So who’s paying for this hit piece?
Its a normal article with a click bait title. The review seemed to lean on the positive.
I like it. But if it can’t work as a standard gamepad without Steam then it’s not worth it for me.
I don’t need the fancy features, but standard compatibility like an xbox controller (without third party tools).
Wait, what? It doesn’t work with non-steam games?
It works with non-steam games and the trackpad might even work without steam on Linux, but it will most certainly not work on Windows without Steam and if you want to customize your buttons with steam input, you need to launch the game through steam, which is able to launch non-steam binaries.
I feel burned by the first one, but I know it’s a skill/learning curve issuie. I may grab one of the new ones but I’d like to play with one first.
I was already considering spending 105€ on a flydigi vader 5 pro with every accessory included. The steam controller is like a sidegrade with features I already enjoy from my steam deck (plus some more) and I may eventually get both (or a vader 6 pro when that comes out) but so far I’m really excited about it. For desktop use I assume it’s done through the buried-in-the-settings desktop controller layout. I’ve heard you can hold a button to switch to pure gamepad mode. Even if that doesn’t work, I don’t particularly mind adding heroic games to steam or something like that.
I hate round d-pads so much.
prices that have raised eyebrows among some gamers.
WTF?
Only those that know nothing about the features and tech internal.
price is a steal.
With prices of hardware in general world-wide (non-ram related) we’re lucky this isn’t $120US or $150US
Switch 2 Joycon’s are the same price for fuck sakes…
Xbox Elite Wireless Controller is more expensive, and can’t do the things this controller can do.
Last year my wife picked up a pair of regular Xbox pads for us to use when playing couch co-ops over Sunshine/Moonlight. When the pricing for the new Steam controller was announced, she went back and had a look at what she paid. They’ve gone up in price and are currently £80.
Each.
For an extra £5 you get haptics, touch pads, FAR better stick technology, and all in a package that’s as repairable as it can be.
Yeah, £85 is a fucking bargain at this point.
Right? Just compare it to the glued mess that is the $90 Switch 2 controller or to a $200 DualSense pro (or whatever name Sony’s premium controller goes by).
Say what you will but Valve built the Steam Controller to last. I expect the first weeks to be a little bumpy on the software side (as is always the case with controllers) but it will quickly become very future rich. Likely more so than any other controller. And Valve is doing all that with a focus on Linux.
I am not one to easily praise US tech companies and Valve is far from perfect but the Steam Deck has a very good track record and this controller seems like it meets those standards as well.
It‘s a very good deal if repairability, full Linux support and feature richness are what you‘re looking for.
we’re lucky this isn’t $120US
£85 GBP is pretty much $120 USD (it’s $114).
And that’s very much what the yanks will pay for it. American prices are always before taxes.
Polish prise is 420 pln wchich is also 115$
Not everyone is in us. 99 euro no matter how reasonable prices a lot of Germans out
Yeah, but is it really that much more expensive than other controllers? PS5 Dual Sense is 79€. Xbox Series X/S is 65€ with the Elite 2 at 200€. Considering the additional features of the Steam controller and current development of hardware prices, the pricing seems reasonable.
Edit: I should add, those are recommended retail prices (UVP), and the actual prices from individual stores can be lower.
Prices can’t be compared directly, because in Germany we have the taxes in the price included already. And the taxes in the US vary I think. So the difference is less than it looks like by just converting with current exchange rates.
Sorry dude, I’m not paying $100 USD for a controller. The last controller I bought cost me ~$30 USD (GameSir T4 Kaleid) and has everything I need, including hall effect sticks. The steam controller having cool tech like touchpads and a gyro and whatever else is cool I guess, but I don’t need or want that. No amount of stuff like that is gonna make me spend that much on a controller.
So yes, the steam controller price raised my eyebrows, in the same way that basically all first-party controllers do. They’re all crazily overpriced imo.
They’re priced for all those things you don’t want that other people do. It’s a bit like complaining that a racing motorcycle is too expensive because all you need is a scooter to get around.
If it’s priced like a racing motorcycle then you shouldn’t be surprised when people raise their eyebrows at the price.
Do you often look up the prices of racers to be shocked by the price?
Only when people comment that ‘the price is normal, actually’, and that I ought to buy one because they’re so cheap.
In comparison to comparable devices. Are you incapable of understanding context?
The original comment couldn’t understand why people were ‘raising their eyebrows’ at the price. I said because it’s basically a luxury item. Whether there are other alternatives that are even less value doesn’t factor into it. That’s the ‘door in the face’ fallacy.
Regardless of whether a Rolls Royce is more or less ‘value’ than a Lamborghini there’s gonna be a whole bunch of people that are gonna look at that and say ‘why would you spend X times the money when it gets you from A to B just the same as a Toyota Corolla’. That’s the answer to the original question.
Both of the other controllers you listed are already too expensive for what they are. That doesn’t really justify the price of the Steam controller imo. This isn’t a “pro” controller either. This is the only one Valve offers. Sure it has a lot of good tech and features, but its all stuff they have been putting on the deck for years. I would hardly call the price a steal. I feel like a fair price for a controller like this would have been about $70-80. Not to mention, Valve isn’t trying to only sell this to tech enthusiasts. They want this to be a widespread product. $100 for a controller is too steep for an average consumer.
Every outlet that you are seeing run a headline about the Steam Controller being in someway ‘controversial’ or ‘has a problem’ or ‘may be divisive’ …
I contend that this is an anti-marketing campaign, being run by basically, potentially, the entire AAA gaming industry that isn’t Valve.
Nearly every major AAA game company is currently imploding right now.
Except Valve.
Because Valve is privately held and owned, it doesn’t have a board of investors to answer to, to constantly juice next quarter profits for.
It doesn’t have a gaggle of people who sit on multiple corporate boards simultaneously, who sit on the boards of industry lobbying groups, who sit on the boards of astroturfed ‘consumer rights’ groups.
These people all know each other, or in some cases literally are the same people.
I of course cannot prove this conclusively, but just… look around.
This is nuts, the number of media outlets going with a non positive angle, in the headline… of a product launch.
Also consider that many of Valve’s direct competition has extensive, direct ties to the AI bubble insano-mania, both hardware and software companies.
… Its not normal to have so many different outlets have such a standardized general framing of … a video game controller launch.
This is what a retired ex corpo ex MSFT employee such as myself would describe as sus.
You know, I don‘t think negative reception with the press means there is a smear campaign going on by default. Maybe they simply chose that headline because drama sells.
But it is interesting if you compare it to their headlines about the Switch 2 a year ago. A lot of sugar coating like „feature packed“ with a vague „but…“ at the end to address Nintendo‘s widely unpopular price policy. That‘s the narrative many tech journalists chose to go with prior to the launch at the time.
For one reason or another a lot of them seem biased to me.
Yeah, but summarizing my reasoning as to why I think it is a smear campaign down to ‘by default’… is to completely ignore all of my reasoning, which is frankly rude, and you strawmanning me.
… and then you point out that a comparable recent story/event… actually did have a substantial, already existing controvery… and was generally covered with more ‘positive sentiment’ words in the headlines, but yes did acknowledge the controversy.
… As opposed to essentially inventing it, as they’ve done with the Deck.
Yes, drama sells, if it bleeds it leads, but for some reason, the degree to which headline sentiment matches vs doesn’t match the actual story and pre-existing actual buzz around it, well that varies.
I like your style
Here’s what it sounds like when I use a computer. =P
No. Valve spends a shit load on marketing and almost none of the articles over the past few days have been anywhere near negative.
100$ for a controller is fucking stupid. If valve wasn’t paying everyone off, they would be getting ripped a new one.
Sony and Microsoft both sell “elite” controllers for much more than that
The Sony one is legit terrible too.
Big claims stated as fact that you pulled out of your ass
I’m not getting paid by Valve, in fact I will be giving them money for this controller as soon as possible. If you only play controller games then yeah, €99 for a controller with just 2 extra buttons and capacitive gyro might be too much (although, the capacitive gyro and extra buttons alone justify the price for me). But no other controller can be used to play mouse games comfortably. The trackpads might not be for you, but to claim they’re not worth it is naive at best, as they’re the ONLY good solution for this problem and no one else is doing them to be able to say “this other controller does the same and is cheaper”.
I’m so pissed (at myself), I thought this was going to be delayed indefinitely like the steam machine so I broke down and bought an xbox elite controller a month ago. That stupid controller was 250 bucks after tax and it doesn’t have half the features the steam controller does and its only 90 dollars.
I really should have been more patient.
Reselling might be something to consider. Since it’s so new you might get a reasonable amount back, and that could help you justify getting this one instead 👍
Damn, you really should have. The controller isn’t affected by the RAMpocalypse, so people have been suspecting this would end up being released first since the delay was announced. I’m waiting for the Frame most of all, so I’ll take your comment as a reminder to not break down and buy another headset early.
Stay strong
250 USD ? In the US, like on Amazon or Best Buy, is that the normal price for an Elite + Tax?
Holy shit. Now I understand why people are defending the SC2 pricing.
Yes, there are several premium controllers in the $200 range. People unhappy with the price are thinking of the SC as an expensive base model controller when feature-wise it’s more like an inexpensive premium one.
Feels more in between to me. Premium would have better buttons, adjustable polling rate, adjustable stick length, maybe trigger stops or swappable face plates, adjustable weights. It really does give base model controller vibes. Plus it costs a third of what I paid for a steam deck, and that controller came with a screen and a computer. Recent economic devastation notwithstanding it feels like it should offer more for the price to me.
I have two Elite 2s, one for my wife and I, was hoping they’d finally last us a long while, nope, within a year both have stick drift and faulty bumpers.
My coworker is on his 10th or 11th Elite controller.
He bought one and when it developed stick drift in 6 months he went to try to do a warranty and it’d supposedly take a month or so and just be a repair. He ended up repairing it himself with new sticks, which also developed stick drift in 6 months. Oh and the back buttons developed double clicks.
He ended up just going to a store(target, best buy, whatever) and bought a new one and then put his old one in the box and returned it.
Does it every 6 months when the controller starts acting up. So been doing this for years. Target doesn’t care, best buy doesn’t care.
Funnily enough I told him about the Steam Controller and he said why buy that when there’s the Elite controller or the PS pro controller…I’m like you’re on your 10th one? Why would I buy something that has that many issues?
Oh good, I have that to look forward too.
Yeah, maybe you’ll be lucky lol.
I was very angry considering how expensive the controllers were, I’ve become increasingly disillusioned with Microsoft/Google/Etc products as they charge a premium price yet theyre often much worse then competitors at a similar price.
I do tend to treat things with extreme care and as a result I still have functional xbox 360 controllers with almost no stick drift. So yeah I may get lucky but I still wish I had been patient.
Nice! I wish I had preserved my special ODST controller from the 360 days.
I got a gamesir controller which retails for nearly the same price, but I got it at half price so I’m somewhat OK. I would have been devastated if I had to shell out full price a week before steam controller got on my radar.
My condolences, and may your unfortunate purchase serve it’s purpose for long enough to be worth its price and more.
I still don’t get the controversy.
Are you an avid Touchpad user on the Deck or on the OG Steam Controller? Buy this.
Do you just want a controller for your PC? Buy an Xbox, PS or Third party.It’s the rear buttons,
And the insane customization and re-mapping of buttons/functions/gyro/etc that steam allows you to create that sells me on these controllers.
8bitdo pro 2 has gyro, back buttons, and native steam input support for like 40 bucks, so it’s gotta be mostly the touchpad.
Correct. On top of that, the 8BitDo acts as a bog standard Xinput device without the need for Steam, so if you’re not a touchpad user there’s really no reason to get the Steam Controller over the 8BitDo.
People think they have to buy it for some reason, they just can’t fathom not being the target audience.
Yes this exactly haha it’s crazy.
I have the og steam controller but I’m not going to buy this one.
The only controversial part is that it only works on steam. Which is pretty wild imo. Why would you need more that just the controller’s driver for it to work?
It does work as a mouse by default. Valve calls it “Lizard Mode”, and you use the touchpad to move the cursor and the triggers to click.
But yeah I do agree they should have made standard buttons and sticks act as XInput and the touchpad as the mouse by default.that being said, I fucking hate microsoft for stifling controller innovation with their antiquated ass xinput so i when i see a controller not support it i have to force myself to not think “god bless”I can‘t speak about software updates just yet because I have only seen them being applied via Steam but the controller works out of the box. I‘m assuming you can update it by downloading a file too, though. That would put it far above some competitors because guess what? A lot of them let you install some shitty software for that. At least Steam is already installed on my machine. I run Linux after all and ironically Steam is already helping me setting up controllers from other manufacturers.
Do you have any source for this? Multiple reviewers (e.g. gamersnexus) have said that if you don’t launche the game through steam, the controller won’t work.
I thought that turned out not to be true? That by default it behaved like a joystick and mouse like the original steam controller?
It’s wild because it isn’t true
Like I said to another person, there are multiple reviews that mention this. Do you have any source that proves otherwise?
Gamers divided on a piece of hardware? No shit
It‘s almost as if it‘s not for everyone. Just like a $85 mouse or keyboard aren‘t. If you‘re still happily rocking your 10+ year old $20 third party controller alongside your $5 mouse then by all means skip this hardware release, folks.
The only thing stopping me from buying the new Steam Controller is all of the original Steam Controllers I have that are all still working fine.
I dug out one of my OG Steam Controllers today. I basically got it free with a HEAVILY discounted Steam Link, so I’ve never really used it.
Turns out that right touch pad is ridiculously sensitive, to the point that it’s unusable. So I need to spend some time figuring it out.
Fortunately they came correct, and every aspect of every input is insanely adjustable.
Yeah, I’m not sure what was up with it yesterday, but I’ve spent some time this afternoon messing about with it and it’s kinda nice. That’s using Moonlight from my Mac too. The more I fiddle with it, the better I’ll figure out how to adjust it to my preferences.
Still doesn’t feel as good as kb+m, but for casual Powerwash Simulator 2 on my Macbook on the sofa, it’s pretty cool. And I guess that once I get used to it It’ll be much nicer.
But that D-PAD,
Serious talk, this new steam controller only exists because the old one didn’t have a D-Pad, sure, the new touch pads are nicer, but really we are all upgrading our old steam controllers to this one for the d-pad.
The left touchpad acts as a D pad on the original, you can just use touch or press till it clicks. Still might be nice to have a better one though.
The left touchpad acts as a D pad on the original
Oh we know, and it didn’t work well…
If you’re using them on a docked Steam Deck, the new controller has a dedicated “…” menu button, so you don’t have to get off the couch whenever you need to mess with DeckyLoader
$100 for a controller that will only work through Steam is way too much for me, but I can see how it would be worth it for anyone who exclusively plays games through Steam and wants to play games designed for a mouse on a controller.
It’ll work outside Steam using whatever controls you have set up for its desktop profile, which can be the stock Xbox layout, and I plan to play a few games that way, but yes, the controller does require Steam Input to shine.
You still have to have Steam installed and running for the controller to function. You cannot plug it into a fresh installed OS and have it works out of the box, unlike even the cheapest of Chinesium knock off controllers.
Ah, I guess people are working off different definitions of “running outside Steam.” After looking into it, the lack of DirectInput support is indeed not great. It doesn’t affect my use cases, and the first Steam Controller got open source drivers pretty early, so I doubt it’ll actually be a blocker soon after release, but I’ll refrain from commenting on it until more happens.
It’s still pretty shitty support from a $100 hw device.
Oh, does it? My understanding was that if you wanted to play, say, games through Gamepass on it, it wouldn’t work since you can’t run those through Steam. I’d be glad for everyone if it does work, though!
I think you could run those through steam, by adding them as a non steam game. Then the full steam input feature set is available
Not quite what you were saying though, I definitely want to see confirmation that this bad-boy will work like a normal controller when plugged into a system that doesn’t have or support steam
You don’t have to add them as non-Steam games. You just have to make sure your desktop profile is set up to match how you want those games to be played. You can save templates and swap them out for a bit easier flexibility.
I have my original Steam Controller set up to swap between a mouse and keyboard mode and an Xbox layout and that works for the majority of things I want to do outside of Steam with it, no fiddling with the “add a non-Steam game” stuff.
If you don’t need trackpads or touch sensitive sticks, there are better options out there. If you do need those things and want input parity with Steam Deck, it’s going to be a great experience.
There will also certainly be community developed drivers in a few months so you can use it outside of Steam.
“If you don’t need trackpads or touch sensitive sticks, there are better options out there.”
Not challenging this, more a market research, what would be those alternatives?
I play most my games via Steam Linux PC. What would be a better plug and play option to the new Steam Controller?
I’m not too familiar with the current controller market. 8bitdo has a good reputation, for example. But basically every controller out there works plug and play with Steam, even Nintendo ones.
There will also certainly be community developed drivers in a few months so you can use it outside of Steam.
Very likely. Kind of odd that they don’t come with this functionality by default, since even PS5 controllers worked with PC at launch.
I love Steam hardware, but yes, it’s close to unacceptable that it doesn’t default to like xinput or whatever.
My OG Steam controller is still kicking.
I use it in desktop mode more than anything these daysMe, seeing what they did to the steam controller:
WHAT HAVE THEY DONE TO MAH BOY?!
Holy fuck that controller looks oversized and awkward. I get what they’re going for, but fuck that looks like it would be a pin in the ass (wrist) to hold onto and to effectively use the face buttons, thumb sticks and touch pads without hitting something else.
I’m gonna stick with my gen1 controller for a good bit, at least until there are a good amount of user reviews.
Have you held a steamdeck before? This looks very similar while just narrowr and lighter. And the steamdeck feels very good to hold.
I have a deck, and I would argue that it isn’t comfortable to hold for super long. I’d play it a lot more if my wrists didn’t ache after a 20-30 minute session.
The steam deck is like a foot wide so the vertical grips are comfortable with that. The vertical grips of the controller that’s 5”(?) wide doesn’t seem as great.
I’m pretty sure multiple Valve employees held many iterations before finalizing this. No controller fits every hand though and that’s okay.
I love the look personally, but I’ve seen people call the Steam Deck ugly, and I don’t understand that either.
In any case, I have the original Steam Controller, Deck, Index headset, and Index controllers, and all have amazing ergonomics. All the video reviewers I trust to not shill for Valve have had minor complaints at worst too.
Anyone you recommend? I have the OG controller and a deck, so I’m not against the design, it just doesn’t look good to me on first look. But, like I said in another comment, it could just be a small hand model, or maybe even a bad angle
Gamers Nexus is pretty much always good and has both review and teardown videos.
I also trust Skill Up’s video due to him covering a lot of the features relevant to Steam Input that most other reviews missed. You can really tell when a reviewer hasn’t done much experimenting with the gyro or configuring in general. You’ll also see what the controller looks like in very large hands. Lol.
I watched probably about twenty reviews and commentaries, and the rest just kind of blend together in saying most of the same stuff.
Genuine question: Do you prefer smaller sized mice?
… You may just actually have small hands.
For reference I’m 7.5 inches from thumbpad/root to index finger, arguably on the cusp between how mice are often sized as small vs medium… and I can handle the chonker that is the Steam Deck just fine.
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Huh.
Get a grip trainer?
Not sure how grip training improves wrists, but I already have a number of wrist specific exercises I do semi-regularly to help with the issue.
Indirectly. It helps keep all the associated muscles in good shape. Kind of like not skipping leg day, or not skipping core day. Doesn’t matter how buff your biceps are if that’s all that’s built.
That being said, you may well already be doing a superb set of wrist and hand exercises, the explanation isn’t directed at what you are or aren’t doing, just talking about the usefulness of grip strength improvement. 9/10, if you’re already doing specific exercises, you’re also likely doing stuff that fills the same role.
Once it works natively on general Linux distros I’m buying it.
Do you mean without steam input? My understanding is that the internals default to sending mouse & keyboard inputs which get translated to controller output in software. I’m sure someone will write an open source driver to get it working without Steam at some point, but if you don’t mind running games through Steam then it’s already working.
Its probably the same or close to the default hardware mapping as the default SteamInput mode for a Deck, in Desktop mode, would be my guess, basically sans virtual keyboard as Steam does its own virtual keyboard via Steam/SteamInput. Obviously works much better and fully featured with the SteamInput system, but it isn't a total brick if you don't have Steam. Which yeah, _should_ mean that it would be possible to write a fully opensource kind of controller manager/bus type thing for it.
It already works on any linux distro you can install Steam on.
This thing does not look comfortable to hold.
I’m willing to be proven wrong, but I don’t see myself adopting the touchpads over the analog sticks.
At least on the Steam Deck, the touchpads are pretty effective as a mouse replacement in games. You wouldn’t play soulslikes with touchpads instead of joysticks, but RTS or 4X games gain a lot from having them.
They also make typing way better compared to selecting letters with a joystick.
So, I’ve got a Steam Deck and I’ve tried them out — my only problem is that the Steam Deck is a touchscreen. Why bother with the touchpads to type when I can just touch the screen?
I haven’t tried the functionality of it for RTS or 4x games because… well, if I feel inclined to play those games it’ll be on my PC.
But all this goes back to my orignal point, the thing just doesn’t look comfy to hold. If the touchpads aren’t meant to be competent analog stick replacements then it looks like my thumbs will be awkwardly positioned somewhat over the touchpads. Not only does it seem like the analog sticks are cramped, but what happens when my palm rests on my controller and the touchpad freaks out?
Idk, I actually want Valve to succeed so I’m not really trying to shit on the controller - this are just my thoughts. I could be wrong and it’s the literal best controller ever. Fingers crossed.
