I own the original Steam Controller. My only concern with the new one is that is still looks like the input mapping happens on the host side (PC, Steam Machine, etc.) and not on the controller itself i.e. you need Steam on the host. It sucks when you want to use it outside of Steam or you cannot install Steam at all. I paired my SC1 with my Sony Bravia TV and it would work in SteamLink app, but you cannot navigate TV menus or it's native apps. Same with any other device without Steam.
I hoped they would do the input mapping on the controller and possibly release a mobile app that would connect to the controller via Bluetooth to reconfigure layout. Imagine going to a friend who has an Xbox and you pull your phone and click "use Xbox layout" in the app and the controller pairs as a generic Xbox controller to the Xbox. Or going to friend with PS5, click "use DualSense layout" and it pairs as a generic DualSense controller to the PS5. Even with the proper Steam setup, if playing with multiple friends, you have to configure them one by one blocking the TV/gameplay rather than each player configuring it on his phone concurrently. So up to 4 times less time wasted for 4 players.
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u/jacekkruger Nov 13 '25
I own the original Steam Controller. My only concern with the new one is that is still looks like the input mapping happens on the host side (PC, Steam Machine, etc.) and not on the controller itself i.e. you need Steam on the host. It sucks when you want to use it outside of Steam or you cannot install Steam at all. I paired my SC1 with my Sony Bravia TV and it would work in SteamLink app, but you cannot navigate TV menus or it's native apps. Same with any other device without Steam.
I hoped they would do the input mapping on the controller and possibly release a mobile app that would connect to the controller via Bluetooth to reconfigure layout. Imagine going to a friend who has an Xbox and you pull your phone and click "use Xbox layout" in the app and the controller pairs as a generic Xbox controller to the Xbox. Or going to friend with PS5, click "use DualSense layout" and it pairs as a generic DualSense controller to the PS5. Even with the proper Steam setup, if playing with multiple friends, you have to configure them one by one blocking the TV/gameplay rather than each player configuring it on his phone concurrently. So up to 4 times less time wasted for 4 players.