Google to buy Valve, says report

MCV: Search engine giant could announce buyout of Steam parent at Austin GDC this week

[Fishy Fingers]

Good move for both parties as far as I can see.

[Coheno]

Totally agree!

[JsonHenry]

I really don't want to see this happen..

[mephman]

Soon Google will own the world.

[el_bandito]

google buys youtube, buys facebook, buys sketchup, buys measuremap, etc. Now it plans to buy Valve... Poor Yahoo!, they should've agreed to MS with its initial offer.

[r2kcipher]

google, buys mans house then burns it in front of him, and family... man, i wish i was a super rich corporation..

[BlackCountryBob]

Google didn't buy Facebook; Microsoft did! Well, Microsoft bought 1.6% for $240m in 2007.

[f789790]

I keep waiting for them to do something horrible to make them evil but it never comes.

[BobDog]

no google bought facebook, well a majority share atleast

[Calcio]

Scary - makes a lot of sense though. Is this the fastest to 100 degrees of any article ever?

[Fishy Fingers]

Nah... NPD numbers or graphic comparisons.... Oh delays and mandatory installs to. Flamewar stuff.

[Coheno]

That's awesome! I think they would make a great couple! Google moving into the game buisness...not bad!

[Mr_Bun]

Maybe the PS3 will get some decent ports now!

[RealityCheck]

Gabe the Hut: "You're feeble tricks won't work on me young Google..."

joking

[mohib-uddin7986532]

valve sucks

that fat guy in valve changes everything

fat guy= suck

[Beegan]

Ea is probably pissed

[Calcio]

EA won't comment - just asked them :)

[sasanjfr]

Excellent!!!!!Then Google can smack M$ in the mouth!!!!!!!

[hazardman]

Google could never smack M$..you crazy..sh!t M$ could buy Google..Now is Google doing it for the i.d or more for the Steam service..good cash flow either way..Real Gamers FTW

[shine1396]

Microsoft didn't have enough money to buy yahoo in the end and yet you think they'll be able to buy google. now that definitly won't be allowed anyway cause for sure you would then have a monoply... Microsoft's Windows operating systems are to me at least monopolistic.

[TheDarksideKing]

maybe we'll finally get an update for team fortress 2 on consoles

[Calcio]

Yeah cos Google loves the consoles... :/

[sajj316]

Google venturing into the PC gaming market ... interesting! Google venturing into the console world ... megaton!

[LikAChicken]

That would actually be interesting though. However if there was 4 next gen consoles on the market...Hmm...Then the industry will be a headache and saturated. This back and forth between sony and microsoft is enough.

~I am a gamer...(I don't know)

[BlackCountryBob]

Google would never make a console, they would make software and an OS for consoles but not the hardware. Even the 'google phone' is made by HTC and lots of other companies while Google does the software side.

A google console is a none starter! More likely would be for Google to take over the management of the online side of things from Sony or Nintendo.

[zonetrooper5]

Rather Valve stayed indpendent, however maybe Valve can increase the amount of staff they have so they can develop for PC, 360 and PS3.

[solar]

me too Zone. but i fear having higher ups will take Valve, known for "Valve Time" and their relentless playtesting and polish, and rush them to release products too early. plus i dont want innovation to suffer to meet deadlines and be sacrificed for "more of the same". i love Valve the way they are now. :/ i dont want them ruined by being bought.

[skimming]

Not sure why everyone's giddy about this potential acquisition. There's very little synergy between "search" and PC/Console gaming.

One thing would be for Google to distribute ads inside games (billboards, side of bus, product placement, etc). By doing so they can reduce or eliminate the cost of subscription for gaming services for us. Considering that Google tends to overwhelm other players in their arena; this does not bode well for other dev teams.

If you look at it from strategic side of things, then perhaps this is another salvo at MS. After they take over Valve/Steam, they have enough muscle to create a Linux box (read Console) with DirectX compatibility issues taken care of at the Hypervisor level. This could be their entry into the "home" and the office.

On second thought, this does make sense!

Seeing that Google has absolutely no expertise in hardware level, though, the homedevice/"console" scenario seems very unlikely, so now I'm back saying that this acquisition does not make too much sense.

[Fishy Fingers]

Google want Steam, Valves DD distribution network. I imagine if a deal does go though it will make sure Google doesnt have much saying on the gaming front.

Steam is Googles primary interest in Valve, not games.

[Baka-akaB]

It isnt a plus for valve (besides more money) , or rather for us . it just mean that just like that Google becomes the major force of PC gaming ... the platform where many games get released or rereleased , and soon possibibly the only viable pc outlet , saves for a few behemoths like blizzard .

[DeadlyFire]

This should help Steam become more popular and become an even bigger part of the PC industry with Google's cash flow behind it. I hope Valve still is Valve if this all goes through though.

[sleepbox]

This makes me a bit nervous. Valve are the gods of all things FPS.

[Cajun Chicken]

Do it.
Lets see what happens.

[TheIneffableBob]

Google o/

[Kratos Spartan]

That was funny. Bubbles for you, young Jedi.

Oh and nobody likes Star Wars as much as I do. Sorry.

[MRIBNthewind]

Yeah...this is so not going to happen. If it does then this going to be CRAZY!!! Especially since Google is incorporating there services into Sony's Life with Sony.

[Spoon201]

I disagree I hope it falls through. Stay the hell away from Valve!!!

[lnfinite]

Google have a Very Healthy Relationship with Sony Corp,My Oh My,all those Valve Games to become Exclusive to the Playstation Family

[FantasyStar]

Steadily growing...assimilating with things around it.

[BlackCountryBob]

It's only a cancer if it has a negative effect. As far as I can see Google has remained pretty clean (except its mis-step in China) and is frequently bettering and improving services for the benefit of users.

I welcome Google bringing its power and skills to the game biz.

[kalel333]

I like google but they need to stop growing ! They already have control of the internet, pretty soon our browsers, mail, our desktops (toolbar, earth ect...) . I mean why go into the video game business ? Because my guess is tat just like the internet they won't be stopping at just Valve.

[uie4rhig]

Step 1 - Rule the Internets - Check
Step 2 - Rule the gaming industry - In Progress (80%)
Step 3 - Rule the Browser market - In Progress (50%)
Step 4 - Rule the OS market - In Progress (10%)
Step 5 - Rule the World - In Progress (60%)

[bednet]

At last an effort to distribute PC games digitally on a large scale...This is exaclty what PC gaming needs...Take Steam, make it a tad better and provide huge amount of games over screaming fast bandwith...hopefully at a reduced price...without DRM...and on top of it all its google, the Anti-Microsoft...anyone for the upcoming Digital Distribution War, I don't know about you, but I smell competition, which is all the better for us customers.

[bednet]

And for those who don't get it, google dosen't care about Valve studios, it's Steam that they want...Newell will just take the money and start a new studio with all the same guys (unless google wants to keep him)...just like he did when he cashed out on MS...BTW HL was self financed.

[PlayStationGamer4eva]

Cool. We can be seeing a new Half Life, Counter Strike, Team Fortress, Portal, and Day of Defeat as PS3 exclusives! LOL