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It has happened before... A couple of weeks after Gabe said on a podcast that the PS3 has to be more open to provide value similar to the Mac platform (that they had recently started supporting) and that "I mean Uncharted 2 is a great game but it can't compare to x PC game [I don't remember which one he named] in terms of value", Gabe announced that Portal 2 and a form of Steam were coming to the PS3.

A couple of weeks!

He was basically teasing "if only the PS3 was more open! If only!" to later appear on stage and praise Sony for opening their platform.

I've found it!

May 19, 2010: http://5by5.tv/conversation/16

The interviewer asks Gabe why they chose to support the Mac over the PS3, because the PS3 is obviously a better game selling platform.

Gabe replied (excuse my less than perfect transcribing skills):

Platform investments like Mac, re-engineering Source to take advantage of OSX and getting Steam running on that, you sort of trying to fire a bullet 5 years into the future and the question what investments are we making that are going to get us closer to where we see ourselves going, we really think that open architecture platforms are going to be the critical determinants of how you create value for developers that, you know...

...World of Warcraft looks a lot more like the killer apps of the future than Uncharted 2 does. Uncharted 2, awesome game, great game, but you know, World of Warcraft has a whole constellation of customer capabilities, so we need to be targeting platforms that do a better job of supporting that kind of application.

If you say "here's an investment we can make", the Mac looks a lot more closer to where we are going to be a couple of years from now, so it makes more sense to make those investments.

It would be super awesome if Sony continues to move in the direction of making the PS3, a more open, you know, look more like a Mac and less than a Gamecube.

Less than a month later, on June 15, 2010 Gabe Newell announces Portal 2 on PS3 and praises Sony for making the PS3 more of an open platform:
http://www.pcgamer.com/2010/06/15/valves-e3-surprise-is-oh-portal-2-on-ps3/
http://www.destructoid.com/valve-on-rewarding-sony-for-making-ps3-an-open-platform-209394.phtml

"I think Sony will start to benefit from what it's doing. They've done the scary thing and I think it's up to us as developers to make sure Sony and its customers are rewarded. We need to reward Sony for making this decision," he continues. "We need to prove Sony is right."

 

[HK-47]

Sounds good to me. I'd rather have an infinitely replayable multiplayer game over a 10 hour corridor shooter.

Who says it has to be a corridor shooter...and only 10 if you flew through it maybe

 

[elhav]

If Valve wanted to move on to bigger and newer things, that's fine. But at least finish the story before you stop caring about it, instead of leaving everyone with a cliffhanger.

 

[Bluth54]

You're gonna get more DOTA and Left 4 Dead and you're gonna like it

I'm happy with more major TF2 updates.

 

[FACE]

You're gonna get more DOTA and Left 4 Dead and you're gonna like it

Yes, please!

 

[balladofwindfishes]

That isn't fallacious and it certainly isn't ironic. I'm happy that Valve get money for making great games. Good for them. But I think the content creators deserve more than 25% for their efforts and work. I didn't realise that would be so contentious! This one criticism of Valve means I hate corporations? Bizarre.



That's not an argument. Valve might be better than their peers but that doesn't mean that they can't still improve.

Ehh... as someone making money from TF2 items, I can't say I've ever thought the amount was unfair. I don't really hear too many people in the TF community or any contributors that feel this way. In many cases contributors have left their jobs to make TF2 and Dota items full time, one kid had his entire college education paid for and a job at Valve from his items. There are contributors of Dota 2 and TF2 that make upwards of half a million a year just making relatively simple 3D models.

I imagine if a lucrative contributor calculated their per-hour payment, it would be well above industry standard for a 3D modeler.

 

[paperspace]

Ehh... as someone making money from TF2 items, I can't say I've ever thought the amount was unfair. I don't really hear too many people in the TF community or any contributors that feel this way. In many cases contributors have left their jobs to make TF2 and Dota items full time, one kid had his entire college education paid for and a job at Valve from his items. There are contributors of Dota 2 and TF2 that make upwards of half a million a year just making relatively simple 3D models.

I imagine if a lucrative contributor calculated their per-hour payment, it would be well above industry standard for a 3D modeler.

But the contributors can make more! And Valve really doesn't need more money.

 

[Sneds]

But the contributors can make more! And Valve really doesn't need more money.

I sense that you're being sarcastic but, to be honest, I would prefer that some of that 75% cut that Valve makes went to the creators. I would rather live in a more equal society and, ultimately, Valve doesn't need the money.

It's good that people can make a living from their item creation on TF2. I still think they deserve more than 25%.

But this will be my last post on the topic as I feel as though I've exhausted my thoughts on the subject.

 

[Azih]

Doesn't it feel creepy to you guys that Valve has decided addictive collect-a-thon like mechanics (limited edition hats, badges, medals!) designed to hook whales is what their games and new Steam features should be now?

 

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Doesn't it feel creepy to you guys that Valve has decided addictive collect-a-thon like mechanics (limited edition hats, badges, medals!) designed to hook whales is what their games and new Steam features should be now?

That's not what they say, nor what their current games are about so no.

 

[Azih]

That's not what they say, nor what their current games are about so no.

All f2p games like tf2, dota2 depend on whales for their revenue to offset the masses that don't spend anything and are designed to stimulate that kind of response. Do you really think the limited edition steam sales badges type shit doesn't evoke the kind of reaction that gamblers get in Vegas?

 

[Interfectum]

All f2p games like tf2, dota2 depend on whales for their revenue to offset the masses that don't spend anything and are designed to stimulate that kind of response. Do you really think the limited edition steam sales badges type shit doesn't evoke the kind of reaction that gamblers get in Vegas?

I see a lot more people participate in purchasing hates / keys / etc than your typical F2P game. I think they are less dependent on whales than you think.

Personally I never buy anything in any F2P game but I have bought keys for both TF2 and Dota 2. As well as tickets for MvM mode in TF2.

 

[Draft]

Valve milking crazed whales for badges and hats has had zero negative influence on my experience with Steam or with Valve games. As in many areas, monetizing garbage is something Valve does experly. Game developers should look to Valve's monetization systems as the ideal.

More TF2/DOTA2, less PvZ2/Candy Crush Saga.

 

[angular graphics]

All f2p games like tf2, dota2 depend on whales for their revenue to offset the masses that don't spend anything and are designed to stimulate that kind of response. Do you really think the limited edition steam sales badges type shit doesn't evoke the kind of reaction that gamblers get in Vegas?

You don't hire Icefrog to remake Dota as he sees fit if your primary concern is to hook whales buying cosmetic items. You churn out something quickly on your own that is first and foremost about getting all the cosmetics there are in the world.

And the CS pro community that largerly ignored CS: Source would not begin to move to CS: GO if it wasn't a game that first and foremost makes a legitimate effort to recapture the magic of their original.

So no, Valve have not decided their games should be about hooking whales. Their design shows their primary concern is the gameplay.

 

[Azih]

Just because a game is a quality game doesn't mean that it isn't also designed to be exploitative.

It's really all the meta gaming cruft with badges and trading that they've added to Steam proper that turns me off really as I don't play tf2 or dota, or cs:go. It just seems very very icky.

 

[balladofwindfishes]

So no, Valve have not decided their games should be about hooking whales. Their design shows their primary concern is the gameplay.

Eh... as much as I love TF2, recent updates have really been pushing the F2P nonsense with stuff like golden pans and item kits that require hundreds of items to make entirely pointless items only collectors will care about (the items are literally called "Collector's [Item Name]").

Spoiler

and I say that as someone who spent about 50 dollars trying for strange festives before realizing I could just buy them on the market full price and save money

 

[Interfectum]

Just because a game is a quality game doesn't mean that it isn't also designed to be exploitative.

It's really all the meta gaming cruft with badges and trading that they've added to Steam proper that turns me off really as I don't play tf2 or dota, or cs:go. It just seems very very icky.

I think the trading card mechanic serves multiple purposes, not just to exploit whales. It keeps people buying games, it makes people participate more in the community, it stress tests the shit out of their community marketplace, etc.

 

[angular graphics]

Just because a game is a quality game doesn't mean that it isn't also designed to be exploitative.

It's really all the meta gaming cruft with badges and trading that they've added to Steam proper that turns me off really as I don't play tf2 or dota, or cs:go. It just seems very very icky.

I guess what I mean is that it's not just that they are good games.. it's that they are games first and foremost. The cosmetics are not their defining characteristic. Their gameplay is.

 

[A-V-B]

So, what, are they giving up on Half-Life 3 now, and using Square's tried and true "we're waiting for XYZ reasons for remaking FF6/7" approach?

 

[angular graphics]

They are not giving up on it.

Which reminds me of what happened when Ellsworth along with other people from the HW division of Valve were let go. GAF was like "SteamBox cancelled damn". And look at where we are today, with a dozen of companies ready to announce their solutions and SteamOS announced out of the blue.

 

[Deleted member 22576]

I've found it!

WHOA that is a deep cut. good memory.