Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford has quickly developed a reputation for being outspoken, particularly about Valve, calling the Steam service “exploitative.” He later said that Valve acted like fanboys when it came to the PS3. Still, Gearbox maintains a business relationship with Valve, something Pitchford doesn't seem to believe has been hurt by his recent comments.
“Look, Valve and Gearbox have had a relationship for a long time and it's incredible that anyone would believe there's a problem,” said Pitchford to MCV. “All the Brothers in Arms games are on Steam. We launched Borderlands on Steam. We did a unique deal on Steam that we didn't do anywhere else. It was great and I'm happy to have access to Valve's customers.”
Pitchford continued, putting his previous comments in a larger context. “Let's not even talk about the game industry for a moment. Look at iPod. I used to have to buy music from iTunes if I wanted to play it on my iPod, but what if I want to play my music on something that isn't an iPod. I'm fucked. So now I buy my MP3s from Amazon and I can load it onto my iPod and it's cool, but I can also play it elsewhere,” explained Pitchford. “Wouldn't you like that as a customer? Who wouldn't? So that's what I was saying. I love Valve. Steam is very cool. They led the way, but there are some things that, if we weren't so afraid of keeping control of our silo, we could improve things and that would be better for everyone, including ourselves.”
As Pitchford sees it, the “feud” between him and Valve is as much a concoction by the media as anything. “You know, I love to talk about the business and I am happy talking to a developer peer or a publisher peer or a journalist. Unfortunately, if a guy like me looks at the industry and some bit of it is anything less than respect, that little bit can be taken out and it becomes an attack,” said Pitchford. “My view now is how astonishing it is how good gaming journalists are at understanding what the hot buttons are going to be and to pull those out to motivate readership. I'm so impressed with that.”
