With all the excitement coming out of Las Vegas after the Consumer Electronic Show of 2013, and a lot of hype being centered around Valve and Xi3's set-top-box console nicknamed the "Steambox", Microsoft's Phil Harrison issued a warning to Valve Corporation about entering the business.
The video game studio juggernaut is aiming to take on Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony, and with such a big hit as Steam, they have a definite shot. However, Phil Harrison felt the need to warn Gabe Newell that the hardware business is a tough business, even for the giants of the industry.
"They can be successful at small scale. But it's very rare for a new hardware entrant to get to scale, and I mean tens or hundreds of millions of units. There are a very small number of companies that can make that happen."He went on to say that it wasn't enough to have a blockbuster title, or a great operating system.
"And it's not just having a great brand or a great software experience. It's about having a supply chain and a distribution model and a manufacturing capacity and all the things that go with it. It's a non-trivial problem to solve and it takes thousands of people to make reality."Harrison said that he admires the success Valve has achieved with Steam, and that he thinks that they are a real player in the industry, however he isn't sure if Microsoft would ever aim to create something like Steam.
"I admire Valve as a company and what they've achieved with Steam. So I wouldn't in any way criticize what they've achieved and the role they've played in the industry. But I'm not sure we would choose Steam as a benchmark of success. We would always seek to innovate and push beyond."