WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.040 My fellow gamers, rejoice, for we have been gifted 00:00:04.040 --> 00:00:08.680 from on high the perfect device for PC gaming. 00:00:09.560 --> 00:00:14.600 Well, on paper at least. Since my hands on a few months ago, 00:00:14.600 --> 00:00:19.840 I have gotten some more intimate time with the Steam Controller with all of its features, 00:00:19.840 --> 00:00:23.120 a launch date when you can finally get your hands on one, 00:00:23.120 --> 00:00:27.640 and I've gotten a price. And I've got a lot of thoughts, 00:00:27.640 --> 00:00:31.320 especially on that last one. Some of you won't care about them. 00:00:31.320 --> 00:00:36.600 The die-hard fans of the original Steam Controller who have desperately waited over 10 years 00:00:36.600 --> 00:00:40.240 for Valve to follow it up, you guys might as well open your wallets now, 00:00:40.240 --> 00:00:45.200 because the new Steam Controller, it's the original, but much, much better. 00:00:45.200 --> 00:00:48.840 For everyone else though, it's something of an enigma. 00:00:48.840 --> 00:00:54.080 It's a controller, it's a trackpad, it's a bridge between your traditional 00:00:54.080 --> 00:00:59.360 gaming battle station and your living room, it's unlike anything else on the market. 00:00:59.360 --> 00:01:03.600 Up top is a standard symmetrical style layout with all of the buttons and sticks 00:01:03.600 --> 00:01:08.160 that you'd expect from a modern controller, plus a few extras that you might recognize 00:01:08.160 --> 00:01:12.200 from the Steam Deck that are gonna help you navigate Steam OS and Steam Big Picture. 00:01:12.200 --> 00:01:15.960 Below that are the stars of the show, the multi-purpose trackpads. 00:01:15.960 --> 00:01:19.680 More on those later. First, I feel it's important to remind you guys 00:01:19.680 --> 00:01:25.640 how much of a controller review is preference. What's true for me and for David, 00:01:25.640 --> 00:01:32.760 might not be true for you. With that said then, the feel of the Steam Controller is, 00:01:32.760 --> 00:01:37.760 it's just okay. The plastic of the body feels a little cheap 00:01:37.760 --> 00:01:42.640 compared to first-party offerings from, if I'm being honest, all of the big three. 00:01:42.640 --> 00:01:47.120 And I think a lot of fingers are gonna land on top of some of these screw holes here on the bottom, 00:01:47.120 --> 00:01:52.320 which is kind of a surprising oversight for a company that is normally so thoughtful 00:01:52.320 --> 00:01:55.400 in their hardware designs. Or maybe it was thoughtful. 00:01:55.400 --> 00:02:00.240 Maybe it was an intentional nod to repairability. Valve has confirmed that they will continue 00:02:00.240 --> 00:02:04.560 their partnership with iFixit for replacement parts. So kudos to both of them, 00:02:04.560 --> 00:02:09.160 even if I do like our precision screwdriver set just a little bit more, lttstore.com. 00:02:09.160 --> 00:02:12.280 What I can't make the same excuse for is the ergonomics. 00:02:12.280 --> 00:02:17.000 While Valve did go to the effort to change the angle of the handle pieces here 00:02:17.000 --> 00:02:22.280 compared to the Steam Deck, which is obviously meant to be held in a wider stance, 00:02:22.280 --> 00:02:26.000 I found that for my preferences, they didn't go quite far enough. 00:02:26.000 --> 00:02:30.520 And it feels more like holding an eight-bit dough controller compared to an Xbox controller. 00:02:30.520 --> 00:02:34.200 I also found that the thumbsticks were a bit of a far reach 00:02:34.200 --> 00:02:37.920 for those of us with smaller paws. And if you like to flat thumb them, 00:02:37.920 --> 00:02:41.600 their positioning increases the chance of thumb kissing. 00:02:41.600 --> 00:02:46.080 With all of that said, all of my complaints so far are pretty minor. 00:02:46.080 --> 00:02:51.600 And in terms of the thumbstick feel, the Steam Controller is both good and well-featured. 00:02:51.600 --> 00:02:55.040 I'd say the closest non-valve analog, pun intended, 00:02:55.040 --> 00:02:59.160 would be the Xbox controller, with its similar raised textured edges 00:02:59.160 --> 00:03:02.840 and flat smooth metal that makes it easy to both landmark your position 00:03:02.840 --> 00:03:08.120 and maintain traction as you're moving around. And the Steam Controller has an extra-party trick 00:03:08.120 --> 00:03:11.920 with capacitive sensors in both tops that can activate 00:03:11.920 --> 00:03:15.600 or deactivate six-axis motion controls. 00:03:15.600 --> 00:03:19.480 The best thing about the joysticks though is actually under the surface. 00:03:19.480 --> 00:03:23.760 But we'll talk about that a little bit later. First, the face buttons feel pretty close 00:03:23.760 --> 00:03:26.960 to what we've come to expect from an Xbox controller with a soft, 00:03:26.960 --> 00:03:31.960 and hey, if you game late at night, you might like this quiet rubber membrane, 00:03:31.960 --> 00:03:37.600 but the way less clicky bumper might actually appeal more to PlayStation gamers. 00:03:37.600 --> 00:03:41.200 I'm personally not a big fan. Moving on to the triggers, 00:03:41.200 --> 00:03:46.960 the spring gives them adequate resistance, but they have neither the rumble from the Xbox side 00:03:46.960 --> 00:03:51.440 nor the adaptive resistance of the DualSense. On top of that, they don't have a toggle 00:03:51.440 --> 00:03:55.040 between short and long travel, and they don't even have the two-stage activation 00:03:55.040 --> 00:03:59.660 of the original Steam Controller, which is gonna be a real disappointment for its dozens of users. 00:03:59.660 --> 00:04:05.400 What won't be though, is the tactility of the four paddle buttons on the back. 00:04:05.400 --> 00:04:09.040 These are great. Now, to be truthful, 00:04:09.040 --> 00:04:14.000 I'm too old-school to use them in most games, but when I do need them, boy do I ever need them, 00:04:14.000 --> 00:04:18.720 and I'm stoked that Valve is pushing this feature to be the norm for mainstream controllers. 00:04:18.720 --> 00:04:21.840 They sit at just the right spot for easy access, 00:04:21.840 --> 00:04:25.560 which does mean you'll get the occasional accidental press while you get used to them, 00:04:25.560 --> 00:04:30.560 but they're just stiff enough that with a bit of practice, you'll be able to press them intentionally 00:04:30.560 --> 00:04:33.960 without it interfering with your ability to hold onto the grip. 00:04:33.960 --> 00:04:38.600 Ooh, speaking of the grip, sensors inside it are actually another way 00:04:38.600 --> 00:04:41.600 to activate the six-axis gyroscope inside. 00:04:41.600 --> 00:04:45.320 Valve has traditionally taken a very open approach 00:04:45.320 --> 00:04:49.920 to how you can use their hardware, and with the Steam Controller and Steam Input, 00:04:49.920 --> 00:04:53.280 you can configure pretty much any control schema that you'd like, 00:04:53.280 --> 00:04:58.120 even in games that don't natively support remapping. And if you don't feel like doing all that work, 00:04:58.120 --> 00:05:04.560 you can even use community configurations. Guys, gyro aiming is such a game changer 00:05:04.560 --> 00:05:09.640 for old-school keyboard mouse guides like me, and the flexibility to activate it either like this 00:05:09.640 --> 00:05:12.880 or like this is just incredible. 00:05:12.880 --> 00:05:17.240 Since we're back here though, this would be a perfect time to talk about the charging pins that connect 00:05:17.240 --> 00:05:20.280 to the included wireless 2.4 gigahertz puck. 00:05:20.280 --> 00:05:23.600 This is a major highlight for me of the Steam Controller. 00:05:23.600 --> 00:05:27.160 This is exactly the kind of thoughtfulness 00:05:27.160 --> 00:05:33.520 that I love to see from Valve. Why not make your wireless dongle also the charging dock? 00:05:33.520 --> 00:05:37.560 No more unplugging and plugging in a Type-C cable constantly, 00:05:37.560 --> 00:05:40.980 which should help save on wear and tear on the controller's port. 00:05:40.980 --> 00:05:46.380 And setting it up is simple. You just plug in the included Type-A to Type-C cable, 00:05:46.380 --> 00:05:49.860 actually a pretty nice feeling quality. It's a really similar sleeve 00:05:49.860 --> 00:05:54.420 to what we have in our TrueSpec cables. Then you attach it using a magnet, 00:05:54.420 --> 00:05:58.500 press the Steam button on your controller, and away you go. 00:05:58.500 --> 00:06:03.780 It even supports wireless firmware updates and up to four Steam controllers paired to a single puck, 00:06:03.780 --> 00:06:07.620 meaning that you can use the extra ones that come with all of your other controllers 00:06:07.620 --> 00:06:12.520 to connect to additional PCs or to set up charging in convenient multiple locations. 00:06:12.520 --> 00:06:15.540 Now, there was a major claim that we made before 00:06:15.540 --> 00:06:20.160 that has since gone completely unaddressed, that the Steam Controller would bridge 00:06:20.160 --> 00:06:24.640 controller and desktop gaming. All right, that's where the haptic track pads come in. 00:06:24.640 --> 00:06:28.340 These are Valve's best haptic track pads yet. 00:06:28.340 --> 00:06:32.120 Gone is the weird concave, trying to be sort of a joystick, 00:06:32.120 --> 00:06:37.100 alien eye design from the original Steam Controller, and enlarged is the flatter, 00:06:37.100 --> 00:06:41.140 squareer design from the Steam Deck. If you've ever used one of those, 00:06:41.140 --> 00:06:45.360 you're gonna know already what a lifesaver these things can be for navigating experiences 00:06:45.360 --> 00:06:49.960 that are not optimized for a controller, and in some cases, even playing games 00:06:49.960 --> 00:06:55.440 that outright don't support controllers. And then there's everything else that they can do. 00:06:55.440 --> 00:07:00.180 Check out this footage of an old school Steam Controller fan playing skate. 00:07:00.180 --> 00:07:05.180 Tommy B. loves his track pad input so much that he went and created his own controller, 00:07:05.180 --> 00:07:10.500 and he's got gestures bound to his track pads and demonstrated how insanely natural 00:07:10.540 --> 00:07:13.940 this type of input scheme can be once you've set it up. 00:07:13.940 --> 00:07:18.220 Now, I'm not gonna pretend that I'm the right person to show off that functionality, 00:07:18.220 --> 00:07:24.080 but what I'm absolutely the right person to test out is playing a traditionally non-controller friendly game 00:07:24.080 --> 00:07:27.220 like Anno. Hey! 00:07:27.220 --> 00:07:32.620 Okay, this is very intuitive. It's very WASD and camera for these two. 00:07:32.620 --> 00:07:36.340 I can zoom in, I can zoom out. And don't forget, you could use a community profile 00:07:36.340 --> 00:07:39.740 as a starting point, and then customize it to however you like. 00:07:39.740 --> 00:07:40.580 Dude! 00:07:42.940 --> 00:07:46.900 I am playing an RTS on the couch right now. 00:07:46.900 --> 00:07:50.740 Come on! Ooh, all right! 00:07:50.740 --> 00:07:55.100 Do you think you could play the whole game without a mouse and keyboard? I could. 00:07:55.100 --> 00:08:00.900 Do you want to play the whole game without a mouse and keyboard? This particular game with its like very fussy 00:08:00.900 --> 00:08:03.940 kind of finicky controls, maybe not, 00:08:03.940 --> 00:08:07.260 but I could see myself actually enjoying the genre with a controller 00:08:07.260 --> 00:08:12.140 where I otherwise completely wouldn't be able to. And in that way, the Steam controller is a unique 00:08:12.140 --> 00:08:16.220 and maybe even solid value proposition at almost any price. 00:08:16.220 --> 00:08:22.500 But what if you prefer genres where the trackpads matter less than precise button presses and timing with platformer? 00:08:22.500 --> 00:08:27.700 I can definitely see why people would like the ABXYs. I can also see some people not liking them. 00:08:27.700 --> 00:08:31.460 I think both are completely valid opinions. 00:08:31.460 --> 00:08:38.180 I wouldn't describe them as mushy, but because of the softness, they're not quite as responsive as some can be. 00:08:38.180 --> 00:08:43.180 Yeah, I've come around on clicky button controllers and so these felt a little too soft for me, 00:08:43.180 --> 00:08:47.540 but they're definitely fine. They're fine. They're not bad, they're fine. 00:08:47.540 --> 00:08:52.420 One thing I can say with absolute certainty though is no one's going to be bothered by the latency. 00:08:52.420 --> 00:08:55.940 And these joysticks are a pleasure to use. 00:08:55.940 --> 00:08:59.340 That makes a lot of sense. The Steam controller too did really, really well 00:08:59.340 --> 00:09:03.780 in our Labs testing for input latency. I mean, you gotta imagine a company like Valve, 00:09:03.780 --> 00:09:08.300 gamers through and through, they're going to have that kind of attention to detail. Yeah, the only controllers that did better 00:09:08.300 --> 00:09:12.940 were ones that are kind of competitively geared. Oh, I'm trying to D-pad now. 00:09:12.940 --> 00:09:17.420 You know what? It's one of those D-pads that doesn't feel good to me. 00:09:18.500 --> 00:09:21.500 No. But it works for me. Yeah, when I talked to Valve, 00:09:21.500 --> 00:09:24.620 they said they put a lot of work into getting the diagonals down, 00:09:24.620 --> 00:09:30.300 but I actually think in just terms of feel, I think I like the Steam Deck D-pad better. 00:09:30.300 --> 00:09:34.620 Interesting. That being said, all modern D-pads are my enemy. 00:09:37.020 --> 00:09:42.140 That's a fair and validate, quite frankly. This is not really testing some of the other faculties 00:09:42.140 --> 00:09:46.460 of this controller. Why don't we try Forza Horizon 5 to get a sense of the triggers and the haptics? 00:09:46.460 --> 00:09:50.060 To Valve's credit, while they may be missing haptic triggers, 00:09:50.060 --> 00:09:53.340 the actual tightness of the haptic feel 00:09:53.340 --> 00:09:56.900 of the controller itself is a really strong point. 00:09:56.900 --> 00:10:01.260 Definitely better than the Deck and miles ahead of the original Steam controller. 00:10:01.260 --> 00:10:05.400 As for the triggers, I remain uninspired. 00:10:06.740 --> 00:10:10.020 I don't feel like they contribute to a loss of control. 00:10:10.020 --> 00:10:11.700 That's just my crappy driving. 00:10:13.980 --> 00:10:17.660 But they are very unexciting. What I find with the rumble triggers 00:10:17.660 --> 00:10:22.140 or the haptic triggers is I don't really care 00:10:22.140 --> 00:10:27.940 that much when they're not there, but when they're there, they really do elevate the immersion and the experience. 00:10:27.940 --> 00:10:31.700 And so it is a little bit of a missed opportunity here. 00:10:31.700 --> 00:10:35.660 I think that's enough racing. Why don't we try something where you get to use the gyro? 00:10:35.740 --> 00:10:40.740 Oh yeah, gyro aiming is such a freaking hack. 00:10:40.780 --> 00:10:45.340 We don't have the toggle on right now though. So in this game, it's built in by default. 00:10:45.340 --> 00:10:48.420 So you actually can't easily turn it on and off with the handles. 00:10:48.420 --> 00:10:51.780 That's more in the case where you're assigning mouse look 00:10:51.780 --> 00:10:56.620 to a gyro thing, like customized via the Steam input. 00:10:56.620 --> 00:11:00.480 Right, I hadn't tried this game before, but that makes sense because Sony has support 00:11:00.480 --> 00:11:04.480 for that natively. Which is nice, all shooters should include it. 00:11:04.480 --> 00:11:09.480 Dude, it's sick being able to make your macro adjustments 00:11:09.800 --> 00:11:12.160 here and then your fine adjustments here. 00:11:13.680 --> 00:11:19.480 Especially in a game like this where each shot matters so much. So much, you'll have like three arrows left 00:11:19.480 --> 00:11:23.120 and you'll have like three absolute ridiculous monsters 00:11:23.120 --> 00:11:27.640 charging at you. I'm still in awe that the customization in Steam input 00:11:27.640 --> 00:11:31.280 allows you to just assign gyro aiming into any game 00:11:31.280 --> 00:11:36.240 that has mouse support. How flexible is that, how wonderful is that? 00:11:36.240 --> 00:11:39.800 Thank you, Valve. Yeah, and you don't need a Steam controller 00:11:39.800 --> 00:11:43.920 to take advantage of that. You could have like an old PS4 controller 00:11:43.920 --> 00:11:47.200 and do the exact same thing. So cool. 00:11:47.200 --> 00:11:51.720 I am not an FPS controller player. 00:11:51.720 --> 00:11:55.880 Not by any stretch of the imagination. I suck. 00:11:55.880 --> 00:12:00.800 I gotta make that really clear. So while nothing I'm doing is particularly impressive, 00:12:01.680 --> 00:12:05.880 this is not my usual level of suck. Not even close. 00:12:05.880 --> 00:12:10.640 That gives me a great opportunity to talk about what is probably the best hidden feature 00:12:10.640 --> 00:12:14.960 of the Steam controller too. It's TMR joysticks. 00:12:14.960 --> 00:12:21.080 Hall effect joysticks have been getting a lot of good press over the last few years because they offer better durability 00:12:21.080 --> 00:12:24.920 compared to potentiometer joysticks that use contact pads 00:12:24.920 --> 00:12:30.160 that measure the movement of the sticks. Contact pads that will inevitably wear out causing drift. 00:12:30.160 --> 00:12:33.200 By comparison, Hall effect uses magnets 00:12:33.200 --> 00:12:40.400 that don't make physical contact. Nowhere, no drift, but power draw is a big downside. 00:12:40.400 --> 00:12:44.640 That's where TMR comes in. Tunnel magneto resistance joysticks 00:12:44.640 --> 00:12:48.920 give us the advantages of both. Outstanding precision, 00:12:48.920 --> 00:12:53.000 so I can really get those dead zones down so every little movement matters. 00:12:53.000 --> 00:12:57.040 Great reliability and low power draw. 00:12:57.040 --> 00:13:02.080 While the Steam controller does hold up pretty well against the most popular controllers on the market, 00:13:02.080 --> 00:13:04.040 there's kind of an elephant in the room. 00:13:05.360 --> 00:13:07.040 You're gonna make the noise? No. 00:13:08.400 --> 00:13:12.840 That's an elephant, right? As we discussed recently in our 16-way controller shootout, 00:13:12.840 --> 00:13:17.440 the popular controllers, not necessarily the best controllers anymore. 00:13:17.440 --> 00:13:21.920 So let's pull out one of David's favorites, the Cyclone 2 from GameSir. 00:13:21.920 --> 00:13:26.120 It's worth pointing out that the pairing process of the Steam Deck and the Cyclone 00:13:26.120 --> 00:13:29.360 seems like it would be similar because I have a dock for the Cyclone, 00:13:29.360 --> 00:13:34.240 but the dock doesn't actually pair it to the dongle. You still need like a manual Xbox pairing process, 00:13:34.240 --> 00:13:37.560 so that's definitely a win for the Steam Deck. They're a Steam controller. 00:13:37.560 --> 00:13:41.480 I love that we've both accidentally called it Steam Controller 2 at least once. 00:13:41.480 --> 00:13:45.920 They should call it the Steam Controller 2. You know the reason they gave me 00:13:45.920 --> 00:13:49.320 was because they wanted it to not be confusing? 00:13:49.320 --> 00:13:52.600 Bologna. That's why they called it the same name as the old one. 00:13:52.600 --> 00:13:55.520 To avoid confusion, that is like, that's insane. 00:13:56.520 --> 00:13:59.680 I gotta give, I gotta give full credit to Valve. 00:13:59.680 --> 00:14:04.560 It's a good joystick. According to our circularity test from the lab, 00:14:04.560 --> 00:14:08.120 it performs very similarly to the GameSir 00:14:08.120 --> 00:14:11.320 in terms of the accuracy of its circularity, 00:14:11.320 --> 00:14:17.160 but it does have a bit of a different response curve, so you might find that going from one to the other 00:14:17.160 --> 00:14:20.960 might feel a little bit different. That's all gonna be down to personal preference, 00:14:20.960 --> 00:14:24.840 so that's not like better or worse. If anyone was looking for the proof 00:14:24.880 --> 00:14:29.720 of what I said earlier that I'm not an FPS controller player. 00:14:29.720 --> 00:14:33.080 I will say, it does look like you're having a little more trouble with this controller 00:14:33.080 --> 00:14:36.400 than the Steam Controller. This is an accurate controller by every metric, 00:14:36.400 --> 00:14:40.040 but it does go to show that the Steam Controller is a very good controller. 00:14:40.040 --> 00:14:43.400 And one of the ways that it's excellent is battery life. 00:14:43.400 --> 00:14:47.880 The lab used Forza Donuts in order to simulate regular use with the haptics going off 00:14:47.880 --> 00:14:51.640 and found that the new Steam Controller put up a really impressive result. 00:14:51.680 --> 00:14:55.120 Over 37 hours of continuous gaming. 00:14:55.120 --> 00:14:59.080 That is outstanding news for die-hard fans of the original Steam Controller 00:14:59.080 --> 00:15:04.560 who have so much to love about its successor. It may be a little less committed 00:15:04.560 --> 00:15:09.360 to the original touchpad vision, but it's in a way that offers reasonable compromises 00:15:09.360 --> 00:15:13.680 and refinement in pretty much every way. It's also a solid solution for folks 00:15:13.680 --> 00:15:16.720 who just wanna throw away that Logitech K400 00:15:16.720 --> 00:15:21.760 on their coffee table. However, if your plan was to use this thing 00:15:21.760 --> 00:15:26.960 as a traditional controller, I gotta say I'm a little less enthusiastic about it. 00:15:26.960 --> 00:15:33.440 Not because it's bad, it's a good controller. It's just a 100 US dollar controller. 00:15:33.440 --> 00:15:39.200 And I'm not gonna pretend like I can't afford one, but I'm also not gonna pretend that I would buy one of these 00:15:39.200 --> 00:15:45.040 when I could get just about two of these or two Fly Digis for the same price. 00:15:45.040 --> 00:15:49.560 How about you? If it was $60, I would buy day one. 00:15:49.560 --> 00:15:53.040 If it was $80, it would be like two weeks later. 00:15:53.040 --> 00:15:56.160 At $100, I think I'm out. And I'm willing to bet 00:15:56.160 --> 00:16:00.600 that's not really gonna be a hot take. But I also feel for Valve here. 00:16:00.600 --> 00:16:04.200 Can you imagine releasing hardware in this current market condition? 00:16:06.200 --> 00:16:09.560 When I chatted with Valve, they felt like the retail price for the controller 00:16:09.560 --> 00:16:12.960 represented the hardware and engineering that went into creating that. 00:16:12.960 --> 00:16:17.680 And I can't argue with that fact, but a controller's also about the feeling. 00:16:17.680 --> 00:16:20.760 And compared to the DualSense, 00:16:20.760 --> 00:16:25.720 that I would argue has a pretty equivalent amount of value wrapped up in its features. 00:16:25.720 --> 00:16:29.520 I would say that the DualSense feels better. 00:16:29.520 --> 00:16:33.640 Yeah. Okay, crazy theory. 00:16:33.640 --> 00:16:40.520 What if they made it $100 at launch to help make the Steam machine look like a better value? 00:16:40.520 --> 00:16:44.160 Whether it's $800, $900, $1,000, $1,200. 00:16:44.160 --> 00:16:48.800 I mean, who knows with the rampocalypse wreaking havoc on the market? 00:16:48.800 --> 00:16:52.920 If Valve could say with a straight face, yeah, but it includes a Steam controller 00:16:52.920 --> 00:16:57.320 with $100 value, maybe that's part of their thinking? 00:16:57.320 --> 00:17:01.480 I could see that. There's no way that that's the whole picture, 00:17:01.480 --> 00:17:04.640 but it wouldn't surprise me if that was part of the consideration. 00:17:04.640 --> 00:17:08.840 It also wouldn't surprise me if you segued. To our sponsor. 00:17:08.840 --> 00:17:12.680 If you guys enjoyed this video and you wanna check out some more controller content, 00:17:12.680 --> 00:17:16.160 why don't you check out that epic 16-way controller showdown 00:17:16.160 --> 00:17:21.600 that we made last year? Not only was it an efficient way to get impressions on over 16 controllers, 00:17:21.600 --> 00:17:25.360 it was also really fun. Are we doing another one soon? I want to, let's do it. 00:17:25.360 --> 00:17:29.920 I'd be down. There's been so much more advances, man. The controller space is moving so fast right now. 00:17:29.920 --> 00:17:30.760 So fast.