"Well placed sources" have indicated that mega corporation Google is about to acquire Valve, according to a report on The Inquirer.
According to the report the deal is going down "any second now" and will put Steam, by far the best digital distribution service in gaming, into the search engine company's hands.
We haven't done any research, but tech manager John Houlihan reliably tells us Google is "f***ing massive", which would no doubt help even further in strengthening the download service's number one position.
Valve's already gone on the record and welcomed acquisition, stating in an interview that it's "happy to have that conversation."
We've left a message with Valve who usually gets back to us pretty sharpish. So if it's not given us a statement by 4pm, it's true.
UPDATE: The company has indeed got back to us and the official word is "rumour". No, really; "'Rumour' is the word", is the company statement we recieved via e-mail. And it missed the 4pm deadline as well...
Next... Google to release their own games console, called the Googlybox. If this happens I can't see Valve and Microsoft being so cosy. Of course it could be a rumour designed to get Microsoft interested in buying Valve.
Awesome news. This would dilute lot of the quality on steam because i imagine google would want to integrate new services and a myriad roster of casual games but the combination of technologies and expertise would be a killer mix. If this happens then consider it a swipe at M$ who have their own digital distribution service which is inferior and capped by the abilities of the 360. M$ tried to buy yahoo (and failed) google buy steam, seriously this is not good news for M$. Just had a thought, don't google own youtube now? only thing missing is music downloads. I imagine google must want to integrate steam into 1 giant online store for digital media.
I'm still hoping that google are working on an operating system so I don't have to use windows.
If it gets into the games industry it could be very insteresting with rumours of apple joining in as well. Could we possible end up with 5 home consoles on the market at once?
Google is certainly more liked world wide that Microsoft - don't know how the japaneese view it though
Microsoft tried to buy yahoo to directly compete and defeat the dominance of google but failed.
Google released chrome to compete with internet explorer which was devaluing their products and eating into their position.
Google (we think) have attempted to or have bought steam which could compete with live.
Sounds like a tit for tat war going on, and i don't think M$ can win.
M$ have always resented any organisation making a profit out of computer technology and have forced several major players into obscurity, netscape being the most famous example. Implementing new products and services into each new operating system to kill off competitors. But google are too big to bully and M$ aren't able to effectively deal with them though have become more aggressive recenty.
True or not, Steam would fit well into Google's ever-growing software portfolio so it would not surprise me if Google did make that move. I'm not entirely sure how it would benefit Valve though. They're not exactly strapped for cash.
and people say watch out for Microsoft taking over. I think it's Google people should keep an eye on. "Hmm what can we buy this week? Well we love TF2 don't we, so f^ck it let's just buy Valve and we can change it to whatever we want"
I don't want to see a bloody ad for Nike in Portal....This could be as bad for the games players as Apple getting in on the act in my opinion.
on one hand I'd agree, but think about what the good thing is about pretty much every product Google has. They are 'free' to use, with Google making their money from the advertising.
Now take a system like Steam, has lots of users, many with extended profile information. Valve themselves are one of the best developers going. I wouldn't say it's out of the realms of possibility that this could lead to the release of free, ad subsidised, games from Valve. Granted, it might not be the Half Life games that end up being free.
Would you be interested in Portal 2 if it was free to play and contained adverts?
Google are up there with the smartest technology companies around, so if they are genuinely interested in buying Valve, they'll definitely have thought through exactly how it can integrate into their current business.
And I agree that they have got Microsoft more than a little concerned with their upcoming plans and massive dominance in the search engine market, the traditional O/S, and apps. that are bought per licence, per PC and so lucrative to Microsoft are definitely not seen by anyone as the future with concepts such as "Cloud Computing" looking to become the de facto and Microsoft know it!
For Google - obviously a proven digital distribution service that is a growing brand. Also a huge step onto their rivals toes, maybe with a view to expanding the remit of Steam to Audio/Video download maybe an independent, stripped down operating system for games?(wishful thinking)
For Valve - Google have very deep pockets to delve into for expansion without having to risk their own money. Google have lots of money to spend on R&D and (seem to) have good ethics, so would probably be less likely to meddle.
I can imagine worse companies for Valve to be bought by (EA, M$).
I don't want to see a bloody ad for Nike in Portal....This could be as bad for the games players as Apple getting in on the act in my opinion.
on one hand I'd agree, but think about what the good thing is about pretty much every product Google has. They are 'free' to use, with Google making their money from the advertising.
Now take a system like Steam, has lots of users, many with extended profile information. Valve themselves are one of the best developers going. I wouldn't say it's out of the realms of possibility that this could lead to the release of free, ad subsidised, games from Valve. Granted, it might not be the Half Life games that end up being free.
Would you be interested in Portal 2 if it was free to play and contained adverts?
In one word.....no.
I'd rather pay for a game that was written to be a game not an advert for some shoes or bum cream.
For me it would be like buying an album of your fav. band and then it containing songs about things being cheaper at tesco..
At the end of the day it's up to the person buying it (or not in this case).
Next... Google to release their own games console, called the Googlybox. If this happens I can't see Valve and Microsoft being so cosy. Of course it could be a rumour designed to get Microsoft interested in buying Valve.
Tbh I dont think its too ridiclous to right google off from making their own console maybe with the help of sega or someone I mean its not like there short of cash!
On the one hand, Google is a company I'm generally fine with, but I think I see this as more of a threat to what Valve has going. Steam is great right now, and has got some good plans. Let's not mess it up..
The only thing Google would be interested in is Steam so why not just buy that rather than the whole of Valve? Since when have Google been interested in gaming?
I think it would be good for Google to buy Valve. At least EA and other major companies would have some actual competition. Google would be able to buy the best in the business.
Why is everyone saying this is bad, steam is very succesful, and google would have to be mad if they changed it. If they do join and apple get in on it then M$ are screwed, anything that damages M$ good.
I'm split. Since Ms seemed to have said "go get f**ked" to the pc market to concentrate on banging out s**tty consoles im happy if it damages them. The losing the best dev on the Pc would be a sacrifice im not willing to make
Why don't Google just buy Steam off Valve and leave them to make their games.
Valve could just make some other game distribution thingy later on.
Everybody wins!
Why would you spend millions buying a service off a company like Valve so you can use it only for Valve to invest the millions you just gave them back into a new rival service? If Google are only interested in Steam and buy it off Valve there's no way Google will let Valve launch Steam 2.
I can imagine this deal happening. Google are looking to diversify, dont they have a phone coming out, before that the new browser Chrome? Its all pieces Googles future puzzle coming together.
I wouldnt mind if they release a console, would be interesting? Although I dont think that will happen. I remember when people used to bitch about Microsoft goin into the console business, predicting doom and gloom. Look at em now, they dont seem to be doing to bad!
For me personally I always welcome new platforms and if they turn out to be good, then all the better. Digital distribution is the future, its happening now and buying Valve opens a lot of doors for Google to get up and running quickly.
Will be interesting to see if this deal actually happens? I've heard a lot of talk regarding free games paid for by in-game advertising. For me personally I dont care....I'm open to new approaches.
ummmm, when do you guys EVER see advertisements from google, EVER! Google and valve actually makes a lot of sense to me. you can see that google wants to get its feet wet in something other than a search engine, and the games market is a great place, especially one with valve.
It wouldn't surprise me in the least if this went through. I am unsure how Google would alter Valve and Steam should it happen. Hopefully this is not the start of another EA and that Valve is given autonomy for games development
Microsoft tried to buy yahoo to directly compete and defeat the dominance of google but failed.
Google released chrome to compete with internet explorer which was devaluing their products and eating into their position.
Google (we think) have attempted to or have bought steam which could compete with live.
Sounds like a tit for tat war going on, and i don't think M$ can win.
Of course, Google don't have their own operating system or a complete office application suite... yet .
Seriously, I wouldn't be surprised to see Google buy out someone like E-Press, creators of EasyOffice. Heck, if they really fancy flashing their cash, Google might even end up taking over Corel; not only would that give them their own office suite (WordPerfect Office), but also greatly expand their graphics editing software range (with CorelDRAW, Paintshop Pro, et al).
I don't want to see a bloody ad for Nike in Portal....This could be as bad for the games players as Apple getting in on the act in my opinion.
Would you be interested in Portal 2 if it was free to play and contained adverts?
Playing games is all about immersion. What you just described kills immersion.
Advertising is the most horrible thing to happen to gaming in its entire history. Imagine reading Asimovs Foundation Trilogy with Coca Cola signs all over your book.
Ever since Google's 'Do No Evil' policy got them into helping the Chinese government kill freedom of speech and pursue Falung Gong I have a particularly hard time trusting them.
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