You are right now that I think about it. Valve are a throwback to when companies actually had to make the best product to make the most money.

With these public traded companies the incentive is just to make a line on a graph go up by any means necessary, normally to the detriment of the consumer. They are only there to appease their shareholders, and get more investors.

Private companies, on the other hand, can only make the line go up by making products that more people want to buy, and both the consumer and the company benefit.