[marty370]

Several employees were let go from Steam and Half-Life maker Valve on Tuesday, Gamasutra can confirm. We've been unable to determine an exact headcount, but phrases we've heard from affected employees describing the incident include "great cleansing" and "large decisions." We've seen the number "25" tossed around, but are unable to confirm this. We can, however, confirm that the cuts have affected more than one department, namely hardware and Android development.

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/1...p#.URvzxGfC7rd

Not a good sign, before 'STEAM BOX' launch.

[axugen]

who cares valve sucks anyway, plus console games > pc games

[oPolo]

Half-Life franchise = Valve
Portal franchise = Valve

My friend... How can you say half-life sucks?

Besides, Gabe Newell once said that one of his favourite games were Super Mario 64 for the Nintendo 64, as that game showed him that "games can be art"...So true he was.
He gives a 1-up to Valve also, if you know what I mean with that reference

[axugen]

Originally Posted by oPolo Half-Life franchise = Valve Portal franchise = Valve My friend... How can you say half-life sucks? Besides, Gabe Newell once said that one of his favourite games were Super Mario 64 for the Nintendo 64, as that game showed him that "games can be art"...So true he was. He gives a 1-up to Valve also, if you know what I mean with that reference

All that valve makes is crappy fpses with no story, and who cares what some fat lard thinks anyway? his games suck and so does valve

[SenorPickle]

Originally Posted by axugen All that valve makes is crappy fpses with no story, and who cares what some fat lard thinks anyway? his games suck and so does valve

Yeah, and stupid revolutionary game distribution systems like Steam that may have revived the pc gaming industry. Stupid Valve, why did you have to be so original 4 years before anybody even thought of the App Store. /Sarcasm

Seriously though Valve is awesome, even though they lag like hell in putting out new games. If you don't value what Valve did to reinvent the FPS genre and their pioneering of mainstream digital distribution then maybe you should go back to playing Madden and let the adults have a real discussion.

As far as the people being let go from Valve that's unfortunate for the employees. If you read the suspected people let go it appears that most of them are related specifically to game development which we all know hasn't been the forefront of Valve's attention for awhile. Hopefully this isn't a sign of Valve giving up game development all together and turning publisher/distributor

[axugen]

Originally Posted by SenorPickle Yeah, and stupid revolutionary game distribution systems like Steam

Steam was the worst piece of software i ever used, slow as hell, ads everywhere and requires a freaking internet connection to play offline games that i bought from retail. So excuse me if i don't agree with your vision about steam but in my opinion its a steaming pile s***.

If you don't value what Valve did to reinvent the FPS genre

They invented squat, all they was recycle the same bloody formula for decades.

go back toplaying Madden

And you should go back to play call of duty and let people with an actual opinion have the discussion.

[SenorPickle]

Originally Posted by axugen Steam was the worst piece of software i ever used, slow as hell, ads everywhere and requires a freaking internet connection to play offline games that i bought from retail. So excuse me if i don't agree with your vision about steam but in my opinion its a steaming pile s***. They invented squat, all they was recycle the same bloody formula for decades. And you should go back to play call of duty and let people with an actual opinion have the discussion.

Allow me to drop some knowledge real quick:

Offline Mode -What is Steam's Offline Mode and how do I use it?

And lets take a stroll back...back to the year 1998...you might not have been born yet but try and imagine...It was a good year for games: Resident Evil 2, Metal Gear Solid, Unreal, and Grim Fandango are some standout titles, but the best title of the year was the first game from an unknown developer: Half-Life. It came out in November of 1998 and managed to win 50+ game of the year awards. Why? Scripted sequences, an actual story, articulated skeletal modeling, all things that are standard now but did not exist at the time. Half-Life 2? They did it again. Portal? Left 4 Dead? Ricochet? (Just kidding on that last one).

How about online gaming? Fan of that? Consider that in 1998 online gaming did not exist on consoles, it existed on PC's. It was mods like Counter-Strike that brought online gaming to a broader player base and inspired games like Call of Duty to be made in the first place. Sure this coincided with a rise in internet usage but the key is mods like Counter-Strike and games like Starcraft suddenly made online gaming marketable, and thus Xbox Live was born.

I'm ready to hear some actual opinions on this subject, but preferably from someone who is educated on the matter.

Valve's history is why they have respect in the industry. That said that history is mainly built on making great games (that maybe you don't enjoy but millions of other people do), and unfortunately that hasn't been their main focus in recent years. I would be more upset about it but if that focus is directed at things like Steam I can't complain too much. It just makes sense that the layoffs coincide with game development positions, because not too much of that going on (or so it seems?).

[axugen]

Don't give me a lecture about valve games, played them all and i know what im talking about, unlike you who seems to be posting random stuff he heard other people say, none of their games are original or innovative they are all the same from half-life 1 to team fortress 2 they are all the same crappy recycled fps formula used to milk to unwitting cash cow.

As for you offline mode suggestion it still doesn't justify having to use steam at all, i purchased the game without any contact with steam so why the hell do i need to use that broken piece of s***, the damn thing is like a freaking parasite its everywhere and its sucking the life out of whatever it attached to, its ruining the gaming industry.

[ryant001]

Originally Posted by axugen As for you offline mode suggestion it still doesn't justify having to use steam at all, i purchased the game without any contact with steam so why the hell do i need to use that broken piece of s***, the damn thing is like a freaking parasite its everywhere and its sucking the life out of whatever it attached to, its ruining the gaming industry.

Funny thing is that the PC gaming industry was practically dying and some would argue that it's only thanks for the most part to Valve and Steam (an easy access platform with a wide selection and fair prices) that we still have a PC gaming industry at all.
Take me for example, i bought more than half of my pc games collection from Steam and most of them only because they were on sale.

For some reason you seem to be biased against Valve and continue to insult it and say that all their games are the same but what about the COD series? Or Battlefield? All those games don't seem all that different from one another to me(or from Half-Life if you just look at the game mechanics).

[axugen]

Funny thing is that the PC gaming industry was practically dying and some would argue that it's only thanks for the most part to Valve and Steam (an easy access platform with a wide selection and fair prices) that we still have a PC gaming industry at all. Take me for example, i bought more than half of my pc games collection from Steam and most of them only because they were on sale.

I personally think that steam is a worthless piece of crap and is nothing more than a parasite that needs to be terminated. Of course you are entitled to your opinion and i am entitled to mine.

For some reason you seem to be biased against Valve and continue to insult it

I am not biased against and i am certainly not insulting it, i am simply stating my opinion that is justified with my experience with their products.

and say that all their games are the same but what about the COD series? Or Battlefield? All those games don't seem all that different from one another to me(or from Half-Life if you just look at the game mechanics).

Exactly, valve did nothing to innovate or help the gaming industry all it did was take something that already worked and reused over over and over again to make money, while i have no problem with that after valve is a company and this what companies do, it people who keep saying valve innovated and saved the fps genre while infact it did nothing but suck the genre for everything good in it.