Gabe Newell Slams Windows 8, Talks Steam Box on GT.TV
Spike TV did a 30-minute scoop on what's currently going on at Valve including Newell's distaste for Windows 8, info on the Steam Box, the upcoming launch of Big Picture, and even talk about a DOTA 2 documentary.
GT.TV promoted its 30-minute episode with Valve promising to announce something non-gaming. Turns out, all they talked about was Source Filmmaker which transforms gamers and non-gamers alike in to movie directors using Valve's own Source-based tool. Thus, the only real interesting part about the segment was bossman Gabe Newell dodging Half-Life 3 questions with jokes about getting eaten by sharks on his upcoming vacation, and his need to slam Windows 8 again.
"I would really like it if Windows 8 was a blowout success, because we're going to make a lot more money -- there will be lots of happy customers," he said. "But I don't think that's going to be what happens. I think that Windows 8 will end up being really poorly received by customers. I think it will raise support calls. I think it will reduce hardware manufacturer margins. I think we'll actually sell fewer copies of our games on machines running Windows 8."
After that, Newell and GT.TV host Geoff Keighley moved on to briefly talk about Steam Box which supposedly doesn't exist. Keighley asked if Valve's strategy is leaning towards having Steam Big Picture in living rooms first, and then have someone build a device that can hook up to a TV that can run Steam.
"Yeah absolutely," he said. "That's what we hope. So we show hardware guys and say, 'look, if this is a useful tool for you to deliver your hardware to the living rooms, that's great. And if you want to run it on top of Windows, that's fine. If you want to run it on top of Linux, that's fine."
When asked when he thought such a box would arrive, he said everyone will be able to tell a lot more [soon]. "We should have both Linux and 10-foot (Big Picture) betas out there fairly quickly and I think customers will say, 'this is really great,' or they'll say '[it's] another interesting, but not valuable contribution' fairly quickly."
As for the Big Picture mode, Greg Coomer stepped in later in the clip and said it will arrive in early September, offering a better presentation when Steam is displayed on large HDTVs. Big Picture will support game controllers and the typical mouse/keyboard setup we've come to love over the years.
"There are some games that are better made for a controller input than others so those will be the best experiences," Coomer said. "But everything will be there. You don't have to give up all your favorite stuff once you walk from the den to your living room."
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Towards the end of the 30-minute Valve extravaganza, Valve's Erik Johnson said that the studio is currently working on a documentary based on pro DOTA 2 players during last year's international tournament. He also shows an impressive trailer for the upcoming film, revealing that the documentary takes a dramatic, cinematic approach into the lives of numerous DOTA 2 players and how they juggle pro gameplay with family, friends, school and the desire to win one million dollars. One player was kicked out of his home, while another heard a threat from his parents, telling him "gaming will be the death of you."
"We went into last year's international and just kinda on a fire thought we should bring along some cameras of our own and get a bunch of footage," Johnson explained. "Who knows what will come of it. And what ended up happening is we started to learn about these players, that we're following their story and kinda their background, and it was incredibly compelling."
The stories were so compelling that the two people working on DOTA 2 at the time are now working full time on the documentary. "They personally are so interested in telling these players' stories," he added. "We think it's going to be super exciting and we're hoping to get it out by the end of the year."
To see the full 30-minute episode of GT.TV invading Valve's Seattle headquarters, head here.
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In a way, yeah. However, gamers who aren't busy whining about the UI will just download Steam and play there games just like on 7, Vista, xp, etc.Reply
The only reason why you could see less sales from machines with win 8 is that some people in the PC gaming camp are too oblivious and ready to blindly flame Windows 8 just over the UI, completely ignoring the improvements and the fact that there is Desktop mode and an option to install a start button.
So, it goes without saying that windows 7 will have a higher proportion of "PC enthusiasts" then windows 8. That may change a bit because OEM's run to the new OS no matter how bad or good it is, just look at Vista. That includes boutique PC builders. -
master_chen Where's my Half-Life 3? As long as it's not announced/released, I don't really care about anything else that he says.Reply -
xkm1948 Well, the UI of Windows 8 is an instant turn down for me. Not gonna buy windows 8 when my machine runs perfectly on windows 7 professional.Reply -
bustapr M1n3KraftIn a way, yeah. However, gamers who aren't busy whining about the UI will just download Steam and play there games just like on 7, Vista, xp, etc.The only reason why you could see less sales from machines with win 8 is that some people in the PC gaming camp are too oblivious and ready to blindly flame Windows 8 just over the UI, completely ignoring the improvements and the fact that there is Desktop mode and an option to install a start button.So, it goes without saying that windows 7 will have a higher proportion of "PC enthusiasts" then windows 8. That may change a bit because OEM's run to the new OS no matter how bad or good it is, just look at Vista. That includes boutique PC builders.the UI is likely more than half of what makes a person like an OS. If the UI is terrible, then i doubt anyone would enjoy using the OS and would call it a hassle. as far as I know there is no option to install a start button(might be wrong though, havent used Win8 in a while). I found it extremely stupid that you had to drag the screen up just to type the password to log on(like a tablet). then it became quite stressful mess with all the tablet features on the desktop os. also the start button is the single most convenient and organized thing on any pc today. taking it away is so stupid and inconvenient.Reply -
tomfreak I hate to say this but if Gabe really scared/hate windows 8, instead of whining here and there. He should do himself a favor using his steam platform, start offering "promotional" period to developer who offer steamworks game that work on linux by taking less cut from them.Reply
pretty sure the greed developers will take this bait, and start developing games with linux support. Good for consumer also as they can finally save $100-200USD to buy a better GPU.
and make all ur games linux support too. -
cscott_it bustaprthe UI is likely more than half of what makes a person like an OS. If the UI is terrible, then i doubt anyone would enjoy using the OS and would call it a hassle. as far as I know there is no option to install a start button(might be wrong though, havent used Win8 in a while). I found it extremely stupid that you had to drag the screen up just to type the password to log on(like a tablet). then it became quite stressful mess with all the tablet features on the desktop os. also the start button is the single most convenient and organized thing on any pc today. taking it away is so stupid and inconvenient.Reply
I'm going to disagree with you on the start menu being the single most organized thing. I've heard people make similar arguments (albeit, different circumstances) for their desktop or their fences etc.
The start menu, metro splash-thing, desktop, etc. Is only as organized as the user is. For me, I have a few items pinned to the taskbar, a few items on the desktop, and from there mostly use the run prompt or press the start button, type in what I want, and press return (same for Windows 8).
For your average consumer, their desktop and start menu are going to be cluttered with every piece of crapware they have ever downloaded and has 4 searchbars.
Don't get me wrong, I don't care if upgrade or don't - if you want to stick with 7 - awesome. If you want to install Linux - great (I'd suggest Fedora http://fedoraproject.org/get-fedora), I think more people need to learn Linux - it will help you learn more about how an operating system works, which is something that can't hurt anyone :-)
I just find some of what you are saying to be overly subjective to your particular user style and that you never took the time to try to optimize anything - you just threw the baby out with the bathwater. That's just my two cents though. -
crewton It's just like vista. Everyone will hold onto xp until microsoft makes something worth getting. Stupid work still uses xp /sigh.Reply -
siuol11 Article should read: Gabe Newell's focus remains on anything but games; sad attempt at flame war still ongoing.Reply -
Fokissed xkm1948Well, the UI of Windows 8 is an instant turn down for me. Not gonna buy windows 8 when my machine runs perfectly on windows 7 professional.Not gonna buy windows 7 when my machine runs perfectly on windows XP professional.Reply
See what I did there? People were saying that too. Under the hood Windows 8 is a similar upgrade to Windows 7 as Windows 7 is to Vista. It runs better and uses less resources, just like 7 did over Vista. It is also a NT kernel upgrade. Sure, the metro menu and lack of a start menu can be a nuisance, but it really has little effect on gamers.