Ben-DutkaValve Software has managed to make an enemy out of many PlayStation 3 owners over the past few years, and for good reason. We recently heard that Sony offered an olive branch by saying they would be willing to help Valve with any PS3 projects, but we're not yet certain if Valve will respond.
In such a situation, it's rare that other developers or industry insiders would voice their opinions on the matter, but Gearbox Software CEO Randy Pitchford has never been one to censor his bold statements for the benefit of the press. Pitchford doesn't appear to be the biggest fan of Valve and now, according to a recent 1Up report citing various sources including ScrawlFX and the Official PlayStation Magazine, he has called Valve's stance on the PS3, "childish." On the flip side, Pitchford finds Sony's console to be "really cool." Here's what Pitchford had to say to OPM:
"I noticed something on the net not too long ago. Doug Lombardi (Valve's VP Marketing) had to take a swipe at the PS3 again, and I thought it was foolish. I read it the same way I read fanboys. Like there's a guy who brought the Sony platform and he's a Sony guy, so he decides he's going to spend a certain percentage of his time bashing Microsoft. And there's a guy on Microsoft doing the same thing. Those guys are childish and narrow-minded, it's the same kind of thing."
In the past, Valve has gotten a lot of heat for not delivering their best efforts to PS3 owners. The Orange Box is the most infamous example; Valve designed it for the Xbox 360 and PC and then simply handed it off to EA so they could handle a PS3 port. But since then, Valve has simply refused to acknowledge the PS3 and their Left 4 Dead titles aren't seeing the light of day on the PS3. This past week, things flared up again when L4D project lead Chet Faliszek said the 360 community was "head and shoulders above the PS3." It was his belief that the PSN simply isn't a good enough community for a game like L4D, although 29 million PSN accounts might say otherwise.
Furthermore, this isn't the first time Pitchford has tossed a little jab in Valve's direction. He was quoted as saying Valve "thinks their own stuff is the only stuff that matters, to the point where they have their own distribution platform." Finished Pitchford:
"It's hard to accept that genuinely, because I know the business, I know you guys make half the money on the PS3 version because you've got other fingers in the pie, and other developers getting a cut. It benefits you if nobody buys that, and only buys the PC version, because you make the most money. There's this underlying sleaziness."
Ooooh. Clearly, we're not the only ones who think the Valve guys are far too full of themselves.
Oh well, doesnt really matter. The only game from Valve I enjoyed was Portal anyway.
I like this guy.
It's nice to know the gamers aren't the only ones upset with these childish types. After all this I don't want my PS3 tarnished with their games anyhow. They can't even make a new engine in all these years, lazy fackers.
I wouldn't let them touch my ps3 either. I will, however, continue to let 'valve' regulate my toilet water. They seem to be good at keeping the crap flowing.
he gets a thumbs up because he is right. i even agree with the whole fanboy war that some people have against other systems. i love my ps3 and dislike the 360 for the simple reason i had it not even a whole week before it got the e74 error but i would never break a 360 for the fun of it. valve really needs to take matter into their own hands and step their game up cuz we all know they would make more money if they make more ps3 version games.. and by the way how do they expect to make so much from a system that is getting modded left and right??????
Maybe you should look at the sales numbers eh? Their fan base is strongly 360/PC sided where as PS3 owners are not nearly supportive of their efforts. What's the point of waisting money on something that will delay release of a game or be released later than needed. I see it's OK for Naughty Dog to have a close relationship with Sony, but Valve can't have one with Microsoft? Maybe if EA hadn't dropped the ball on Orange Box and PS3 owners would have bought more than a couple hundred thousand copies we'd see a more positive Valve towards the PS3.
@ Cueil
Cart <| Horse
Last edited by Fane1024 on 11/12/2009 4:30:30 PM
'This past week, things flared up again when L4D project lead Chet Faliszek said the 360 community was "head and shoulders above the PS3."'
Oh come on, Valve has said plenty of boneheaded things without having to make stuff up. That quote is referencing about the community *features* of the 360/XBL platform, not the community itself. I went and tracked down the full quote:
'Faliszek replied went on: "In hooking up with your friends and the community aspects, I think the Xbox 360 is head and shoulders above the PS3. The 360 and PC are on par, right?"'
http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=226831
Agree or disagree, but at least try to be accurate. I realize the way Ben phrased it is the same as the 1UP article he references so the fault is mostly theirs (actually, you might say it's mostly CVG's for their inflamatory title in that link above), but just quoting other blog sites without checking the original sources is irresponsible.
Kevadu, what in God's name do you think that means? When one uses the term "community," they are referring to the entire thing, features included.
None of the sources are at fault. You're just wrong.
I just assumed they meant LIVE, not the people themselves.
Exactly what World said. There is a big difference between the technology and the people. He says 'community aspects', not just 'community'.
So the live community is head and shoulders above psn in feature, which is possible but given that features can be added through firmware, its no big deal. But more features doesnt really mean better, i mean do we really need facebook or twitter or any of those things on the game system. As for the community, i believe the psn community is head and shoulders above the live community, this i mean the people. I like having mature and fun games when i play killzone or other games. Part of the reason i couldnt justify renewing my live subscription, all those damn retarded kids. I mean how can you loose and arguement by yourself? The kid actually put himself down agains someone who just ignored him.
I agree with Ben on this, and Kevadu and World are misreading it.
When the original speaker states "community" he clearly means the people on Live, especially since he prefaces the statement with "In hooking up with your friends and the community aspects…"
Look up the definition of "community" and it clearly references a body of people in every definition. How can you sit there with a straight face and claim that he doesn't mean the people and that Ben and the original author are overreaching?
As far as the term "aspect," it doesn't mean feature set or any such thing. Nowhere does he mention feature set, so you are the one reaching.
I don't think he was referencing the "features" of Live and PSN but instead the common belief that Live is a community since everyone talks over Live and PSN users are a faceless, voiceless bunch because of the lack of a bundled headset with the PS3 — let's ignore the fact that most people have a BlueTooth headset for their cell that they can use on PSN.
If the guy who made that statement meant what you think he meant, he is an ignorant fool who needs to choose his words more clearly because the only thing you can take away from his statement is that he thinks the people on Live are a more active, vocal, cohesive community than PSN users.
Now, I'm not a Valve hater. I have the Orange Box and Left 4 Dead; and I will buy Left 4 Dead 2, though I would prefer to buy it for the PS3. I'm just tired of Valve's blatant hatred for the PS3 right from the beginning when Newell said Sony should just stop selling the PS3 and start over.
Valve, in essence, is a second-party developer for M$ft; so Valve's statements would be akin to Insomniac or Sucker Punch (Sony really needs to buy these companies) bad mouthing the 360, which they never do.
All you need to know about Valve is that Newell likes the 360, hates the PS3, and LOVES the Wii. Now, I have a Wii, and it is what it is, but I don't love it.
Anyway, here are the rest of Pitchford's comments from that article. His comments are enlightening, especially his thoughts on the PS3 version of the Orange Box toward the end:
"I'm actually kind of mad at Doug because with the Orange Box, he said the 360 and PC versions are the good ones and the PS3 version is like the stepchild because some other developer made it. Well you, Valve, don't really think that, because look what you've done on the PC side," he said.
"You've supported that, you've added all this content to Team Fortress 2, and you've left us hanging. It's hard to accept that genuinely, because I know the business, I know you guys make half the money on the PS3 version because you've got other fingers in the pie, and other developers getting a cut."
"It benefits you if nobody buys that, and only buys the PC version, because you make the most money. There's this underlying sleaziness. You know what, I thought the performance was a little slower on the PS3, but it looked better. The colors were nicer, I thought the image looked better on PS3. It was a trade-off between the performance and the visuals. And I like visuals."
What Orvisman said.
Orvisman, yeah man..
Great article, brightened my day…
Agree
Well the good thing for me is that I never found any of Valve's games to be my kind of thing.
They're just PC fanboys who are butthurt at the fact that Sony crushed the hopes of PC gamers back in 1995
very true, and they don't want to eat their words and prove they are oldsters when it comes to game development by accepting help from Sony.
Too arrogant to see their own bugs…
Q!
"i am home"
From that small statement that Randy Pitchford made I could tell he's a classy guy.Unfortunately Valve will never change;It doesn't matter if every CEO of every gaming company in the world demands that Valve develops for the PS3, they will never do it(stubborn cocks).
Ouch! That hurts! Grab your Pitchfords and torches folks, there's a flaming to do!
Well at least if Pitchford is found dead under a pile of hamburgers we'll all know who did it.
haha, except you-know-who wouldn't leave any burgers behind.
lmao
He-who-must-not-be-named would 'remove' any trace of evidence. If 'he' didn't have dinner, maybe Pitchford might not ever be found at all..
ignorance is bliss.
the irony is killing me.
Randy, do me a favor.
if your going to complain about someone not supporting someone, make sure your doing a stellar job.
i dont have to bring up the million and one issues i had with borderlands on the ps3 again do i?
i would of preferred borderlands be a 360 exclusive that way i can get the game and it works, than it be a multi plat and waste my 100 bucks on the more broken version.
the 360 version has its bugs, but at least it works.
its quite obvious why valve dont work for the ps3, they dont want to release a inferior product unlike someone.
unlike someone they want there game to be the best quality possible, if that means leaving out a certain console so be it.
i commend valve for their guts and pride in there games, unlike valve it seems these people are worried about one thing, and one thing only.
money money money money money money money money.
im sick to death with video games being seen as a slack ass easy way to make money.
back in the day games were made because the person making them had a passion thats why the games were so good, now most developers just see it as a cash cow, no love.
gearbox could not care less if there game sucks, as long as it brings in the $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
thats all that matters.
ITS PATHETIC!
Good one Gabe! You sure told him!
<goes back to PS3 copy of Borderlands>
I can't believe you set that cheeseburger down long enough to type this Gabe. How dare you hijack no name's name.
At least I could find a borderlands copy in the PS3 section.But I have looked and looked everywhere and cannot find Left4dead for PS3 anywhere; maybe I'm just looking in the wrong store (Or I just don't give a F*).
heh its not my fault yous are all fanboys.
valve have released some of the best games this industry has seen.
half life is STILL spoken to be the best FPS after how many years of release?
me personal did not like L4D but it got nominated for several GOTY awards and im sure the same will happen with L4D2.
theres a reason why every game they release gets nominated for GOTY, and is spoken of for years to come.
gabe might have a fat mouth, but who dosent?
Is it me or every single post you submit is whining or being negative about any games that gets released on the PS3?
I mean, the list of things that were wrong with Uncharted 2 was hilarious to say the list but, I'm starting to get an annoying "better than thou" vibe from you with every post… Just saying.
Peace.
I think no name is obviously a 360 fanboy who has managed to fly under the radar for far too long by being smart enough to not start any flame wars.
But he/she clearly dislikes the PS3 and the PS3's games and prefers his/her 360. If you read his/her posts, you'll know what I mean. Has he/she ever posted anything positive about the PS3?
LOL.
As far as us being fanboys, I also have a 360 and a Wii and I think they are both fine consoles. You will never see me slagging either of them.
But I think you miss Pitchford's point that Valve are the 360/PC fanboys here.
Last edited by Orvisman on 11/11/2009 9:30:20 AM
@___________
My, my, what a truly remarkable, outstandingly literate, loquacious reply that was.
@ HeXen – You made me LOL.
@ _____ – You lost me when you said "yous"
@________
Grammar and spelling are your friends.
sigh.
im not going to bother anymore, its like talking to a brick wall.
At least brick walls are kind enough to punctuate.
You said 'sigh' on the internets?
…A brick wall or just ppl with different opinions.
Guys, I care about you. Really, I dont want to screw you over. Remember when I said that we would start ps3 development? I only said that so you can be enlightened with happiness! The comments by this Gear Box guy is mean. He should see what REAL GAMES ARE! YEAH! STEAM BABY!
Now where did I leave my McDonald's meal?
hah!, okay who went to so much trouble to alter their appearance?
Gabe, get your fingers outta the pie!
Last edited by leatherface on 11/11/2009 2:07:34 AM
Hey Gabe, you still a virgin? By the way, do you own a dog named Brian?
Man that was funny
Bravo, psuedo-Gabe.
I dont mind comments like Chet Faliszek saying the 360 community was "head and shoulders above the PS3.", but for God's sake, don't let that be the end of your quote. Back it up with why that is the case. He sounds like a fanboy when he talks like that. I am sure he has his reasons for feeling that way, so say it!
Then we can disect his reasons and see if they are valid or not.
It was encouraging to see Sony extend an olive branch and offer assistance, but it has to be a two way street. It is surprising to me that Sony is turning the other cheek the way they do. Makes me wonder why?
I would love to know what is going on behind the scenes, and what are the inside stories that we all don't know about. Why is Sony seemingly bending over backwards for Valve. Who needs who more? Sony certainly doesn't need Valve, but I would sure think Valve would love to get their grips into the ever expanding PS3 base.
Maybe Jack Tretton has a bet with somebody over at Microsoft that he can get Valve in the fold.
Last edited by MyWorstNightmar on 11/11/2009 12:01:20 AM
Sony wants Valve on the PS3 because getting Left 4 Dead on the PS3 eliminates a 360 console exclusive.
Sony offers that support to all developers, it's not something that is specific to Valve. They have offered that kind of support – publicly – to other developers before.
Yes Highlander, but never to one that has such a public persona of Sony hate.
Like I've said before, I don't need Valve on PS3. If I really want any more of their games, I can stand to wait until I build a gaming PC, which according to my financial situation, isn't going to be anytime real soon. (I admit Portal 2 interests me, but I haven't heard any update in over a year.) Kudos to Pitchford for speaking his mind. We have enough fanboys already, we don't really need them in the industry.