Valve bids farewell to the Steam Controller with a 90 percent discount

[Humza]

What just happened? Four years after release, Valve is calling it quits with the Steam Controller and has finished making the last batch, which can now be had for just $5 (plus shipping), down from its usual $49.99 price tag.

Valve's intent with the Steam Controller was to do things differently by providing the accuracy of a keyboard/mouse configuration with the flexibility of a hand-held device like an Xbox/Dualshock controller.

Despite the gadget reportedly selling 500,000 units in its first six months of release, it could never keep the momentum going, as gamers of either playstyle (PC/Console) found it compromising to their use case, instead of improving upon the traditional hardware experience.

Where the controller did excel, though, was modding. Shortly after hitting the market, Valve put out the controller's 3D design files for the public to get them busy with customizing the gadget and sharing ideas that could improve on the original design.

The accessory also benefited from Valve's software, which allowed for many games on Steam to feature multiple supported profiles for the controller to bring out its best gaming experience.

Ultimately, the Steam Controller became a niche product and one for which Valve no longer sees a reason to continue. The company has reportedly finished making its last batch, it told The Verge, and is now cleaning the inventory in its ongoing Autumn Sale, where a 'limited quantity' of the Steam Controller is available at a steep 90 percent discount.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/82960-valve-bids-farewell-steam-controller-90-percent-discount.html

 

[Uncle Al]

Anybody ever buy and use one of these? Any good?

 

[Badvok]

Anybody ever buy and use one of these? Any good?

I bought one to try it. It is a compromise, not as good as either kbd+mouse or xbox controller, somewhere in the middle. I now stick to using kbd+mouse for some games and xbox controller for others.

 

[Burty117]

I think it's worth mentioning that they are false advertising a little bit. The delivery is more than the controller (£7.50) and if you order multiple to the same address, they still charge you delivery for each controller. So really the controller is £11.50 each.

 

[fadingfool]

I bought one soon after they came out - more comfortable than PS4 and Xbox Controllers for my slab like hands. Main issue was trying to get the senstivity right with the right hand touch pad (the one you use for looking around in first and third person gaming). Once you get that right it is a good experience (and I paid the original price for one). So not out of the box as easy to get along with as the Xbox controller but after a bit of work is definitely worth the £11.50 above.

 

[scavengerspc]

Anybody ever buy and use one of these? Any good?

There is a very steep learning curve. But once you get it down to second nature it is highly programmable, deadly accurate and (for me) more comfortable. Eventually, I was a better gamer with it than with a Kb\m.

It will work with any game and battery life is good between charges.

 

[psycros]

"The accessory also benefited from Valve's software, which allowed for many games on Steam to feature multiple supported profiles for the controller to bring out its best gaming experience."

That's just the problem, though..they didn't actually provide that many profiles and they never made them easy to set up. Creation of profiles was left to the community which was too small to provide an adequate number. I never did find pre-made profiles for any of my games and sent my controller back for exactly this reason. Perhaps its time for the industry to realize that they need to bring kb/mouse support to all console games rather than controller support to PC games that simply aren't designed for it.

 

[Evernessince]

Anybody ever buy and use one of these? Any good?

It's great if you just want to relax and play PC games without having to sit at a desk. The controller itself is well made. As other's have noted, the touchpad isn't as good as a mouse though.

 

[vayeate]

I think it's worth mentioning that they are false advertising a little bit. The delivery is more than the controller (£7.50) and if you order multiple to the same address, they still charge you delivery for each controller. So really the controller is £11.50 each.

I wonder if they’ll arrive in one box or multiple if you order more than one.

 

[hahahanoobs]

The controller and the console were a joke from day one. It got to the point of embarrassing when the prices of the machines came out. No one was going to pay $800 to play Linux games on a console. No one. Good riddance to both. I love tech, but these products were dead before they were announced, because they were simply bad ideas. I'd pay $40 for an XBOX controller for Windows before I'd pay $5 for a Steam controller. Embarrassing.

 

[saboken]

I think it's worth mentioning that they are false advertising a little bit. The delivery is more than the controller (£7.50) and if you order multiple to the same address, they still charge you delivery for each controller. So really the controller is £11.50 each.

I ordered 2 yesterday and cancelled one because of this! I tried to contact them about only one per cart and forcing us to pay a high shipping per controller. I only got it to use with my Samsung TV who knows how long it will work before Samsung releases a firmware update that kills support for steam link?

 

[FPSChris]

It's great if you just want to relax and play PC games without having to sit at a desk. The controller itself is well made. As other's have noted, the touchpad isn't as good as a mouse though.

Sort of a cross between a ball and a trackpad.
I really like mine, the haptic feedback is great. Just took some time to get used to, really good for RTS and thempark like games, not so much for fps but still better than fully using a 360 pad providing you put the time in to build up profiles.

It's not for everyone, more for the gamers like me that do like pissing about endlessly with configs.

I still use my 360 pad though.

For £11.50 I would not think twice about getting one. I have two!

 

[Unusual Kmc]

Hang on, why is this news? It's been on sale for the same price tag literally every steam summer and winter sale, it just so happens to be discounted in the autumn sale this year as well. Its always been like this, so why is this news?

 

[vayeate]

Hang on, why is this news? It's been on sale for the same price tag literally every steam summer and winter sale, it just so happens to be discounted in the autumn sale this year as well. Its always been like this, so why is this news?

This is the last chance to get it.