Steam Controller announced
Today, Valve revealed the final piece of their plans to take over the living room. It's a controller.
An example of how the controller can be mapped
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Shacknews
replyAndrew Yoon posted a new article, Steam Controller announced.
Today, Valve revealed the final piece of their plans to take over the living room. It's a controller.-
Meh.
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nah lets just shit all over it now
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Hmmm, I don't know how that trackpad will stack up against a D-pad for fighters and the like. I also don't see how it will have a resolution similar to a mouse when your big ol' thumb is on it.
But hey, kudos for trying something new. -
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With each of the pads being buttons as well I think that's less of a concern. I think it's about time for something revolutionary in the controller space. We'll see how it works out but I'm super excited.
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Well, correct me if I'm wrong, but I think you only have like four buttons (the shoulders) on the Xbox controller that you can access without lifting either thumb, right? And the Xbox only has 11 buttons so that's about half. Not that bad at all imo!
I think a bigger issue is that you have access to MORE buttons at any given time. Might take a lot of getting used to. Either way, I'm super excited!
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Or action games like DmC or platformers just to name a couple of other possible problematic genres. You need to be able to use two buttons with one thumb motion and it looks impossible to do on this controller. This is the major reason every other controller out there has a diamond button layout.
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With your thumbs on the trackpads, you have 6 buttons under your fingers, not counting the buttons under the trackpads (R3,L3 from a PS3 point of view).
You have the RT,LT, RB,LB, and there is a button on each side under the controller that your middle finger rests on. You can see those buttons on the image just above the title 'Touch Screen' in a blueprint form, you can see the edge of one in the picture just above 'Dual Trackpads' and you can see actions assigned to them pointing under the handles in the example Portal 2 bindings.
Additionally, the ABXY buttons won't be any harder to press than they are in games that use dual sticks on the 360 or PS3 now.
Any that isn't even mentioning any of the software buttons possible on the touch screen. although not as immediate, they can be used for lesser used actions without the need of pausing the game or going into a menu.-
You don't have the dexterity in your fingers to accomplish what you seem to think you can with the buttons under the controller. This type of scheme is already present with the Vita and I have a lot of experience trying to use it like you describe and it just can't work as a functional replacement to having two buttons under your thumb at once.
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Valve isn't making you throw your 360 controllers and fightsticks away if you buy this.
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The thing is, if you care about fighting games, you're just plugging in a fight stick into a USB port. My bet is that this for games like Dota, L4D, TF2, Civ -- games that require something more than an analog stick.
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If it's me, I want a traditional 360 controller for something like Dark Souls, and this new one for more PC-centric games.
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Wouldn't you be using an arcade stick for fighting games (or at least a Saturn or SNES pad or something)?
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One advantage a stick or pad has over movement keys is variable speed: ranging from a light step or sneaking silently all the way to a full run. Key are either you're moving or you're not. Yeah, you get a run button, but that's still only 3 stages (stop, walk, run) vs being able to have more variance in a stick or pad.
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Can you imagine playing QW or Q3 with a 360 pad against other people...or with a flight stick or arcade stick? Different games work best with different controllers.
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people are very divided on this so far and I have mixed feelings about it too. I'm glad there is finally a first party controller with buttons on the back side, but I also don't like the X Y placement. I'll have to try the trackpads to believe it. The overall look is pretty terrible imho, but if it works I'll be happy to add a steam machine to my PS4
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Honestly, I don't like the placement of A and B either. I'm incredibly biased, as I started out on the NES. Being able to press two face buttons at once is important in a lot of games I play. Like Rayman Legends, you run with R1, jump with X and punch with [ ].
But I guess this is more aimed at FPS's and other games that benefit from the KB+M setup, which don't play very well on modern consoles. In that sense this thing could be pretty awesome for a lot of people. Actually, if it is nearly as accurate as mouse, then I may use it instead of a keyboard and mouse for FPS's.-
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From what I read each trackpad can only act as one button. I guess buttons on the back can work, but I don't see myself wanting to use my ring finger for anything important in a game.
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Yeah, I normally hate using trackpad like controls, but I'm open to trying it.
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I'll try anything once, but it looks like the HomerMobile. So much crap crammed into there
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The problem was their presentation strongly implied it. You have 3 announcements, each one taking two days to reveal, and a large sun that is clearly getting hotter and looks like its going to burst. You have some big news with an OS, some big news with dedicated consoles, then...a new controller. Something Logitech could have pulled off. I'm excited by the controller, but as a climax it's a failure.
A company like Valve needs to be conscious of the fact that a game that everybody has been waiting for, that only they can make, has taken far too long to come out - especially when they last left the game on a cliffhanger. If you are going to have something with a large buildup - you better have something that can match the fervor to it. Otherwise just announce the three things at once and be done with it.-
They implied nothing. They have never implied anything about HL2:EP3 or HL3. Ever. You got your little hopes worked up over... an image of a sun? All they said were that they would be making hardware and living room announcements and that's all they did.
You're saying that a company which has the ability to make the entire gaming world pay attention three times in one week shouldn't use that power unless they're unveiling a game which only so far exists for sure in your mind?
Valve has a spotless track record with developing and releasing quality games, and still you're going to shit on them for not delivering another game quickly enough.
If I were Valve I wouldn't go out of my way to cater to people like you either.-
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Whether Valve owe fans an explanation or not, that has zero to do with them making an announcement about their plans for the living room. They were explicitly clear as to what this announcement was about, and they've never taken advantage of that fan interest to promote other aspect of their business.
They're a huge company who work on a great deal of different things, they shouldn't have to qualify everything they do as "THIS IS NOT A HALF LIFE RELATED PIECE OF NEWS" even when they do go that far, people get pissed.
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You are over-reacting. I am not nearly as offended as you think I am. That being said, they certainly implied something to me and to what looks like the vast majority of people paying attention to the announcements. I was pointing out that their presentation was poorly executed - that is all. They make great games and I'm sure HL3 will be great whenever it comes out.
It's simple communication and advertising skills. Valve succeeding in getting people to watch but they didn't succeed in leaving people excited. Perhaps they could have re-arranged the order of the announcements, or done two instead of three. Or maybe not have a changing picture of a sun going supernova - that's a pretty striking image that implies something epic is going to happen. Or maybe not have a hidden image in the supernova that never really gets made clear.
They really need to be thinking about these things if they have reveals.
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what? you are wrong. Portal 2 is fantastic. plus the co-op is amazingly awesome
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gmd is just too old for this shit.
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I've got zero interest in DOTA 2, but you've got to love Valve ability to spot something totally outside their normal menu of games, move in to that field and fucking kill it.
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You could have just come out and said that your perspective is woefully out of date instead of going on this roundabout trip.
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I'm not the one stuck in 2007.
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Your perspective is.
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I'm not the one stuck in 2007.
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You're full of poopy sir.
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Hahahahaha
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I can't help but think of the Turbo Touch 360 pads that came out for SNES and Genesis.
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Interesting. Controller looks really interesting, almost too wild but I'd love to get some feedback from people once they release a working version.
Overall Valve's announcements don't feel like very "huge." For me, I feel like these announcements should be more impactful - I must be missing something because I don't see it.
- Don't show me the hardware or really confirm anything about it
- Don't show me any games (HL3 or something would have been great - we know if it is a PC it probably won't have any triple A exclusives to speak of, this isn't 1999)
- It seems like this is more geared towards people that don't have PCs who are thinking about PC gaming
- It also seems like this is geared towards people who love or are at least intrigued by the thought of PC gaming beyond Microsoft Windows.
The consolification of a PC (putting it under the TV instead of in the backroom) is what Microsoft should have done with the Xbox - but they seem to be going the Apple route to make it a walled garden instead of embracing the huge ecosystem of Windows based PC games already out there.
What concerns me about Valve going to Linux or at least pushing for the support of Linux is that it seems like it is just another game box now starting its library from scratch. I would love to ditch the Windows PC but then I'd also ditch my entire games library and all the classic (and not classic) games I've accumulated over the years and old games I want to go back and play that I've missed. As the owner of a Windows gaming PC, I am searching for a reason why I should get this Steam Box - based on what I know right now, there isn't one.-
You can stream all your Windows games to the steam box. So you can have your PC in your office and your steam box in the living room, and play all your games on the couch with a really great controller. It makes PC gaming on the couch more convenient and more fun.
That's the sales pitch. -
Simple answer, you don't need to get it.
I think hardcore pc gamers are getting a bit confused by all of this. Valve aren't trying to convince you to buy a steam machine right now. The whole point of the the SM is to start the long process of edging away from depending of microsoft and windows. Sure its going to take a lot of effort and time before their SteamOS represents a decent platform but they have to start somewhere. They have to do that, or otherwise their entire business model is at the mercy of a potentially hostile company.
Maybe 5 years from now when SteamOS has propagated itself, and gets the Triple A support they are talking about, and their controller proves to be as awesome as they say it is, and you need to replace your pc with a new rig, maybe just then you'll consider a steam machine.-
Yes. SteamOS will advance, but in the meantime, streaming provides 100% instant backwards compatibility. With the proper dev and consumer support, it could become "the gaming OS" to use just by being preferable going forwards, and still maintaining that compatibility for pre-2014 titles.
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I agree, but i think the whole premise has a degree of complexity that it excludes it from the wide mainstream. I can't really imagine explaining Steam OS / Steam machines to my brother in law right now. He gets the paradigm of the home console, but the steam machine is, right now anyway, a fairly confusing prospect. Thats partly due to the open (and highly commendable) approach valve is taking.
Having said that, given time to settle, and once people like ourselves to essential work as advocates for their friends and family, I think your right, they have real potential here to totally disrupt the console business.
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It is getting to be that time for a new rig, as it stands I am a step above current gen consoles - barely so I need to get in parity with the next gens.
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Have you seen the NEXTGEN console threads?!?!? It's how shit works around here.
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I've got a few reservations, but the fact that they can promise a controller that will easily do the job for every game in my library is way too tempting to pass up.
I don't foresee this replacing a keyboard/mouse setup for an MMOs for example, but most of the games I have aren't drowning in buttons and macros. So bring it on! -
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RSI on your eyes? wtf?
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The ridges seems like they would let you know where your thumb is.
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so, for people complaining about button position as compared to Sony/MS controllers, somebody somewhere posted this:
http://i.imgur.com/bK9XYJ1.png
still hardly seems optimal, though.-
I think that's going about it all wrong. The buttons on the back/bottom are going to be the primary buttons. The buttons on the front are for secondary functions. Look at the Portal 2 layout that they show.
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In the beta it will just be 4 buttons and no screen. The final controller will have a touch screen that is also click-able, So you can touch or click it in different areas to do different things.
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Yes, the touch-pad is clickable and depending on where you click it will perform a different function. The layout of the touch-pad buttons is programmable and it's possible for one game to use mutliple touch-pad layouts that you can swap through.
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I think it's more like:
ABXY on console = the two back buttons and the two pad clicks on the Steam controller (pad clicks are much less awkward than stick clicks on console)
Four triggers on console = the four triggers on Steam controller
And then stick clicking on console (which is awkward on a stick and generally only used for aux functions) can move to ABXY on Steam controller (which are sort of awkward and will be used for aux functions)
Then Steam controller still has start select, it still has extra buttons overall, it still has the touchpad, etc.
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It's their fault!
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I will happily give it a try in the hopes that it's better than 2 thumbsticks.
Also, lol:
Q: I’m a happy Steam customer happily using my happy mouse and keyboard. I don’t want a controller?
A: You can’t make a sentence into a question by just putting a question-mark at the end. -
What are the chances that there could be some accesories that clip over the touchpads with dpad or a+b+x+y buttons that push through and use the trackpad as their sensor?
Valve had some patent a while back with pads and tackballs that could be swapped out. MAybe thy went a different direction with the same intent of a modular device. Granted I think if they had something like that they would have mentioned it today. -
Remo has used it/likes it, also sounds like the haptics work http://abload.de/img/gabepadx7jsn.png
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His second reply sounds immensely promising
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I'm really curious to feel dem haptics :D
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It is time for good haptics to start coming back. I have the last iteration of MS FF joysticks and it made such a difference for games that supported it, but then it went out of style about as fast as Aureal3D audio. And psychoacoustics are coming back too! This might be an interesting time to be a gamer with Oculus and all this other stuff.
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There's a reason I have a Logitech G940 (still though the MS FF sticks had better FFB...but the G940 is ok).
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Everything i know about how Valve works, and all the products i've enjoyed from them in past has left me with absolute faith in them. They have their own methods, and their own timescales and all the rest of it, but they don't release shitty products.
I think it will be game (lol) changer.
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REMO REMO REMOE REMO RMOE MREOM OEREM OMEO ME MOM OMO M
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what's this?
Leave it.
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I am not sure about the the trackpads but I have to see it in action to know how well this will work. I have played fps on a laptop before using a trackpad and it wasn't a fun experience. I don't know if the inclusion of another one will fix that for me. The button placement is interesting. I can't imagine this controller being cheap specially if it has a touch screen in it. Most controllers without that run about $40 to 50.
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No controller will ever make MK good.
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I'm a mouse+keyboard diehard, but this actually looks like a game-changer! Did you guys actually read the full descriptive article--some of the stuff they're talking about on this thing sounds amazing. Fully programmable haptic feedback with high-precision controller motors? That's unheard of for gaming, and opens up all kinds of awesome possibilities. I think it sounds fantastic, and can't wait to get my hands on it. It's the one thing that will truly differentiate a Steambox from every other console.
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Of course no one read it. Look at the replies.
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All the negativity really makes me laugh, and I really don't think any of them have read the description. I'm certainly intrigued. I won't deny that the thing does look a little awkward, but I can't imagine them not having done some usability tests on the thing. That, and they're beta testing it with the public which will give them time to refine it.
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Tommy from Team Meat is apparently getting a demo right now.
https://twitter.com/TommyRefenes/status/383692791051612160
I'd love to hear feedback from devs of different genres. Especially FPS, RTS and fighting games. I mean, can this thing truly handle divekick???. -
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Gamasutra piece on developers who have actually used it: http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/201195/Select_game_developers_used_the_Steam_Controller_Heres_what_they_said.php
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Sounds very promising.
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I'd rather not be a complete faggot and instead wait until there's some concrete information out there about how well it works before complaining.
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Awesome stuff from valve this week. Great to have another console in the market now. One question. It looks wired, surely it will be wireless?
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so the steam console just streams games and only plays a select few? meaning i still need a pc? wtf is the point then.
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There will be multiple tiers of Steam Machines. The cheapest models will run for as little as $100. Those will just stream games from your PC to your TV, making gaming in the family room more convenient. There will also be full consoles somewhere between $300 and $500 that run games natively on SteamOS. The highest tier will be self-made Steam Machines or anything sold by third party vendors.
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There are currently over 200 games on steam that will run natively in steamOS so I wouldn't say a select few. That number is only going to rise.
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One thing we can be sure of, if this thing is as awesome as Valve says it is, Sony will have an identical controller for ps4 two months later.
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And it'll have a glowing ball somewhere with a bunch of retarded symbols on it.
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And the commercial will have a japanese woman with a distorted face eating a cloud. PLAYSTATION
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Ship it.
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You know what would take over the living room? MOTHER FUCKING HALF LIFE 3!!!!!!!!!!!1111111one
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It's as though I subliminally sent them this "question" weeks ago:
Q: I’m a happy Steam customer happily using my happy mouse and keyboard. I don’t want a controller?
A: You can’t make a sentence into a question by just putting a question-mark at the end. But we’re happy you’re happy, and by all means keep using whatever input method makes sense for you. Rest assured, we won’t abandon you. We love mice and keyboards, too.
I like this approach better than Microsoft's "Games for Windows Technical Requirements", which mandated controller support, AND strongly, ham-fistedly pressured games into going controller-exclusive and/or XBox 360 centric in the process. There are probably going to be some Steam-Controller-focused games, but it will be on a platform guaranteed to support a keyboard and mouse at the base level, by a platform developer who isn't trying to actively kill off keyboard and mouse support.
As for the controller itself, I like the idea of trackdiscs, because I have a hard time with reactions on analog sticks (the staggering of the 360 controller's stick layouts confuses my inherent orientation, and the PS3 controllers sticks have a turning radius that's too tight, and the convex surface is uncomfortable). Third-person character action games are going to be awkward with no face button quad (will the right disc be divided into click quadrants?). I can't play FPS games with twin-stick because I get disoriented, and I need an absolute turning angle positioning (mouse) to be comfortable, as opposed to turning velocity control (right analog stick), which frustrates me. But I could easily see myself using this to play a driving game or platformer.
Let's be frank: this is probably the ultimate big-screen no-desk DOTA controller. -
Well I'm excited...this is exciting to me. But you might say I like controllers.
http://i.imgur.com/ghIqJ.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/U1A4C.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/U6hjL.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/MXZTE.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/Z4rnF.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/bo8m4.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/Hkodf.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/aAuKi.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/h9LDl.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/YxShdLA.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/HmNKWZv.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/nuAxcS4.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/ZNmbtBB.jpg
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Dude, you are the perfect person to ask this! I just got a Genesis, and it came with the original controller and a 6 button ascii pad. The original controller is bulky with a stiff d-pad, and the ascii pad doesn't do diagonals well...
Any good Genesis controllers you could recommend?-
This might work:
http://www.tototek.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=54
Its an adapter that will let you use a PSX or PS2 controller on a Genesis. Given the wide variety of things to be found on the Playstation controller-wise you should be able to find something that works and is still easily found for a decent price.
You could even find a Saturn controller made by Sega for the PS2 and it should work with that, but they're hard to find now. You'd probably be better off using one of these in addition to the adapter above and getting an original Saturn controller:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Sega-Saturn-Pad-controller-adapter-converter-Playstation-2-PS2-/261292812423?pt=US_Other_Video_Game_Accessories&hash=item3cd643e887
A PS2 NeoGeo pad with that adapter might also work for your needs:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Neo-Geo-Fighting-Pad-2-Controller-for-the-Sony-Playstation-PS1-PS2-NEW-IN-BOX-/310746191125?pt=US_Video_Game_Controllers&hash=item4859ea9515
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEOGEO-PAD-for-PS2-Brand-New-/111044664398?pt=UK_Controllers_Attachments&hash=item19dac71c4e
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Gut reaction to the first picture I saw of it was that it was some sort of iPod/iPhone docking station to play music on. Didn't expect it to be a controller.
I'll reserve judgement on its functionality for now. -
A bunch of indie devs have played with, including Remo
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/201195/Select_game_developers_used_the_Steam_Controller_Heres_what_they_said.php?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+GamasutraNews+%28Gamasutra+News%29-
thanks I was waiting for something like this, though I already caught some of it on Remo's twitter feed.
This sounds really promising. It's worth remembering though that even devs (even reputable ones) can get over-excited about tech. I'm going to remain skeptical though until I play it, especially on more traditional console games that really demand things like analog sticks and face buttons. -
"We just plugged it in, and it worked," he said. "We didn't have special support for it or anything. It worked really, really well. I was really impressed with the mouse imitation. It doesn't feel like a trackpad."
:o-
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Another hands-on impression write-up, from Super Meat Boy dev Tommy Refenes: http://tommyrefenes.tumblr.com/post/62476523677/my-time-with-the-steam-controller
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honestly I don't care about shooters so much because for me, the more traditional console stuff is make or break. If it's not real great great with PC-style shooters, fine, I'll just play that stuff on the PC, no big deal. As neat as it would be to play TF2 or something on the TV, I'm not gonna cry over it. But if the controller can't even function like a normal-ass controller, it's useless.
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TLDR: I can play games with it.
Great! -
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It's kinda ugly imho. I'm intrigued to see how it feels, though.
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Yeah I'm optimistic about it for now. Worth trying out.
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