Valve Not Interested in "Selling Out"

[GeneticallyModifiedDucks]

Oh you think Valve is bad? Check out Blizzard time [http://www.wowwiki.com/Soon].

 

[GonzoGamer]

I would love to see Christopher Walken in a Valve game.

Me too. I would also like to own a piece of their action but they're right: if they went public, their decisions would be based on what "the board" wants and not what their fans want. It's the reason we have halfway functional consoles and halfway finished games this gen.
Board members are only concerned about the bottom line (raising the stock's prices for shareholders) and not about the consumer's wants and needs. It's one of the major flaws of capitalism.

 

[spectrenihlus]

Can't we have them be fast and brilliant

seriously it has almost been 3 years since the Orange Box

 

[Shilkanni]

Full support to Valve!

Based on how they act I would like to own stock in Valve. However if I could own stock in Valve they would have to act differently. World is broken Imo.

Oh course Walken in a game is a good idea, there is no doubt of that.

 

[A Pious Cultist]

I would love to see Christopher Walken in a Valve game.

"Rise an' uhh shine DocTuur Freeeeman."

You know he'd be perfect.

 

[ultratog1028]

GLaD to see this.

 

[Sacman]

as much as I love Half-Life I think Christopher Walken can make anything better...

 

[Dioxide20]

Good for them. They can just keep raking in the money from their awesome games.

 

[Steve the Pocket]

Christopher Walken? So they've seen my post about their movie then.

 

[hyperdrachen]

Publicly owned companies are total fuckfests, glad to see valves not ready to throw it all in the shitter. Focus on making great products for your customers and using the profits to support your people and your future projects. Fuck pandering to some asshat shareholder that hasn't the slightest inkling what your buisness is about, what your customers look for, or the value of making a great product, instead of the bare minimum you can charge 60 bucks for.

 

[molesgallus]

As much as I'd love to own shares in valve, I completely agree with this decision. Valve needs to remain independent.

 

[Albino Boo]

I might be cynical, but I think not going for an ipo currently might be something to do with economy. Going public in the depths of rescission isn't going to bring you big bucks were as waiting a few years could well see a tripling of the value of an ipo.

 

[DTWolfwood]

yay! \o/

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

'Okay, I guess we'll put Christopher Walken in our game'."

Is this a hint for Episode 3?

Walken makes everything more awesome.

 

[masseyguy911]

Hey as long as they keep making great games, I'm happy.

 

[kebab4you]

This guy... he's un-fucking-believable.

+30 internet points if you get that reference.

It was one of those terrible FMV games, wasn't it? It was either called Ripper or Reaper.

Ye ripper, but I wouldn't call it bad, probably one of the best FMV titles for it times and it had some freaking hard puzzles to.

 

[RMcD94]

What's an IPO?

 

[Vzzdak]

While I would personally own VALVe stock, I am really glad to hear this. When companies go public, they have the responsibility of answering to their stockholders and not to their community.

They would be forced to deliver products before they were completed and polished, and that just isn't their style. Also, God forbid they ever decided to replace Gabe... The gaming community might rise as one and bring about the apocolypse.

...like to own a piece of their action but they're right: if they went public, their decisions would be based on what "the board" wants and not what their fans want. It's the reason we have halfway functional consoles and halfway finished games this gen.
Board members are only concerned about the bottom line (raising the stock's prices for shareholders) and not about the consumer's wants and needs. It's one of the major flaws of capitalism.

What's an IPO?

IPO = Initial Public Offering, where company offers public shares for the first time, prompting much speculative buying

Though publicly traded shares can be a great way to accumulate a bankroll for a major game project, the downside is that voting rights typically are awarded on a 1-share = 1-vote basis, which can lead to voting pressure to focus on short-term gain, whilst damaging their long-term viability.

An interesting idea had been put forth to introduce voting limits on newly bought shares, such as not allowing them to count towards voting for a certain length of time (e.g., months, or a year). The counter argument to such schemes is that voting limits would discourage investors from buying shares in the first place.