Gabe Newell's son Grey has revealed that the Valve boss once met with Nintendo in Japan to discuss a joint venture between the two companies which sadly went nowhere.
Speaking on a stream with Valve News Network, Grey casually revealed that he once got the chance to play Super Mario Galaxy with the legendary Shigeru Miyamoto during a trip he and his father made to Nintendo's HQ in Japan.
Grey explains that they were visiting Nintendo because “my dad was talking to him about some joint project. I think it was about the original Wii that ended up not happening." The "him" could be the late Nintendo president Satoru Iwata or Miyamoto himself; it isn't stated exactly.
At this point, the host stops Grey and ponders if this is something they're allowed to discuss in public, to which Newell Jr. replies: "This was like probably seven years ago. It was super casual."
We'll probably never know what this project was or if it ever got beyond the discussion stage, but having a company like Valve supporting Nintendo hardware back then could have made a huge difference, especially during the start of the Wii U era.
[source pcgamesn.com]
Comments 33
Peter Griffin has really let himself go.
Half Life 3 confirmed nintendo exclusive???? Yeah... thats getting old.
Half-Life Thwii denied!!!
It's fun to know these meetings happen though - let's the imagination run wild for possibilities past, present and future...
Likely just talking about the possibilities of having Steam on Wii U back then.
I never played any Half-Life games, but I will try the third entry.
Steam's next frontier needs to be portable play (no, laptops don't count).
Glad it didn't happen. Though there are magnificent products in Valve's past, there has been nothing of worth for five years.
@BornInNorway81 that would be HL2:ep1, I think.
Judging by his size and weight, it definitely wasn't a fitness title
Remember when valve made great games? Those were the days
If it was a Wii title, maybe they were considering a motion-control Portal.
Lol it's fun to imagine what they would have brought out, Half Life 3 Switch confirmed?
Man, it's been a long time since Valve has been relevant in the games industry.
@Lozzen Steam.
**BREAKING NEWS** We have no news.
Valve: so.. Listen this online strategy.. Want some pointers?
Nintendo : no thanks we got this!
@Octane Steam isn't videogames. It's a platform.
The last game Valve has ever done was in 2011. Let that sink in and I feel very old
it would be so cool to have a God in Smash
People are really making fun of the guy's weight? Some people have no shame, my dad is probably around that size and I wouldn't tolerate someone criticizing him. Gabe seems like a cool and laidback guy so I don't think remarks like that are warranted.
That was probably around the time he managed to backdoor Steam into PSN with Portal 2 before Sony caught on and just ignored the whole thing.....so yeah, probably Steam. Possibly bidding for the online store for WiiU aside EA with the Origin rumor.
Wonder if WiiU would have had Steam Sales!?
@Mr_Pepperami "Remember when Valve made great games?"
They never really made many games at all, really. HL1 was brilliant. Portal was brilliant. HL2 was an overhyped mess and I don't understand how it remains so popular. TF was a mod they bought. That leaves Left 4 Dead that was kind of a cool coop game but has kind of been overshadowed since its day in the genre. They were hit or miss, but kind of stopped making games before they really hit on a rhythm.
@Dpishere laid back now maybe, but back in the days he was shoving DRM down our throats I'd encourage any and all ridicule of him one could muster He backed down from that to todays "consumer friendly" Steam mostly because Euro governments were suing them non-stop.
@Lozzen That's still the games industry...
It's too bad, having Half-Life on a 3DS or Wii U would had been cool. My guess is that he wants to make a new 3D Metroid game for 3DS but Nintendo says no cause they already work on Federation Force.
No big loss, Valve isn't the great company it used to be. Newell's lied to fans for years now and the only upcoming game they've announced is a shameless cash grab card game.
@VIIIAxel They are completely out of touch with fans and their userbase. I once respected Valve as one of the top videogame producers.. Now they are kinda just there..
Iwata: Hello Gabe we would like Valve to work alongside us on a game?
Gabe: Games? Nah I dont think Valve will be doing any of those things anymore
It's weird because 7 years ago basically lines up with when Valve pretty much stopped making games.
I bet it had something to do with the Wii motion controls for PC games maybe?
This just reminds me of how much I want The Orange Box, Portal 2 and the L4D games on Switch.
Was it Left 4 Dead: Dream Land?
Considering how Valve operates, that meeting could have been about anything. While there's a possibility that Valve was looking to see if Steam could be the digital distribution platform for Nintendo, given Newell's obvious respect and admiration for the company (see interviews) and Valve's general style of doing whatever it wants to do (including partnering with J.J. Abrams for... something), this could have very well have been about anything.
Left for dead 1+2 were brilliant co-op games.
@Lozzen Yeah, Steam for example has only changed for the worst recently. From lack of quality control in the storefront to the ridiculous profile leveling system (tied to your cards, which are much easier to buy than randomly earn or trade), it all seems geared toward how much money they can scrape from users, pennies at a time.
@rwq Moments later...
Nintendo: Would you like some pointers on how to keep making high quality games on a regular basis?
Valve: nah we're good!
And then they both got drunk and continue to play Mario Galaxy
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