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[ashecitism]

Thought this was interesting to spin-off from the other thread, because that will be about killer apps.

from reddit, removed the link due to magazine scan

The new issue of the German magazine PC Games Hardware features an interview with Chet Faliszek that was done at CES last month. Most of it is already known, but there are some points that are noteworthy I think.

• When talking about hardware requirements he said that Valve is working on foveated rendering. (I think that's the first time they have confirmed this.)
• Asked if their tracking is more precise than Oculus' he doesn't really answer the question, but mentions how 360 degree tracking is like pure magic.
• Chet disagrees with the notion that the Vive needs a AAA killer app and calls the app store the killer app of the iPhone.
• When asked about the price, he says "We view Vive as high-end VR, the best of the best. I can't comment on the price but we are trying to not make it too expensive."
• He also mentions that they are working with PC manufacturers to create bundles.
• Chet says Oculus isn't their enemy, but Steam taught them an important lesson: "Competitors are irrelevant for business, it's a very bad idea to base your own decisions and strategies on their actions. Even if they are brilliant people like Palmer Luckey, who I really appreciate."

my german is rusty, but I think he got that part pretty well

the full part as per my translation:

Q: Can you give us a price for the Vive? Higher or lower than Oculus's $599?

A: We see Vive as high-end VR. The best of the best. Sadly I can't give you a price, but we're trying to not make it too expensive, and there will be PC bundles too. What Oculus does only interests us from a gameplay perspective, of course I immediately pre-ordered it. We all are starting this VR revolution to change and make this industry and culture better. Oculus isn't our enemy, together with them and PSVR we're making this new industry. Steam has taught us an important lesson: competitors are irrevelant for business. It's unwise to base decisions and strategies based ony what they do. Even when they have brilliant people, like Palmer Luckey, who I rate highly.

 

[fantomena]

What about that customer support?

 

[darkinstinct]

The interview says that Valve is going to reveal its new stealth game for VR this month. With bows and arrows.

 

[Adry9]

Honestly, I wouldn't take Valve as an example of how to run a company.

What about that customer support?

That's irrelevant too.

 

[Durante]

Well, when Valve was building Steam their competitors were trying to dominate the living room by transitioning to consoles, or striking deals with retail chains.

Given how that turned out, this is hardly a surprising stance.

 

[Scuba Steve]

The interview says that Valve is going to reveal its new stealth game for VR this month. With bows and arrows.

Half Life 3: Primal

 

[Se7enSword]

What about that customer support?

"Competitors are irrelevant for business"

Just like their customer support

 

[kinoki]

I think it's wise to do your own thing and don't jump on bandwagons. Valve has shown that they know what games they need for their platform. Dota 2 and CSGO are huge. I trust them to do the right thing for their business. They show far more awareness than most giants in the industry.

 

[ashecitism]

The interview says that Valve is going to reveal its new stealth game for VR this month. With bows and arrows.

Yeah, at first I thought that was Budget Cuts, but that doesn't have bows and arrows. I'll poke around a bit. Might be thread worthy, or might be just another 3rd party game.

 

[Angelus Errare]

I think it's wise to do your own thing and don't jump on bandwagons. Valve has shown that they know what games they need for their platform. Dota 2 and CSGO are huge. I trust them to do the right thing for their business. They show far more awareness than most giants in the industry.

Tends to happen when you're not owned by stockholders who don't really know or care about the industry and don't care about long term nearly as much as short term (in regards to profits and other areas).

 

[Somnid]

True enough. If you aren't following the competition you're more likely to lead doing new things. Though personally for me, Valve's creative output (both software and their new hardware ventures) has come into question, they may not be reacting but they don't seem to know how to push either.

 

[Hyu]

Looking forward to that stealth game.
Reading through the whole article.. I have the feeling that it won't be that big though.

 

[Teletraan1]

With steam they have pretty much a Monopoly. Uplay/Origin are a non factor really since they are just "me too" storefronts for those publishers games. One could argue that Origin had returns before Steam ever did, was that a reaction or something they had planned prior. Their decisions seem to be more driven by greed and then consumer backlash lately since they keep overturning them. With VR helmets they don't have the luxury of being the biggest game in town and pretty much something that is deemed (as of yet) an essential part of PC gaming so perhaps they should play it differently.

 

[enzo_gt]

Easy thing to say when the direct competitors are trailing so far behind you. Pretty dumb of a blanket statement, especially in reference to Oculus. Market-informed decision making has its place.

 

[Familienoberhauptvogel]

What competitors?

 

[Dennis]

More arrogant than PS3-era Sony.

 

[Dreams-Visions]

Well, when Valve was building Steam their competitors were trying to dominate the living room by transitioning to consoles, or striking deals with retail chains.

Given how that turned out, this is hardly a surprising stance.

Yep, this right here. Bucking industry trends on the way to becoming the dominant presence on the PC platform and arguably the most influential force in gaming today is a pretty strong resume opener and certainly a good reason to be of this opinion. Jayden Smith they are not.

 

[la_briola]

This is a magazine scan, so you might want to remove it.
GAF is quite strict in that regard (see famitsu scans).

 

[ashecitism]

This is a magazine scan, so you might want to remove it.
GAF is quite strict in that regard (see famitsu scans).

oh right, thanks!

should I remove the reddit link too then?

 

[Possumowner]

Steam is a behemoth, and its competitors pale in comparison currently...but there customer service truly sucks.

 

[la_briola]

oh right, thanks!

should I remove the reddit link too then?

No idea, I think translations are fine. Talking about it should be fair game.

 

[OBias]

What Chet is saying reminds me of the Blue Ocean Strategy and things Iwata was saying about competition during the early years of the DS and the Wii.

 

[Notor!ousG]

They should work together with Nintendo, they share the same philosophy.

 

[Archie]

They should work together with Nintendo, they share the same philosophy.

The main difference is Valve is successful and pays attention to their customers.

Nintendo not so much.

 

[Maximo]

No need for games no need for customer service.

 

[sueil]

Valve is going to get the mother of all wake up calls someday with that kind of hubris.

 

[PhaZZe]

i tried the support 2 months ago and was great recovering old account, maybe they are better now?

 

[SliceSabre]

Honestly that's an arrogant as fuck statement to say but companies with monopolies(Steam) tend to be arrogant as fuck so I'm not surprised.

 

[Ludens]

Steam is getting worse and worse, and this statement sounds really arrogant to me.
Also they promised to think about a new Greenlight, years passed and nothing, meanwhile Steam turned into a garbage dump full of scam games.
Also support is awful as usually.

 

[injurai]

 

[80s Bad Guy]

Huh. No wonder they don't try anymore. (i.e. steam sales, game development, etc...)

 

[Ikuu]

Steam is getting worse and worse, and this statement sounds really arrogant to me.
Also they promised to think about a new Greenlight, years passed and nothing, meanwhile Steam turned into a garbage dump full of scam games.
Also support is awful as usually.

What is getting worse about Steam?

 

[Dreams-Visions]

Steam is getting worse and worse, and this statement sounds really arrogant to me.

[citation needed]

 

[Pie and Beans]

Hubris like this demands a catastrophe really. Sadly I think their hooks into peoples nostalgia are so deep that nothing will ever impact them, highlighted by the bullshit security failings over Christmas.

 

[Pooya]

He's just saying it is better to do what you think is best rather than try to one up some body else on every turn which makes sense. That phrasing can be misunderstood I guess.

 

[Durante]

Steam is getting worse and worse

Actually no, it's getting better and better.

• The Steam controller is fantastic (I'd go so far as to call it the first real PC controller), and they are doing a great job supporting it. In fact, they just release an update fixing my biggest remaining issues with it a few days ago.
• The selection of games on Steam has improved tremendously ever since Greenlight, and no longer are great games kept off the service for dubious reasons.
• The discovery update -- while hardly perfect yet -- seems to have improved, well, game discovery going by all developer stats I have seen posted.
• Fully automated no-questions-asked refunds makes it much easier to evaluate the performance/quality/appeal of any game for yourself before spending money on it.
• Yes, support is still objectively awful, but that's not getting worse. At best its stagnating on a low level, and if you want to put a more positive spin on it it seems like people have actually gotten somewhat better turn-around times on it recently.

 

[ashecitism]

Alright, put in my translation of that whole part in the OP.

 

[SliceSabre]

He's just saying is better to do what you think is best rather than try to one up some body else on every turn which makes sense. That phrasing can be misunderstood I guess.

Competition > Monopolies

I don't care how good people think Steam is it could always be better and competition makes companies actually strive to do better. It easy to say "we do what we think is best" when no one can pressure you. I would never be one to sit back and say "Well this one company does it so well let's let them run EVERYTHING." That has always has terrible results.

 

[MikeE21286]

I think that's a very sound decision. Make the decision that you've already internally vetted as being right.

Don't be a follower.

 

[yuraya]

Hubris like this demands a catastrophe really. Sadly I think their hooks into peoples nostalgia are so deep that nothing will ever impact them, highlighted by the bullshit security failings over Christmas.

Its not just Nostalgia. CSGO and DOTA2 are two of the best competitive multiplayer games in the industry today. PC gamers will always appreciate Valve. And them being a private company that doesn't answer to some corporate overlords give them even more rep. Nostalgia helps too ofc. Especially when all their older games still hold up extremely well today.

 

[OVDRobo]

Not too sure whether or not this is arrogance being displayed, but at the very least, I disagree.

Competitors matter because the concept of competition drives companies to keep one-upping each other which is a net gain for the consumer and the company that offers the most. Once you disregard competitors as irrelevant and stop making business decisions based on what they are doing - not copying their ideas, but at least reacting to market trends in your innovation - you tend to stagnate as a company.

Not really picking up what Valve's putting down here, but everyone has their opinions.

 

[family_guy]

Actually no, it's getting better and better.

• The Steam controller is fantastic (I'd go so far as to call it the first real PC controller), and they are doing a great job supporting it. In fact, they just release an update fixing my biggest remaining issues with it a few days ago.
• The selection of games on Steam has improved tremendously ever since Greenlight, and no longer are great games kept off the service for dubious reasons.
• The discovery update -- while hardly perfect yet -- seems to have improved, well, game discovery going by all developer stats I have seen posted.
• Fully automated no-questions-asked refunds makes it much easier to evaluate the performance/quality/appeal of any game for yourself before spending money on it.
• Yes, support is still objectively awful, but that's not getting worse. At best its stagnating on a low level, and if you want to put a more positive spin on it it seems like people have actually gotten somewhat better turn-around times on it recently.

I think Greenlight has flooded the store with crap at the same time.

 

[Apathy]

Well, when Valve was building Steam their competitors were trying to dominate the living room by transitioning to consoles, or striking deals with retail chains.

Given how that turned out, this is hardly a surprising stance.

Might be the first time they actually set some competition in a space they aren't already the defacto leader, so we will see them actually compete.

 

[Skulduggery]

Actually no, it's getting better and better.

• The Steam controller is fantastic (I'd go so far as to call it the first real PC controller), and they are doing a great job supporting it. In fact, they just release an update fixing my biggest remaining issues with it a few days ago.
• The selection of games on Steam has improved tremendously ever since Greenlight, and no longer are great games kept off the service for dubious reasons.
• The discovery update -- while hardly perfect yet -- seems to have improved, well, game discovery going by all developer stats I have seen posted.
• Fully automated no-questions-asked refunds makes it much easier to evaluate the performance/quality/appeal of any game for yourself before spending money on it.
• Yes, support is still objectively awful, but that's not getting worse. At best its stagnating on a low level, and if you want to put a more positive spin on it it seems like people have actually gotten somewhat better turn-around times on it recently.

Idk what else people want, honestly. Steam is fantastic

 

[GlamFM]

I think that's a very sound decision. Make the decision that you've already internally vetted as being right.

Don't be a follower.

Worked out alright for Microsoft and the XB1.

Don´t listen to your consumers, ignore what the competition is doing.

Just fuck up all by yourself.

 

[Durante]

Idk what else people want, honestly. Steam is fantastic

Well, better support would be appreciated.

But I just can't see any factual basis for anything getting "worse".

Don´t listen to your consumers, ignore what the competition is doing.

Why are you making things up out of thin air? Is your argument not conclusive enough otherwise?

 

[Ikuu]

I think Greenlight has flooded the store with crap at the same time.

And? Amazon is filled with garbage, your local supermarket is filled with garbage.

 

[kurahador]

Later down the line...
"We're relaunching paid mods...with seasonal sales!!"

 

[GlamFM]

Well, better support would be appreciated.

But I just can't see any factual basis for anything getting "worse".

Why are you making things up out of thin air? Is your argument not conclusive enough otherwise?

How is this made up?

 

[Shuggananas]

How is this made up?

valve : "competitors are irrelevant"
you : "consumers are irrelevant"
rofl