You’re wrong on so many levels.

“Valve has transitioned from a company with a talent andvision for creating otherworldly games like the Half-Life and Portal series”
Portal is newer than Steam.

“Their online gaming platform Steam Big Picture”
It’s called Steam. Big Picture is just a mode added recently.

“But, we don’t need another Microsoft wannabe in the gaming industry.”

Steam came out in 2003, Xbox Live came out in 2002 but wasn’t really that successful until the release of the Xbox 360 in 2005.

“under normal circumstances not the best deals in purchasing games.”
Steam is widely praised for it’s great deals on games. They have tons of free-to-play games, cheap indie titles, and seasonal sales where games are even 75% off.

“Do they still even make their own games?”
Portal, Portal 2, Left 4 Dead, Left 4 Dead 2, Counter Strike GO, Team Fortress 2, and their newest game Dota 2 have all been released since Steam came out.

Please do research before you post.

Maybe a timed exclusive to the Steam Machine.

When was the last time you saw M$ sell their stuff and other developers’ stuff for 25%, 50%, or 75% off? Steam sales are awesome, and they happen all the time. I’ve picked up so many great titles for under $10 that I can’t even begin to think that Valve is like M$.
Valve also developed their own OS and released it for free. M$ didn’t.
Valve gave away some of their games, like Team Fortress 2. M$ doesn’t.

There is nothing wrong with being enterprising, it is the American way. But, we don’t need another Microsoft wannabe in the gaming industry. If you want to be a different and inspiriting company, then remember where you came from…stick to your roots…be truly different…and stop focusing all of your time trying to be like someone else.

I would consider purchasing and playing a half-life 3 sequel on a Linux platform because I want to like Valve. But, if they stay the course, they are going to have to do a much better job of convincing gamers why they should stick with or convert to Steam, Vs. Xbox One, Playstation 4, etc. Right now it’s hard to make an argument that there is anything special or revolutionary about Valve or Steam. Do they still even make their own games?