Hi! Since this is the newest post, a little introduction is in order. I’m Andrew, and this is my blog.
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Out of steam
I changed my mind, I don’t want one.
First of all, this is Valve, a bad company, that is notorious for only caring about profit, so it can easily abandon the project and stop supporting it. I’m not singling them out, commercial companies do that, but that’s my point: I don’t trust any of them. And I don’t trust the open source community to carry the torch, no offense.
And it needs support: it’s software based, which is my personal nightmare. A piece of hardware that is useless on its own? Horrible! That’s why I’ve been looking at mice with on-board memory.
And that’s why I’m more or less satisfied with so-called elite/pro/whatever gamepads, because they work as gamepads by themselves. If I can have a gamepad with four programmable back buttons, I’m 90% there: it’s a sweet spot between simplicity and customization.
Because customization is the greatest feature of a Steam Controller. It’s also its biggest drawback: it needs to be customized. Pads are not sticks, nor are they a mouse. They are, in my opinion, better, but only if you willing to spend time tinkering with them. A lot.
I realize that this falls into the “you want perfection but you only got good enough” category, and for some people a Steam Controller or something like it is more of an accessibility aid than it is for me.
All of this is based on my experience with the Steam Controller, which I got on day one. I liked it right away, I never had any complaints about the shape or anything like that. Steam Input (the software part, basically) was good enough to start with, and it got better over time. But after a couple of years I realized that the drawbacks outweighed the benefits: I tinkered more than I played. And in another couple of years Valve decided to rewrite the software and, at least in my opinion, made it worse.
That’s also why I don’t want a Steam Deck. It’s like those old TV combos that have a VHS or DVD player built in. One thing goes out and bye-bye the whole deal.
I also realize that the reason we are not getting Steam Controller 2 may be much simpler: a lawsuit.
Bottom line, I know myself and I like gamepads. And if there’s an interesting new one, there’s a good chance I’ll get it, even if I clearly don’t need one. But it would have to be really, really interesting, and a true successor to the Steam Controller is at the bottom of that list.