BREAKING NEWS: Newell calls PS3 a "total disaster"

Gabe Newell, founder and president of Valve, has called the PlayStation3 a ´total disaster´ and urged Sony to can the entire project.

Newell spoke his mind in an interview with Game Informer and went on to say that Wii will probably overtake the Xbox360 this year.

Gameinformer: What about the PS3?

Gabe Newell: The PS3 is a total disaster on so many levels, I think It's really clear that Sony lost track of what customers wanted 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". 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 everthing that Nintendo is doing.

The above quote is legit. I was just on the phone to Game Informer and they confirmed that Newell actually said the above.




Now, we know that Gabe Newell is not exactly a PlayStation3 fan. In late 2005, he talked about PS3 development and how difficult it is. Back then, he accused Sony of deliberately complicating their platform in order to snatch more exclusives (or, at least, accepting that as a desirable by-product). He said:

I totally see why Sony wants people to write code that runs on seven SPEs and a central processing unit, because that code is never going to run well anywhere else. They are saying: ´Make your code not run on anything other than one of ours. We´re betting that we will have market share that´s so high that anybody will have to write code for our platform and other people will just starve the air from the other platforms by absorbing everybody´s R&D budget and making their code less portable.

But even given his critical stance on the PlayStation3, calling the project a ´total disaster´ and asking Sony to can the project only months into the console´s lifecycle is another level entirely - and one that will make an impression on the industry at large. Just what the consequences of Newell´s words may be, I cannot fathom. But there will be consequences, I am sure. Other developers, publishers and trade people will listen closely to what he has to say.

Whatever the outcome, though, Sony will not be able to shrug that one off so easily. After all, Gabe Newell is one of the industry´s most influential developers. And because all of Valve´s projects are entirely self-financed, the studio does not need to be coy about biting the hand that feeds them - because they feed themselves.

Interestingly enough, Newell has some very kind words in store for Nintendo´s Wii. Knowing that Valve is not keen on console platform development in general, I have to remain skeptical, but I can see myself running around my living room wildly swinging a crowbar.

EDIT Added the link to the story on the Game Informer page.

Source: Game Informer
Thanks to: Gek54, Codename Revolution