Valve’s Gabe Newel: PS3 “A Total Disaster”

15 Jan

Posted by Tobias Dahl as Business, Offbeat, PlayStation 3, Software, Technology, Wii, Xbox 360

Speaking to Game Informer, Valve boss Gabe Newel said the PS3 was a “total disaster”, and went as far as suggesting that Sony cancel the console.

“The PS3 is a total disaster on so many levels, 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.’”

It’s known that the PS3 is very challenging for a developers, at least compared to the Xbox 360 and Wii. Newel praised the Wii in the interview as well, predicting that it will outsell the Xbox 360 in 2007.

“The happy story is the Wii. 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. I really like everything that Nintendo is doing.”

Despite dissing the PS3, apparently Sony still “convinced” Valve to develop for the PS3, as Half Life 2: Orange in still scheduled for both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

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Tags: Business, Offbeat, PlayStation 3, Software, Technology, Wii, Xbox 360

25 Responses

Anuban

January 15th, 2007 at 11:11 pm
1

Pretty funny that I just happened to post this on the HL2:Orange thread just moments ago. Talk about timing.
Kaiser Soze

January 15th, 2007 at 11:12 pm
2

Cancelling the PS3 is a bit extreme. I still think they can make it up. At least I hope so. But he’s right that Sony has lost the touch with consumers demand
monir

January 15th, 2007 at 11:15 pm
3

who ate all the pies? who ate all the pies? *sings merrily to self*
Jim2k

January 15th, 2007 at 11:44 pm
4

I wonder what Gabe tells the Valve team who’s currently working on the PS3 version of HL2? A bit ironic, isn’t it Gabe?
Ruined

January 16th, 2007 at 12:25 am
5

In the words of a Playstation fanboy

“BOOM, Headshot”

Half Life is a huge franchise and really Playstation core market (read pimply faced 17 year old virgin).
josh

January 16th, 2007 at 2:14 am
6

go back to mcdonalds and drown your sorrows in a big mac, douchebag
Quartecks

January 16th, 2007 at 2:45 am
7

Stop selling the PS3? errr.. ummm, yeah.. hmmm, uhhh… Yeah right?
NRG753

January 16th, 2007 at 4:19 am
8

HL2: Orange is only a port, it’s not like they’re making a whole new game. Developing PS3 games is hard work.
robby1051

January 16th, 2007 at 4:56 am
9

It seems odd that devs complain and whine, I understand its hard to code for the ps3, but when I was learning to write web pages the coding problems I was having was fun!
To come out and say “this sucks kill it” sounds like a cop out to me…
Wheres the fun in challenge? isnt that why we play games?
They knew getting into the game dsign/writing/coding biz wasnt going to be easy!
I say if you cant take the heat…yada yada yada
NRG753

January 16th, 2007 at 5:18 am
10

Because it’s very different when you’re developing games, someone is paying you to develop it, and the longer it takes, the more expensive it is to develop the game. Learning how to code for a console, fun or not, costs time money.

Web pages, yeah they’re fun to code, I’ve learnt PHP, SQL, and ASP and it’s probably the best programming experience I’ve had.
The Wickerman

January 16th, 2007 at 5:56 am
11

yeah robby answer by u,its cost way to much money and if they have it an easy time coding for the 360 than the ps3.Guess who wins!
Gekko

January 16th, 2007 at 6:00 am
12

my. thoughts. exactly.
robby1051

January 16th, 2007 at 6:02 am
13

I was just thinking that the complaining of how hard it is is ridicuolus, i understand what your saying but then the complaints should say “It takes alot of time to write games” not “its hard it sux”
hey maybe its just me…
I love my 360 and ps3 would be loved more if I had games….
it really is a sweet device, blu ray movies
net browser
and also I happen to like the sixaxis,
but yeah xbox gets more playtime cause of 2 reasons:
more to play and more of my friends havent gotten thier ps3s…yet
Evander

January 16th, 2007 at 6:03 am
14

I would like to know what the kids who made counter-strike think about this.. Are they not the main reason why Valve is big?
Nintendo is doing good because they are appealing to a large fan base. You don’t hear about people over 60 playing regular consoles, but you’ll hear several stories of them playing the Wii with their grand kids. Plus it appeals to people who can’t afford an HDTV and all the goodies.

With enough good games and more HDTVs I’m sure the PS3 will soon expand into people’s homes, plus I don’t think it makes any sense to just stop selling it.
NRG753

January 16th, 2007 at 6:05 am
15

“I was just thinking that the complaining of how hard it is is ridicuolus, i understand what your saying but then the complaints should say “It takes alot of time to write games” not “its hard it sux””

That’s what they mean though, when it’s harder to write games for a certain platform, why bother. They end up making more money if they just stick to the easier platforms.
GameGod

January 16th, 2007 at 8:07 am
16

Read somewhere that EA is porting & publishing Half-Life:Orange…
Jim2k

January 16th, 2007 at 9:30 am
17

Even if it’s a “port”, it’s still pretty demanding since it’s a whole new development environment.
NRG753

January 16th, 2007 at 9:41 am
18

Oh yeah, that’s for sure, but it doesn’t require developing an entire game on top of that
Live Nintendo » Half-Life Creator Speaks Out For Love of Nintendo | News, Reviews, Previews, Guides, Editorials, Rants and Commentary

January 16th, 2007 at 2:45 pm
19

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xboxrocks

January 18th, 2007 at 8:09 pm
20

xbox 360 rocks
ps3 sucks

i played the ps3 and i have to say i like the super nintendo better than this overrated ps3 crap
Evander

January 18th, 2007 at 8:23 pm
21

Maybe if the developers spent more time working than complaining they would actually get a game with good quality done that is actually worth the $50 to $60 it costs for a game these days.
ally

January 18th, 2007 at 10:29 pm
22

valve are actually doing the hl2 for pc and 360 in house and they have out sourced the ps3 version because it takes so much re-programming
Vegasvictor

January 21st, 2007 at 11:09 am
23

Shut the hell up fatboy Ps3 may be lagging at this present time but soon will be 2nd to none in the concel wars
ally

January 21st, 2007 at 11:41 am
24

god your spelling is crap
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January 30th, 2007 at 5:33 am
25

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