Valve founder Gabe Newell is looking intently at platforms like mobile and tablets, despite the fact that his company has been highly reliant upon PC for its profits. Also, while Microsoft is hoping that the release of Windows 8 will give them a boost, Newell is very bearish about the new OS.
“I think that Windows 8 is kind of a catastrophe for everybody in the PC space,” said Newell to former Microsoft Game Studios head Ed Fries. “I think that we’re going to lose some of the top-tier PC [original equipment manufacturers]. They’ll exit the market. I think margins are going to be destroyed for a bunch of people. If that’s true, it’s going to be a good idea to have alternatives to hedge against that eventuality.”
“But when you start thinking about a platform, you have to address it,” he added. “You have to address mobile. You have to look at what’s going to happen post-tablet. If you look at the mouse and keyboard, it was stable for about 25 years. I think touch will be stable for about 10 years.”
Source: VentureBeat.com
