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Valve's Steam Controller is dead
Four years after Valve released its oddball Steam Controller, it's not making any more. The controller is on sale today for $5 -- that's 90 percent off its list price of $49.99 -- and a note in the Steam Store warns that there's a limited quantity remaining. Once those controllers are gone, Valve doesn't plan to make more, The Verge reports.
Valve has sold over 500,000 Steam Controllers
If you've been wondering how many people bought into Valve's bid to redefine the PC gamepad, you've got an answer: about half a million. That's the number Valve gave today in the Steam Controller's June Update post. That's a lot of controllers, but nowhere near enough to overthrow the dual-stick status quo. It is enough, however, to give Valve a diverse user base from which to harvest valuable user feedback. "With every controller that comes online we get the opportunity to get more feedback on how to make the Steam Controller even better."
Report: Steam Controller design finalized, more at GDC
After a number of revisions since its inception, the design of the Steam Controller has reportedly been finalized and will be introduced during March's Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. Origin PC CEO Kevin Wasielewski discussed the official Valve hardware with GameSpot at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week. "So now they're going to production and at GDC is when they're going to announce more stuff," Wasielewski asserted, noting that Origin PC will be in attendance, though the CEO did not divulge what products the company will show off. Valve announced the Steam Controller alongside SteamOS and Steam Machines in September 2013. It later showed off an updated version of the controller in March 2014 that featured a more traditional face button layout (which we went hands-on with at GDC 2014). Valve then added an analog stick to the gamepad in July before seemingly tacking a d-pad onto it, according to images of the controller's design that surfaced last month. Origin PC launched two small form-factor "Chronos" gaming machines last year after announcing the SteamOS-compatible rigs just over one year ago. The company teased new living room gaming systems this week, though it is now downplaying the system's compatibility with Valve's operating software. Wasielewski told GameSpot that the "Steam Machines" moniker is "kind of pretty much dead," and while living room-focused systems are nothing new, "it seems like there's a legitimate demand and push for living room PCs." [Image: Valve]
Updated Steam Controller design features d-pad
The Steam Controller has already seen a couple tweaks since its initial unveiling, first by adding traditional face buttons, and later supporting an analog thumbstick. Now, it appears that the controller will also feature a directional pad, though in what capacity remains to be seen. Game Informer uncovered an image file in the Steam Client beta that suggests the Steam Controller will be able to support a d-pad in place of its left-side haptic touch pad. We say "able to support" because this is not an image of an actual, physical controller, and nowhere is it implied that this design will be released to the exclusion of others. The d-pad could be something users install for when they want it, or it could be part of a redesigned haptic touch pad. Who knows? Valve knows, that's who. And they haven't said anything official on the matter. However, Valve VP of Marketing Doug Lombardi told TechRadar last month that the company will have a large Steam Machines presence at GDC 2015, which begins March 2. [Image: Valve]
Updated Steam Controller adds an analog stick
Ah, there it is. A new version of Valve's Steam Controller includes an analog stick on the left-hand side, replacing a series of four directional buttons previously in its place. The new controller design still has two circular track pads, four lettered buttons, bumpers and triggers, among other features included in previous iterations. The new design shows up in the latest Steam client beta, as spotted by SteamDB and on the Facepunch forums (via Engadget). We've tried out previous Steam Controllers in the wild, and found the latest version to be functional but awkward: "It's impressive that the Steam Controller can bounce between styles as disparate as 2D adventure and first-person puzzling, and its touch pads could become second nature over time, but it's definitely not going to provide a seamless transition from traditional controllers, at least not in its current state," our reviewer, Richard Mitchell, said. [Image: Valve]
Valve implies 2015 delay for Steam Machines
Valve's Steam Machines program looks set to drift into a 2015 release window, although the company's wording leaves the matter unclear. In an update on the pre-built PCs, Valve's Eric Hope said pending improvements tied to the Steam Controller would realistically mean a delay until next year. Hope didn't state specifically if that's for the Controller and/or the Machines, but the context points to the latter at least. Hope wrote, "We're now using wireless prototype controllers to conduct live playtests, with everyone from industry professionals to die-hard gamers to casual gamers. It's generating a ton of useful feedback, and it means we'll be able to make the controller a lot better. Of course, it's also keeping us pretty busy making all those improvements. Realistically, we're now looking at a release window of 2015, not 2014. "Obviously we're just as eager as you are to get a Steam Machine in your hands. But our number one priority is making sure that when you do, you'll be getting the best gaming experience possible. We hope you'll be patient with us while we get there. Until then, we'll continue to post updates as we have more stories to share." That suggests Steam Machines won't be available until 2015, although the program's homepage still notes a 2014 release window. We've reached out to Valve for clarification. [Image: Valve]
Hands on with Valve's redesigned Steam Controller
Valve is showing off its newly redesigned Steam Controller prototype at GDC 2014, and Joystiq just tried it out. As avid Joystiq readers are already aware, the new version of Valve's controller ditches the central touch screen and its odd quadrangle of buttons for a more traditional setup, including four directional buttons and four lettered face buttons. My impressions are more or less in line with our impressions from January. I tried out both Portal 2 and Broken Age. The circular track pad does a decent job of recreating mouse movement in Broken Age, though the sensitivity could make it difficult to settle the pointer on dialogue options (I wasn't able adjust sensitivity in my demo, which could alleviate the issue). Using the thumb pads in Portal 2 proved much more challenging. Precision aiming when firing portals, especially when I had to make portals on a distant surface, was tricky. Four way movement was a little awkward as well, though I was pleased that my position on the thumb pad simulated analogue movement, allowing me to move at a slow creep or a quick run. The haptic feedback in both pads also helped create a feeling of resistance, though obviously it won't fool you into thinking you're using an analogue stick. It's impressive that the Steam Controller can bounce between styles as disparate as 2D adventure and first-person puzzling, and its touch pads could become second nature over time, but it's definitely not going to provide a seamless transition from traditional controllers, at least not in its current state.
Weekly Roundup: Apple releases iOS 7.1, Amazon raises the price of Prime and more!
You might say the week is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workweek, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Weekly Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past seven days -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Behold: Valve's updated Steam Controller
Valve offered up a clearer side-by-side image of its updated Steam Controller today. The second iteration of the SteamOS gamepad was revealed in January, and peeled away the center touchscreen in favor of more traditional face buttons. The new buttons consist of a directional pad and standard A, B, X and Y buttons, the latter formerly located around the touchscreen. Valve left the large circular trackpads on the device, but also added a Steam icon button in the center with start and select-like buttons on either side with what appear to be stop and play icons. The Steam Controller was announced alongside SteamOS and Steam Machines in September 2013, and was followed up by a hardware beta program that already excluded the controller's touchscreen. We spent some time with Valve's beta hardware in early January and found the experience lacking on the previous version of the controller with Hotline Miami and Portal in particular. Head past the break for a closer look at the updated controller.
Steam Controller ditches touch-screen for traditional buttons
Valve has iterated upon its Steam Controller design, eradicating the center touch-screen in favor of a more familiar physical button-based set-up. The image above came from folks on Twitter attending Steam Dev Days today. Valve decided to add the buttons for backwards compatibility purposes. The controller's signature trackpads, however, remain untouched. Considering the controller is still in beta, we wouldn't be surprised if the Steam Controller gets another facelift before its official launch later this year. [Image credit: @TheIneQuation]
Daily Roundup: FuelBand SE Silver Edition, privacy-focused Blackphone and more!
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Valve wants Dota 2 playable on Steam Controller
Valve Software readily admits its unconventional Steam Controller isn't likely to replace the keyboard and mouse PC gamers are familiar with, but the company still aims for a future in which the new controller can be used with such complex games as strategy hit Dota 2. "[Dota 2] is a really complex game that uses a good half of the keyboard," Valve engineer Jeff Bellinghausen told Polygon at CES. "And it's a real challenge, but would also be really exciting. To be able to play Dota from the couch is a really neat opportunity." Crucial to this plan is the upcoming debut of Steam Controller API support in Steamworks, which should make it easier for developers to tap the full functionality of the Steam Controller in their games. Even with the new API support, Bellinghausen believes it will be impossible to perfectly replicate the experience of using a keyboard and mouse with the Steam Controller. "We're thinking we'll get 90 percent of the way there," Bellinghausen told Polygon. "Team Fortress 2 players who are really happy with their mouse and keyboard, we're in no way saying that's changing or going away," Bellinghausen added."What we're trying to do is find a way to get close to that performance, but [from] your couch. That's the goal, to get close to that performance level."
Hands-on with Valve's Steam Machine beta hardware
Valve wants a piece of your living room, and it's taking several approaches to make it happen, not the least of which are Steam Machines. Watching Valve's Steam Machines evolution from rumor to concept to hardware beta has been a fascinating process, and now that we've been allowed some hands-on time with one of these quasi-consoles, we're here to tell you what we think. Before we get started, first thing's first: the hardware beta Valve is currently running is just that, a beta. This means everything you're about to read is subject to change. Heck, we already know Valve is partnering with multiple manufacturers to produce various hardware configurations, so who can say what elements will stay the same and what will change? That being said, we're going to try and give you an idea of what to expect based on what we've experienced.
Watch the Steam Controller play more than a dozen games
YouTube channel Trial By Game issued a slew of Steam Machines and Steam Controller videos in the last week. Using its prototype hardware, the channel delivered 23 related videos to date, many of which show the Steam Controller in action with games like Surgeon Simulator 2013, Metro: Last Light, Civilization 5, Bastion and Super Street Fighter 4. We included a few more of the channel's videos after the break. Valve announced its hardware and accompanying operating system in September prior to kicking off the selection process for its 300-person hardware beta program, which Trial By Game seems to be a part of. Valve created its own video to demonstrate the Steam Controller in October, but as with Trial By Game's looks at the game pad, the controller shown isn't final hardware. The Steam Controller's final form will feature a touchscreen between its circular trackpads.
SteamOS now available for download
As promised for today, Valve has released its custom operating system, SteamOS. SteamOS is a custom version of the Linux operating system, so if you're looking to tinker around with it be sure to give this FAQ a gander first. Valve is also sending out Steam Machines to 300 beta participants starting today. SteamOS is part of Valve's three-pronged approach in bringing PC gaming into the living. In addition to SteamOS, there are also Steam Machines - custom affordable pre-built PCs designed to play Steam games - and Valve's customizable Steam Controller.
Daily Roundup: Steam Controller hands-on, Lumia 929 leak, grim BlackBerry developments and more!
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Valve showcases a handful of prototype Steam Controllers
Valve recently showed off a few of its Steam Machines and Steam Controller hardware precursors to our friends at Engadget. Among the group of hacked-together gadgets was a motion controller that used pieces from the Razer Hydra controller described by designer Greg Coomer as "a Frankenstein" game pad. That particular prototype controller broke apart with "gyroscopes or magnetic sensors in either path, to sense orientation and position." As seen in Engadget's photos, other prototype controllers featured touch pads similar to the official Steam Controller unveiled in late September, and others still even had large trackballs. We'd like to think that Valve was developing its own Golden Tee machine at one point with those controllers at the forefront. Coomer also discussed a prototype device that acted as a "communication and input core," which hasn't been completely shelved by the company just yet. Resembling a phone, the gadget wound up being "more abstract and farther removed from anything people were familiar with," and ultimately introduced "noise to the experience of playing your games."
A look inside Valve's Steam Machine prototype
Our techie pals at Engadget went hands-on with Valve's Steam Machine prototype, and by hands-on we mean they surgically investigated the thing, as the above image attests. The company's new line-up of gaming machines will support the Linux-based SteamOS, and are coming in multiple forms next year via third-party manufacturers. What Engadget took a look at is Valve's own prototype, which is going into the hands of just 300 beta testers. "Really we just wanna have confidence that all the customers on Steam are having enough options, and that the price/performance spectrum is as fleshed out as Steam customers want it to be," Valve designer Greg Coomeer told Engadget when pushed on the Machines' availability outside of beta. "And right now, the indications that we have from the lineup that we're gonna be talking about at CES, is that they are gonna have enough choice. So we're gonna continue to treat this as a test platform and see how that goes." So, more news on the Steam Machines at January's CES trade show. That's two of Valve's big three September reveals covered, just leaving the Steam Controller. Well, Engadget has you covered there too, so head that way for a hands-on look at the twin-trackpad peripheral.
Valve shows off how its Steam Controller is going to work
Selling Steam gamers -- who are used to playing their games with a keyboard and mouse -- on a handheld controller is no easy task. Valve knows this, and since the original announcement of the company's new Steam Controller, there have been plenty of questions as to how precise it actually is. To help calm some of the ruckus, Valve has produced a video showing the controller being used with many popular games. The video does a respectable job of selling the concept of using the controller with previously released titles, and the narrator is quick to note that the games shown have not been modified to work specifically with the new accessory. The Steam Controller appears to work just fine for strategy and simulation titles, but the footage shown of first-person gameplay in Portal 2 and Counterstrike: Global Offensive isn't as quick and fluid as some keyboard purists would probably like. Still, for an accessory still in development, it's a pretty nifty showcase.
Valve demonstrates Steam Controller in new video
Valve issued a video demonstrating its Steam Controller today. The game pad, which features two track pads in lieu of joysticks, is used for its series of Steam Machines, announced in September. The controller shown in the video isn't final hardware, but rather a prototype controller lacking a touchscreen to be included in Valve's hardware beta program. Among the developers that have seen the controller, Super Meat Boy developer Team Meat said it was able to execute some of the game's more demanding moves on the pad.
