Steam Mobile Beta [Jan 26, 2012, 4:03 pm ET] – Share – Viewing Comments
Valve announces closed beta testing of Steam for Mobile Devices:
Closed Beta Available Now For iOS and Android Devices
January 26, 2012 -- Valve, creators of best-selling game franchises (such as Counter-Strike, Half-Life, Left 4 Dead, Portal, and Team Fortress) and leading technologies (such as Steam and Source), today announced the beta release of the Steam application for iOS and Android devices.
With the Steam app, gamers around the world may chat with Steam friends, browse community groups and user profiles, view screenshots and user-generated content for their favorite games, read the latest gaming news, stay up to date on unbeatable Steam sales, and more.
"The Steam app comes from many direct requests from our customers," said Gabe Newell, co-founder and president of Valve. "Seeing which of your friends are online and playing a game, sending quick messages, looking at screenshots for an upcoming game, or catching a sale - these are all features customers have requested. Mobile is changing way people interact, play games and consume media, and the Steam app is part of our commitment to meet customer demands and expand the service functionality of Steam to make it richer and more accessible for everyone."
Those who wish to join the beta just need to download the Steam app (free of charge) and log in to their Steam account via the mobile app to express interest in the beta. Gamers will be added to the Closed Beta as the service ramps up.
Steam is a leading platform for the delivery and management of PC and Mac games with over 40 million accounts around the world and over 1,800 titles offered.
For more information, please visit http://store.steampowered.com/mobile
I've got an invite if anyone wants it, first request gets it.
Prez wrote on Jan 27, 2012, 12:58:Actually, I just installed it on my Fire from the Android market but I can't log in since I'm not in the beta
Am I correct in assuming your Fire is rooted then? Because that's the only way I've found that it can be installed through the Android Market. Not too sure I want to do that...
Yeah Prez I rooted it back in early December when I got it and installed the android market. Amazon then pushed an update that broke my root access but I never bothered re-rooting since I could still access the market and install apps from there.
Came home to having an invite to Steam Mobile beta. Anyone else get theirs?
Actually, I just installed it on my Fire from the Android market but I can't log in since I'm not in the beta
Am I correct in assuming your Fire is rooted then? Because that's the only way I've found that it can be installed through the Android Market. Not too sure I want to do that...
"The assumption that animals are without rights, and the illusion that our treatment of them has no moral significance, is a positively outrageous example of Western crudity and barbarity. Universal compassion is the only guarantee of morality."
/shakes head at Dev and walks away.
Whoosh, right over your head man 
Verno wrote on Jan 27, 2012, 10:04:Those are all from one article, although you can get similar ones from many other interviews with valve and gabe. These are things that they often repeat. They may well hire the rare specialist, but they are apparently the exception, not the rule. Its also easy enough to look at the evidence of what they do and don't do, what they patch and don't patch.
Hang on I'm going to go get a list of vague press quotes to string together to support a silly conclusion
http://www.develop-online.net/features/1192/Gabe-Newell-on-Valve
They don't look vague to me.
Here's another one.
Well, Ken was able to edit the level, change the tentacle model, and change the code, in order to make that all work.
If he’d have just been a modeller, or animator, or environment worker, or just a programmer, he would only know one way to solve a problem.
This comment was edited on Jan 27, 2012, 11:02.
Reikon wrote on Jan 26, 2012, 19:15:eRe4s3r wrote on Jan 26, 2012, 16:34:
Pretty hilarious steam doesn't have a QR code image on that site that directly links to the app item on Itunes or Android Market
This is what QR codes are supposed to be for, save you time in situations where it makes sense.
For Android: Go here on a computer. Log into the same Google account as your phone. Click install. Watch app automatically install on your phone.Prez wrote on Jan 26, 2012, 18:56:
I'm told my Kindle Fire is an Android device, but I can't find where to install it from. I am wondering if the Fire isn't on the list of compatible devices...
Kindle Fire is such a major fork of Android that you basically should never assume that something for Android is on Kindle Fire.
Actually, I just installed it on my Fire from the Android market but I can't log in since I'm not in the beta.
And I've found most android apps work fine on the Fire. Unless they use GPS, camera, or other features not on the Fire of course.
Hang on I'm going to go get a list of vague press quotes to string together to support a silly conclusion that no one cares about anyway, be right back! 
Just sit tight.
Any day now.
So I finally got my invite to the mobile beta and it is decidedly underwhelming but oh well, I guess it's a first iteration and all that. I think it's probably a bit dangerous to my wallet to have the daily steam sale on my phone
Just sit tight.
Any day now.
So I finally got my invite to the mobile beta and it is decidedly underwhelming but oh well, I guess it's a first iteration and all that. I think it's probably a bit dangerous to my wallet to have the daily steam sale on my phone
Verno wrote on Jan 27, 2012, 08:40:If you say so.
It's a good thing Valve loves to hire specialists, grow and work on many great things with equal gusto
Gabe says:
We don’t hire to specific positions, we hire to standards.
That’s why Valve is organised to find people that are cross-disciplinary.
We don’t really have titles here; people decide for themselves what their role should be.
Question: "And as stretched as you are with resources, I have no idea why you don’t hire 50 new people to get more done."
Well, we’ll hire anyone who walks through the door who can pass our review process. The problem is very few people can do that successfully.
It's a good thing Valve loves to hire specialists, grow and work on many great things with equal gusto
Just chatting would be great, wouldn't take valve too much to do that. But that's not where they are going to stop. Remember, gabe has talked about entering 3 new markets before, and this is just one of them. Unfortunately, because of their extremely limited manpower (250 employees) for what they do, and their reluctance to hire specialists, doing something like this just takes focus away from other things they do.
In answer to a previous post, yeah they find this more interesting to work on.
In answer to a previous post, yeah they find this more interesting to work on.
^Drag0n^ wrote on Jan 27, 2012, 00:42:Actually, that would be a good feature - an auto-notification when a game drops below a certain price.
I just want to know when the heck Skyrim was on sale for $14.99...
Sepharo wrote on Jan 26, 2012, 21:32:I'm the same. I use Steam chat to talk to my girlfriend and my brothers, even though we're all on Facebook - it's mainly so we can talk to each other when playing games. Adding mobile chat is a great improvement, though I'm hoping they'll add chat-history and video-calls as well. And it would be awesome if you could play games and have Steam overlay video-feeds onto the game. With Origin trying to play catch-up it would be great to see Valve really innovate.
I still chat with friends on Steam throughout the day so it'll be nice to have that available at work now too
"The price of freedom is eternal vigilance."
The pickle wrote on Jan 26, 2012, 20:03:
So it's basically a chat app and a browser to check the Steam store...
sounds useless.
Useless? Hardly.
I don't know how many times I went through the Royal PITA known as the Steam store via iOS Safari when I remembered a game I wanted, or during a Steam sale when I was not near my computer (ie holiday travel.)
This is welcome for that alone. Being able to hit the forums and chat with friends on Steam when AFPC is just sauce for the goose.
^D^
"Never start a fight, but always finish it."
I just want to know when the heck Skyrim was on sale for $14.99...
^D^
^D^
"Never start a fight, but always finish it."
Strange that to get invited you had to download it and try to login. A bit annoying but genius in terms of distributing an app.
It'll be less of a hassle to check and buy the daily sales on Steam away from my desktop. I still chat with friends on Steam throughout the day so it'll be nice to have that available at work now too
It'll be less of a hassle to check and buy the daily sales on Steam away from my desktop. I still chat with friends on Steam throughout the day so it'll be nice to have that available at work now too
Obviously this is just Valve's first step into the mobile market.
Hope you're right!
Always thought something like this would be a good idea. Nice to see it's happening.
The pickle wrote on Jan 26, 2012, 20:03:Obviously this is just Valve's first step into the mobile market. Games will inevitably follow. However, the features provided are definitely very useful - Steam chat on mobile is a great feature.
So it's basically a chat app and a browser to check the Steam store...
sounds useless.
"The price of freedom is eternal vigilance."
So it's basically a chat app and a browser to check the Steam store...
sounds useless.
sounds useless.
Copyright © 1996-2025 Stephen Heaslip. All rights reserved.
All trademarks are properties of their respective owners.
Privacy Policy. Manage Cookie Settings.
News CGI copyright © 1999-2025 James "furn" Furness & Blue's News. All rights reserved.
Chatbear v1.5.0/blue++: Page generated 7 February 2025, 06:49.