actually PC gamers that haven't played Portal yet? Well as impossible as that is to believe I just want to say to all the people new to it, enjoy your cake.

  • higglefliggle

    Posted Jan 9, 2008 7:08 pm GMT

    That's sweet, but only if you remember that THE CAKE IS A LIE!

  • Colonel_Cool

    Posted Jan 9, 2008 7:03 pm GMT

    Cool, even more joy from my 8800!

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