Mon, Sep 03, 2012 | 17:35 BST
Valve job post adds weight to company hardware rumours – Report
Valve appears to be hiring for a hardware specialist to help fill a “void in the marketplace” left by old control methods, according to job posting issued by the developer.
The job post can be found at Valve’s official career site, and pertains to an ‘Industrial Designer’ role at the company.
The first paragraph of the listing name-drops hardware:
“As an Industrial Designer at Valve, you will join a world-class group of electrical, mechanical, software engineers and designers who are busily defining new entertainment experiences through both hardware and software. We’re hoping to add your expertise in product design and manufacturing, ergonomics, usability, aesthetics, and surfacing to our team.”
Another line later in the post reads:
“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.”
At the bottom, the post states that applicants should have, “6+ years of professional experience shipping world-class, high-tech hardware products.”
Is Valve looking into its long-rumoured Steam console, or is this an attempt to created wearable hardware that Gabe Newell has discussed previously? The jury is still out, but what do you think?
Cheers PCGamesN.
26 comments
#1
DSB
03/09/12, 5:50 pm
Exciting, but didn’t they halfway confirm that already?
They don’t have a console, and they aren’t committed to anything, but they said they were looking into everything going forward.
#2
DocCylon
03/09/12, 6:22 pm
@1 True, and my money is on this being a Steam Box. If it isn’t I’m going to build my own early next year.
Though as we’ve seen before, Valve really is into EVERYTHING at the moment.
#3
Fin
03/09/12, 6:23 pm
@1
Yeah, I don’t think this adds weight to any rumours, it’s more just “Valve exploring different ways of interacting”. Bit of a tabloid headline tbh.
#4
Erthazus
03/09/12, 6:25 pm
Steam box dunno. I think for console gamers it’s a good deal.
#5
roadkill
03/09/12, 6:31 pm
Awesome! I bet Sony and Microsoft don’t like this at all.
)
#6
Aimless
03/09/12, 6:44 pm
@1 Yeah, when Gabe talked to VentureBeat recently he was very candid about their experiments with input and output devices.
#7
Da Man
03/09/12, 7:16 pm
Would be funny if Valve released a console with Steam being the only platform it could run.
#8
Moonwalker1982
03/09/12, 9:09 pm
Interesting. Hope it’s true, competetition for MS and Sony is never a bad thing.
#9
Da Man
03/09/12, 9:25 pm
So much for teh PC freedom.
#10
freedoms_stain
03/09/12, 9:35 pm
*boing* the sound of fools jumping to conclusions.
#11
Da Man
03/09/12, 9:38 pm
*bing* the sound of the butthurt afraid of dark future.
#12
freedoms_stain
03/09/12, 9:48 pm
Nope, still hearing *boing*
#13
GwynbleiddiuM
03/09/12, 9:50 pm
I bet their hardware will be the first console to offer sub-based gaming. It might just be a box with nothing fancy in it, streaming and rendering data off the cloud, just a hunch.
#14
Da Man
03/09/12, 9:52 pm
Severe denial leads to partial/selective loss of vision and hearing.
Might explain Newell’s rage against Windows 8 after all..
#15
freedoms_stain
03/09/12, 10:03 pm
*boing*
#16
Da Man
03/09/12, 10:04 pm
*bing*
#17
freedoms_stain
03/09/12, 11:08 pm
@17, I almost posted a logical rebuttal, then I remembered who I’m talking to and you don’t deserve my time.
#18
Da Man
03/09/12, 11:12 pm
It’s all right, not like you ever said anything ‘logical’ or intelligent (you did attempt, I’ll give you that). And it’s not like it would be anything beyond some generic observations and a mundane advice not to make pre-mature assumptions.
You should form a group on Facebook, together with several others. ‘Teh liberal toy enthusiasts fighting ignorance and trolling’.
Let me help echo your next post:
here goes..
*bing*
#19
freedoms_stain
03/09/12, 11:22 pm
Yeah, 10 for effort, but like I said, not worth my time, go rile up someone who likes something you don’t or whatever it is you do these days.
#20
Da Man
03/09/12, 11:26 pm
I don’t have to rile up people who get all.. riled up themselves at the slightest mention of a closed Steam console.
You see?
*bing*
#21
Ireland Michael
04/09/12, 12:11 am
@20 If it wasn’t worth your time, you wouldn’t keep responding. He doesn’t care what you say. He just wants a reaction. If everyone ignored him, it would cease happening.
Two wrongs don’t make a right.
#22
Telepathic.Geometry
04/09/12, 1:16 am
I hope that this becomes a reality, because I want to return to my old PC gaming days, but I can’t be arsed configing a PC and I want a rig that is somehow guaranteed to run everything without me having to get in there and tweak shit and download shit.
If it downloads what it needs and tweaks itself automatically then that’s cool. It’d be cool if they plan to build an ergonomically inclined gaming mouse and keyboard set. It’s been tried before, but I think you need a big brand to unite the gamers behind a new format, so devs take it seriously too…
#23
Omelette
04/09/12, 2:11 am
I don’t think they plan on creating a new console. OR MAYBE IN LIKE 10 YEARS BECAUSE THEY JUST STARTED HIRING ENGINEERS. DA. MAN.
#24
freedoms_stain
04/09/12, 8:04 am
@22, yeah, right, I didn’t address any of his bullshit at any point, but whatever.
#25
Telepathic.Geometry
04/09/12, 8:36 am
Well, you bothered to state that you couldn’t be bothered to comment on his comments, so…
Best approach to trolls is to carpet bomb them with silence, they’ll eventually grow bored and fuck off with themselves…
#26
Da Man
04/09/12, 10:29 am
‘My bullshit’ is a likely outcome, seeing as everyone today is after proprietary services/devices.
But this is ‘teh Valve’ and ‘teh Gabe’ so I’m sure you’ll try and make it seem as they’re any different even when a Steam station comes out.