Newell: Wii U's Power Offers Better Fit For Valve

The improved graphics performance of Nintendo's recently-unveiled Wii U makes the console a better fit for Valve Software, studio co-founder Gabe Newell said in a new report. "Wii U seems to be a lot more powerful than the previous generation," Newell told gaming blog Joystiq. "It sort of fits better into the scalability in terms of graphics performance and CPU performance, so I think it'll be a lot easier for us to fit it into our scalability model." Valve's roots are in PC gaming, being behind series including Half-Life and Counter-Strike. But when more powerful home consoles arrived in the mid-2000s, the studio ramped up its focus on bringing its games to living rooms. Valve, however, has yet to release a game on a Nintendo console, despite launching its franchises on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. "We've always loved Nintendo," said Newell, who didn't confirm that anything is actually in development for the new console. Newell's comments come shortly after Nintendo president Satoru Iwata claimed that the jump in power from Wii to Wii U could help attract first-person shooter developers to the upcoming Nintendo platform.