Valve's Newell Predicts The Future

[The_root_of_all_evil]

Valve's Newell Predicts The Future

Valve boss Gabe Newell used his keynote address at this year's DICE conference to discuss how the gaming industry needs to evolve.

Newell touched on everything from the way games are made to the way games are sold, and mentioned Steam so much that he eventually apologized to the audience for coming off off as too much of a "Steam whore."

Some of the main points he addressed were:

Frequent content updates: Newell said Team Fortress 2 has received 63 updates from Valve in the last 14 months. That is the future, he told the developers in the audience: "You're going to be touching [your customers] not every three years but every three weeks - and hopefully even more often than that."

Videogame companies acting as "entertainment companies" for gamers: They are fans of properties, not forms of entertainment. Fans (to use his example) of Harry Potter, as opposed to just Potter books or just Potter movies. This relates to making new TF2 video shorts as well as Team Fortress comics.

DRM is dead, long live "something else": Valve suggests the way to beat pirates is to provide better services than they do. While Johnny Pirate is still trying to work out how to get the Scout update cracked, legitimate owners just download it, even while Valve is doing something as intrusive as data-mining its customers' computers. People won't care as long as you're transparent about it.

Concept art is good: There's nothing that builds a better "buzz" than seeing things in development. It also gets you in touch with your consumer base.

Many of Newell's suggestions are far easier to implement on PC than on consoles, but Newell said that console makers who ignore this sort of thing are just like those developers who ignored 3D graphics a decade ago. Better graphics won't be what determines a winner in the next console generation, it'll be the extent to which a console allows game creators "to have this relationship with your customers."

In other words, if consoles don't adapt a Steam-style service, they likely won't survive. Well, what do you think? Is he right?

Source: Kotaku [http://kotaku.com/5156238/gabe-newells-dice-keynote-left-4-dead-sales-tf2-comic-books?skyline=true&s=i]

Permalink

 

[HobbesMkii]

In other words, if consoles don't adapt a Steam-style service, they likely won't survive. Well, what do you think? Is he right?

Wait, I don't understand how that follows at all from what he said. Isn't Steam closer to an Xbox Live style service for PC than anything? I think Newell's saying that if companies don't put the consumer as paramount, that is, they don't do what's easily within their power to actively engage their customers in their IPs, then they will fade away, while the companies that cater to the consumer, that don't use draconian DRM, that show all the beta shots and constantly provide updates will be the ones that survive and flourish.

Now, I'm not sure he's dead on in those assumptions, but I know I enjoy companies who just come out and go: "we're working on Excellent Game IV, here's a demo shot and an update to Excellent Game III" more than I enjoy the companies that go "We may or may not be working on Great Game II. You'll have to wait and see."

 

[Roland__]

Wait, I don't understand how that follows at all from what he said. Isn't Steam closer to an Xbox Live style service for PC than anything?

Steam is more Xbox Live mixed with GAME/Gamestop(but completely online,) Facebook/Myspace/etc and your game shelf (or wherever you keep your games).
Companies, mostly Valve, will release more updates (or at least more free updates) on Steam than on Xbox Live. The reason being that Microsoft forces third-party game companies to charge for all non-bug fix updates. There's no point making something like the class updates in TF2 when most of your audience will be put off by the price tag on it. Steam is simply more user AND game company friendly.

 

[Tanzka]

The things he said about piracy are true, and for a fact I can tell that Valve's umm.. "DRM" works. I have never ever downloaded a Valve-game via torrent. I bought TF2 the day I got this computer, I played HL2, EP 1, EP 2 at my friends house and just bought L4D. Why? Because I have no interest in being left outside say Team Fortress' updates and Left 4 Dead's gameplay. And of course because I have never seen Valve release a bad game - this being an opinion.
I love Valve and will support it.

 

[bue519]

FREQUENT CONTENT UPDATES!!!! WHERE IS EPISODE 3!!!
But, I do like the updates that valve hands out for games like TF2 and Left4Dead. Although I would appreciate it if they released an SDK for Left4Dead.

 

[shMerker]

Yeah, I don't think he's trying to say that everything should be digital delivery. I think he's trying to say that people should already know why it's a good thing and the reason Valve knew years ago when they launched Steam in 2003, a full year before XBox Live Arcade was that they're focused on their customers. What he's saying is that game companies need to be customer focused if they want to survive [http://seanmalstrom.wordpress.com/2009/02/11/email-the-sick-obsession-of-culture-in-the-game-industry/].

 

[CanadianWolverine]

Well, what do you think? Is he right?

Simply put, yes. I know I am sold, especially with the piss poor shopping experience that I as a PC gamer get from somewhere like Electronic Boutique. I think I get more value from Steam than retail, so basicly, he bought this gamer's loyalty with content updates. Their "DRM" seems more like a favor - how was it Mary Poppins put it: "A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down." - when I can uninstall and reinstall at my hearts content. Their technical support has always been really helpful too and not once have I noticed someone ripping off my credit card info that I used on Steam. In all kinds of ways, they are good for my pocket book, mind, body, and dare I say, soul. Pretty much everything I feel I need to be a repeat customer.

If I could get Impulse to install (probably not Impulse's fault, the PC sucks), they would probably have my loyalty too.

 

[oliveira8]

Maybe they can fix the damn pricing for the games sold on Europe trough Steam cause the prices are silly...

Then again were I live the prices on steam are the same as in the shop..and Steam as nice discounts and cool packs...

Even with stupid pricing for European costumers buying games from Steam avoids the limited install crap that many games are coming with these days.

But 1$=/=1?!

 

[The Random One]

Videogame companies acting as "entertainment companies" for gamers: They are fans of properties, not forms of entertainment. Fans (to use his example) of Harry Potter, as opposed to just Potter books or just Potter movies. This relates to making new TF2 video shorts as well as Team Fortress comics.

This is so very true, I can't believe I never heard of that anywhere else before.

DRM is dead, long live "something else": Valve suggests the way to beat pirates is to provide better services than they do. While Johnny Pirate is still trying to work out how to get the Scout update cracked, legitimate owners just download it, even while Valve is doing something as intrusive as data-mining its customers' computers. People won't care as long as you're transparent about it.

That's actually an awesome idea. But it's not really appliccable to everything. Say you make a GTA-style game. You could probably release a new mission, vehicle, area or minigame every few weeks... but for how long would you keep doing that, while your company has other upcoming games to work with? What if your game is a straight-up FPS? Do you just add new weapons, new missions... do you really have time to playtest them all?

At any rate, online-only games like TF2 are (I think) the ones that are the safest from piracy, as it's easy to detect and ban offending CD-keys and hard to make cracks around that.

 

[SomeBritishDude]

[quote/]Many of Newell's suggestions are far easier to implement on PC than on consoles, but Newell said that console makers who ignore this sort of thing are just like those developers who ignored 3D graphics a decade ago.[/quote]

Uh hu...

[quote/]Frequent content updates: Newell said Team Fortress 2 has received 63 updates from Valve in the last 14 months.[/quote]

The consoles haven't received one...

 

[joystickjunki3]

I've been sayin' this shit for years... but I'm glad Newell has proven once again that he's not a dumbass like a lot of other company heads.

 

[stormcaller]

Gah, getting TF2 on the 14th of March, I hate lots of updates with a new game...

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

Did anyone else read this as, "Hi! I'm Gabe Newell and I hate you if you own a console."?

I wouldn't. Gabe and the Valve team are sort of stuck when they try to release TO the consoles as XBLA etc. make them wait, and charge them.

As for GTA getting upgrades? How about a mission editor inside the game like the Hot Coffee where they can just update the game? How about new radio announcements? Altered weather patterns? A Hurricane actually hitting? Loads of stuff you could do.

 

[xXGeckoXx]

The last bit is not true. We have all probably had the nightmare that valve will go bust and all steam users will die in slow painful agony. Well imagine that a possibility for the whole world's gaming industry.

 

[sheic99]

FREQUENT CONTENT UPDATES!!!! WHERE IS EPISODE 3!!!
But, I do like the updates that valve hands out for games like TF2 and Left4Dead. Although I would appreciate it if they released an SDK for Left4Dead.

The SDK is coming out in the spring and as for Episode 3, I believe that's due sometime in the winter.

 

[Jsnoopy]

In other words, if consoles don't adapt a Steam-style service, they likely won't survive. Well, what do you think? Is he right?

If I agree with him, will he release the TF2 updates on the 360? Please?

 

[Jumplion]

FREQUENT CONTENT UPDATES!!!! WHERE IS EPISODE 3!!!
But, I do like the updates that valve hands out for games like TF2 and Left4Dead. Although I would appreciate it if they released an SDK for Left4Dead.

The SDK is coming out in the spring and as for Episode 3, I believe that's due sometime in the winter.

Of 2011.

Seriously, the frequency of VALVe delaying their games is alot to put it nicely. It's fun to ZING their date lines

 

[Zer_]

Well, what do you think? Is he right?

Simply put, yes. I know I am sold, especially with the piss poor shopping experience that I as a PC gamer get from somewhere like Electronic Boutique. I think I get more value from Steam than retail, so basicly, he bought this gamer's loyalty with content updates. Their "DRM" seems more like a favor - how was it Mary Poppins put it: "A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down." - when I can uninstall and reinstall at my hearts content. Their technical support has always been really helpful too and not once have I noticed someone ripping off my credit card info that I used on Steam. In all kinds of ways, they are good for my pocket book, mind, body, and dare I say, soul. Pretty much everything I feel I need to be a repeat customer.

If I could get Impulse to install (probably not Impulse's fault, the PC sucks), they would probably have my loyalty too.

Did anyone else read this as, "Hi! I'm Gabe Newell and I hate you if you own a console."?

I wouldn't. Gabe and the Valve team are sort of stuck when they try to release TO the consoles as XBLA etc. make them wait, and charge them.

As for GTA getting upgrades? How about a mission editor inside the game like the Hot Coffee where they can just update the game? How about new radio announcements? Altered weather patterns? A Hurricane actually hitting? Loads of stuff you could do.

So true. Gabe is merely saying that consoles need to evolve too. The current generation of consoles kinda sucks overall. The 360 is like "Pay for a billion shitty little add-ons. Developers can't release content for free." The PS3 is like "Let's make a console that takes an extra year to develop games for." And the Wii is like "Online play? What's that?"