TheChewyWaffles
Member
So this means the Steambox may be dead? Well I, for one, am SHOCKED.
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Valve Layoffs: Several (25?) cut as Valve makes 'large decisions' about its future
- Thread starter Kifimbo
- Start date
Steambox is likely to be on hold indefinitely, unless my original assumption that they're investing in a refined Linux/OpenGL OS is correct.
I doubt a merger is in the mix as Valve. They're valued well over a billion dollars last I remember. That is some serious cash to allocate, but isn't out of the question to purchase an entire DD network.
I doubt a merger is in the mix as Valve. They're valued well over a billion dollars last I remember. That is some serious cash to allocate, but isn't out of the question to purchase an entire DD network.
alexandros
Banned
Nobody can fire me. I'm not a person, I'm an idea.
FatalMuzza
Banned
New consoles so PC gaming market shrinks. Steam tied directly to PC so Valve shrinks. Plain and simple. Gotta downsize in preparation. Business 101.
Stiflers Mom
Banned
I am not against firing people (although I always thought that Jeri Ellsworth working there was quite cool), a boss sometimes gotta do what has to be done.
But it sounds so contrary to the stuff we usually hear about Valve.
But it sounds so contrary to the stuff we usually hear about Valve.
I doubt it was anything related to revenue. Valve is not a large company going by personnel, their store has been growing at a steady rate of a million concurrent users year over year, and they also have the cash cow that is Dota 2. The mentioning of a 'great cleansing' makes it seems more like a clashing of ideologies, which wouldn't surprise me given how much Valve has been changing these past couple of years.
DeVry Business 101.
WhiskeyKnight
Member
Where is this GIF from?
Its in free beta, not making them allot of cash. Neither is the in-game store going by the earnings of some of the workshop submissions.
alexandros
Banned
It's from the Clang Kickstarter pitch.
The creator of TF2's top-selling item made $500,000 last year. It's a 25/75 split in Valve's favor. This is from one item, out of hundreds.
ZombieSupaStar
Member
customer support courtesy of ITT Tech!
I think they've released too much too quickly. In the long run, more options will always be beneficial to the player, and to Valve, but not necessarily the creators as everything gets swallowed into this nebulous blob of a marketplace. The slow rollout of TF2 items makes for more of an event. Plus, most of the items aren't attractive to those not already invested in the game. I've shown TF2 items to friends and family who then wanted to go play the game. In its aesthetic cohesion, Dota 2's items don't have that draw.
They also need to get the damn tutorials and Mac version out. Basically-open beta or not, the game is still inaccessible or unavailable to many, many people.
thomasmahler
Member
thats 2 instagrams
pocket change for companies like microsoft
for the influence they have over the PC industry 2 billion seems low
That's pocket change for companies like McDonald's and Coca Cola so a hostile takeover is extremely plausible.
Psychotext
Member
You can't force the buyout of a private company... so a hostile takeover is basically all but impossible (unless you literally torture / blackmail) the directors.
angular graphics
Banned
How do you "hostile takeover" a private company? Do you.. like.. invade their offices with AK47s?
How do you "hostile takeover" a private company? Do you.. like.. invade their offices with AK47s?
Smells like the plot to Argo 2.
Valve and Sony have joined forces. XMB replaced with Steam interface. Cheap (non-used) PS3 games for all!
thomasmahler
Member
Sorry, but a 1-2bn takeover (which as others have stated wouldn't be possible unless Gabe and other CEOs are completely on board with the buyout) isn't a small deal for any company.
Disney just bought Lucas with all his assets and everything he ever created for 4bn in stock exchange.
Sony couldn't afford it, Nintendo couldn't afford it and even for Microsoft a sum like that isn't 'pocket change' at all.
Psychotext
Member
On the other hand, Apple could buy 44 of them with on hand cash.
Sentenza
Member
They were actually valued roughly 1-2 billions few years ago when EA was considering a buyout.
Now their value is estimated in at least twice as much, and it would probably inflate to insane levels if they were ever going with a IPO (which I hope it doesn't happen).
Especially considering how they are keeping growing at a steadily rate no matter what.
That's not "pocket change", that's almost half of what Sony is valued today.
This is a company that has made more questionable decisions than good ones in the last year or two, but if this is an indication they're moving away from Steamboxes and Linux, it's good news for them. They have lots of power in the storefront/ecosystem world but would be pissing into the wind in the hardware business.
But if you were doing that, why layoff the people working on the other options? If you are moving forward with one or two projects, why not bring those other people onto those teams as they ramp up?
Post from the other thread:
Probably going with whomever is indispensable, less so anyone related to hardware.
Vyse The Legend
Member
Absolutely wrong. As of last March, Nintendo had $10.5 billion in the bank.
Don't buy into the "Nintendoomed" hype.
How do you "hostile takeover" a private company? Do you.. like.. invade their offices with AK47s?
You can do it the Corleone way. "My father made him an offer he couldn't refuse... Luca Brasi held a gun to his head, and my father assured him that either his brains or his signature would be on the contract."
Sony has even more than that, but a multi-billion dollar acquisition would be a big meal for either of them. For MS it would be an appetizer.
Interesting hire.
I think it's also worth noting that he seemed to be wrestling with this issue in recent interviews. He clearly regretted not being more proactive with firing people. He's talked about this. It really could have just been a clean sweep of people who had either outlived their usefulness, or just weren't meeting expectations. And they decided that rather that keep ignoring the elephant in the room, it was time to make some moves.
With the info that's been released since I made that quote, I'm more inclined to believe it was this than anything.
Psychotext
Member
Hire the guy responsible for the 360 dpad, really?
angular graphics
Banned
The title turned out to be accurate. From the OP:
http://www.valvetime.net/threads/updated-3-staff-departures-from-valve.243175/
^ 24
Ironically, it looks like the HW department was the one least affected! :lol
http://www.valvetime.net/threads/updated-3-staff-departures-from-valve.243175/
^ 24
Ironically, it looks like the HW department was the one least affected! :lol