Valve's New Steam Controller Will Work With All Games

[exfileme]

Here's the final piece to the Steam (Box) Machines puzzle.

Valve's New Steam Controller Will Work With All Games : Read more

 

[lpedraja2002]

Where's HALF-LIFE 3!>!>!> >:O

 

[eklipz330]

that looks so awesome. i wonder if it can replace my xbox 360 controller too, although i highly doubt it

 

[rwpritchett]

No analog sticks? I dunno...

 

[wmalinowski]

Nice in theory,but I don't see people giving up the keyboard/mouse combo for this controller.

 

[Traciatim]

All of the other announcements I was firmly in the "Shut up and take my money" camp... this though... meh. I guess it's another choice considering the whole platform is so open, but I can't see touch pads as being better that d-pads and sticks (and I'm a PC gamer, not console).

 

[JD88]

The big question is going to be what kind of performance can be expected on these things VS say a Windows PC running the same game.

To build a PC with comparable performance from what one could expect from the new consoles is going to cost north of $700 (more if you include Windows).

So, can the optimizations of the Steambox and the more efficient Linux OS make up say $200 worth the difference so these things can be priced between $400-500? If they can, and the developer support is there, this is a winner. I would almost rather see Steam self branding one of these things and selling it at cost or maybe even a loss with hopes profits will be made up through game sales. OEMs are going to want to make some profit off hardware sales which will drive up consumer cost.

Keep in mind, the new Consoles are also starting out with even less games than are currently available on Steam for Linux. This means pretty much an even playing field on the console front. What's even more interesting is the fact that all of the consoles will be based on x86 and likely either Mantle or OpenGL all of which are supported by Linux. This goes without mentioning that the PS4 is running a version of FreeBSD which is very similar to Linux. All of these factors mean porting games between these platforms should be relatively simple.

 

[Traciatim]

The big question is going to be what kind of performance can be expected on these things VS say a Windows PC running the same game.

To build a PC with comparable performance from what one could expect from the new consoles is going to cost north of $700 (more if you include Windows).

So, can the optimizations of the Steambox and the more efficient Linux OS make up say $200 worth the difference so these things can be priced between $400-500? If they can, and the developer support is there, this is a winner. I would almost rather see Steam self branding one of these things and selling it at cost or maybe even a loss with hopes profits will be made up through game sales. OEMs are going to want to make some profit off hardware sales which will drive up consumer cost.

Keep in mind, the new Consoles are also starting out with even less games than are currently available on Steam for Linux. This means pretty much an even playing field on the console front. What's even more interesting is the fact that all of the consoles will be based on x86 and likely either Mantle or OpenGL all of which are supported by Linux. This goes without mentioning that the PS4 is running a version of FreeBSD which is very similar to Linux. All of these factors mean porting games between these platforms should be relatively simple.

An OS built from the ground up to prioritize input, video, and audio performance will probably perform slightly better than a general purpose OS on the same hardware. Also, since the OS will be free and downloadable you could still build a 700 machine and get better hardware, and that makes it a no brainer.

 

[IndignantSkeptic]

I don't see how Windows would be slower than another OS; I think that as long as you put lots of effort to disable all maintenance processes so that you don't get interrupted when you are using the computer, then you are already getting full performance. Also I think, at any time, Microsoft could just stop being jackasses and could just implement a feature that doesn't allow your computer to be interrupted when you are using it so then you don't have to spend ages fiddling with settings to prevent that from happening.

 

[Bloob]

Nice in theory,but I don't see people giving up the keyboard/mouse combo for this controller.

For games like Trine I'd much rather have a good gamepad. While I usually hate trackpads and their kind, somehow, of all the things Valve announced, I feel like this will benefit me the most.

 

[CaedenV]

The console is not for me, but is a great idea. The OS is not for me, but again it is a great idea. But a controller for games with what is essentially dual hybrid analogue d-pads? seems a bit crazy to me, but I'll withhold judgement until I can play with one.

If the controller ends up being any good, and they include support for steam games on Windows then they will at least get a sale from me there, but I don't think I am going to buy into a proprietary 'game' OS or console box ever again.

 

[shikamaru31789]

I don't know about this. Looks difficult to get used to, and even then it may not be as precise as a controller with analog sticks.

 

[teh_chem]

I'll try to give this the benefit of the doubt, but I am very, very skeptical about touchpads for controllers.

Would, of course, prefer a keyboard and mouse.

 

[smokeybravo]

Steam and Valve have done more for gamers than any other companies. I'm on board with this.

 

[raydog]

This is awesome! There are some games you just wanna play on the sofa w/ a controller like the Batman series. I know I know..."well just hook up a controller"...yeah but then u still need an input device to navigate windows. " Well u can use xpadder"...well I don't wanna go through all that crap. I just want it to work, and w/ a Steam os it will. This is great news! "KB and M is better"...yes it is but I'm sure you'll get used to the controller and it's designed to work on ALL steam games even those w/o controller support.

 

[fulle]

Well, that crazy looking thing isn't what I expected to see. Looks absolutely terrible to be perfectly honest. No analog sticks, just touchpads, only 1 set of triggers, triggers seem digital, lack of a usable button layout.... I looks unusable.

Meanwhile the PS4 and Xbox One controllers both look amazingly well designed.

 

[Guest]

looks great, probably need to get used, but i think i can imagine using this on FPS game, i believe this could be better than using analog stick

 

[tomfreak]

Skeptical, need to try this on sample in retail store next year b4 decide it is good or not

 

[shin0bi272]

I hope that this isnt the only thing they approve for use. You'd think valve with all their PC gaming pedigree would ENABLE KEYBOARD AND MOUSE SUPPORT. That being said the touchpads are kinda cool replacements for the analog sticks but where are all the other buttons? Eh I'll keep my kb and mouse and my pc thanks.

 

[Guest]

Finally. A company had some foresight to get away from the silly analog stick; these touch pads should give a lot nicer control of the game. Looking forward to the user experience reviews of the beta testers. One way or another, this should be interesting.

 

[elexor]

I can picture now all the console fags crying over this. valve why you no give us our inaccurate and unresponsive thumbsticks that we have been using since the n64!? How dare you innovate valve!

 

[m32]

I don't think this product is nice but it is one of those things you have to use to see if it would work or not.

 

[mcgee101]

I wanted half life 3 and thats all.

 

[billgatez]

People stop complaining about the steam controller, if you don't like it don't use it. The cool thing about the PC and steam OS is that you can plug in any usb controller.

 

[Bloob]

Finally. A company had some foresight to get away from the silly analog stick; these touch pads should give a lot nicer control of the game. Looking forward to the user experience reviews of the beta testers. One way or another, this should be interesting.

There are some articles on gamasutra from devs who have had a go, most of them seem to like it well enough.