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First picture of the Steam Controller

AA batteries...seriously c'mon, Gaben.

Eneloop Batteries

These are seriously the best rechargeable batteries I've ever used. I'm still using the ones I bought 6 YEARS AGO and they're still working great.

I use them in everything from Wii Remotes to 360 Controllers to wireless mice to remotes. As long as I keep a charged pair around (they hold their charge very well over time) I never have to worry about hooking up a usb cable and I never have to worry about the internal battery of my device dying after a year or two.
Eneloop Costco Bundle, $19-29, 8 AA, 4AAA, Charger. They hold their charge basically forever and recharge to full capacity basically forever.
Do they still carry them at Costco stores? I looked online and they didn't have them on the online store.
 
I get the feeling it would be better if the trackpads swapped where the buttons and the analog stick are.

Or just the right one.

Dunno.

Need to try it out first.
 
Have a lot've reservations about the accuracy of those trackpads; it just seems like it'd be slippery or something. Definitely interesting in trying it, and hopefully my concerns won't be right.
 
I can't wait to see all the custom haptic settings there will be for the feedback texture. That'll probably make the control of various games feel a bit different. Means everyone can pretty much find one that suits them. Plus it's a trackpad. It's probably going to be good for aiming with.
 
I want one. Even the batteries thing isn't that bad, as rechargables don't cost much and can be used with other things too.

How the heck do you play Mortal Kombat X with that?

4 standard face buttons and 6 shoulder buttons. The only possible downside is the non-d-pad, but that might be okay if you're used to it.
 
That changed as a result of Valve taking feedback into account, and controllers are definitely more product than art.

Oh yeah definitely. I'm just saying that they claimed to have added that stick because people had troubles adjusting without.
 
I understand that controllers need to evolve a bit but this design looks like a misstep and the design isn't appealing in an era where most devices we use are.

I'm curious to see how a controller with "trackpads" works, but given that my experience with trackpads other than the ones on Apple devices is pretty bad. The lack of physical feedback will hurt the device and it will have a learning curve that will leave users with a very divisive opinion about it.
 
Eneloop Batteries

These are seriously the best rechargeable batteries I've ever used. I'm still using the ones I bought 6 YEARS AGO and they're still working great.

I use them in everything from Wii Remotes to 360 Controllers to wireless mice to remotes. As long as I keep a charged pair around (they hold their charge very well over time) I never have to worry about hooking up a usb cable and I never have to worry about the internal battery of my device dying after a year or two.

Do they still carry them at Costco stores? I looked online and they didn't have them on the online store.

Thanks for posting the recommendation. I always have problems with rechargeable AA's, but your experience sounds like the best solution for me as well.
 
So the face buttons are in the same position as the wii u pro controller?
Not really a fan of that tbh, but no real alternative with the layout. Could have had the right trackpad below and have the actualy controller case be asymmetrical. Hope that you can 'click' down on the trackpad to make up for it.
 
So the face buttons are in the same position as the wii u pro controller?
Not really a fan of that tbh, but no real alternative with the layout. Could have had the right trackpad below and have the actualy controller case be asymmetrical. Hope that you can 'click' down on the trackpad to make up for it.

Yep, both trackpads click. You can also assign different functions to touching the trackpad on the outer ring as opposed to the center.
 
I understand that controllers need to evolve a bit but this design looks like a misstep and the design isn't appealing in an era where most devices we use are.

I'm curious to see how a controller with "trackpads" works, but given that my experience with trackpads other than the ones on Apple devices is pretty bad. The lack of physical feedback will hurt the device and it will have a learning curve that will leave users with a very divisive opinion about it.

Are you guys going out of your way to avoid every piece of info you can about the controller and just knee-jerk posting after looking at pictures?
 
I want one. Even the batteries thing isn't that bad, as rechargables don't cost much and can be used with other things too.

Rechargables are better for controllers outright, IMO. You don't even need eneloops or anything good to be honest, I've had a shitty energizer brick for like... 5-6+ years and it has worked great for controllers, remotes, keyboards/mice and oddball devices here and there. Much better to have 4-8 batteries waiting for you when your controller dies than to have to plug it in after every play or even worse; forget to do that and have to plug it in halfway through a session. My number one first world problem, so to speak, is that I abhor plugging in micro or mini USB devices.

Are you guys going out of your way to avoid every piece of info you can about the controller and just knee-jerk posting after looking at pictures?

BUT FIGHTING GAMES...!
 
I'd like to see someone do some qcf motions with that trackpad. How is the force feedback for those who've tested it? Every controller has a different "feel" when it comes to that.
 
Can't wait to buy this. I bet character action games and fighting games will play decent with this after getting used to it. That track pad is going to be leagues better than a damn stupid d-pad.

Also, can't wait to Try more traditional PC games on this. It's going to be awesome controlling everything from a couch.
 
On one hand, I think it looks cool because of its unique design. On the other hand, it kind of looks like one of those made-up photoshopped game controllers you see people using in stock photos. Which is kind of funny, actually, so I guess I dig it either way.
 
Definitely buying, need to get my hands on it to properly judge it. Hoping it allows me to be more competitive in an online shooter like BF4, and play more games than a gamepad allows me to. Might get me playing Mechwarrior Online again too, really being able to play from my bed instead of my desk is a gamechanger. I sit at a desk all day at work, and find it more relaxing to play on in bed.
 
Everything about this controller looks fantastic. I've always liked versatility in hardware, and the Steam controller looks to be the most versatile controller ever.
I do want to test the "DPAD" first-hand, though, but if the DPAD is as good as people say it is, I might finally have a controller to supplant my Dualshock 3.
 
I'm guessing the right pad works like a trackball mouse. Looks like Valve is taking all my money this November.
 
I feel like the buttons and thumb stick are too far from the thumbs.

The buttons and stick should switch places with the touchpads, and the touchpads could be smaller. Just imo.

Used to the xbox configuration I guess.
 
Terrible, why the reluctance to add a d-pad?

A track pad and a analog stick on the same side make little sense.

Also, having a glossy surface in a controller is a terrible choice.
 
Welcome to the future. Working with this controller the last year has been impressive. These things are awesome mice replacements.

This is great to hear. I'm actually pretty excited about this controller. Any other info you have about your experiences with it would be much appreciated!
 
I'm going to give this a big old shoulder shrug. Tough to imagine it working well for a lot of games. We'll see what the support is like I guess. I do love using the PS4 touchpad as a mouse, but that's a fully functional controller on to of it. Hard to imagine using this. I hope I'm wrong.
 
Very disappointed by it...
The first prototype was a bold new design that really intrigued me but this is pretty much a normal gamepad with two uncomfortable "analogs" (the touchpads) and a couple of more buttons.
Also they got the ABXY order wrong.

6/10 they tried to try at least.
 
Can someone explain why they've chose to use AA batteries? Like seriously nothing uses batteries like that anymore, everything's just rechargeable, built-in batteries.
 
I'm fairly sure that if a detailed explanation of how the trackpads work was printed on the back of the controller people still wouldn't care to read it.

I'm interested. quite heavily, actually, after reading impressions.
 
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