u/Joelk111 — Joelk111

Do you ever want to use a desktop PC or play RTS style games without a mouse and keyboard? Then yes, 100%, it's the best thing for it. Otherwise it just seems to be a really solid controller.

It's worked more reliably for me, though it also isn't without it's issues.

Huh? Doesn't the Index still work? Other standalone options exist now that are better in many ways, if that's your complaint.

Good(?) news! You can spend almost that much for the 2TB with a controller.

Honestly I don't even blame them for underestimating demand. Based on comments here and my own personal intuition, I would've guessed that it would've sold great, to a very niche audience.

Maybe it has more widespread demand than expected, those track pads make it amazing for any couch PC usage, gaming or not, and many existing SteamDeck owners like myself are already aware of this.

That's 100% the way to do it. Wonder why they aren't doing that again. Maybe they'll open it up.

Yeah, I mean, at this point valve has proved to be trustworthy. I wouldn't mind placing a pre-order or backorder with them.

I love the back paddles on the elite. I find them perfectly sensitive and satisfying to press, and I find the back buttons on the SteamDeck to be too difficult to press. But yeah, durability is a notorious issue on those.

I disagree, I've always thought it was pretty ugly. Too bulbous looking. The new one looks like a "normal" controller, but oversized to accommodate the track pads. Still not a looker, but at least it isn't so bulbous. Also, glossy plastic can smd.

Sounds like you don't know what a scam is. A scam is when something is promised but not delivered, not when you think something is overpriced.

And want to play all of their games on the couch. And want to take the time to make controller mappings. It's definitely a bit niche, but possibly a large niche.

As someone who spent $150-$200 on the Xbox Elite controller just to get the rear paddles, $100 for this with the rear buttons and the track pads seems like no problem at all. Imo it's incredibly fairly priced as compared to the competition, considering the features and emphasis on repairability.

It's because the SteamDeck 2 is on the way right?? Right?????

I'd also agree that there isn't a lot of value to the product, I know I wouldn't buy one. I mainly just wanted to point out that there is definitely room for innovation and such in the space, and a phone controller that's as nice as the SteamDeck controls doesn't exist.

I mean, no phone controller has the same layout as the steam controller. If Valve could implement the software to support steaminput when streaming games to a phone from your PC or a cloud PC, that'd be kinda cool.

I'm also not saying I'd buy it or that Valve should make it, but a controller with feature parity with the Steam Controller would be an innovation.

The SteamDeck also has a touchscreen. If you're using your phone to stream games from your PC, I'd imagine that track pads would be much better, similar to with the SteamDeck.

I personally have no use for playing games on my phone with a controller, that's why I bought a SteamDeck, but there could definitely be room for innovation, both in hardware and software, especially if you take streaming into account. A good steam-input supported controller could turn your phone into a killer game-streaming machine.

Why could a phone controller not have innovations such as those? You mentioned track pads yourself.

So do normal controllers. So did gaming handhelds. So do PCs. So do VR headsets. I'm not sure what your point is.

The Steam Controller is going to be an amazing way to navigate a desktop environment via the couch. I'm honestly as excited for it as the other hardware. The track pads are amazing.

Of course, in regards to streaming, you will be limited to 1080p or 720p because DRM. I might mention that one might consider other means of viewing ones content if doing so legally isn't an option.

The Crew series still exists, 2 and Motorfest.