Monday, January 15, 2007

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

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

hardly breaking news as iv allready seen it on many a web site........

so were is half life 2 wii enhanced graphics enhanced load times enhanced gameplay and controls
and some new gameplay physics to show off the wii-mote

no wii dont get that do wii insted wii get a cash in halflife 2 with pc like higher resolution but nothing new

i find the fact valve arnt making wii games or a wii half life 2 and then making this public statment a bit to much to take


make up your mind valve

commonsence tells mii a wii hl2 would be so much better than a ps3 version

Anonymous said...

hold on i dont see hl2 on wii so why the comments do they want ps3 hl2 to flop, or maybe they had a pc snob attatude to wii but now the reality of the wii has hit them between the eyes and woke them up.

i bet theres a ton of 3rd partys all geared up for ps3 and are now going SHIT we picked the wrong format.

factor 5 come to mind ha ha ha bet they feel silly now.

Anonymous said...

"I mean... hello? (*knocks on Anonymous´ forehead*)"


:)

lol


-IALS

Anonymous said...

THE FACT PEOPLE THINK 360 STANDS A CHANCE AGAINST WII AND THAT A DATED OVER PRICED PAY FOR PLAY ONLINE SYSTEM IS GOING TO COMPEAT WITH WII WITCH HAS THE WHOLE DAM PLANET SALERVATING AT THE CHANCE OF OWNING ONE

360 FANBOYS ON MY CHILDRENS LIVES 360 WIL GET ITS ASS KICKED THIS YEAR BY WII

THATS HOW SURE I AM

Anonymous said...

Breaking news? This is hardly 'breaking' news especially considering it has been reported on so many other sites.

If Newell said he was going to cancel Half-Life:Orange on the PS3 or announcing Valve was going to create games on the Wii, than I would consider it 'breaking' news.

Anonymous said...

AGREED ABOVE MII

Anonymous said...

Gravity gun plus Wiimote? Sign me up... I could possibly see a HL2 port, considering that the original XBox got a version and the Wii is supposedly just a bit better than that console. Whether they'd invest the effort in porting the Source engine to the Wii is something else entirely, but the possibilities are quite interesting!

Though, there is nothing but wild speculation for a HL2 port, so it'd be better to focus on the news at hand: one of the more influential (and, supposedly, non partisan) members of the industry is bashing the PS3 in a really, really strong way.

RGB said...

He didnt say it was exclusively news so just shut your traps and whine somewhere else.

Anonymous said...

Sorry, but the Wii line up is laughable!
One look at the local store shelves proved this today, ultimately. Only gimmick games,inferior 3rd party ports, a hand full kids games and Cube Zelda .

What can IALS say ?

It's laughable (to say the least)!

Seriously, I rather play some PS2 oncassion than wasting my money on Wii until proper games get released!

You people must be kidding me!

Anonymous said...

grandmaster_b: Your right, he didn't say it was 'exclusive', he said it was 'BREAKING NEWS'.

RGB said...

I am aware of what he said, I am not blind. You are missing my point. Just because he says breaking news, doesnt mean he means its exclusive. I say this because the context people are using it's as if they think he is claiming it is.

Not everyone reads the gaming sites. If I didnt look at gonintendo from time to time I wouldnt of seen it either. Not only that but he did also go into a bit more depth behind Gabe's comments from his previous comments.

If people only have that to say about it not being ground breaking, then why comment at all.

And yes IALS I agree with you, the launch games are not much of interest bar a couple. I am sitting and waiting, only got Wario Ware for something to get. Everything else I aint spending the cash on.

Anonymous said...

Zelda, Excite Truck, and Raving Rabbids alone were worth the price of admittion. ials, are you kidding me? This was a damn nice LAUNCH lineup, far greater than what either the PS3 or Xbox 360 offered.

What'll matter is how many games come out in the next few months.

Falafelkid said...

Hi everyone. First of all, thanks to Starstriker1 and Grandmaster B for the defense in my absence. I just want to clarify what the term ´breaking news´ implies. Of course it implies some sense of the news being recent, immediate even (which it was, the news broke that day and some big sites like Joystiq have failed to cover it).

Most importantly, though, the term denotes urgency. And when one of the world´s most renowned developers calls a console a ´total disaster´ and calls for its post-launch abolishment, it´s as big and urgent as it gets.

So, quite right, there is no claim to exclusivity whatsoever. But let us not forget that I was able to offer an exclusive verification of the statement. Since it was so harsh, the quote may very well have been made up and that interview never happened.

Anyway, thanks to you two guys. And Starstriker1:

This was a damn nice LAUNCH lineup, far greater than what either the PS3 or Xbox 360 offered.

I agree. While a number of AAA titles that were pretty much promised in the launch window (Metroid, Mario) did not make it, the launch line-up was still okay.

Qualitatively, you have Zelda, ExciteTruck and Red Steel (and now WarioWare) as must-have titles. Quantitatively, you already have well over thirty titles to choose from. Pure fun stuff with the likes of Elebits, Rayman and Super Monkey Ball or great mature titles like Call of Duty and Splinter Cell.

So while the launch line-up is not tge best in history (it would have been with M&M), it is still quite solid and - I agree - significantly better than the meagre launch offerings of the PS3 and, some time ago, the Xbox360.

By the way, I just played through WarioWare yesterday and it offers up to a dozen people in multiplayer.

RGB said...

No doubt they are fun but for me personally they dont interest me much since I have to fork out a lot for one game. It'd be different if they were half the price!

Anyway I got Wario Ware, it was very short (for 6800 yen it was way too short) but enjoyed it. IF they were to make various mini games based on the boss levels, it would be a SO much better game. Just a bit more depth is needed in the mini games, thats why I suggest this.

Anonymous said...

Its true that falafel did go to the trouble of verrifying the quote as many other sites didnt. RMC over Gonintendo said himself that he couldnt guarantee the authenticity of the quote when he posted it.

On another note it seems the PS3 may be delayed til April in europe. At least thats what this interview says: http://news.com.com/Sonys+brave+Sir+Howard/2008-1041_3-6150661.html


- Cheswick

Anonymous said...

Ials = the drama queen ... is back

Anonymous said...

ials, if you think the wii has nothing of quality, you should definately try elebits, excite truck, red steel (i don't care what anyone says; aside from the lame cut-scenes, that game is awesome.) and of course, zelda.

you really should check out elebits. it is ridiculously fun.

no mature games? red steel is quite mature. how about call of duty? splinter cell?

quit being a retard ials. jesus christ. it's obvious you haven't even played wii at all. if all you can do is walk into a store and "laugh" at the COVER BOXES to games without even trying them, then you're a much different person than i thought, and it is YOU and your judgmental attitude that is actually "laughable". or "cryable".

can't you go back to being the cool ials that you used to be?

-"superfan" tactics.

Falafelkid said...

Hi Cheswick.

it seems the PS3 may be delayed til April in europe. At least thats what this interview says.

Thank you for the link. Actually, Stringer does not mention April. He does refuse to speak of March as the European launch, though:

"We have got the European launch in spring, which is very important to us."

Oh, and welcome back, Tactics ;)

Falafelkid said...

Sorry, I stand corrected. Springer apparently did say April but later claimed a mistake (or Sony PR did). The article was subsequently changed.

Posting this from my Wii by the way. ;)

RGB said...

We dont want to know what you do with your Wii Fal, its very personal. The female readers (if any) may though.

By the way I would like to know what is going on with Super Paper Mario? It disappeared and supposedly got moved to the Wii but no more info. The game looked awesome and I am more interested in that than Mario Galaxy I think.

Random J said...

*LMAO!* Ouch. Hardly surprising though. High price tag and no games, disaster for a shitty launch really.

*Points at Sony and laughs*