A listing for an Industrial Designer position on the Valve Corporation Job Postings Page has a very interesting description that expresses Valve's frustration with the progress of hardware development and offers more on their plans to address this (thanks Computer and Video Games). Here's word:

Valve is traditionally a software company. Open platforms like the PC and Mac are important to us, as they enable us and our partners to have a robust and direct relationship with customers. We’re frustrated by the lack of innovation in the computer hardware space though, so we’re jumping in. Even basic input, the keyboard and mouse, haven’t really changed in any meaningful way over the years. There’s a real void in the marketplace, and opportunities to create compelling user experiences are being overlooked.