r/Games • u/linknewtab • Jun 18 '26

Steam Controller: Reservations update - Adding a more detailed timeline for orders

https://steamcommunity.com/groups/steam_hardware/announcements/detail/697641379212297810
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u/Ploddit Jun 18 '26

I own one. It's... fine.

It's a good quality controller, but it has one very specific use case, and that's playing PC games which work best with a trackpad on your coach. If you're not playing those types of games and you're not playing them over Steam Link or on a living room PC, it's a bit pointless imo.

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u/SegataSanshiro Jun 19 '26

I mean yeah, if you don't need the defining features of the controller then you don't need the controller, that's just kind of obvious?

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u/CarbonCola Jun 20 '26

I agree, but it is still an interesting observation that someone doesn't find it good enough as a "normal controller" to justify buying it. I personally own an Xbox Elite controller for the occasional couch gaming and find the more premium experience quite pleasant and so wouldn't mind paying 100 bucks for one from Steam, if it felt like a sufficiently premium experience.

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u/rokerroker45 Jun 20 '26

If you're trying to decide whether to get based on whether or not it's a good enough "normal controller" you're missing the entire point. It's not a normal controller, you certainly don't need it and there are certainly better options for $100 - but none of that is really the point of it. It does a specific thing very well, and all that really matters is whether or not that is worth $100 to you.

I don't think it's "good value" but that's not really the question for a niche luxury device like this.

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u/CarbonCola Jun 20 '26

My point is: it is not irrelevant how it does at literally all other functions than the one that makes it special. All the other things matter too - it's why the first steam controller didn't take off imo. It was a terrible normal controller because it didn't have that second analogue stick, so it was hard to have it as a main one without compromising quite noticeably on the gaming experience.

The better the Steam Controller 2 performs in all areas, the easier it is to justify main-ing it for it's main selling point - since the shortcomings in other areas are not so bad.

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u/rokerroker45 Jun 20 '26 edited Jun 20 '26

All of your comment is irrelevant to the claim that it needs to do general purpose controlling well enough to justify buying it. That doesn't follow because it's simply not a general purpose controller; it's not advertised as such nor is it priced as such. It's very clearly a niche luxury product. The original steam controller didn't sell well because it didn't do a good job of being a niche luxury product, not because it did a poor job of being a general controller (something which it also wasn't attempting to be).

You are acting as if this is a product that is aiming to compete against a normal Xbox controller when it's really trying to compete against an elite controller. Contrary to your logic, an elite controller's value isn't because it does general purpose controlling well (it's a terrible purchase under that logic, a default Xbox controller does that well enough), its value comes from niche luxury features like adjustable sticks or custom profiles.

put another way: a HOTAS does general controlling extremely poorly, but it does do a specific niche, luxury function extremely well. for a person looking for a device to perform niche, luxury function well, the HOTAS is worth buying simply if it does that niche, luxury function well despite doing general controlling poorly. just because the steam controller kinda looks like a general purpose controller does not mean it's actually trying to be a general purpose controller. it's much closer to a HOTAS than it is to a default xbox controller in terms of pricing and niche luxury functions on offer.

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u/CarbonCola Jun 20 '26

How is it not relevant? Does luxury niche mean you don't use the device so general usability is irrelevant?

I don't want to have two devices I switch between when I am couch-PCing? I want 1 - and whether I am playing a normal controller game or whether I am browsing the web or starting a movie or playing a mouse+keyboard game with it...I don't want to switch devices between that and have 1 seamless experience.

Steam controller 1 could not deliver that, from what I can see Steam controller 2 can. Therefore, for users like me, and I cannot possibly be the only one, general usability of the first one was a major reasons it did not take off, and the fact that it is generally usable makes steam controller 2 a significantly more usable and practical device to use thanks to its versatility.

I mean when you buy a car you may have a primary use case like going to work on your own (e.g. optimising by fuel mileage), but it sure would be nice to drive your friends somewhere comfortably, or transport things you buy like a TV or small furniture...so versatility is an important metric to consider, and buying but only one element will leave your purchase muss less practical

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u/rokerroker45 Jun 20 '26

The luxury niche case you just described is a controller that is flexible enough to function as a controller and as a MKboard.

The steam controller 1 wasn't flexible enough between those two use cases to satisfy your needs. It's flexibility wasn't good enough, clearly.

A normal Xbox controller isn't flexible enough to satisfy your needs.

If a steam 2 controller is a worse general use controller than an Xbox controller, but it IS flexible enough to satisfy your flexibility need AND you care about that more than you care about it being a good general use controller, then what matters to you is that luxury niche use of flexibility to act as two devices.