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Most other gaming devices are available at a variety of retailers, from Amazon to Walmart. But Valve likes to do things a little differently. And since Gabe and co. have their own (extremely popular) online storefront, they\u2019re selling it there and nowhere else, much like the Steam Deck.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s so great about this controller? One big benefit is the wealth of input options. Valve was very creative and forward-thinking when it designed the Steam Deck to be able to play a whole bunch of PC games that would be either annoying or impossible to play on a traditional controller. The new Steam Controller employs all of those Steam Deck control innovations, plus a few more for good measure.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\nFor starters, it has all the same basic controls you\u2019d find on a PS5 or Xbox controller: a D-pad, two analog sticks, four face buttons, two triggers, and two bumpers. Like some pro\/elite controllers, it has four back buttons you can assign to act as any other buttons on the device. But like the Steam Deck, the new Steam Controller also has two touchpads that can act as mice, keyboard inputs, weapon-select wheels, and more, depending on the game you\u2019re playing.<\/p>\n
The analog sticks use TMR technology, which is precise, reliable, and power efficient. It\u2019s also supposed to be immune to stick drift, something that has plagued more than one of my previous controllers. The tops of the sticks are touch capacitive, as are the grips. You can assign these touch sensors to enable tilt functionality, which some players like to use to assist their aiming in FPS games.<\/p>\n
It also comes with a magnetic puck that plugs into a USC port on your computer. This allows the controller to charge, and to be played \u201cwired\u201d to your computer. <\/p>\n
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