When Valve revealed their ambitious SteamOS plan last September at LinuxCon 2013, many of us in the gaming press weren't quite sure what to make of the announcement. This wasn't simply another game maker looking to enter the heated console wars dominated by names like Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft, but rather an attempt to bring PC gaming, oft the realm of bedrooms and game rooms, into the living room. In the following months, Valve has slowly trickled out more information on SteamOS, and the revolutionary Steam Controller that was designed to be used with it. While there are still some unanswered questions, Valve's vision for the future of PC gaming is becoming clearer, particularly with the big unveiling of their new Steam Machines (which we covered in detail here) earlier this month at CES.
TheGamer Writes "I really tried with the Steam Controller. Valve's first foray into creating its own bespoke gamepad tailored specifically for PC gaming was, putting it mildly, poorly received. It launched in 2015, but by 2019 the company had quietly discontinued it. However, while everyone was gleefully dumping on it, I was determined to get my money's worth. I bounced off it immediately like everyone else, but I thought: Valve is smart."
They should of added some sort of center point on the right track pad, maybe a dip in the center or a slight bump, I think that could help in games for controllers?
They really just needed the second stick for me. A control scheme alone the lines of the deck would have been a big improvement
Still use it for controlling my living room pc. Never liked it for games. One neat thing is the scroll-wheel function by dragging your finger around the perimeter of the left circlepad - clockwise for down, counter-clockwise for up.
It's primary value truly is in games that don't support any kind of controller input. You can do a decent job of grafting something usable for games with only direct mouse input, like strategy games and the like, thanks to the touchpads.
Outside that? The customization is really quite excellent, but it is almost impossible to use in place of a traditional controller in a lot of circumstances. It's a nice niche option to have, but I was certainly never able to have it completely replace an XB or PS controller when a game called for one.
Valve's newly revealed Steam Deck is the Frankenstein resurrection of two of their most notorious products, the Steam Link and the Steam Controller.
The same could be said about the Switch. It is a combination of the WiiU game pad and the nunchucks. Neither of those were incredible devices either but the refined combination of the two created a highly successful device.
The nunchuck was one of the most successful accessories in gaming. It made a ton of Wii games better
It was so good they immediately transitioned back to traditional control schemes after the novelty wore off from grandparents playing Wii bowling twice and ordering a Wii fit.
@ Not
Wii U utilized nunchucks
Switch had a configuration that mimics the nunchuck configuration
Why does it feel like the media is trying to kill this thing before it gets a chance to even be released?
Yeah I don't really get it. I know Valve have a sketchy history when it comes to hardware but to me it seems the Steam Deck gets far more right than it gets wrong.
Of course we've only seen games playing on prototype systems but already it seems really polished and well thought out. I have faith that the Steam Deck will be a success. I've reserved a 512gb model and the estimated availability is Q2 2022 (UK) so plenty of time to see how it progresses in the coming months. Right now I think it looks really promising, but if, when it launches it's not all that, then I'll cancel and I'll have lost nothing. If, on the other hand, it proves to be every bit as good as promised then I'll be happy to be in the queue 👍
@King_noctis
I didn't say anything about CBR, don't put words in my mouth 😕
but at the same time yeah whoever wrote could be a Nintendo fanboy
Because its open source. And the media like closed systems that they can control through proxy.
Yes but you’d have to really dig inside to do such a thing, I’m sure people will make step by step YouTube videos on how to upgrade parts, tho you’d void the warranty.
It is cool and all,.. but the thing is huge,.. might as well get a gaming laptop at that size
Lol it's barely 2 inches longer, you want me to get a big ass gaming laptop cuz of 2 extra Inches? Make it make sense
Seems you can't please everyone. I've read another comment saying the battery is not long enough. Well, a larger battery would mean the handheld would be much larger and heavier, and possibly a little pricier. Now you're saying it's too huge. Well, if it's smaller then the thing would suffer from a hardware downgrade, and cooling might be affected. Then someone else will say it's too weak. It's an endless cycle of complaints
You’re not having deja vu. Six years after launching a line of Linux game consoles that went down as one of the biggest tech flops of the past decade, Valve is trying once again. Only this time, its Steam Machine dreams and unusual touchpads have been rolled into a 7-inch handheld PC that looks and works like a Nintendo Switch.
Here are six reasons why this isn’t Steam Machines all over again — and, a few brand-new reasons to be skeptical.
The Steam OS is free to download.
Why Would I need to buy a Steam Machine when I can make it on my PC and switch between PC and Steam OS?
I love Steam, but I don't see anyone who already has a capable PC to buy the Steam Machine or find it more appealing.
Yeah, it's true. I can't wait to see how they market the Steam Machines, will the focus be on console gamers or PC gamers?