This makes perfect sense to me. Why make a custom controller when everyone will use the xbox360, ps3, logitec or whatever is their best controller ever made. Valve can't really add anything to that space. Make steam great for the living room, improve linux/linux drivers, and figure out a system like 3dmark to rate systems so people know a steambox (made by HP, Dell, etc) will work for game X. Push every game you can to be supported, maybe with a smaller steam commission of the sale, a 3% discount for linux port and a 2% discount for full controller support.

It was a good intention but Gabe dreamed a bit too much. Let the guys at Id shoot lasers in their eyes and make it standard in Rage 2. Valve should focus on great games and the steam ecosystem, only adding accessory tech when popular and available.

I think you're thinking about Project Shield, which is NVIDIA's baby.
So basically he's ruled everything out except for the possibility that Valve is in financial trouble.

Most likely situation is, that these people were just not needed anymore or their views didn't match up with the line company was heading.

There's gotta be a ton of capital needed to expand in all the avenues Valve has been going. Sounds like they put their feelers out, tested a few directions, and have decided on which one to focus on. You can't be all to everybody and particularly the cuts in Android tell me they might be focusing on the living room instead of mobile right now. Hardware has got to be a big danger - makes more sense to me to partner with a vendor whose expertise is building hardware rather than do it in house.

I tend to refuse to believe that valve is making a loss in that matter.

People tend to forget that firings and lay offs aren't just to expand revenue and gain more profit. These 25 people were probably slackers, screwing around at work, calling in sick all the time, breaking company policy (like leaking information) and Valve trimmed some fat. It happens at every company but people seem to think it's Valve being greedy and needing more money...for 25 people? Not likely. Maybe if it was 250 or 2,500 people, but not 25.

You're wrong on the sale part. During the Steam sales these are the best prices you will find on any game anywhere. With Amazon you have to include shipping. You may get better deals on boxed games, but the Steam sales are popular for a reason. Can't find those prices anywhere else.

I'd like to say I'm definitely buying games on Steam more, they've had amazing sales and just ridiculous prices, but then not everyone buys PC games now-a-days so that's normal. Steam will usually beat Amazon if you just wait awhile for your game to go on sale, anyways.......... I come here for the old games, but if Steam falls I will buy things here entirely.

I don't get the impression that anyone here is suggesting that Valve is laying off employees in order to increase profits, but rather that they may be showing their first signs of financial troubles. Didn't Apple post their first quarterly loss for the first time in 6 years recently? It happens, and perhaps Valve isn't generating as much revenue as they were a year or two ago. Then again, as others have suggested it could be completely unrelated to financials.

Yeah, Seattle is doing just fine. That's where I live. For awhile, the Capitol Hill neighborhood was looking rather shitty a few years back, but that's starting to turn around, albeit with a bit more of a corporate flavor to it than the funky cool gay neighborhood that it used to be (and still mostly is).

Also, I've been inside Valve headquarters. :P

This is not meant to sound as hostile as it may does, but your entire post consists of shallow commonplace statements.
You don't know what they where fired for, according to wiki valve has 350 employees so your numbers don't make sense and I think the amazon coupon deals where cheaper than steamsales but I would be willing to book that as an exception.

That's why everyone waits for the Steam sales. The games end being cheaper than those sites you mentioned. The summer and Christmas sales end up crashing their servers some times. I even save games up on my wishlist and buy them all on the Steam sales.

No but it makes sense. Whenever anyone gets fired people assume the company is being a big meanie. NO ONE knows what these guys were fired for and we never will know. People can speculate all they want, this just makes the most sense.

No. GMG with their 20 and 25% off reusable voucher for all games or Amazon.com (download) undercut even Steam Daily and Flash Deals several times during the christmas sale. Even the german digital retailer gamesload.de, who is known for their high prices, was able to offer a better deal for Hitman: Silent Assassin during the christmas sale.

Some years ago Steam sales where just amazing but know, just a part off the digital sales and nothing special anymore...

Because it bears repeating...

Just as an FYI - Steam isn't the super cheap site it used to be. I mean, they still have great sales, but it's quite easy now to find a site that sells Steam games cheaper than Steam does. So you can in fact find the same or better pricing elsewhere now. Quite of a few of my last Steam purchases have come from other sites like Amazon or Greenmangaming.

Now this time, read it again... except this time, read it. Because it is factual. Absorb the information. You can do it, I have the utmost... well, middling, really. I have middling faith in you. Just make some effort to try, alright pal? ¬_¬

What do you mean? Amazon charges shipping for their digital downloads?