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Gabe Newell bombshell quotes

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alexandros

Banned
Computer and Videogames has a rather interesting article on various quotes from Gabe Newell over the years. I've quoted some of the biggest shockers:

"The PS3 is a total disaster on so many levels," he explained.

"I think it's really clear that Sony lost track of what customers and what developers wanted. I'd say, even at this late date, they should just cancel it and do a do over. Just say, 'This was a horrible disaster and we're sorry and we're going to stop selling this and stop trying to convince people to develop for it'."
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Sony is now firmly in last place of the current generation console sales.

"I'm betting that by Christmas of next year, the Wii has a larger installed base than the 360. Other people think I'm crazy."
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It turns out he was absolutely spot on.

"Investing in the Cell, investing in the SPE gives you no long-term benefits. There's nothing there that you're going to apply to anything else. You're not going to gain anything except a hatred of the architecture they've created".
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Sony is rumoured to have ditched the Cell processor for the PS4.

Windows 8 is kind of a catastrophe for everyone in the PC space.
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We'll have to wait and see on that.

edit - Full credit to StuBurns for bringing up another important Gabe Newell quote, back in 2009:

http://www.examiner.com/article/valve-let-fans-fund-game-development

What I think would be much better would be if the community could finance the games. In other words, ‘Hey, I really like this idea you have. I'll be an early investor in that and, as a result, at a later point I may make a return on that product, but I'll also get a copy of that game.'

So move financing from something that occurs between a publisher and a developer… Instead have it be something where funding is coming out of community for games and game concepts they really like.”
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Three years later, Kickstarter happened.
 
"Episode Three will be out by Christmas 2007."

(Okay, technically, it wasn't Gabe himself that said it, plus it's paraphrased.)
 
So is this the next thread where people shout about windows 8?

I think Gabe is spot on a lot of the time but no one bats 1000.
 
When the PlayStation 3 was introduced, I was the one of the platform’s biggest critics. However, Sony Computer Entertainment has proved that the PlayStation 3 is the most open platform of all the current generation consoles and has worked extremely hard to make the platform the most desirable for consumers and developers. As such, we are delighted to announce Portal 2 for the PlayStation 3 and believe the Steamworks support included will make it the best console version of the game.
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Gabe loves ps3 ;)
 
Forkball said:
But he made up with Sony and had Steam integration with the PS3. What a flip flopper!
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He hasn't exactly done anything with Steamworks on PS3, so maybe his comments aren't far off and he really does hate Sony deep down but wanted to throw them a bone and wanted to profit the userbase.
 
Speedymanic said:
He hasn't exactly done anything with Steamworks on PS3, so maybe his comments aren't far off and he really does hate Sony deep down but wanted to throw them a bone and wanted to profit the userbase.
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Realistically, there's not much else that can be done with Steamworks on the PS3.

Edit: I know some people were expecting/hoping for a PS3-specific Steam Store in addition to the in-game client, cross-platform multiplayer, etc. but that's a profoundly unrealistic expectation, not the least because Sony would never allow it.
 
subversus said:
just because of Steam being allowed on PS3.
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"I think it's really clear that Sony lost track of what customers and what developers wanted. I'd say, even at this late date, they should just cancel it and do a do over. Just say, 'This was a horrible disaster and we're sorry and we're going to stop selling this and stop trying to convince people to develop for it'."

and then valve goes on to make portal 2 the only console version with cross play don't you think that is contradictory to what he said?


subversus said:
truth. less money would be lost
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All the current market share and the ps3 profits would be lost too sony would've been out of the console hardware business forever
 
JaseC said:
Realistically, there's not much else that can be done with Steamworks on the PS3.
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I guess, but some support for Portal 2 should be possible. DLC, etc through SW, maybe even approved mods. Seems they made a big deal of it before release but then abandoned it for whatever reason. maybe to focus on supporting Linux or TF2, but the lack of anything post release was very disappointing to those who hoped SW would allow for a constant or near constant stream of post release support.
 
OP forgot the best quote:

Gabe Newell said:
Piracy is almost always a service problem and not a pricing problem. For example, if a pirate offers a product anywhere in the world, 24/7, purchasable from the convenience of your personal computer, and the legal provider says the product is region-locked, will come to your country three months after the US release and can only be purchased at a brick and mortar store, then the pirate's service is more valuable.
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Sid said:
"I think it's really clear that Sony lost track of what customers and what developers wanted. I'd say, even at this late date, they should just cancel it and do a do over. Just say, 'This was a horrible disaster and we're sorry and we're going to stop selling this and stop trying to convince people to develop for it'."

and then valve goes on to make portal 2 the only console version with cross play don't you think that is contradictory to what he said?
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I'm not sure how he not liking the platform's architecture should automatically equate to his company not developing for it (something that according to their stories wasn't even started from his direct decision but from other Valve employees who *wanted* to get better at programming on PS3) or appreciating Sony policies about allowing Steamworks on PS3.
I'm quite sure he *still* thinks that Ps3's architecture is horrible to develop for, and he's not even alone in that.

Beside, don't stop reading headlines. Try to listen in what context he said what he said about PS3.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RNXIhccXLc
 
BurnOutBrighter said:
Sony is in last place, yes, but not by much.
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the fact that Sony finds itself there at all is remarkable, given the PS2 was the very face of gaming for 5 or 6 years and enjoyed unparalleled software support.

If you had told GAFers in 2005 that the PS3 was going to be in LAST place (by any measure, big or small) come 2012, you would have been laughed at and shit on. It would have been like suggesting the USA basketball team was going to take the Bronze.
 
Speedymanic said:
He hasn't exactly done anything with Steamworks on PS3, so maybe his comments aren't far off and he really does hate Sony deep down but wanted to throw them a bone and wanted to profit the userbase.
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Lol that sounds like Gabe Newell..... You think they made a billionaire just swallow his pride to announce Portal 2 on a system he deep down hates... and Gabe just wants to profit..... Portal 2.... a huge game that sold what........
 
Speedymanic said:
I guess, but some support for Portal 2 should be possible. DLC, etc through SW, maybe even approved mods. Seems they made a big deal of it before release but then abandoned it for whatever reason. maybe to focus on supporting Linux or TF2, but the lack of anything post release was very disappointing to those who hoped SW would allow for a constant or near constant stream of post release support.
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Portal 2 doesn't support mods, just custom levels, but I do agree that they should be available on the PS3 via some level of basic Steam Workshop integration. UT3 PS3 has mod support, after all, so I imagine it's not a policy issue.
 
TucoBenedictoPacifico said:
I'm not sure how he not liking the platform's architecture should automatically equate to his company not developing for it (something that according to their stories wasn't even started from his direct decision but from other Valve employees who *wanted* to get better at programming on PS3) or appreciating Sony policies about allowing Steamworks on PS3.
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The guy is the head of valve and what i was referring to specifically was this

"This was a horrible disaster and we're sorry and we're going to stop selling this and stop trying to convince people to develop for it"
 
MyMyAxaco said:
Lol that sounds like Gabe Newell..... You think they made a billionaire just swallow his pride to announce Portal 2 on a system he deep down hates... and Gabe just wants to profit..... Portal 2.... a huge game that sold what........
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Him being a billionaire isn't relevant, he's a business man and would want his game to do as well as possible, reach as many people as possible and make as much money as possible. Maybe I could have worded my post differently, but I didn't mean profit in negative terms, I meant that he realized he couldn't just write off a very large user-base who might/would be interested in the game because he didn't like the PS3.

JaseC said:
Portal 2 doesn't support mods, just custom levels, but I do agree that they should be available on the PS3 via some level of basic Steam Workshop integration. UT3 PS3 has mod support, after all, so I imagine it's not a policy issue.
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Ah, custom levels then. My expectations were probably too high after seeing how well supported TF2 was post release, but at least Valve and co made the effort, hopefully they'll capitalize on it next gen/their next big title.
 
Well, the PS3's openGL code is definitely apart of the linux build, so gabe the console wasn't a complete waste of time.

Also the fact that buying the ps3 version(portal 2) unlocked the game on PC and Mac aswell was amazing.

I want to know if CS:Go will do the same.
 
kaQVf.jpg
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Fuck the haters son.
 
Speedymanic said:
Him being a billionaire isn't relevant, he's a business man and would want his game to do as well as possible, reach as many people as possible and make as much money as possible. Maybe I could have worded my post differently, but I didn't mean profit in negative terms, I meant that he realized he couldn't just write off a very large user-base who might/would be interested in the game because he didn't like the PS3.



Ah, custom levels then. My expectations were probably too high after seeing how well supported TF2 was post release, but at least Valve and co made the effort, hopefully they'll capitalize on it next gen/their next big title.
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Him and his company being very well off means that a company can't just buy him off. If Microsoft offered him 50 million dollars he still won't like tablet focused closed Windows 8. He's just not the type of person that is all about profiting, otherwise Half Life 2 wouldn't have taken 6 years and HL3 would have been released, L4D would be on PS3 too. He also gave you the PC version for free if you buy the PS3 version. He didn't like the PS3 earlier for good reasons and now he does. He will write off a user base if he disagrees with their approach. He wrote off PS3 in the beginning and now he's shitting on W8.
 
alexandros said:
Actually, a not-so-stealth "that Newell is a smart guy, maybe we should hear what he has to say and consider it". :)
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Here's the thing: people are going to use whatever software and hardware they want to use. What do you hope to accomplish here? What should people consider? What even is there to consider? You just come off as extremely arrogant and dickish. Is it really that important to you that some anonymous people on the internet are going to use - and are already using - Windows 8? Is it so important that you need to make an entire thread simply to wag your finger at the internet? Honestly, who the fuck really cares?
 
Sounds like all his predictions seem like they may be true at a moment in time but ultimately play out in a way that leaves the original premise of the prediction lacking.

Sure the PS3 was hailed as being difficult to develop for at one point. Had we all (including Sony) believed in Gabe’s words, a great company would have not only lost one of their profitable ventures but the console industry would have suffered a tremendous setback?

Sure Nintendo is number one but at the expense of them losing a large portion of their fan base and third party support. The approach that put them at number one ultimately allowed their business to stagnate to the point they needed to launch next gen playing catch-up.

Cell's architecture is by no means dead but the poor implementation Sony had can be improved. Mostly of the platforms early problems were due to poor development tools and support. This improves over time. Gabe even peddles his middleware as a value proposition to those who wish to develop on the platform now.

In Gabe we trust... indeed.
 
alexandros said:
Sony is now firmly in last place of the current generation console sales.
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Firmly? If you going by sales numbers and market share worldwide, Sony is right on the heels of MS. PS3 is about 2million units behind 360, probably a little bit less now. Its definitely possible they could surpass them before the end of this generation.

To say PS3 was a disaster is also very far from the truth at this point. PS3 now boasts the widest and most varied library of games. They'll probably sell 90-100million units before its discontinued, and much more than that if they keep it around as long as they did with PS2. That cant be a disaster.
 
Speedymanic said:
Ah, custom levels then. My expectations were probably too high after seeing how well supported TF2 was post release, but at least Valve and co made the effort, hopefully they'll capitalize on it next gen/their next big title.
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Well, it's not so much that Portal 2 doesn't support mods, but rather Portal 2's authoring tools are rather... tricky, which pushes people to another variant (e.g. Alien Swarm's). Valve's acknowledged that its content creation tools need work, though.
 
yn-neko hates a cat said:
Sounds like all his predictions seem like they may be true at a moment in time but ultimately play out in a way that leaves the original premise of the prediction lacking.

Sure the PS3 was hailed as being difficult to develop for at one point. Had we all (including Sony) believed in Gabe’s words, a great company would have not only lost one of their profitable ventures but the console industry would have suffered a tremendous setback?

Sure Nintendo is number one but at the expense of them losing a large portion of their fan base and third party support. The approach that put them at number one ultimately allowed their business to stagnate to the point they needed to launch next gen playing catch-up.

Cell's architecture is by no means dead but the poor implementation Sony had can be improved. Mostly of the platforms early problems were due to poor development tools and support. This improves over time. Gabe even peddles his middleware as a value proposition to those who wish to develop on the platform now.

In Gabe we trust... indeed.
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Why did you edit out the part about Gabe Newell being very public about talking shit?
 
JohnnySasaki86 said:
Firmly? If you going by sales numbers and market share worldwide, Sony is right on the heels of MS. PS3 is about 2million units behind 360, probably a little bit less now. Its definitely possible they could surpass them before the end of this generation.

To say PS3 was a disaster is also very far from the truth at this point. PS3 now boasts the widest and most varied library of games. They'll probably sell 90-100million units before its discontinued, and much more than that if they keep it around as long as they did with PS2. That cant be a disaster.
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Didn't PS3 wiped out all of sony's PS2 profit and some of their PSone profit?
 
yn-neko hates a cat said:
Sounds like all his predictions seem like they may be true at a moment in time but ultimately play out in a way that leaves the original prmise of the prediction lacking.

Sure the PS3 was hailed as being dificult to develop for at one point. Had we all (including Sony) believed in Gabes words, a great company would have not only lost one of their profitable ventures but the console industry would have suffered a tramendous setback.

Sure Nintendo is number one but at the expense of them losing a large portion of their fan base and third party support. The approach that put them at number one ultimately stagnated their business to the point they needed to luanch next gen playing catch-up.

Cell's architecture is by no means dead but the poor implementation Sony had can can be improved. Mostly of the platforms early problems were do to poor development tools and support. This improves over time. Gabe even peddles his middleware as a value proposition to those who wish to develop on the platform now.

Windows 8. Becareful of the hype being thrown out there by a man who has a history of publicly talking shit about his competitors' decisions will be bad for everyone until the situation suits him alone. It's good to look back on history and see whose really trying to play you for a fool.

In Gabe we trust... indeed.
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Imagine how much better it would have been if it had been easy to progam for and priced reasonably. The PS survived on brand name alone. And we dont know how much they changed

I dont see why his 'wii will sell' is countered by what Nintendo did after wards, and that was down to them not stagnating, but them being unable to sustain a console on their own essentially. And it did sell... Also, they didnt lose third party support. They didnt have it to begin with, you cant lose something that you never had.

Cell is dead for all intents and purposes. It was talked up so much and came to nothing essentially. I remember the hype beforehand, your tv, psp, and ps3 would all sing in cell harmony due to this amazing chip.

Many people think Windows 8 is a disaster. Me for instance ^_^ And I aint competing with no one. He isnt trying to play anyone a fool, he is a straight talker. Which is refreshing in this pr driven business. (Unless talking involved HL3 in which case he is a jerk)

He was right.
 
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