Valve Job Posting Confirms Hardware Plans [Slashdot]

[DP ServBot]

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redletterdave writes "Valve is reportedly interested in building hardware. The Bellevue, Wash.-based software developer added a job posting to its site on Tuesday morning for an industrial designer. We're frustrated by the lack of innovation in the computer hardware space though, so we're jumping in,' the posting said. 'Even basic input, the keyboard and mouse, haven’t really changed in any meaningful way over the years. There's a real void in the marketplace, and opportunities to create compelling user experiences are being overlooked.'"http://a.fsdn.com/sd/twitter_icon_large.png (http://twitter.com/home?status=Valve+Job+Posting+Confirms+Hardware+Pl ans%3A+http%3A%2F%2Fbit.ly%2FRCVILe)http://a.fsdn.com/sd/facebook_icon_large.png (http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fhardware.slashdot.org%2F story%2F12%2F09%2F04%2F1739225%2Fvalve-job-posting-confirms-hardware-plans%3Futm_source%3Dslashdot%26utm_medium%3Dfaceb ook)http://www.gstatic.com/images/icons/gplus-16.png (http://plus.google.com/share?url=http://hardware.slashdot.org/story/12/09/04/1739225/valve-job-posting-confirms-hardware-plans?utm_source=slashdot&utm_medium=googleplus)

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[Collector_Gaming]

my question is why?

They made numerous peripherals over the years for PCs.... and yet we stick to the classic keyboard and mouse only difference is keyboards light up now (like mine does) and so do the mice and they now have alot more buttons (specially the ones designed for WOW).

[Superman]

my question is why?

They made numerous peripherals over the years for PCs.... and yet we stick to the classic keyboard and mouse only difference is keyboards light up now (like mine does) and so do the mice and they now have alot more buttons (specially the ones designed for WOW).

They probably want to see if they can revolutionize, or at least, impact the market.

The thing that comes to mind to me is console controllers. We've had the same basic concept of controllers for years (control on the left buttons on the right). Just like the perpherals for the pc, there have been quite a few for consoles, for example, the Activator and U Force. But the controllers have stayed with the tried and true format.

With the addition of the Wii, things have changed, albeit slightly. Although the other console makers aren't dropping the standard controllers to make Wii clone controllers, we have seen the updates that they have made to compete.

Mayble Valve sees an opportunity for a product that could be, at least, a little more than a gimmick, instead of the usual attempts that ended up being, little more than a gimmick.

[Collector_Gaming]

I personally think they should shut the operation down and focus their time and money on Half Life 3, Portal 3, L4D 3..... <end valve fan boy needing more sequels rant>

[substantial_snake]

my question is why?

They made numerous peripherals over the years for PCs.... and yet we stick to the classic keyboard and mouse only difference is keyboards light up now (like mine does) and so do the mice and they now have alot more buttons (specially the ones designed for WOW).

It could be that valve wants to position steam into an even more streamlined PC-on-TV experience with their own hardware/controller. They were just talking up their Big Picture Mode for steam which is exactly that, a better optimized OC gaming experience for TVs with controller support. Its probably a valve controller to work with their new service.

I'm interested to see what comes of this as I find the Keyboard/mouse combo to be the biggest hurdles to overcome for immersion in PC gaming. It has the definite advantage of pinpoint quick accuracy and a huge variety of control functions but nothing pulls me out of the experience like frantically looking for the health pack, inventory, flashlight, or whatever key in the middle of the "action" in a game.

[jb143]

I didn't see any other posts about it, so here it is...

http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/09/09/valve-reveals-gaming-headset-big-picture-test-date

[Nature Boy]

I'm hoping that the reason HL2 Ep3 hasn't come out yet is that they can't build the game the way they wanted to make it.

If that's actually the case, and building their own console/gaming PC enables that, then I'm all for it.

I've got a lot of time and money for Valve.