WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.160 My fellow gamers, rejoice! For we have 00:00:03.240 --> 00:00:10.720 been gifted from on high, the perfect device for PC gaming. 00:00:09.560 --> 00:00:14.410 Well, on paper at least. Since my hands-on a 00:00:13.480 --> 00:00:18.880 few months ago, >> [music] >> I have gotten some more intimate time 00:00:17.240 --> 00:00:23.120 with the Steam Controller, with all of its features, a launch date when [music] 00:00:21.120 --> 00:00:27.600 you can finally get your hands on one, and I've gotten a price. 00:00:25.840 --> 00:00:32.720 And I've got a lot of thoughts, especially on that last one. Some of you 00:00:29.960 --> 00:00:36.560 won't care about them. The die-hard fans of the original Steam Controller who 00:00:34.080 --> 00:00:40.200 have desperately waited over 10 years for Valve to follow it up, you guys 00:00:38.600 --> 00:00:45.360 might as well open your wallets now, because the new Steam Controller, it's 00:00:42.600 --> 00:00:48.470 the original, but much, much better. For everyone else though, it's something of 00:00:47.600 --> 00:00:54.040 an enigma. >> [music] >> It's a controller. It's a trackpad. It's 00:00:51.880 --> 00:00:58.480 It's a bridge between your traditional gaming battle station and your living 00:00:56.080 --> 00:01:02.560 room, and it's It's unlike anything else on the market. Up top is a standard 00:01:00.720 --> 00:01:06.520 symmetrical style layout with all of the buttons and sticks that you'd expect 00:01:04.160 --> 00:01:09.760 from a modern controller, plus a few extras that you might recognize from the 00:01:08.360 --> 00:01:14.080 Steam Deck that are going to help you navigate SteamOS and Steam Big Picture. 00:01:12.160 --> 00:01:18.200 Below that are the stars of the show, the multi-purpose trackpads. More on 00:01:16.200 --> 00:01:22.600 those later. First, I feel it's important to remind you guys how much of 00:01:20.320 --> 00:01:27.680 a controller review is preference. What's true for me and for David 00:01:24.760 --> 00:01:32.355 >> Woah. might not be true for you. With that said then, 00:01:29.840 --> 00:01:37.280 the feel of the Steam Controller is >> [sighs] >> it's just okay. 00:01:35.040 --> 00:01:41.640 The plastic of the body feels a little cheap compared to first-party offerings 00:01:39.120 --> 00:01:45.440 from, if I'm being honest, all of the big three. And I think a lot of fingers 00:01:43.840 --> 00:01:48.240 are going to land on top of some of these screw holes here on the bottom, 00:01:47.000 --> 00:01:52.200 which is kind of a surprising oversight for a 00:01:50.120 --> 00:01:55.920 company that is normally so thoughtful in their hardware designs. Or maybe it 00:01:54.760 --> 00:02:00.160 was thoughtful. Maybe it was an intentional nod to repairability. Valve 00:01:58.480 --> 00:02:03.840 has confirmed that they will continue their partnership with iFixit for 00:02:01.560 --> 00:02:07.726 replacement parts, so kudos to both of them. Even if I do like our precision 00:02:05.840 --> 00:02:12.520 screwdriver set just a little bit more. >> [music] >> lttstore.com. What I can't make the same 00:02:10.039 --> 00:02:17.240 excuse for is the ergonomics. While Valve did go to the effort to change the 00:02:15.360 --> 00:02:20.360 angle of the handle pieces here compared to the Steam [music] Deck, which is 00:02:18.840 --> 00:02:24.240 obviously meant to be held in a in a wider stance, 00:02:22.200 --> 00:02:27.760 I found that for my preferences, they didn't go quite far enough, and it feels 00:02:26.320 --> 00:02:31.360 more like holding an 8-bit D-pad controller compared to an Xbox 00:02:29.520 --> 00:02:36.240 controller. I also found that the thumbsticks were a bit of a far reach 00:02:34.080 --> 00:02:40.160 for those of us with smaller paws, and if you like to flat thumb them, their 00:02:37.960 --> 00:02:45.520 positioning increases the chance of thumb kissing. With all of that said, 00:02:43.280 --> 00:02:50.200 all of my complaints so far are pretty minor. And in terms of the thumbstick 00:02:47.200 --> 00:02:52.520 feel, the Steam Controller is both good 00:02:50.200 --> 00:02:57.480 and well-featured. I'd say the closest non-Valve analog, pun intended, would be 00:02:55.240 --> 00:03:01.360 the Xbox controller with its similar raised textured edges and flat smooth 00:03:00.000 --> 00:03:05.680 middle that makes it easy to both landmark your position and maintain 00:03:03.520 --> 00:03:10.240 traction as you're moving around. And the Steam Controller has an extra party 00:03:07.520 --> 00:03:16.080 trick with capacitive sensors in both tops that can activate or deactivate 00:03:13.440 --> 00:03:19.920 six-axis motion controls. The best thing about the joysticks though, is actually 00:03:18.120 --> 00:03:24.040 under the surface. But we'll talk about that a little bit later. First, the face 00:03:22.160 --> 00:03:28.120 buttons feel pretty close to what we've come to expect from an Xbox controller 00:03:25.800 --> 00:03:31.920 with a soft, and hey, if you game late at night, you might like this, quiet 00:03:30.440 --> 00:03:36.600 rubber membrane, but the way less clicky bumper might 00:03:34.800 --> 00:03:42.600 actually appeal more to PlayStation gamers. >> [music] >> I'm personally not a big fan. Moving on 00:03:40.280 --> 00:03:46.880 to the triggers, the spring gives them adequate resistance, but they have 00:03:44.560 --> 00:03:50.720 neither the rumble from the Xbox side nor the adaptive resistance of the 00:03:48.280 --> 00:03:53.920 DualSense. On top of that, they don't have a toggle between short and long 00:03:52.480 --> 00:03:56.720 travel, and they don't even have the two-stage activation of the original 00:03:55.520 --> 00:04:01.280 Steam Controller, which is going to be a real disappointment for its dozens of 00:03:58.600 --> 00:04:07.520 users. What won't be though, is the tactility of the four paddle buttons on 00:04:04.000 --> 00:04:09.640 the back. These are great. 00:04:07.520 --> 00:04:14.040 Now, to be truthful, I'm too old school to use them in most games, but when I do 00:04:11.880 --> 00:04:17.640 need them, boy do I ever need them, and I'm stoked that Valve is pushing this 00:04:15.840 --> 00:04:22.760 feature to be the norm for mainstream controllers. They sit at just the right 00:04:20.079 --> 00:04:25.920 spot for easy access, which does mean you'll get the occasional accidental 00:04:24.120 --> 00:04:29.360 press while you get used to them, but they're just stiff enough that with a 00:04:27.480 --> 00:04:32.360 bit of practice, you'll be able to press them intentionally without it 00:04:31.120 --> 00:04:38.680 interfering with your ability to hold onto the grip. Ooh, speaking of the grip, sensors 00:04:36.080 --> 00:04:43.000 inside it are actually another way to activate the six-axis gyroscope [music] 00:04:40.480 --> 00:04:46.080 inside. Valve has traditionally taken a very 00:04:44.320 --> 00:04:50.720 open approach to how you can use their hardware. And with the Steam Controller 00:04:48.800 --> 00:04:54.240 and Steam Input, you can configure pretty much any control scheme that 00:04:52.400 --> 00:04:56.080 you'd like, even in games that don't natively support remapping. 00:04:56.063 --> 00:05:01.360 >> [music] >> And if you don't feel like doing all that work, you can even use community 00:04:59.080 --> 00:05:07.040 configurations. Guys, [music] gyro aiming is such a game-changer for 00:05:04.760 --> 00:05:11.520 old-school keyboard mouse guys like me, and the flexibility to activate it 00:05:08.560 --> 00:05:14.920 either like this or like this is just incredible. Uh since we're back here 00:05:13.440 --> 00:05:19.360 though, this would be a perfect time to talk about the charging pins that 00:05:16.800 --> 00:05:25.840 connect to the included wireless 2.4 GHz puck. This is a major highlight for me 00:05:22.200 --> 00:05:28.000 of the Steam Controller. This is exactly 00:05:25.840 --> 00:05:33.400 the kind of thoughtfulness that I love to see from Valve. Why not make your 00:05:30.480 --> 00:05:38.320 wireless dongle also the charging dock? No more unplugging and plugging in a 00:05:35.760 --> 00:05:42.280 Type-C cable constantly, which should help save on wear and tear on the 00:05:39.600 --> 00:05:47.000 controller's port. And setting it up is simple. You just plug in the included 00:05:44.600 --> 00:05:50.240 Type-A to Type-C cable, actually a pretty nice feeling quality. It's a 00:05:48.760 --> 00:05:55.400 really similar sleeve to what we have on our True [music] Spec cables. Then, you attach it using a magnet, 00:05:54.360 --> 00:06:00.760 press the Steam button on your controller, and away you go. Up to four 00:05:59.000 --> 00:06:04.000 Steam Controllers paired to a single puck, meaning that you can use the extra 00:06:02.400 --> 00:06:08.520 ones that come with all of your other controllers to connect to additional PCs 00:06:06.680 --> 00:06:13.354 or to set up charging in convenient multiple locations. Like this convenient 00:06:10.840 --> 00:06:16.800 segue to dbrand who sent over >> [snorts and sighs] 00:06:14.400 --> 00:06:22.640 >> Oh my god. This is amazing! It's like a skin for 00:06:20.000 --> 00:06:25.640 your Steam Machine. Stick around at the end of the video for more info, or you 00:06:24.120 --> 00:06:29.640 can check it out at the link down below. There's so many great products on 00:06:27.160 --> 00:06:34.040 lttstore.com, but shipping is so expensive. That's why we're bringing 00:06:31.320 --> 00:06:40.320 back Ship Storm. From April 24th to May 7th, you can get free shipping site-wide 00:06:36.840 --> 00:06:43.840 on lttstore.com on any order over $150 00:06:40.320 --> 00:06:46.640 in the US and Canada or $225 worldwide. 00:06:43.840 --> 00:06:52.080 No code required. Just load up your cart and get free shipping. Link down below. 00:06:49.720 --> 00:06:55.960 Now, there was a major claim that we made before that has since gone 00:06:53.800 --> 00:07:00.160 completely unaddressed, that the Steam Controller would bridge controller and 00:06:58.080 --> 00:07:05.880 desktop gaming. All right. That's where the haptic trackpads come in. These are 00:07:02.480 --> 00:07:08.240 Valve's best haptic trackpads yet. Gone 00:07:05.880 --> 00:07:12.280 is the weird [music] concave, trying to be sort of a joystick, alien eye design 00:07:10.280 --> 00:07:17.640 from the original Steam Controller, and enlarged is the flatter, squarer design 00:07:15.480 --> 00:07:20.680 from the Steam Deck. If you've ever used one of those, you're going to know 00:07:18.800 --> 00:07:24.800 already what a lifesaver these things can be for navigating experiences that 00:07:22.680 --> 00:07:30.240 are not optimized for a controller, and in some cases, even playing games that 00:07:27.400 --> 00:07:34.440 outright don't support controllers. And then there's everything else that they 00:07:31.640 --> 00:07:37.360 can do. Check out this footage of an old-school Steam Controller fan playing 00:07:36.440 --> 00:07:41.520 Skate. [music] Tommy B loves his trackpad input so much 00:07:40.040 --> 00:07:46.200 that he went and created his own controller, and he's got gestures bound 00:07:43.960 --> 00:07:51.160 to his trackpads, and demonstrated how insanely natural this type of input 00:07:48.440 --> 00:07:54.240 scheme can be once you've set it up. Now, I'm not going to pretend that I'm 00:07:53.000 --> 00:07:58.920 the right person to show off that functionality, but what I'm absolutely 00:07:56.800 --> 00:08:02.880 the right person to test out is playing a traditionally non-controller-friendly 00:08:00.880 --> 00:08:06.880 game like [music] Anno. Hey! 00:08:04.400 --> 00:08:11.400 Okay, this is very intuitive. It's very WASD and camera for these two. I can 00:08:10.040 --> 00:08:16.040 zoom in, I can zoom out. >> And don't forget you could use a community profile as a starting point, 00:08:14.520 --> 00:08:19.920 and then customize it to however you like. Dude! 00:08:20.120 --> 00:08:26.960 I am playing an RTS on the couch right now. Come on! Ooh, 00:08:27.080 --> 00:08:33.360 all right. Do you think you could play the whole game without a mouse and keyboard? 00:08:30.680 --> 00:08:37.440 I could. Do you want to play the whole game without a mouse and keyboard? 00:08:34.599 --> 00:08:42.640 >> This particular game with its like very fussy, kind of finicky controls, maybe 00:08:40.280 --> 00:08:45.960 not. But I could see myself actually enjoying the genre with a controller 00:08:44.440 --> 00:08:50.440 where I otherwise completely wouldn't be able to. And in that way, the Steam 00:08:47.920 --> 00:08:54.520 Controller is a unique and maybe even solid value proposition at almost any 00:08:52.680 --> 00:08:58.400 price. But what if you prefer genres where the trackpads matter less than 00:08:56.560 --> 00:09:02.920 precise button presses and timing? The platformer. I can definitely see why 00:09:00.640 --> 00:09:08.680 people would like the ABXYs. I can also see some people not liking them. I think 00:09:05.120 --> 00:09:09.920 both are completely valid opinions. I 00:09:08.680 --> 00:09:15.400 wouldn't describe them as mushy, but because of the softness, they're not 00:09:11.840 --> 00:09:17.400 quite as responsive as some can be. 00:09:15.400 --> 00:09:21.240 Yeah, I've come around on clicky button controllers, and so these felt a little 00:09:19.680 --> 00:09:23.960 too soft for me, but they're definitely fine. They're fine. Yep. They're not 00:09:23.040 --> 00:09:29.800 bad. They're fine. One thing I can say with absolute certainty though, is no one's 00:09:27.640 --> 00:09:34.920 going to be bothered by the latency. And these joysticks are a pleasure to use. 00:09:33.200 --> 00:09:38.560 That makes a lot of sense. The Steam Controller 2 did really, really well in 00:09:36.560 --> 00:09:42.000 our Labs testing for input latency. I mean, you you got to imagine a company 00:09:40.200 --> 00:09:45.840 like Valve, gamers through and through, they're going to have that kind of attention to detail. Yeah, the only 00:09:44.520 --> 00:09:50.320 controllers that did better were ones that are kind of competitively geared. 00:09:48.240 --> 00:09:53.480 Ooh, I'm trying a D-pad now. You know what? 00:09:51.640 --> 00:09:56.800 It's one of those D-pads that doesn't feel good to me. 00:09:55.640 --> 00:09:59.960 No. But it >> for me. Yeah, when I talked to Valve, 00:09:58.640 --> 00:10:04.240 they said they put a lot of work into getting the diagonals down, but I 00:10:02.040 --> 00:10:09.200 actually think in just terms of feel, I think I like the Steam Deck D-pad 00:10:06.760 --> 00:10:13.087 better. Interesting. That being said, all modern D-pads are 00:10:11.080 --> 00:10:16.320 my [music] enemy. >> [laughter] 00:10:14.280 --> 00:10:19.520 >> That's a fair and valid take, quite frankly. This is not really testing some 00:10:18.600 --> 00:10:24.800 of the other faculties of this controller. Why don't we try Forza Horizon 5 to get a sense of the triggers 00:10:22.840 --> 00:10:29.840 and the haptics? To Valve's credit, while they may be missing haptic 00:10:26.200 --> 00:10:32.160 triggers, the actual tightness of the 00:10:29.840 --> 00:10:36.240 haptic feel of the controller itself is a really strong point. 00:10:34.120 --> 00:10:39.880 Definitely better than the Deck, and miles ahead of the original Steam 00:10:37.640 --> 00:10:44.000 Controller. As for the triggers, I remain 00:10:41.640 --> 00:10:48.280 uninspired. I don't feel like they contribute to a 00:10:45.880 --> 00:10:50.840 loss of control. That's just my crappy driving. 00:10:51.240 --> 00:10:57.120 But they are very unexciting. What I find with the rumble triggers and the 00:10:55.080 --> 00:11:00.640 haptic triggers is I don't really 00:10:59.120 --> 00:11:04.000 care that much when they're not there, but when they're there, they really do 00:11:02.280 --> 00:11:09.160 elevate the immersion and the experience. And so it is a little bit of 00:11:06.400 --> 00:11:12.920 a a missed opportunity here. I think that's enough racing. Why don't we try 00:11:10.360 --> 00:11:19.040 something where you get to use the gyro? Oh, yeah. Gyro aiming is such a freaking 00:11:17.040 --> 00:11:23.040 hack. Uh we don't have the toggle on right now, though. So, in this game it's 00:11:21.400 --> 00:11:26.839 built in by default, so you actually can't easily turn it on and off with the 00:11:24.800 --> 00:11:32.839 handles. That's more in the case where you're assigning mouse look to a gyro 00:11:30.480 --> 00:11:36.120 thing, cust- like customized via the Steam input. Right. I hadn't tried this 00:11:34.880 --> 00:11:39.040 game before, but that makes sense because Sony has support for that natively. 00:11:38.360 --> 00:11:44.120 >> Yeah. Which is nice. All shooters should include it. 00:11:41.680 --> 00:11:48.200 Dude, it's like it's it's sick being able to like make your your macro 00:11:46.480 --> 00:11:51.960 adjustments here, and then your fine adjustments here. 00:11:50.880 --> 00:11:58.400 Especially in a game like this where each shot matters so much. >> So much. You'll have like three arrows 00:11:56.240 --> 00:12:02.960 left, and you'll have like three absolute [music] ridiculous monsters 00:12:00.320 --> 00:12:08.280 charging at you. I'm still in awe that the customization in Steam input allows 00:12:05.320 --> 00:12:12.600 you to just assign gyro aiming into any game that has mouse [music] support. 00:12:09.920 --> 00:12:17.160 Like how flexible is that? How wonderful is that? Thank you, Valve. Yeah, and you 00:12:15.520 --> 00:12:21.480 don't [music] need a Steam Controller to take advantage of that. You could have 00:12:19.000 --> 00:12:26.520 like an old PS4 controller and do the exact same thing. 00:12:23.320 --> 00:12:30.080 So cool. I am not 00:12:26.520 --> 00:12:33.120 an FPS controller player, not by any 00:12:30.080 --> 00:12:35.320 stretch of the imagination. I suck. 00:12:33.120 --> 00:12:39.000 I got to make that really clear. So, while nothing I'm doing is 00:12:36.440 --> 00:12:43.680 particularly impressive, this is not my usual level of suck. 00:12:41.400 --> 00:12:48.200 Not even not even close. That gives me a great opportunity to talk about what is 00:12:45.520 --> 00:12:52.280 probably the best hidden feature of the Steam [music] Controller 2. It's TMR 00:12:50.839 --> 00:12:57.360 joysticks. Hall effect joysticks have been getting a lot of good press over the last few 00:12:55.520 --> 00:13:02.320 years because they offer better durability compared to potentiometer 00:12:59.800 --> 00:13:05.839 joysticks that use contact pads that measure the movement of the sticks. 00:13:04.040 --> 00:13:10.400 Contact pads that will inevitably wear out, causing [music] drift. By 00:13:07.680 --> 00:13:12.680 comparison, Hall effect uses magnets that don't make physical contact. 00:13:11.904 --> 00:13:19.680 [music] No wear, no drift. But power draw is a 00:13:16.360 --> 00:13:22.080 big downside. That's where TMR comes in. 00:13:19.680 --> 00:13:27.040 Tunnel magnetoresistance joysticks give us the advantages of both. 00:13:24.480 --> 00:13:30.280 Outstanding precision, so I can really get those dead zones down, so every 00:13:28.680 --> 00:13:36.120 little movement matters. Great reliability, and low power draw. 00:13:34.320 --> 00:13:39.600 While the Steam Controller does hold up pretty well against the most popular 00:13:37.760 --> 00:13:45.280 controllers on the market, there's kind of an elephant in the room. 00:13:42.600 --> 00:13:48.960 You're going to make the noise? >> [laughter] >> That's an elephant, right? As we 00:13:46.960 --> 00:13:51.960 discussed recently in our 16-way controller shootout, the popular 00:13:50.720 --> 00:13:57.839 controllers not necessarily the best [music] controllers anymore. So, let's pull out 00:13:55.320 --> 00:13:59.160 one of David's favorites, the Cyclone 2 from Gamester. 00:13:59.064 --> 00:14:04.440 >> [music] >> It's worth pointing out that the pairing process of the Steam Deck and the 00:14:02.880 --> 00:14:08.360 Cyclone seems like it would be similar cuz I have a dock for the Cyclone, but 00:14:06.760 --> 00:14:11.720 the dock doesn't actually pair it to the dongle. You still need like a manual 00:14:10.240 --> 00:14:15.640 Xbox pairing process, so that's definitely a win for the Steam Deck or 00:14:13.640 --> 00:14:18.760 Steam Controller. I love that we've both accidentally called it Steam Controller 00:14:17.079 --> 00:14:23.320 2 at least once. They should call it the Steam Controller 00:14:20.440 --> 00:14:24.160 2. You know the reason they gave me was because 00:14:23.954 --> 00:14:29.880 >> [music] >> they wanted it to not be confusing. Bologna. That's why they called it the 00:14:27.959 --> 00:14:33.760 same name as the old one. To avoid confused. That is like that's 00:14:32.040 --> 00:14:37.040 insane. I got to give up. 00:14:35.240 --> 00:14:41.040 I got to give full credit to Valve. It's a good joystick. 00:14:39.440 --> 00:14:47.400 According to our circularity test from the lab, it performs very similarly to 00:14:44.400 --> 00:14:49.839 the Gamester in terms of the accuracy of 00:14:47.400 --> 00:14:54.079 its circularity, but it does have a bit of a different response curve, so you 00:14:52.000 --> 00:14:57.839 might find that going from one to the other might feel a little bit different. 00:14:56.839 --> 00:15:02.160 That's all going to be down to personal preference, so that's not like better or worse. 00:15:00.959 --> 00:15:08.079 If anyone was looking for the proof of what I said earlier that I am not an FPS 00:15:05.560 --> 00:15:10.520 uh controller player. I will say it does look like you're having a little more 00:15:09.040 --> 00:15:14.040 trouble with this controller than the Steam Controller. This is an accurate 00:15:12.120 --> 00:15:17.720 controller by every metric, but it does go to show that the Steam Controller is 00:15:15.680 --> 00:15:20.640 a very good controller. And one of the ways that it's excellent is battery 00:15:19.600 --> 00:15:26.240 life. The lab used Forza Donuts in order to simulate regular use with the haptics 00:15:24.400 --> 00:15:31.680 going off, and found that the new Steam Controller put up a really impressive 00:15:28.000 --> 00:15:33.800 result, over 37 hours of continuous 00:15:31.680 --> 00:15:38.040 gaming. That is outstanding news for die-hard fans of the original Steam 00:15:35.600 --> 00:15:41.000 Controller who have so much to love about its successor. It may be a little 00:15:40.079 --> 00:15:47.520 less committed to the original touchpad vision, but it's in a way that offers 00:15:45.079 --> 00:15:51.400 reasonable compromises and refinement in pretty much every way. It's also a solid 00:15:50.079 --> 00:15:56.079 solution for folks who just want to throw away that Logitech K400 on their 00:15:54.120 --> 00:15:59.360 coffee table. However, 00:15:57.320 --> 00:16:02.640 if your plan was to use this thing as a traditional controller, 00:16:01.200 --> 00:16:07.959 I got to say I'm a little less enthusiastic about it. Not because it's 00:16:04.720 --> 00:16:11.079 bad. It's a good controller. It's just a 00:16:07.959 --> 00:16:12.480 $100 US dollar controller. And I'm not 00:16:11.079 --> 00:16:16.520 going to pretend like I can't afford one, but I'm also not going to pretend 00:16:14.760 --> 00:16:22.320 that I would buy one of these when I could get just about two of these 00:16:18.760 --> 00:16:23.821 or two Flydigis for the same price. 00:16:22.320 --> 00:16:29.400 How about you? >> [sighs] >> If it was $60, I would buy day one. If 00:16:26.839 --> 00:16:33.280 it was $80, it would be like two weeks later. At $100, 00:16:31.800 --> 00:16:37.920 I think I'm out. And I'm willing to bet that's not really going to be a hot take, 00:16:35.800 --> 00:16:42.161 uh but I also feel for Valve here. Can you imagine releasing hardware in this 00:16:39.680 --> 00:16:45.040 current market condition? >> [laughter] 00:16:43.440 --> 00:16:48.640 >> When I chatted with Valve, they felt like the retail price for the controller 00:16:46.720 --> 00:16:52.880 represented the hardware and engineering that went into creating that, and I 00:16:50.400 --> 00:16:57.839 can't argue with that fact. But a controller's also about the feeling. And 00:16:55.440 --> 00:17:01.560 compared to the DualSense, uh that I would argue has a pretty 00:16:59.440 --> 00:17:06.720 equivalent amount of value wrapped up in its features, I would say that the 00:17:03.640 --> 00:17:08.040 DualSense feels better. 00:17:06.720 --> 00:17:13.560 Yeah. Okay. Crazy theory. 00:17:10.839 --> 00:17:17.720 What if they made it $100 at launch to help make the Steam Machine look like a 00:17:16.439 --> 00:17:23.839 better value? Whether it's $800, $900, $1,000, $1,200. 00:17:21.320 --> 00:17:28.000 I mean, who knows with the RAM-pocalypse wreaking havoc on the market. 00:17:25.959 --> 00:17:33.000 If Valve could say with a straight face, "Yeah, but it includes a Steam 00:17:29.440 --> 00:17:34.560 Controller with a $100 value." 00:17:33.000 --> 00:17:39.760 Maybe that's part of their thinking. I could see that. There's no way that that's the whole 00:17:37.720 --> 00:17:43.080 picture, but it wouldn't surprise me if that was part of the consideration. 00:17:41.840 --> 00:17:48.200 It also wouldn't surprise me if you segued to our sponsor. Oh, Dbrand. Oh, we're 00:17:46.679 --> 00:17:52.640 going to look at the thing. Surprise, surprise, Dbrand is already 00:17:50.440 --> 00:17:56.480 hard at work making overpriced tape for the new Steam Controller. We'll have to 00:17:54.679 --> 00:17:59.840 put a photo of it on the screen for you, though, because while I'd love nothing 00:17:58.040 --> 00:18:04.400 more than to show it off on camera, there's um 00:18:01.360 --> 00:18:06.520 just one small problem. They only sent 00:18:04.400 --> 00:18:10.440 over these two little squares. Apparently, and these are Dbrand's 00:18:08.320 --> 00:18:14.840 words, not mine, the full controller skin isn't ready yet, and you'd probably 00:18:12.600 --> 00:18:19.200 up the install regardless. So, there you have it. Steam Controller 00:18:16.640 --> 00:18:23.040 trackpad skins. Get yours included with a full controller skin that apparently 00:18:21.240 --> 00:18:26.520 they couldn't trust me with. Speaking of things they shouldn't have trusted me with, 00:18:26.920 --> 00:18:32.679 from my understanding, this is the only 00:18:30.040 --> 00:18:38.520 prototype of this thing in the freaking world. This is a super early look at 00:18:35.200 --> 00:18:39.919 their Steam Machine companion cube case 00:18:38.520 --> 00:18:44.200 that they've been working on. And as And as much as I love to say anything mean 00:18:42.720 --> 00:18:49.919 about Dbrand, I can't think of anything [music] 00:18:46.520 --> 00:18:51.760 that I don't like about this. Obviously, 00:18:49.919 --> 00:18:54.280 I don't have a real Steam Machine to put into it yet, thanks to 00:18:53.818 --> 00:18:59.360 >> [clears throat] >> RAM prices, but this is going to be a 00:18:57.400 --> 00:19:03.200 must-have accessory when Valve does eventually release the Steam Machine. 00:19:01.040 --> 00:19:07.919 They went deep on the details on this thing, too. I mean, look at this footage 00:19:05.600 --> 00:19:11.679 of the packaging. The outer carton has a ton of Easter eggs and feels like it 00:19:09.480 --> 00:19:14.760 came straight out of Aperture Science. It even opens up to feel like you're in 00:19:13.440 --> 00:19:19.560 a test chamber, right down to the signage. It might actually be the 00:19:16.480 --> 00:19:20.440 coolest thing Dbrand has ever made. If 00:19:19.560 --> 00:19:26.600 you're planning to pick up a Steam Machine when it launches, you should definitely head over to dbrand.com/valve 00:19:24.640 --> 00:19:31.000 to register your interest for free. And by the way, Gabe, if you're watching, 00:19:28.760 --> 00:19:35.120 please don't sue these guys over it. You totally could, 00:19:32.840 --> 00:19:38.240 but just don't. If you guys enjoyed this video and you 00:19:36.679 --> 00:19:42.600 want to check out some more controller content, why don't you check out that 00:19:40.000 --> 00:19:46.480 epic 16-way controller showdown that we made last year? Not only was it an 00:19:44.440 --> 00:19:50.840 efficient way to get impressions on over 16 controllers, it was also really fun. 00:19:49.320 --> 00:19:54.080 Are we doing another one soon? I want to. Let's do it. >> I'd be down. 00:19:52.680 --> 00:19:56.280 There's been so much more advancements, man. The controller space is moving so 00:19:55.680 --> 00:19:59.000 fast right now. >> So fast.