Steam controller

[Broadmonkey]

Steam just announced their new controller as a part of their SteamOS announcements
http://store.steampowered.com/livingroo ... ontroller/

Best of all, it's designed to be hackable



http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/2011 ... y_said.php

[Muirium]

Nice idea. I drifted away from console gaming after the Super Nintendo (still my last console) and never learned how to use thumb sticks. I forever blunder about with them whenever playing anyone else's games. Perhaps straight touchpads like this would feel more natural. Haptics could be make or break.

I'm all in favour of Valve doing their own console. Or actually their own open spec PC, isn't it? Windows is overkill for a gaming system, and painfully clumsy to use in the living room. Steam feels a bit like an OS already, so why not do the whole thing and make a real experience? Controllers included.

[matt3o]

this is a bold move from Steam... but I guess they made their homeworks.

that being said I tried to apply to the steamos hardware beta you never know. Not a big console player, but if it's linux I'm interested

[Broadmonkey]

I was more or less born with a game controller in my hand, but ever since the camecube controller (I was/am a huge Nintendo fan btw) I haven't found a controller that I like, Xbox's tend to get a lot of praise and I do own one, but the analog stick is a pain to use and so is Sony's!
It sure is a bold move by Valve, but also a very needed one, the de facto controller to use with a PC has so far been that of an xbox and that is far and away not good enough for anything but ports!

Regarding the whole SteamOS/box. SteamOS is just that, an OS that will run on every computer able to run Linux. As I see it the biggest feature is that it will enable you to stream your games from your main rig to the steam box, that way you don't have to buy a powerful pc to sit under your TV. The SteamBox is just a prebuilt computer for the "gamers" that knows nothing of hardware and don't care, there will also be several options ranging in price/manufacture.

Biggest of all is that it's all open and the community has a big influence on how this turns out.

[Muirium]

I was more or less born with a game controller in my hand, but ever since the camecube controller (I was/am a huge Nintendo fan btw) I haven't found a controller that I like, Xbox's tend to get a lot of praise and I do own one, but the analog stick is a pain to use and so is Sony's!.

Same here. My thumbs want something concave (domed down) to turn around rather than convex (pointing up) like all these sticks. Joysticks are to grab with your hand, not to teeter around with your thumb on the top. I'm glad Nintendo moved away from them with the Wii, but we're in an awkward age now where there's no one controller design to rule them all. The Wii and Kinect work for some things, but not detail. Touchscreens are better for that, but need you to look away from the big screen to use them. It's experiment time!

[Broadmonkey]

Back when i didn't play PC games I loved the analog stick, even on the N64, it was much more precise and smooth moving, than that on the playstation. I still think Nintendo makes/uses the best analog stick, even though they wear down much faster, but they are still not as good as a mouse. I have read a few preview articles on the Steam controller, and so far I am very optimistic about the touchpads beeing much better than analog sticks, and a great alternative to the mouse.