Need or Greed: DCUO and Portal 2

Need or Greed is a new regular column at STRGamer where we bring you the biggest stories in gaming news along with interesting topics that have gone under the radar. We figure that you're busy and don't always get a chance to scour video game news while you're supposed to be working (and neither do we, so stop trying to get us in trouble), so we'll bring you top stories that you need to know about and interesting trends that you may not have gotten your greedy hands on yet.

Need: DCUO is SOE's Fastest-Selling Game Ever

John Smedley, president of Sony Online Entertainment, recently tweeted that DC Universe Online has become their fastest-selling game ever. Their newest MMO, based in the DC Comics universe, has attracted the attention of MMORPG gamers and comic book aficionados alike because of its superhero-style gameplay and licensed world and characters.

DCUniverseOnline.com

Smedley also commented on the shortage of retail copies of the game in stores, saying that more inventory is on the way. Whether this means that DCUO is great and must be bought or is simply benefiting from the hype machine remains to be seen - especially after the game's free first month of subscription is over.

We'll tell you what - if DCUO can finally answer the question of who would win a fight against Batman, and that it's a party of level 15 villains with names like "LexNoobth0r" and "Catwomansmom," we're in.

Source: MMORPG.com

Greed: Portal 2 Will Have Cross-Platform Play

What may be cooler than Portal? Portal multiplayer. Valve has announced that not only will Portal 2 have multiplayer, but that it will also feature cross-platform functionality between the PS3 and PC.

Last week, IGN reported that the PS3 version of Portal 2 will come with Steamworks, Valve's answer for a console version of Steam. Steamworks will make way for cross-platform chat, software updates, saving games to the Steam cloud, and a free copy of the game for PC and Mac. Yes, you read that correctly - if you buy the PS3 version, you'll get the PC version too.

thinkwithportals.com

Why is this important? Other than being a way to try to disrupt the space-time continuum by firing two portal guns at one another, it's another attempt - and a good one - at promoting online functionality between console and PC gamers. If Valve can do it right with Portal 2, we may be seeing the beginning of some real possibilities for cross-platform gaming in the next wave of MMORPG development. DC Universe Online is being taken seriously as both a PC and PS3 game (at least until the console owners learn about the $15 monthly subscription fee that PC gamers are used to), but you still can't play with your buddies if they don't own the same version of the game. Portal 2 might just be the next step in getting more people to play EverQuest III and Lolcats Online (both unconfirmed) from their couches.