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Valve Announces New Controller For SteamOS, Steam Controller

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Valve has unveiled the final announcement and it's a controller and it's a very peculiar looking device.

image
Just look at that thing!

I cannot wait to try that ugly thing out to see how it really fares, who knows it could offer better precision than a mouse, but I do still somehow doubt that.

They say they will be tricking all older games into thinking it's using a Mouse & Keyboard when really it will be using the controller, will be interesting to see how that works exactly for titles that don't support the controller.

It features a touchscreen in the centre of it much like the Playstation 4 controller, unlike other consoles controllers it comes a lot more buttons, 16 buttons in fact, wow that's a lot. The screen in the middle won't divert your attention away from your game like the WiiU as any action you take on it will have an overlay on the big screen too for your action, that's awesome.
I am terribly glad they didn't go the WiiU way, trying to play that looking up and down making my neck like a yo-yo does get a little tiresome after a while.

The biggest thing yet again is how open the hardware will be, they want you to do stuff with it:
QuoteThe Steam Controller was designed from the ground up to be hackable.

So who will be the first to mod it? That will be a fun claim to fame that's for sure.

They won't be getting rid of Mouse & Keyboard support either so worry not, they want you to use whatever device makes you happy for input.

I doubt anyone is really surprised by this news considering Gabe Newell of Valve did state before they were working on controllers, even the previous announcement stated they would have more info on controllers soon so I guess it was a given they were going to show us a controller as announcement #3.

What are your thoughts? The more I look at it, the more I'm starting to love it. Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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I am the owner of GamingOnLinux. After discovering Linux back in the days of Mandrake in 2003, I constantly came back to check on the progress of Linux until Ubuntu appeared on the scene and it helped me to really love it. You can reach me easily by emailing GamingOnLinux directly. Find me on Mastodon.
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29 comments
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hele Sep 27, 2013
The controller looks very cool. I'm quite interested.

Btw, there are some news about cooperation of NVidia and Valve on SteamOS.
Speedster Sep 27, 2013
If the controller generates the standard USB HID events for mouse and keyboard, it really will look like a keyboard and mouse to software so games won't need to do anything special to support it. There must be extra protocol defined for configuring it with the key mappings, but it looks like there is a separate configuration tool to avoid having to do that in every game.

Personally I like trackpads way better than trackballs (which was in a link somebody posted earlier this morning), might give this thing a try someday. Especially if there's an appealing package deal with a SteamBox later on. The main annoying thing to me is that it looks wireless, and I'd rather sit sorta close to the TV with power-over-USB than have to keep batteries charged up for when I want to play downstairs. On the other hand, this thing may take too much power for a couple USB ports with that feedback stuff, so it may not have been an option.
glidder Sep 27, 2013
I like what I see. Of course I must give it a try before forming a complete opinion, but if the design proves to be as comfortable as it sounds to me, I hope they become the new PC controller "standard", since I never really liked those 360 controllers and the change would be welcome.
adolson Sep 27, 2013
It doesn't look ugly to me.. Not any uglier than any other input device, anyhow. Look at the eyesore of having a keyboard in your living room... Versus this.

I am really excited, more for this pad than the OS or Machine, in fact (and I'm pumped about those!). The capabilities and features are impressive. Kudos to Valve, as I really expected a Source 2 announcement and a game... That would be too obvious.

Also, the DualShock 4 doesn't have a touchscreen, it has a touchpad. It doesn't display anything. Just a minor point, but there it is.
n30p1r4t3 Sep 27, 2013
I will definitely get one regardless of me buying a steam box.
DrMcCoy Sep 27, 2013
Wow, this is the ugliest and stupidest thing I've ever seen and heard.
And I'm even not that hostile to gamepads in general; I've got a Logitech Dual Action I like to use for certain games...
n30p1r4t3 Sep 27, 2013
Quoting: Quote from DrMcCoyWow, this is the ugliest and stupidest thing I've ever seen and heard.
And I'm even not that hostile to gamepads in general; I've got a Logitech Dual Action I like to use for certain games...
Anything new can look stupid and ugly. I won't know what to think until I feel it in my hands.


You cant judge a book by its cover, eh?
DrMcCoy Sep 27, 2013
If the cover is stupid enough, sure I can judge a book by it.
See this crap for example: http://www.amazon.com/Darwins-Doubt-Explosive-Origin-Intelligent/dp/0062071475/
JoseJX Sep 27, 2013
I wonder if there's anything to the Civilization V screen shot, perhaps we'll see a native port?
tweakedenigma Sep 27, 2013
Quoting: Quote from DrMcCoyWow, this is the ugliest and stupidest thing I've ever seen and heard.
And I'm even not that hostile to gamepads in general; I've got a Logitech Dual Action I like to use for certain games...

I'm not so sure here. My initial reaction was kind of the same and then I thought about the way it is designed and I can see how it would put a person using a game pad on more of an even footing with someone using a mouse and keyboard (specifically with FPS's). 
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