Fubarberry
Steam HardwareNon-paywall link: https://archive.is/73XhB
"So behind"
They're dealing with exorbitant demand during a time when tech and hardware prices are skyrocketing. They're doing quite well given the circumstances, imo.
Gonna keep buying Xbox controllers I suppose then :\ Would love to throw money at Valve for theirs, but they aren't making it easy and I am not going to join a waitlist for a piece of plastic lol. Hopefully in the future they'll have some for sale
Plenty of 3rd party options with better tech and lower price are available than Xbox controllers.
I reserved mine 15 minutes after the reservations opened and I'm not getting it till September
There’s 3 possible categories, and you got the earliest. The other two are “December” and “2027”.
This worries me that this is foreshadowing the situation with the Steam Machine
I have no doubt it is with the way the prices have been with memory and gas for a while now at this point. Not necessarily Valve’s fault, but it’s gonna suck ass regardless.
My wife was supposed to get hers for Mother's Day. Now she's hoping Christmas? But even that's iffy at this point.
"Your present is still being manufactured, please hold"
"Oh honey, I'll cherish this "Estimated Time of Shipping : Next May" email close to my heart whenever I need to feel appreciated for being a mother."
I hope she eventually enjoys it. I just wanted to make a joke of a shitty situation you ended up in.
Sad, mine is in 2027 and I got in on day 2 when they opened pre-orders as I missed initial announcement.
I'm very happy I managed to snag one. For anyone waiting: it'll be worth it.
yay got my notification today. Reserved on the 8th. Just leaving this here as some hope to the people that haven’t received anythng yet
It very much depends on where in the world you are. I reserved mine at 1am on the 9th, not long after they opened the reservations (because of the time difference, I'm in Sweden), and it says my estimate is in december this year... :(
i am in germany so i don’t think it should be much different for you. I don’t remember the exact time but the system said it was still on the 8th.
Oh they're showing estimates now? Let's check.
:(
Made my reservation just a bit after 1am on the 9th... :'(
Man this sucks. Not angry with Valve, it seems they far, FAR underestimated demand, but with the entire industry being on fire I also sort of understand. I'm a computer guy and when people want to buy hardware from me I spiral in to a dark place because it's practically impossible and my prices are so huge they'd be insane to even speak to me again.
If it helps. That is the "earliest estimate"
Pretty sure, every controller they have is going to go out with the Frame or the Machine from now til then. Need to justify the (almost guaranteed) $1000+ MSRP.
I put my order in about 30 minutes after the reservation queue went live and I also show a September estimated date. I'm interested, when did you get your reservation in?
I don't remember for sure, I think it was early afternoon that day?
Edit: Got the confirmation email from my reservation 1:10pm May 8th
Did everyone get a confirmation email?
I didn't get any confirmation
Might want to check the status on the reservation page then
But yes you should’ve gotten an email
Could also maybe ask support to resend you the email if possible
That's a good idea. I can do that. Thanks
i got the same estimate and i placed my reservation like an hour after they opened :c
Think of it like this,this estimates everyone buying it. It can only get better from this. I got dec. 26
I put in my reservation on May 14th and it's showing availability in 2027 for me. It's kind of killing my interest to be honest. That's a long wait.
I missed the boat on this one, but I have the OG controller so I guess I’ll keep using that awkward ass thing.
I have a Steam Deck and am not sure what the hype is about with the Steam controller. On my SD, the track pads don’t really work that well (mainly use them in desktop mode as a mouse), and $50 Xbox controllers otherwise seem equivalent, except at half the price with support for Linux distros other than SteamOS. Am I overlooking something critical?
If you've never created a custom menu for a game on the steam deck, I can understand not getting the hype. I have customized the controls for a few games so much that I found myself reaching for my deck even when I had my TV or computer available. For me having the same control layout between deck and controller is huge.
Trackpads are crucial if you want to play strategy games or anything mouse based. They also offer a lot better aiming control in fps games (although I think using gyro for aiming is even better than that). They also can be used for fancy touch menus and things like that.
The back buttons are also extremely nice.
So use KB+M? Trackpad is a terrible replacement for a mouse/trackball. A lot better aiming in fps vs what? Xbox controller? KB+M?
So use KB+M?
You heard the him, boys, cancel your orders, you are doing wrong.
For FPS games, I'd rank it Mouse>Finger Trackball>Gyro Aim>Thumb Trackball/Trackpads>>Thumbstick
So yeah, if mouse+kb is available, use that. But that's not a good option on my living room couch.
Ever tried one of these? Putting thumb trackball together with trackpads is a bit much lol! Lap Setup
I have actually, I tried using a thumb ball for awhile before swapping to a 52mm fingerball.
Felt like the ball was too small and my thumb lacked the precision to make it a good alternative to a regular mouse. Your mouse looks to have a larger thumb ball than the one I was using, which would help but wouldn't be enough (I think). To be honest, I prefer the deck trackpads to that thumb ball mouse I was using.
Combination of gyro and trackpads is an option for gyro, though it takes some getting used to. Essentially I think use the trackpad for the main looking around and then the gyro is the last step and allows for mouse level precision.
https://www.ign.com/articles/steam-deck-trackpad-gyro-mouse-accuracy-shooters-fps-valve
That works, but my preferred setup for controller shooters is gyro+flickstick. I don't think the trackpad would be as good for flickstick.
It's the Gaben effect. It's like how everyone overlooks that steam is a game store sucking profits out of the industry like all the other big ones or that Gaben owns a billion dollars worth of boats.
It's just an over priced controller. Steam should start selling clothes so people can go around looking like those obnoxious Ferrari guys. I'd love to see valves marketing budget, it must be massive.
Steam deck before the price hike was definitely a good buy, this though is just fluff.
Don't like it, then don't buy it. I find it hilarious that people call it overpriced, but can't show me a cheaper controller with the same features.
but can’t show me a cheaper controller with the same features.
can they show you any controller with the same features?
Well, on the one hand... having more demand than you can actually fulfill is the kind of problem most busineses would like to have...
Assuming they're actually moving a lot of units.
I mean... even if they're not moving a lot of units, its still broadly a good problem to have -> considerably more people than you thought, want to buy the thing you sell.
So at bare minimum you've over delivered in terms of product design.
The extremely obvious capitalist response to that would be to raise prices on that thing. Win win, right? The extra profits go toward more capex to make more future production.
... But they haven't done that.
They haven't done that because they care about their image more than their profit margins on this particular product.
And/or because in the current environment... basically, the cost/reward on spending more capex isn't worth the reputation hit.
The capex spending to meaningfully ramp up production would be so expensive, that it'd end up being a net loss, in terms of reputation damage.
... At least this is my semi-informed guess.
They are not. Sold out in 30 minutes. Lol.
You can sell out a loot of units in 30 minutes...
Bold of you to assume that you can't sell out hundreds of thousands, if not millions of units in 30 minutes.
This man has never heard of bots
And bots don't have to pay for goods or what are you trying to say?
Well the bots got the lion's share, for sure. They'll get the machines and frames too.
Or they are taking a loss on every deck, controller, sold and we don't even have a price on the desktop.
Valve is taking a red bloody bath and slowing the bleeding.
Do you have any evidence to suggest that valve released a brand new controller and decided, what out of the goodness of their hearts, to sell it for a loss?
Businesses sell things for a loss all the time, it's never out of the goodness of their hearts. It's a strategy to gain market share or to sell other products for a higher margin. Every supermarket you've ever been to has products for sale at a loss. Doesn't make it a good deal for the customer either, just an accounting reality.
So... no evidence?
Yeah but this isn't really the same as the Costco hot dog. It's a product that's more expensive than the alternatives (though they don't have track pads) and steam is the defacto pc gaming software. Other massive companies can barely compete and have to do stuff like epic where they give games out for free (exactly the kind of tactic you're talking about). My sarcastic comment about the kindness of their heart is because I personally can't see another reason to do that. That's why I asked for any evidence - an interview, a tweet from someone who would know, an article, anything other than a hunch.
sarcastic comment about the kindness of their heart is because I personally can’t see another reason to do that
Exactly you can't personally see it so i explained it to you lol
Yes but valve already has a monopoly on the PC gaming market. Usually companies sell things at a loss to attract you to them so you buy other things while you get the good deal.
In valve's case, we're already in the store buying their games. There's no reason for them to sell it at a loss, because it won't attract people to steam.
Theres nobody out there saying "wow I would be a PC gamer playing on steam if I had a steam specific controller."
Maybe that's the case for the steam machines and steam frame coming up, but I kinda doubt it.
As someone who works in retail, even our best sales at our store will still make us around a 10% profit. Our normal GP for items sits around 30% to 40%, so while it is less than that we almost never actually sell things for a real loss.
They could've sold it at twice the price I'd still would've bought one tho?
Why should they take a loss on the controller? There is no RAM or other parts affected by the price hikes in it. Also they announced the price only shortly before launch. Why should they have chosen a price that does not cover the costs? This does not make any sense.
Well, at least it's an update. I was just about to post in here if anyone had received a purchase link from their reservation yet. I made mine on May 10th; maybe that means I'll be in the "this year" batch.
I’m in the US. Reservations opened at 12pm May 8th, I queued up by 12:01, got my link to purchase last Thursday with the controller arriving a few days ago. Based on that and considering there were likely a lot of reservations placed over those two days, my gut says that you might be waiting a while, unfortunately.
Or maybe you'll get the link tomorrow and it will ship alarmingly fast like mine! ¯\(ツ)/¯
Yup, I got mine on day one (spam that F5 ppl) and it was here on the second day, surprised me, pleasantly, they said a week.
I made my reservation in the first minutes when it was possible and clicked the buying link as soon as I got one sent. The controller was delivered 10 days ago. I am located in Germany.
You can now see the estimated delivery date on the Steam Controller page!
I made my reservation request on May 8th at 11am, and I got my purchase invitation on June 15th at 9pm. Hope that helps.
I didn't think to reserve it before the 12th. So mine says 2027. I just thought they'd meet demand.
I made my reservation on May 9th and it shows December.
same here.
I'm actually baffled who buys all of these controllers? If you're windows user you have a plethora of options in all price brackets. I wanted to buy steam controller because of Linux compatibility (Reverse engineered Xbox controller driver likes to shit itself from time to time)
Why everyone else just suddenly needs This new controller is just beyond me
The old steam controller was loved by many and has always been praised by its very enthusiastic user base. With Valve proving their worth as a hardware vendor to the masses via the steam deck, I'm not surprised the controller is as popular as it is. I hope you manage to get one!
If you’re windows user you have a plethora of options in all price brackets. I wanted to buy steam controller because of Linux compatibility (Reverse engineered Xbox controller driver likes to shit itself from time to time)
8bitdo and similar controllers work absolutely fine under Linux. No idea where your Linux compatibility thing comes from.
8bitdo
First time I hear about this company. I have no idea if they're trust worth, and If they make a solid product that won't break two months after warranty expires.
What? They're probably the biggest 3rd party game controller vendor. They moved to hall effect before even the 1st party companies had those in their elite controllers.
Also, regular Xbox also work fine under Linux. The only thing that needs the reverse engineered community driver is that wireless dongle because it can pair multiple controllers. USB and Bluetooth are absolutely fine for pretty much every controller under Linux. The dongle 8bitdo uses is for a single controller, so it acts like a regular controller that was connected with a USB cable.
Maybe they're known in US, but I never seen them in EU.
USB and Bluetooth are absolutely fine for pretty much every controller under Linux.
USB yes, Bluetooth no - BT has by design considerable input lag, and in case Xbox controller it was even worse.
Reverse engineered xone driver for dongle fails every few kernel updates. I know, I used it for like two years. After few months of not using the game pad you find that it doesn't work, you need to install new version of the driver IF it's available, if not you have to downgrade kernel. Fuck this experience. I want things to work out of the box.
Maybe they’re known in US, but I never seen them in EU.
Then you didn't look properly: https://geizhals.de/8bitdo-ultimate-2c-wireless-controller-pc-android-v177372.html Gulikit is another very famous 3rd party controller brand. I think both source their sensors from the same manufacturer. They often have quite similar controllers.
Reverse engineered xone driver for dongle fails every few kernel updates.
So the dongle is the problem, not the controller. Use a USB cable for best latency. Works fine. Literally every other controller doesn't have this problem, so specifically needing a Steam Controller because of Linux compatibility is nonsensical.
So if you want one with a dongle that works absolutely fine under Linux and costs only 29 Euro:
I want something that works instead of PS5 Bluetooth that cuts off when I put it under my desk. It's a first class controller designed for pc that just works. It also has other cool things like never dying.
I found that disabling my motherboard's Bluetooth and using a dongle improved that situation dramatically. I suspect all the EMI plus a steel desktop case was a big contributor.
Oh also the ps5 controller speaker set as default was a horrendous and annoying experience lol
I did that and still wasnt great, but it was better at least.
I've experimented with Xbox controller on Bluetooth, and it wasn't a good experience. I did some research and it looks like it's because Microslop decided to ignore the bloetooh specs - controller doesn't signal required bandwidth, so BT driver defaults to the lowest one. If you force driver to faster transmission rate, it will work better, but all other devices that support lowest speed only won't work
Mine heats to crazy temps and I had to glue a copper radiator on to the microslop bluetooth thingy
It got two track pad, i can't find the recommended one on this price range with two track pad.
Edit: i can't buy it even if i wanted to.
It's a hyped-up piece of videogame hardware. I'm gonna guess half the sales were to scalpers planning to immediately resell at twice the price.
It's hyped because of the touchpads. And hall effect sticks
That's why I got it. Sold the dual shock, and Hoping to sell my Xbox controller too
Yeah it does seem nice, and I didn't say it's OVERhyped. Just saying scalpers are always a big part of stuff like this.
Almost every third party controller these days uses Hall effect or TMR.
It's hyped because it's sTeAm and scalpers.
I sweat they do this limited inventory on purpose for the news coverage
Welcome to my world, just substitute 99% of modern tech and that's me!
I reserved on May 15th, and mine says 2027 ship date. "Some" is doing a lot of heavy lifting in that title.
Seems valve really cocked up the launch if the first orders are going to take more than 6 months to fill.
They got the first shipment of manufactured controllers - one estimate is around 40k based on some import data - and sold them out in minutes, then started taking backorders.
Paper launch.
Honestly would love one of these controllers but a limiting factor for me is how universal it can be, a friend nabbed one on preorder says you can only really use it on steam with limited support outside of steam. Got one of those gamesir pros instead, same price, no wait, universal usable on pc
Without steam it defaults to doing a combination of keyboard and mouse inputs, meant to let people use a desktop. Idea is you could boot up computer, and then be able to navigate the computer to launch steam/etc.
You do have options for playing games from outside of steam:
- add games as a non-steam game to steam, allows managing inputs/etc.
- any games that use SDL will have native steam controller support (many emulators etc)
- software like Steamless controller (windows) or SISR (windows or linux) allow you to use the controller outside of steam, allowing different levels of input customization.
edit: removed sc-controller because it's apparently not updated for the new steam controller yet
What else do you want to use it for? For me the coolest feature is the ability to play mouse games on a couch. For other consoles I think either 1st party controller or a good 8bido would defeat steam controller despite it being really awesome
I completely forgot about the reservation and only got it in 4 hours later. Estimated is December 2026.
I can wait. There's no rush
Mine shows 2027 estimate :( was hoping to replace my Vader 5 Pro with its pretty abysmal software situation with the Steam Controller soon, but I guess not
Can the Vader 5 Pro just use Steam Input? I thought there was an "Allow Third Party Apps to take over" setting.
I was looking at one of those but not having Steam Input would be a deal breaker. I am so tired of expensive hardware having shite software. It isn't a hard problem to solve - they just don't want to
The longer the controller has been out, the less hyped I have become about it. At this point, I'm probably gonna end up in the future buying some other controller and calling it good.
Definitely need something better than my PowerA switch controller since I don't like how the triggers and bumpers are all or nothing, but I've basically lost all hype for a Steam controller.
You can look into the 8BitDo Ultimate 2 Wireless. It is what I use, comes with a charging dock, TMR sticks, and I’m sure some other things you might like.
I liked it so much I got two more for my friends who really liked how the sticks felt. It was $60 when I got them all. :-)
In was looking into something like an 8BitDo or seeing how good Turtle Beach is.
I’m sorry I didn’t realize before, but happy cake day! 🎂
I haven’t used Turtle Beach since the 360, so I can’t give you much there. I’ve had the 8BitDo since before Christmas last year and it is solid!
The dock holds the USB receiver so it works both on Fedora and Windows when I switch between them. Steam seems to recognize it as its own thing, and if you hold the B button when taking it off the dock or using the middle power button, it’ll switch to SDL mode and allow you to map the back paddles and the extra top bumper buttons to whatever you want! Plus the gyro stuff, but I don’t use that.
Hopefully that helps you a little more in your search! LTT (LinusTechTips) did a video on YouTube about a few third party controllers. You might watch that also to see if one of the controllers they show in that video suits your needs more! :-)
I forgot I even set cake day to this day. Not gonna lie, it's probably a random date I set because I don't want other knowing my real cake day.
Thanks for the info, too.
It's a really good controller, if you want trackpads/backbuttons/gyro/etc it's hard to beat. That said, it is just a controller. If you don't need those features you can definitely find other options.
If you just want a new controller, look into the Gamesir brand. TMR sticks and hall effect triggers.
People that require a controller for their living room pc are the target market. Or those that want to prioritize inputs over anything else.
Otherwise, there are many cheaper alternatives. There are also many more premium controller out their.
Scarcity may have saved you from holding a awkward symmetrical sticks controller with two giant trackpads that need SteamInput to be useful.
The deck and this thing will be garbage for couch play. You ain't wrong though.
I've been playing tons of games with this on my couch, currently playing RE9, and I love it. Trackpad + gyro is an amazing combo for aiming with a controller. I've been wanting this exact controller for years since I got my Steam Deck andit was worth it, especially for couch play.
My wife uses her Steam Controller for playing games on the sofa via Steam Link on our Apple TV. It's perfect for it.
:(
Aside from the brand is it really that much better than the 8bitdo or Xbox alternatives?
I would still be using an old wired Xbox 360 controller if it didn't give up the goat.
It’s an amazing pc controller. The motion contols, touch pads, joysticks, and haptics are all amazing.
The only downside it the steam requirement.
It does not require steam
I think there was software released from one of the Valve developers a week after the controller released, that makes it possible to use the controller outside of the Steam environment.
Neat! I’ll have to look into that. I know that it would work without some of the features but they’re kind of the selling point of the controller.
Requirement? How so? Traditionally you can Mao any old controller for a game manually if you must. It pairs with my desktop on Bluetooth no problem.
Requirement? How so? Traditionally you can Mao any old controller for a game manually if you must. It pairs with my desktop on Bluetooth no problem.
Are Gamers Nexus and other lying when they said that the controller acts are mouse without Steam? I don't have one but that's exactly how Steam Deck's controls work.
It definitely does this. But why would that matter. The computer sees joy sticks and buttons. You can map accordingly?
It definitely does this. But why would that matter. The computer sees joy sticks and buttons. You can map accordingly?
Without Steam, my Steam Deck's inputs are scroll wheels and mouse buttons and the computer sees no sticks and buttons. That's my point.
Yes, you can hit a shortcut on it to switch to controler input mode outside of steam
Yes, you can hit a shortcut on it to switch to controler input mode outside of steam
Cool. Which button combo is it? https://help.steampowered.com/en/faqs/view/33E8-5EDF-24E6-4CFB doesn't list it and instead actually says that Steam is required to properly use it.
It requires Steam only for the onscreen keyboard.
i actually end up using it more than i thought i would. if i am just casually browsing the web, i kinda just use the steam controller instead of my mouse now.
I don’t have one but my friend does and he says the touchpads make it the only option he’s willing to put up with for pc gaming any more.
Depends on what you play. IIRC like the original steam controller, it's better at playing non controller games than any other controller is. If you are just using it for games with full controller support anyway then I doubt there is as much of a difference.
If you're using it like an Xbox controller, it doesn't matter which one you buy. Steam Controller is about all the inputs that Xbox (or others) don't have, such as trackpads, touch sensitive sticks and gyroscope.
This combination is unique on the market and I wouldn't play most games with a controller without. Especially first person games.
I got 2 Xbox series controllers. The joy sticks are way better on the steam controller. And there's more buttons. I think I still prefer the Xbox controls layout but I get why valve did it the way they did because of the touch pads, and its such a minor complaint and I'd rather have the extra control options the steam controller offers.
"Behind"
100% what this actually means is valve is only making them in limited to supply to lengthening the time they take losses.
Valve ain't making money on decks, they ain't going to make money on the controllers, and they are going to take a bloody red bath on the machines.
Y'all need to read between the lines. It's a controller. It ain't hard to make.
I think people are forgetting that the steam machine is going to ship with a controller as well. I think they have to split their controller production between people buying just the controller and the amount of steam machines they are producing as they get ready to launch that.
Are they making loss with each sales? I'd imagine the $100 price point mean they earn quite a bit.
I doubt they are earning as much as you think.
They jam packed it full of shit that nobody needs like capacitive Joysticks, and capacitive touchpads on the bottom.
I...don't know how much they earn, but they probably doesn't sell this as loss.
