Steam Controller trailer, $50
- Thread starter Formless
- Start date
Kamakazie!
Member
The steam page suggested you could order and pick up on store but when I ordered I didn't see the option.
No doubt you'll be able to reserve online for in store collection.
You need to order through GAME directly to do this. They have controllers bundled with Steam gift cards, a controller and a £20 card for £60 seems to be the lowest price available currently.
Sodding_Gamer
Member
Definitely intruiged by this. Would love to know the battery life. not sure if I could completely switch to it but for things like Witcher 3 and Xcom this will probably work fine, for me.
Shush, that wasn't the inferior Cities in Motion, it was the awesome Cities Skylines. An epic city-building game.
Agent Gibbs
Member
Pre-ordered the controller, might get steam link at a later stage - i use a gaming laptop so its rather easy to just connect it to a TV with HDMi as it is, but i could do with a beasty desktop in the future
80hrs battery life
ScepticMatt
Member
Panasonic makes the best batteries, no doubt.
Regions where it's not available still say it's "coming soon", so I assume international availability is on the cards.
Edit: Oh, and those in Central/Western Europe can buy the controller now also.
USA, Canada, UK & western Europe is what I have seen so far, but I'm sure they will support it globally after dealing with this initial demand for the earlier date
Putosaure
Member
On my store page (in french) it states 40 hours
Same on the Spanish store.
SneakyStephan
Banned
Cities skylines part looked akward as shit. That being said, it has the potential to be better than dual analog sticks in general, even at dual analog stick games, just due to having much higher precision input on a controller.
Still absolutely not a mouse (and probably even more so not a keyboard replacement in games as it's missing about 40 buttons for that) replacement or alternative imo and I wish they'd stop marketing it as one.
Noone in their right mind is going to use this for CS , quake, starcraft, ns2 , dota, dirty bomb etc etc if they play competitively or care about controls.
Still absolutely not a mouse (and probably even more so not a keyboard replacement in games as it's missing about 40 buttons for that) replacement or alternative imo and I wish they'd stop marketing it as one.
Noone in their right mind is going to use this for CS , quake, starcraft, ns2 , dota, dirty bomb etc etc if they play competitively or care about controls.
It's hard for my brain to accept that analog sticks might not be the best option, because I'm so used to them. I know why they are flawed, it's just hard to break old habits I suppose. I really hope these are superior to analog sticks, as I'm always open tech that is superior and improves.
The buttons in the back grip were exactly what I was hoping the Xbox One controller would have so many years ago since it has been a concept for so long, but they never did.
It's so handy (pun not intended) to have buttons in that spot as they're just gripping the controller without doing anything for the most part.
It's so handy (pun not intended) to have buttons in that spot as they're just gripping the controller without doing anything for the most part.
This thing looks like a godsend to me. A proper controller that will (theoretically) be compatible with everything, even when gamepad support is lacking or absent. Fucking joyful. I care about controls, and I fucking hate the mouse and keyboard. I play everything with the 360 or XBone pad and if a game doesn't have controller support, it doesn't get played. I've no interest in playing anything at all 'competitively' though, where I'm sure the pad would be a hindrance.
thelastword
Banned
I like this controller, just wished it had 6 face buttons. I hope the dpad functions well for fighters.
I think it'd be fine for games that need keyboard controls but not rapid reactions - eg Kerbal Space Program where you should be able to bring up the keyboard overlay and send commands that way.
Thinking about it - I'd like to be able to create custom hotkeys - like the keyboard overlay but with the ability to put custom text or even graphics on. Then I don't even have to remember the key I need to press
I'm of this mindset. I thought the Cities part looked fine and watching a few vids of people playing Civ 5 with the prototype controllers sold me harder than anything else. Also, while I'm not big on FPS, I can't stand to play them with mouse and keyboard. It's much better suited to the genre than a dual analog controller, but m+k just disconnects me from the game entirely. It just removes any sense of gamefeel. If the Steam controller strikes a good middle ground then I'll be happy.
Very curious, definitely says 80 here in the UK. Also seems to be the same in the US and retailers:
- Provides up to 80 hours of standard game play using the included AA batteries during preliminary testing. Battery life will vary based on usage and other factors, such as type of batteries used. Actual results may vary.
Hoya Destroyer
Member
Looks very interesting. I suppose its unrealistic to hope for a Steam arcade stick? 
LiquidMetal14
hide your water-based mammals
Those eneloops, how much is the charger? 24 for an 8 pack is high.
Here it says:
That roughly translates into "More than forty hours of playtime using the included AA batteries."
Dandy Lyin
Member
I pre-ordered it. I use mouse and keyboard for the most part, but occasionally I like a controller. Since my 360 controller constantly thinks it's unplugged because of a shitty cord, why not?
I don't really agree with the first one. Skylines looked less optimal than a mouse/kb setup (obviously) but IMHO absolutely viable -- unlike any other handheld control method would be for this game.
masterkajo
Member
The thing I am wondering is if I can use the steam controller and steam link in the living room to boot up my pc in the office upstairs. Come home from work and get on the couch without the need to go upstairs. Or would I have to start the pc and steam and then go down and sit on the couch to play.
Interfectum
Member
You'll prolly have to walk upstairs, turn it on and make sure Steam is running.
Pre-order canceled.
Sleep mode.
lukeskymac
Member
AA batteries? Why Valve?
SneakyStephan
Banned
They showed very limited interaction.
Just with the road tool that snaps to the grid and some small movements. Manipulating the camera in overhead view to move between places in your city, planting hundreds of trees (hello RSI) or just dealing with a regular dense menu etc look like they would be quite cumbersome.
Even as soon as he tried to select the zone button it was obvious that it was slow and difficult compared to just pointing with a mouse. (we've all tried track pads you know how shitty they are for pointing compared to a mouse, but yes they still work vastly much better than an analog stick for it)
You call it viable... that's very subjective, I guess it depends on what your treshold is for what you consider viable.
Can you play the game with this? Yes, could you with a controller no? Would I personally want to play cities skylines like this? hell no
The typing text actually looked pretty decent though, not to chat with someone or write long posts on a message board, but at least suitable for text entry and limited messages in a game without wanting to snap your controller in half.
Not being able to enter text properly on a controller has always been one annoying limitation.
Iorv3th
Member
But you won't have to replace them as often as others and they hold a charge better. You save money in the long run.
The kits with a charger and a bunch or batteries go on sale at Amazon all the time. I paid $44 for the charger with 12 AA, 4 AAA, and some C/D spacers.
lunchtoast
Member
Looks good. Getting tired of the analog drifting on my 360 controller. Hoping it'll eventually be available on Amazon, don't want to pay 8$ for shipping.
So your controller won't become a brick when its lithium ion battery no longer holds a charge?
Business
Member
I've never had any controller become a brick because of a wasted lithium battery and I have seen plenty of AA rechargable batteries become useless over time. If long term lithium battery reliability is the issue, just sell spare ones.
You have never tried anything like this.
PumpkinSpice
Banned
This controller looks interesting, but I already have a lot of PC-compatible controllers that work very well, and $60 is kinda steep. Yeah I know that's how much controllers cost for other systems, but still.
I'll stick to my 360 controller and Classic Controller Pro Controller for different purposes as usual for now, and maybe pick this up on sale.
I'll stick to my 360 controller and Classic Controller Pro Controller for different purposes as usual for now, and maybe pick this up on sale.