Gabe Newell: Xbox 720 and PS4 must embrace innovation, think outside the box

Microsoft and Sony must embrace change or face failure with the Xbox 720 and PS4, says Valve boss Gabe Newell as he details his wish-list for the next gen, and asks why World of Warcraft has never come to consoles.

[LX-General-Kaos]

I agree with that man to the fullest.

[ChrisW]

A great man once said, "If one can envision that there is no box, then there are absolutely no limitations."

[MaxXAttaxX]

If what he wants is for consoles to be like PCs, the he should look no further than his own PC. That's what PCs are for.

He also previously said he wanted the PS3 to be "more open like a Mac".... whatever that means.
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Realistically speaking. Next gen consoles will most likely have better graphics, interface and connectivity, IMO.

[ATi_Elite]

Basically just turn into full fledge PC's with Sony or MS logos and let Devs have more freedom to do whatever they want.

Trust me this is basically what Gabe is trying to say.

Blizzard has the platinum touch and they would love to make a console game but Sony and MS have too many restrictions therefore Blizzard says "screw that".

The Consoles need to open up a bit more and the PC Devs would flood the systems with cool games and a ton of innovation.

[LX-General-Kaos]

PC devs will probably develop for the new consoles for awhile until PC surpasses consoles again. I remember a lot of rts games arriving on the 360 before the PC pushed way passed it again.

[morganfell]

I agree with what Newell is saying but the Hardware this generation was hardly used "outside of the box". To some degree that fault lies as much with game developers as it does with the Hardware manufacturers themselves.

Far too often we have been entreated to little more than rote singleplayer and multiplayer. And if we were fortunate we often gained a little co-op on the side. Despite interesting stories and some great gameplay mechanics the structure remains unchanged. This is in large part due to publishers and the money men themselves that back developers who are loathe to take the risk.

It is also, in some small part, the gamers themselves who oftentimes simply want the same old thing over and over again. CoD anyone?

It is for this reason that we have clone after clone. The unwillingness to risk. And without risk there will be no innovation, without risk there will be no groundbreaking gameplay, and with risk there will be no next generation gaming.

In the end there is the box, and it is up on this box which developers and publishers must stand if they are to reach that top tier of gaining.

[sikbeta]

"Basically just turn into full fledge PC's with Sony or MS logos and let Devs have more freedom to do whatever they want"

Yeah, because that will be totally cheap, right? say thanks if rumors are true, we'll get W8 on Next Xbox, no more... oh, and kinect2 :/

Casuals just want gimmicks, that's the route every manufacturer will choose and that has nothng to do with innovation :(

[MaxXAttaxX]

Full fledged PCs with Sony logs already exist. "Sony Vaio".

[RumbleFish]

@LX-General-Kaos: "...until PC surpasses consoles again." I didn't know that consoles ever surpassed PC!

[NewZealander]

im guessing he wants a built in pie dispenser/warmer

[trancefreak]

I just can't wait until a new console is released so I can sniff the box and that fresh new plastic smell.

Nothing like that new car smell.

[oricon]

Real talk next PS4 and Xbox is basically going to be the same thing as PS3 and 360 just more powerful and better GFX and UI.

[AtomicGerbil]

Sounds like he's suggesting that consoles should become upgradeable. Why didn't he just come out with it and say that everyone should own a gaming PC?

[GribbleGrunger]

lol... agreed. it beggars belief that someone who's been in the industry as long as he has doesn't quite understand the advantages of having a static platform to develop for. i think it comes down the the PC dev mentality. instead of considering how you can improve and refine, they just want the extra power so that they can just chug along and never 'innovate' themselves. kind of ironic

have a quiet word with ND mate, they'll give you a few tips

[Godmars290]

Why should his stance come as a surprise? The man has always been a PC developer.

[superrey19]

Valve games never require a super pc though. In fact, its their ability to make such great looking, varied, and innovative games on a relatively old engine that make them such a good dev imo.

[Ducky]

... which part of his words suggested that?

[KMCROC54]

I see his point & agree, but in the end he still seem like all wants to do is get Valve on consoles.

[LewisDenby]

'Get Valve on consoles'? Valve have been making games for consoles for several years. Everything they release these days is multiplatform.

[KMCROC54]

Yes some of thier games have been on multiplat ,but i meant is that he want to bring steam or a way for console owners to have access to it . That's what my DumbA was trying to say .

[SnakeCQC]

yes and most of them are to a high standard like the orange box on the ps3

[Fishy Fingers]

Orange Box PS3, was ported by EA. Portal 2 was Valves first multiplat (Pc-PS3-360).

[Fishy Fingers]

They already are, and if anything, they we're the ones dragging their feet, not the platform holders. Unless you mean, 'Steam' which is (in one for or another) on consoles too.

Gabe wants more freedom, a more open system to work on, he's been very vocal about this in the past. Open up the systems to peoples imagination/creativity, rather than, as a platform holder, think you know what is and what isnt best.

[tehpees3]

Sounds like he's a supporter of cross platform play like those I-Phone guys.

[THC CELL]

Go to Sony as vita is made by developers

[ZippyZapper]

duh

[portal_2]

As long as 'outside of the box' doesn't involve motion control.

[gypsygib]

I wouldn't mind a console that was more like a PC.

You get the console benefit of everyone having the same hardware so you know your game will work perfectly every time and that they will be optimized for the console but also K & M support, steam, proper browser, etc.

Good luck getting MS to open up though, they're like nazi's with controlling the 360, I'm not even sure if they consider me the console owner or that I just have a lease.

[Clarence]

Well we know Sony's ready

[ACEMANWISE]

As soon as consoles became PC-like that is when all the problems occurred. Bug-ridden game releases, system update crashes, online account theft, 80% complete games on disk with the other 20% sold as DLC.

Consoles have been around for a very long time...and for good reason. For starters they have represented stability. Without the grasp of online control games were nearly bug free. No terms and conditions got stapled to every game purchase we made. Sure consoles sacrificed state-of-the-art technology but even with all the updates today it still lags behind the PC industry. How about we go back to what consoles started off as and stop blaming them for being half PC?

[AmaZinG]

what a fattie

[AzaziL]

If consoles went the route of PCs, we'd have to buy one as often as Apple's products just to have the latest version available.

[urwifeminder]

Lol how long have you been using the source engine now gabe?, way to innovate.

[solar]

You know of HL and Source is a dynamic engine that has been upgraded over 20 times right? Source today is miles ahead of HL2 when it was released

[urwifeminder]

Yes i do know that still the ammount of money they have made off it i still think its about time they re invested kind of like activison and cod i love the source engine myself but enough is enough.

[Braid]

Have you ever heard a little game called "Dear Esther"?

Try it, when you see what the good old source engine is capable of, your jaw will hit the floor so hard that you will collect your teeth one by one scattered all over the ground.

[ATi_Elite]

I still CAN NOT believe that Dear Esther is running on the Source Engine.

Several areas of the game look FRIGGIN REAL!

The first time i saw Dear Esther running in real time i asked my friend "What movie was that"?

only to be corrected that it was Dear Esther..........true Story.

[urwifeminder]

No thanks.

[Braid]

@ urwifeminder,

It's allright. It's your right to have a bad taste of games, I repsect that. :)

Please keep playing COD forever, you're on the right track.

[DigitalAnalog]

Only the Wii-U falls in that category. You can bet that Nintendo would utilize the tablet in ways nobody would think of. Maybe it would be another trendsetter just like what the analog nub did for Mario 64.

[Phantasm]

I agree with you Gabe, but how about you do your part and produce a game called Half-life 3... now.

[danny818]

innovation...???? clearly he hasnt tried one of the fitness games on the wii

[Ck1x]

Its easy for people to cry out the need for innovation but how many companies are actually driving it home though...

[zero_cool]

Science is unique in that its methods demand not only that the ideas proposed be tested and replicated, but everything science comes up with is also inherently falsifiable. In other words, unlike religion and politics, science has no ego, and everything it suggests accepts the possibility of being proven wrong eventually. It holds on to nothing and evolves constantly.”