Gabe Newell: Gamers "Seem To Know More" Than Publishers
See Full ImageLet's be clear- as most of you know, we at PSXE are not big fans of Valve boss Gabe Newell. PlayStation 3 owners have a variety of reasons to dislike the guy, and for our part, his clear PC bias isn't helping matters.
But you have to admit, when it comes to the mass gaming public vs. the faceless publishing corporations, Newell is still rooting for the little people. Or in this case, the "little people" who allow the faceless corporations to stay in business. And you have to applaud that kind of sentiment, regardless of who says it. In a recent Game Informer interview, Newell had this to say:
"It seems by and large that gamers are incredibly smart; the average gamer seems to know more about what makes a good game than the average person at a publisher."
We like it! But the only question we have would be a simple one: if the gamers tend to know what makes for a good game, is there any particular reason you've treated the PS3 owners like dog turd over the past couple of years? We have voices, too, and they're growing in number with each passing day. Granted, Valve can churn out some amazing stuff if they put their mind to it (even though I'm personally not overly impressed with games like Half-Life 2), but perhaps Newell needs to listen more and talk less. Yep, we agree: we sometimes are more aware than the publishers, so how's about listening to us every now and then?
10/17/2008 Ben Dutka
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Comments (19 posts)
Qubex
Friday, October 17, 2008 @ 10:50:52 AM
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Q!
"I aM hOMe"
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The_Benny
Friday, October 17, 2008 @ 10:53:06 AM
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"You know, we didn't shop the PS3 Orange Box; EA came to us and said, "you're making this new Half-Life thing, can we make it multi platform?", and we said "sure". If somebody came to us and said, "can we do a platform extension of Left 4 Dead?", then we'd have a conversation with them. I think part of the reason folks came to us on that one [Orange Box for PS3] was because it was a Half-Life property and they knew it was money in the bank. Left 4 Dead is kind of a risky proposition, and it's an unproven IP. So I think if this one hits, you'll probably see someone saying: "Can we quickly put this out on another platform?!", or, "when you guys do a sequel, can we do it on another platform?" You know, people kind of assess the risk of the investment - and anything related to Half-Life or Half-Life 2, the risk is a lot lower than, "hey, new franchise! Trying to do new gameplay!""
So they aren't opposed, they just can't do it themselves. Of course there's still the position that maybe Valve should have a dedicated PS3 team, but they are a PC developer at heart with a lot invested in the Steam platform. The 360 versions only exist at all because they're simple to port to.
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Joe_III
Friday, October 17, 2008 @ 11:05:31 AM
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Tim
Friday, October 17, 2008 @ 11:19:39 AM
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I would love for Valve to give more love to the PS3 owners. Yet they suffer the financial costs of ignoring us, so eventually the lure of profitability may entice them to do as we want.
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ThePoetRazel
Friday, October 17, 2008 @ 11:29:40 AM
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HUSO
Friday, October 17, 2008 @ 12:07:54 PM
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Cuetes
Friday, October 17, 2008 @ 12:13:33 PM
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WorldEndsWithMe
Friday, October 17, 2008 @ 1:21:05 PM
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cheng
Friday, October 17, 2008 @ 1:37:18 PM
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www
Friday, October 17, 2008 @ 1:51:01 PM
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I look at this Newbell man,n i don't see no creativity,innovation,revolutionary n all'em big words.No offence but it's written all over his face he don't got the time to code for ps3,he'd rather get a Big fat burger or doughnut,am not surprised he hates ps3.
Games like Half-life don't look appealing to me.
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Daedusian
Friday, October 17, 2008 @ 2:10:37 PM
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But that being said, I'm still not a fan of this guy. He doesn't care about gamers, look at his pic. What on his face tells you that he cares... I'll tell you, just look at what his eyes are focused on. All he cares about is that juicy burger in front of him and the cash sitting right next to it.
Last edited by Daedusian on 10/17/2008 2:11:45 PM
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www
Friday, October 17, 2008 @ 2:44:50 PM
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karneli lll
Friday, October 17, 2008 @ 10:20:34 PM
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Craigo
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Friday, October 17, 2008 @ 10:49:41 AM