Update: Valve Fires Hardware Guru

[Albino Boo]

Maybe a tad to eccentric for the job?

"Too?"
Valve, at it's very core, is absurdly eccentric. Maybe she wasn't motivated?
From what I've seen, the business structure is: Do stuff you want to do.
Chances are, it's more she just wasn't motivated, if my guess is anywhere close to correct, though I know relatively little about Valves business structure.

Their are some people in this word who cannot work for anyone else. There are only so many times that billionaire business men will tolerate people arguing with their decisions. I doesn't matter if you are right or wrong, if the guy with 0000000s to his name says "I want to you to do this way", then you do it that way or get fired. Jeri Ellsworth may have been the most motivated person on the planet but when you work for someone you have to accept that they have the final say. You can dress up a management structure in what ever way you want, but Gabe is still the boss and its not a relationship between equals. Glancing at Ellsworth's wiki page she seams to have a problem accepting that some one else has that final say.

 

[luvd1]

You lot do know she wasn't the only one layed off right.

 

[Jamous]

I think it'll be pretty interesting to hear how all this panned out. It seems kind of off. :/

 

[mgirl]

Apparently its not just her.

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/186592/Several_out_of_work_as_Valve_makes_large_decisions_about_its_future.php#.URvkVmecVFu

I wonder whats happened, since something must be going on.

 

[mateushac]

Apparently its not just her.

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/186592/Several_out_of_work_as_Valve_makes_large_decisions_about_its_future.php#.URvkVmecVFu

I wonder whats happened, since something must be going on.

If the count really does come to around 20-25, maybe Valve is just not having as much of an economical good time as we thought

 

[CrazyCapnMorgan]

Apparently its not just her.

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/186592/Several_out_of_work_as_Valve_makes_large_decisions_about_its_future.php#.URvkVmecVFu

I wonder whats happened, since something must be going on.

I just read that, as well. Something's happened and, whatever it is, it doesn't seem to bode well for ValvE. Not in the least.

 

[tokae]

Apparently its not just her.

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/186592/Several_out_of_work_as_Valve_makes_large_decisions_about_its_future.php#.URvkVmecVFu

I wonder whats happened, since something must be going on.

Huh, this does indeed make it much more interesting. But easier to hazard a guess at what's going on.
I would expect this to mean that financial difficulties have forced Valve to cut their expenses. Which would mean that hardware development and projects for things not directly linking to Steam will be shut down by priority.

Note that I am speculating wildly and am probably wrong in my assumptions.

 

[bafrali]

http://www.develop-online.net/news/43261/Jason-Holtman-leaves-Valve

WTF is happening there. Did Gabe go crazy. Should we panic? Should I panic? What is my WORLD?!

 

[Albino Boo]

I wonder if its something to do with this
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/121945-John-Carmack-Argues-Against-Native-Linux-Games

If the guy from id says that Linux native games aren't going to work perhaps it has caused a major rethink.

 

[Irridium]

So, more news about people being fired.

http://www.gameranx.com/updates/id/12754/article/valve-steambox-controller-engineer-jeri-ellsworth-fired/

- Moby Francke, Half-Life 2 character designer and Team Fortress 2 art lead
- Jason Holtman, director of business development for Steam and Steamworks
- Keith Huggins, character animator and animator for Team Fortress 2 ?Meet the? video series
- Tom Leonard, software engineer for Half-Life 2 and Left 4 Dead
- Realm Lovejoy, artist for Half-Life 2, Portal, and Left 4 Dead. She was also part of the original DigiPen-turned-Valve team that created Narbacular Drop, the inspiration for Portal
- Marc Nagel, test lead for Half-Life, Counter-Strike, and patch updates
- Bay Raitt, animator for Half-Life 2, Team Fortress 2, and Portal
- Elan Ruskin, engine programmer for Left 4 Dead, Portal 2, and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
- Matthew Russell, animator for Team Fortress 2 ?Meet the? video series

Those people have apparently been fired.

Shit seems to be very whack, yo.

 

[Mr.Mattress]

Well, I think I'm going to call this now: Steambox is dead. They tried, and they just couldn't get it to work properly and cheap. Their hardware ambitions are gone, and they won't be announcing anything on the Steambox ever again. Sure, that one PC with Valve Support will come out, and so will other PC's with Valve support, but they thimselves will not release any computer/console/console-Computure.

 

[antidonkey]

Why would anyone fire a person who has a collection of pinball machines that are kept in the company building for others to play? I'd keep that person around forever. I'm sure that has nothing to do with my love of pinball machines, old or new.

 

[Frostbite3789]

As per pretty much every post in this thread, I guess Valve is an invincible company with pure white armor that can never get dirt on it. They can never do wrong. It was obviously all her. She obviously did something horribly wrong.

I'd say all those posts were before the update saying a bunch of other people were let go too, eh?

 

[Albino Boo]

Well, I think I'm going to call this now: Steambox is dead. They tried, and they just couldn't get it to work properly and cheap. Their hardware ambitions are gone, and they won't be announcing anything on the Steambox ever again. Sure, that one PC with Valve Support will come out, and so will other PC's with Valve support, but they themselves will not release any computer/console/console-Computer.

I agree entirely. I think the cost part is the problem. To make it worth while for mainstream studious to put games on Linux platform they would have to sell 100000s of units. Which means they would have to set a world wide physical distribution network and go toe to toe with Sony/Microsoft/Nintendo. Valve could do it, but it would mean betting the house on steambox working and I don't think in the current economic climate there is enough sales for 4 consoles to go head to head.

 

[Muspelheim]

Blimey, night of the long knives in Valveland? That came out of nowhere. I do hope we get the details sooner or later.

 

[The Artificially Prolonged]

Wow things are going down in Valve HQ. I guess that means the Steambox's future is under question now.

 

[6SteW6]

The minute I saw the article header my first knee-jerk thought was:

'Uh-oh Valve's having financial trouble!!'

Then I came to my senses and I laughed and laughed.

 

[Frezzato]

its a company, they also can fire people for some reason.
i dont get all that "SHE GOT EXILED FROM THE HEAVENS" shock that is in this thread.

maybe she got fired because they dont want to continue a project and her job is redundant?

so just wait and see.

You're right. There's an old saying about working at a company, any company:

Last hired, first fired.

She was only at Valve for about a year. Sounds like a business being a business.

 

[cerebus23]

Something clicked, if it was failed project/s or just simply cutting costs in a general down gaming market who knows.

at lest until they announce something is dead and gone soonish, like steambox or the vr goggles or half life 3.

 

[Vigormortis]

Jesus jumped-up Christ are people flipping shit over this.

Valve's a business, people. Businesses hire AND fire people on a regular basis; for any number of reasons.

Valve laying off these people (most of which are still unconfirmed, and only Ms. Ellsworth mentioned the word "fired"), isn't some odd, out-of-place occurrence. These things happen all the time; for any number of reasons.

This news isn't ringing the death knell of Valve, Steam, their game development, nor even their hardware development. It also doesn't mean Gabe Newell has suddenly flipped his lid and is going on a "firing spree". It simply means there were a few employees whose positions, personalities, or talents either became redundant or no longer meshed with the companys direction or structure.

Can we all relax a bit? In the very least until we get solid confirmation on what's actually going on?

As per pretty much every post in this thread, I guess Valve is an invincible company with pure white armor that can never get dirt on it. They can never do wrong. It was obviously all her. She obviously did something horribly wrong.

I'd say all those posts were before the update saying a bunch of other people were let go too, eh?

As opposed to people like you that make a point of finding a negative connotation to anything Valve related?

Overreaction and hyperbole work both ways, my friend.