Print 115 comment(s) - last by johnsmith9875.. on Oct 19 at 10:06 AM

  (Source: Haloz)
"They build a shiny sparkling thing that attracts users and then they control people's access to those things"

You may recall that top video game maker Valve Corp., makers of the Half-LifeCounterstrikePortal, and Left 4 Dead series, as well as the hit video-game distribution client Steam, recently aired some of its titles on Apple, Inc.'s (AAPL) Mac computers for the first time following some teasers.

But while Valve now is vending products for Apple's personal computer platform, it appears like there's little love between the firms.  Valve president and owner Gabe Newell blasted the Cupertino tech giant for its dictatorial approach to the mobile market.

He comments, "I suspect Apple will launch a living room product that redefines people's expectations really strongly and the notion of a separate console platform will disappear.  I'm worried that the things that traditionally have been the source of a lot of innovation are going - there's going to be an attempt to close those off so somebody will say 'I'm tired of competing with Google, I'm tired of competing with Facebook, I'll apply a console model and exclude the competitors I don't like from my world.'"

He continues, commenting that Apple has the "wrong philosophical approach" in its closed model.  

He adds, "I consider Apple to be very closed.  Let's say you have a book business and you are charging 5 to 7 percent gross margins. You can't exist in an Apple world because they want 30 percent and they don't care that you only have 7 percent to play with." 

To be fair, Valve might be being a bit hypocritical here as its Steam is also a closed platform, as the interviewer challenged.  Mr. Newell brushed this question aside, saying that while Steam isn't free, Valve does offer much free engine code and other tools to developers.

David Bluhm, president and chief executive of game company Z2Live, a mobile-focused gamemaker, jumped to Apple's defense after Mr. Newell's remarks, commenting, "I would argue Apple's system is very open but very proprietary ... it's open with their rules."

Source: TechNW: Best and worst of times for games, Valve vs. Apple

Comments     Threshold


RE: Why leave out Microsoft?
By DT_Reader on 10/13/2011 3:16:58 PM , Rating: 2
Xbox live as an open system would make no sense...
...for Microsoft. I mean, if independents could develop Xbox games and sell them directly to consumers, how would Microsoft make money on that?

You're right, Xbox Live is nothing like iTunes.

RE: Why leave out Microsoft?
By Freeseus on 10/13/2011 5:18:58 PM , Rating: 2
iTunes is a pile of unorganized garbage and the antithesis of what Apple stands for from a design perspective.

Xbox live on the other hand is skillfully crafted and Sony would give it's left nut to have PSN be that agile.

You sir are correct. Xbox Live is nothing like iTunes.

