Maybe get some Decks back in, first...
this post was submitted on 14 Apr 2026
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Steam Hardware
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That controller is the lynchpin for making a mini PC my future home theater center. I care for it more than the steam machine
Same. Its a perfect device for running an HTPC / living room gaming device. Im planning navigate through streaming options, kodi, steam remote play, moonlight, and a bunch of emulators all with the same controller.
I hear yeah, I want that Controller, its everything I asked for after using the Deck plus more. My Steam Account is preloaded with Money cause I remember when the Steam Deck went pre order the payment processing couldnt keep up. Frame is interesting. But probably way to expensive for the little interest I have.
Oh thank you for the heads up! I might add money myself for this.
I know you didn't ask but i recommend looking into a rii mini keyboard with trackpad as well.
Got the Rii 4 recently to use with my Steam Deck since I got tired of my Roku I bought 6 years ago sending telemetry/statistics outbound (and getting blocked by my PiHole/router combo) that I unplugged it and threw it into a drawer. Excellent little piece of kit!
Look up the Logitech k400. All my home theaters have computers and they all have that keyboard hahaha
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I guess worth noting for Steam newbies:
The trackpads can be configured to act as basically any possible kind of input.
You can break them down into 4 way buttons, 8 way buttons, 2 buttons, one button... make them work as a joystick, or as a mouse... they click in a bit at multiple points...
So, if you prefer a different kind of thumbstick orientation, you can basically emulate it.
Literally all of the buttons on one of these things can be reconfigured to do a whole bunch of crazy shit, you can make macros, you can make it so that a little hud popup with scrollable selectable options pop up, you can make combos of key presses do different specific inputs, you can make a turbo function.... etc.
Hell, you can make the gyros act as a mouse/joystick input, in several different modes, maybe only when you hold the aim button down, if you want that.
Anything you run through Steam can be made to work this way with the Steam Input system they invented for with the Steam Deck, the Steam Controller 2.0 is basically a shrunk down Steam Deck without the PC and screen.
EDIT:
There is also an onscreen keyboard functionality, which pops up a keyboard overlay, and then you use both trackpads as basically two thumbs on a smart phone, sort of.
So, if you're playing a game that is 99% controller input, but has a few UIs popups where you get prompted to type in your name or something like that, or I guess even a chat box in an mmo, you can handle it with this.
Also also: Most/Many games come with preset default Steam Input layouts made by the developers. Also, Everyone who uses Steam is capable of basically uploading their control schema for any game to the cloud, and then you are capable of grabbing it and using it.
So, with some games, the developer provided inputs are good, sometimes users develop alternate schemes that are actually better/quite popular, or, maybe you could be the one to make a better config that people like!
If they're the same track pads as on the Steam Deck they don't actually physically click in anywhere, but they have really good pressure sensitivity and can be configured to deliver a haptic feedback "click" back to your thumb when you press hard enough. It feels just like clicking a physical button, but it's all a clever electronic illusion.
To test this on a Deck, try clicking with the unit switched off and keep trying as you hit the power button and it starts up.
To test this on a Deck, try clicking with the unit switched off and keep trying as you hit the power button and it starts up.
I genuinely thought my Deck had a defect when the trackpads didn't click when it was asleep. Like I had somehow ruined the trackpads.
The haptic feedback is so god damn good, it fooled me.
Ah, you're correct!
It quite literally fooled me, but you are right.
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And the haptics feel fantastic, you can't really judge it correctly without feeling it
I think they actually use a setup of basically .... something like minature subwoofers, but I'm not 100% sure of that.
It's voice coils all the way down, baby!
I really like how rotating the camera works on the track pad - the right track pad works as a right joystick, but crucially has momentum. So I could do a quick swipe on the pad and the camera would continue moving for a moment after. It also allows fine speed control by changing how quickly I swipe. Once I got used to it, I could make very quick and accurate orientation changes. Much better than joystick imo where you have to hold it down, using up your thumb for a second or two while you turn. As a bonus, the track pad also could be used as buttons so your thumb is already in position to get mashing again.
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Will pay a frankly humiliating amount of money to get one of these ASAP. My OG Steam Controller (my second, in fact) is on death's door.
I hear you. I preloaded my Steam with 150cad. During the steam deck pre order the hold up when the website worked was payment processors.
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Fortunately it doesn't contain RAM or flash storage or a GPU, so you may not need to go to humiliation levels of money.
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After getting the Steam Deck 2 months ago and playing quite some time with it I used my Xbox One controller this weekend for this first time since it couple of months.
It felt weird. Just because the ergonomics of the Steam Deck are actually pretty good.
I thought about getting the Steam Controller (once it's released). But I am still no fan of both sticks being in such a low position. The thing I really like about the Steam Deck is the fact, that all primary inputs (sticks, face buttons and d-pad) are positioned at the same height.
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this is the only controller than will retire my alpakka 1
this is the only controller that might retire my wavebird
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This is the only new valve hardware I am interested in. I love the steam deck track pads, so having them on a controller will be awesome.
I have a bunch of nice controllers that all work on my gaming PC and Macs, etc.
But I’ll probally buy one of these too. I feel like it’s compulsory in a weird nagging way.
Oh snap it's got the Playstation joystick config.... I kinda want this to replace my dying DS4 I've repaired a few times now. I wonder how easy it'll be to reach over those pads and touch the sticks
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I want this controller, but I am so annoyed that no controller on the planet comes with separated directional buttons for the D-Pad. Accidental diagonal input is the bane of my existence. The Nintendo Switch Joy-Cons have separate buttons and I freaking love it! But the ONLY reason they did that is to allow them to serve as ABXY when held sideways. No "real" controller does this.
The only option I've found to achieve this is to get a PlayStation controller (PS4 or PS5), and mod it with a kit that separates the buttons under the faceplate. But the extra features of the Steam Controller sound too good to sacrifice just for that.
The only D-Pad I've ever actually liked is the 3DS (XL), because it's so clicky and never caused accidental diagonal input. Seriously, how do people accept this crap?
So yeah, I really hope the D-Pad on this is clicky. I'll probably be buying it either way.
In some use cases the 4 buttons instead of the D pad on the Joy Cons are amazing. As you say, you have no false diagonals. I really like them in Tetris for example.
But in 2D platformers or metroidvanias like Mario or Hollow Knight? Literally unplayable.
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Hell yes.
I have a setup with my Dualsense Edge (and Steam Deck) for FPS games where I use flick stick and gyro to aim, and swipe on the touchpad to switch weapons. It works disgustingly well. I play FPS games on controller now.
I'm too twitchy for gyro aim to be better than just using the sticks. My crosshair would just be jiggling all over 😔
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Gimme gimme gimme
I have a first gen but I'm not really a fan. My one non-gamer kid likes it though.
The issue with the first one is that it loses basic controller functionality for the touchpads. Many games that come with controller support don't work well on it without adjusting the controls.
The new steam controller should be fully functional as a standard controller, while having a lot more capabilities when the user can use them.
The trackpads on the deck are nice, it's a great substitute for a mouse when you don't have a mouse. But that's all they are. Not a single game* has done anything to show off any greater potential. Binding ten keyboard keys into a dodgy ring menu is not a pleasant interface. I have never once wanted to use a trackpad as a redundant joystick input. I would like to freely pan around with one pad and point with the other - imagine that in a puzzle box game. Nothing can do this, the closest to an independent view control i've found is "bind mouse wheel up/down buttons to vertical swipes".
Heck, I would like a water filled toy game where you just press the pads to squirt rings upwards, and it feels just a little bit haptically squooshy. Nobody has done even that much to make a game feel truly at home on the Deck with the deck's controls.
The new controller looks nice, but I don't see any reason for it to replace the lowest-common-denominator xbox style controller. Especially when there are some really good xbox clones with magnetic sticks being sold for super cheap.
*okay, there's Aperture Desk Job. That hardly adds up to a game, it's basically the manual that comes with the Deck controller. I've spent more time playing the PC Jr's bios tutorial.
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Try out a steam deck if you get a chance. The haptics are fantastic and makes using a mouse with your thumb feel very natural
Inject it straight to my htpc!
Yay. My Playstation controller is at the point where it needs to be replaced. It's got both battery capacity issues and charging issues. I'm hoping that the Steam controller lasts longer than the PS4 Pro controller b/c for the price that Sony charges, I'd expect those to last longer than mine has, especially given how little time I spend playing / using it.
I've been looking forward to the Steam controller. I was starting to think I should give up and just go get another PS controller. Granted, I'm sure I won't get a first release Steam controller. They'll have a limited quantity and wouldn't surprise me if they're gone by the time that the steam store has recovered from the outage and bugs that crop up every time a new product goes on sale.
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