{{Article|rw|safe}}
{{Otheruses|Newell}}
{{RWP Infobox
|name={{PAGENAME}}
|image=Gaben.jpg
|imagesize=250px
|birth=November 3, 1962
|occupation=*Former Director of Development of Microsoft
*Co-founder and CEO of Valve
|nicknames=*GabeNhttp//www.thewavelength.net/oldcontent/111398log.htm The Wavelength Valve IRC Log
*Rabscuttlehttp//steamcommunity.com/id/gabelogannewell Steam Community profile
}}
{{Quote|The next five years, when you look back, it's going to make today look like the stone ages.|Gabe Newell|The Final Hours of Portal 2}}
'''Gabe Logan Newell''' is the co-founder and current CEO of the independent game development and online distribution company Valve Corporation. His List of minor Black Mesa employees appears in ''Half-Life'' as an Easter egg on a Sector D sign.
==Biography==
===Work===
After dropping out of Harvard University (1980 - 1983http//www.myspace.com/gabenewell MySpace profile), Newell spent thirteen years working for Microsoft Corporation (November 1983 - June 1996){{LI|url=profile/view?id=11514090&authType=NAME_SEARCH&authToken=gNdr}}, ultimately becoming a "Microsoft Millionaire." Newell has described himself as "producer on the first three releases of Windows".{{cite web | url=http//www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=172835 | title=Creative Minds Gabe Newell | author=CVG Staff | date=2007-09-28 | work=computerandvideogames.com | accessdate=2008-01-05 }}
Later on, inspired by Michael Abrash (who left Microsoft to work on the video game ''WikipediaQuake (video game)|Quake'' at Wikipediaid Software|id Software), Newell and another Microsoft employee, Mike Harrington, left Microsoft to found Valve in 1996. Harrington and Newell used their money to fund Valve through the development of ''Half-Life'', starting with twenty-eight people.http//www.allgame.com/person.php?id=2327 Newell´s profile on Allgame
The main goal with ''Half-Life'' was to build the most exciting and technologically advanced game possible.http//www.thefreelibrary.com/Sierra+On-Line+secures+exclusive+publishing+and+distribution+rights...-a019447366 Sierra On-Line secures exclusive publishing and distribution rights for Half-Life, the upcoming action game from Valve
To get inspiration for the design of some parts of ''Half-Life'', Newell played a lot of ''wikipediaResident Evil 2|Resident Evil 2'' and ''wikipediaSuper Mario 64|Super Mario 64''.http//web.archive.org/web/20000816182743/http//www.gamespot.co.uk/interviews/1998/half_life/53.html Exclusive ''Half-Life'''s Gabe Newell Speaks Out! - March 1999
During the production on ''Half-Life 2'', he spent several months focusing on the development of WikipediaSteam (software)|Steam.http//uk.gamespot.com/features/6112889/p-8.html The Final Hours of Half-Life 2 by Geoff Keighley
In 2007, Newell openly expressed his displeasure over developing his software for gaming consoles, particularly the PlayStation 3. In regard to the system, Newell was once quoted as claiming that developing processes for the console in general was "a waste of everybody's time"{{cite web | url=http//www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=29513 | title=PS3 a "waste of time" says Valve's Newell | author=Mark Androvich | work=GamesIndustry.biz | accessdate=2008-02-22}} and "a disaster on many levels ... I'd say, even at this late date, they should just cancel it and do a do over. Just say, 'This was a horrible disaster and we're sorry and we're going to stop selling this and stop trying to convince people to develop for it'."{{cite web | url=http//www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=155309 | title=Valve PS3 a "total disaster on so many levels" | author=Stuart Bishop | work=computerandvideogames.com| accessdate=2007-01-15}} Nevertheless, at E3 2010, Newell appeared on stage at Sony's keynote; while acknowledging his past outspoken comments on console development, he discussed the open nature of Sony's PlayStation 3 platform, and announced ''Portal 2'' for the console, remarking that with WikipediaSteamworks|Steamworks support it would be the best version for any console.{{cite web | url = http//www.eurogamer.net/articles/portal-2-coming-to-playstation-3 | title = Portal 2 coming to PlayStation 3}} Newell has also criticized the Xbox Live service, referring to it as "a train wreck".{{cite web | url=http//kotaku.com/5634305/valve-figured-microsoft-would-fix-the-xbox-live-train-wreck | title=Valve Figured Microsoft Would Fix The Xbox Live Train Wreck | author=Mike Fahey | work=Kotaku | accessdate=2010-09-11}}
In December 2010, ''Forbes'' named Newell as "A Name You Should Know" mainly for his work on Steam having partnerships with multiple major developers.http//kotaku.com/5689296/forbes-lists-gabe-newell-as-a-name-you-should-know{{cite web|last=Makuch |first=Eddie |url=http//au.gamespot.com/ps3/action/halflife2episode2/news.html?sid=6284041 |title=Forbes lists Gabe Newell as a 'name you need to know' in 2011 - PlayStation 3 News at GameSpot |publisher=Au.gamespot.com |date=2007-12-20 |accessdate=2011-04-27}} In March 2012, Forbes estimated the net worth of Newell as $1.5 billion dollars, ranking 854th out of 1,226 global billionaires.{{cite web|url=http//www.forbes.com/sites/davidewalt/2012/03/07/valve-gabe-newell-billionaire/ |title=Valve's Gabe Newell Is The Newest Video Game Billionaire |publisher=Forbes |date=2012-03-07 |accessdate=2012-03-11}}
On Valve's official website, his function is described as follows ''"Gabe held a number of positions in the Systems, Applications, and Advanced Technology divisions during his 13 years at Microsoft. His responsibilities included running program management for the first two releases of Windows, starting the company's multimedia division, and, most recently, leading the companys efforts on the Information Highway PC. His most significant contribution to Half-Life was his statement 'Cmon, people, you can't show the player a really big bomb and not let them blow it up.'"''http//www.valvesoftware.com/company/people.html Company People on Valve's official website
===Personal life===
Newell is married to Lisa Mennet (he married August 24th, 1996 - the same day he founded Valve) and has two sons.http//seattletimes.nwsource.com/pacificnw/2003/0518/cover02.html TUNED TO THE DUNES on ''Seattle Times'' He suffered from Fuchs' dystrophy, a congenital disease which affects the cornea, but was cured by two cornea transplants in 2006 and 2007.http//www.forbes.com/forbes/2011/0228/technology-gabe-newell-videogames-valve-online-mayhem.html The Master of Online Mayhem
His favorite games are ''WikipediaSuper Mario 64|Super Mario 64'', ''http//doomwiki.org/wiki/Doom Doom'', and ''Star Trek'' played on a Burroughs mainframe computer. ''Doom'' convinced him that video games were the future of entertainment, and ''Super Mario 64'' convinced him video games were art.http//www.computerandvideogames.com/296735/features/gabe-newell-my-3-favourite-games/ Gabe Newell My 3 favourite games
Newell has a knife collection consisting of 600 knifes.http//kotaku.com/5982715/gabe-newells-knife-collection-is-terrifyingly-impressive Gabe Newell’s Knife Collection Is Terrifyingly Impressive on Kotakuhttp//www.gamersbook.com/News/Article/ID/194/Did-You-Know--Gabe-Newell
Since at least the late 1990s, Gabe Newell is most of the time seen wearing polo shirts, often of the WikipediaRalph Lauren Corporation|Ralph Lauren brand.
==Selected gameography==
*''Half-Life'' (1998)
*''Half-Life Opposing Force'' (1999)
*''Half-Life Blue Shift'' (2001)
*''Half-Life 2'' (2004)
*''Half-Life 2 Episode One'' (2006)
*''Half-Life 2 Episode Two'' (2007)
*''Portal'' (2007)
*''Portal 2'' (2011)
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
*{{SteamC|id/gabelogannewell}}
*{{LI|url=profile/view?id=11514090&authType=NAME_SEARCH&authToken=gNdr}}
{{RWPeople}}
{{DEFAULTSORTNewell}}
CategoryValve employeesCategoryReal world people