Gabe Newell
Gabe Newell | |
|---|---|
 Newell at the 2010 Game Developers Conference | |
| Born | November 3, 1962 |
| Occupation | Managing director of Valve Corporation |
Gabe Newell (born November 3, 1962) is the co-founder and managing director of video game development and digital distribution company Valve Corporation.
Work
After having dropped out of Harvard University[1] Newell spent thirteen years working for Microsoft Corporation, ultimately becoming a "Microsoft Millionaire". Newell has described himself as "producer on the first three releases of Windows".[2] Inspired by Michael Abrash, who left Microsoft to work on the computer game Quake at id Software, Newell and another Microsoft employee, Mike Harrington, left Microsoft to found Valve in 1996.[2] He and Harrington used their money to fund Valve through the development of Half-Life.
During production on Half-Life 2, he spent several months focusing on the Steam project.[3]
In 2007, Newell openly expressed his displeasure over developing his software for gaming consoles, particularly the PlayStation 3. In regard to the system, Newell was once quoted as claiming that developing processes for the console in general was "a waste of everybody's time"[4] and "a disaster on many levels ... I'd say, even at this late date, they should just cancel it and do a do over. Just say, 'This was a horrible disaster and we're sorry and we're going to stop selling this and stop trying to convince people to develop for it'."[5] Nevertheless, at E3 in 2010, Newell appeared on stage at Sony's keynote; while acknowledging his past outspoken comments on console development, he discussed the open nature of Sony's PlayStation 3 platform, and announced Portal 2 for the console, remarking that with Steamworks support it would be the best version for any console.[6] Newell has also criticized the Xbox Live service, referring to it as "a train wreck".[7]
In December 2010, Forbes named Newell as "A Name You Should Know" mainly for his work on Steam having partnerships with multiple major developers. [8][9]
Personal life
Gabe is married to Lisa Newell and has two sons.[10] He suffers from Fuchs' dystrophy, a congenital disease which affect the cornea, but was cured by two cornea transplants in 2006 and 2007.[11]
References
- ^ Victoria Murphy Barret, It's A Mod, Mod Underworld, Forbes.com, December 12, 2005
- ^ a b CVG Staff (2007-09-28). "Creative Minds: Gabe Newell". computerandvideogames.com. Retrieved 2008-01-05.
- ^ Geoff Keighley. "The Final Hours of Half-Life 2". GameSpot UK. Retrieved 2008-01-05.
- ^ Mark Androvich. "PS3 a "waste of time" says Valve's Newell". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved 2008-02-22.
- ^ Stuart Bishop. "Valve: PS3 a "total disaster on so many levels"". computerandvideogames.com. Retrieved 2007-01-15.
- ^ "Portal 2 coming to PlayStation 3".
- ^ Mike Fahey. "Valve Figured Microsoft Would Fix The Xbox Live Train Wreck". Kotaku. Retrieved 2010-09-11.
- ^ http://kotaku.com/5689296/forbes-lists-gabe-newell-as-a-name-you-should-know
- ^ http://au.gamespot.com/ps3/action/halflife2episode2/news.html?sid=6284041
- ^ Sally Macdonald. "TUNED TO THE DUNES". Seattle Times. Retrieved 2008-01-05.
- ^ "The Master of Online Mayhem". Forbes. 2011-02-09. Retrieved 2011-02-13.
The founder of videogame seller Valve suffers from Fuchs Dystrophy, a congenital disease that slowly destroys the cornea. "I have dead-people eyes", he said at the time. Double cornea transplants in 2006 and 2007 cured him and changed him utterly.
External links
- Gabe Newell at the Valve Developer Community wiki
Interviews: