valve – Steven Savage

Link Roundup 9/24/2013

September 24, 2013 by Steven Savage

I need to name this don’t I?

So what’s up?

Valve is in the news for the SteamOS, but did you know they practice a low-hierarchy organization? As a manager, I’m curious to learn more . . .
Got an e-book? Apparently $1.99 is just about the worst price you can give it. There’s a lot of psychology to this business – as a lot of us here can tell you.
You may want to try out writing since it looks like a lot of jobs can be automated in the future, like about half of the ones we think of as safe. Big takeaway here is that a lot of those service jobs that popped up after the recession – can now just be removed. If we have an onslaught of automation, a lot of people will be doubly and triply hosed.
That may sound like science fiction. Perhaps that’s why folks should be reading more of it, like investors.

– Steven “$2.99 and up” Savage

Game Direction and Blown Minds with Gabe Newell

February 18, 2013 by Steven Savage

As I try and analyze where the game industry is going and what it means for your career, Gabe Newell of Valve came down from Asgard to give us his insights on gaming at the DICE summit. He certainly had a ton of insights to share, and I thought I’d take time to deconstruct what he said.

Fortunately arstechnica has their usual roundup here, so let’s look at the highlights.

Valve Made Money Via Free

March 13, 2012 by Steven Savage

TechDirt has a great analysis of a larger analysis on Valve’s profitability, specifically how TF2 worked when it went free. The major lessons are research, connecting with customers, make it so pay isn’t needed to play, and give people a good reason to buy (not a negative). In short, it appears to be a giant mass of common sense, which of course makes it rare and remarkable.

Well worth reading.

Also, what I’d add here is that Valve’s approaches are not based on adversity, they’re based on building alliances and providing value (as noted “piracy is a service problem.”). This is a great model that is also common sense, but begs the question why common sense seems so alien today. I’d argue that once companies get big enough to throw their weight around, and gain enough “age” to feel they’re fixtures, there’s a risk of abuse.

– Steven Savage