Steam Controller
Mood
supportive
Sentiment
positive
Category
tech
Key topics
Steam
gaming
peripherals
retro tech
A sale on Steam Controllers is being promoted on the Steam store.
Snapshot generated from the HN discussion
Discussion Activity
Very active discussionFirst comment
3m
Peak period
57
Day 1
Avg / period
33
Based on 66 loaded comments
Key moments
- 01Story posted
11/12/2025, 8:07:55 PM
6d ago
Step 01 - 02First comment
11/12/2025, 8:10:49 PM
3m after posting
Step 02 - 03Peak activity
57 comments in Day 1
Hottest window of the conversation
Step 03 - 04Latest activity
11/14/2025, 4:31:19 AM
5d ago
Step 04
Generating AI Summary...
Analyzing up to 500 comments to identify key contributors and discussion patterns
Valve really did great here with providing all three connection options (BT, dedicated wireless, USB-C).
Raw 802.11 with no IP stack can get below 5ms IIRC
I get very annoyed by the atrocious audio delay of Bluetooth, so I'll keep my long USB cable ready.
P.S. I am aware of USB also not being zero latency, but it is the lower bound, the dongle is USB as well.
I had to borrow a friend's computer to get mine to run in BT mode because I gave up using the Steam Link fairly early and didn't use the controller again until I bought a Deck, by which point the grace period where a system update fixed it had long since expired.
I'm willing to give it a try, but the smaller and less central trackpads compromise the only use cases that make it distinctive as a controller. (Same for the lack of dual-stage triggers.)
If I want to use analog sticks, I already have a ton of controllers with two analog sticks, some of which are generally excellent and have various advantages over the new Steam Controller.
There are some things that only a Steam Controller has ever made possible (e.g., dual trackpad movement), and others that only a Steam Controller has ever done as well (e.g., programmable dual-stage analog triggers, back paddles you can hit from basically anywhere). In the new design, each of them is either removed altogether or compromised and largely reduced to an ancillary role.
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/court-upholds-jurys-decision-i...
Pretty much everyone I know bought one, tried it for a while, and determined that the trackpad simply did not work well enough. It's a really cool device and I've been trying for years to actually use it. It's great hardware, but the ergonomics and UX is really just not good.
Steam machine is cool, but with how good handheld PCs already are, I'd be ok spending a bit more and just using those instead and docking it for TV gaming.
I have a 8bitdo controller and they are really good. They work perfectly with Debian 13 and probably pretty much every other distro.
The point being that a symmetric controller design makes sense for people with symmetrical hands. (And that asymmetric controllers do not (which is correct))
I, too, agree that the symmetric layout is the correct one.
Valve heard everyone hating on the og controller and seem to have fixed it. Same for the steam machine. I'm less certain about the headset, but if anyone has the hutzpah to make VR happen, my money is on Valve.
Valve added a second joystick to the controller. That's utter insanity in today's market. The expected play is to find a way to force consumers to buy the single stick, and a subscription, somehow. Or gaslight everyone into thinking single stick is somehow better, actually.
It's just crazy to me to see a big company acting with rationality, sense, and forethought
1. Microphone.
2. Headphone jack. When I'm trying to not wake the kids, this would be nice.
3. Dedicated Volume Buttons.
4. A quick way to make it act like a Roku Remote. This would prevent me from needing yet-another-controller.
5. A beep speaker just for "find my controllers". (Similarly, a dedicated "find my controllers" button on the Steam Machine.)
6. I hope the Indicator LED can turn different colors, to make it easier to figure out which controller matches which player...
7. I'd love an e-ink one-line display on it. By default, when it's not playing, have it show a string I set - "Property of VikingCoder" for instance. When it is ready to play, it could show "Controller 1". In some multi-player games, it could be a cool way to send secret messages to only one player.
8. A tiny front-facing camera for QR code / barcode scanning.
9. Maybe an NFC reader, or RFID reader.
10. The e-ink display could also help me choose which device I want it paired with. Steam Machine. Steam Frame. My phone. The Roku.
In many circumstances, the haptics will probably be able to make enough noise for that.
Steam Frame https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45903325
Steam Machine https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45903404
I also have a GameSir Cyclone 2 controller. Works great for Steam, Epic/Heroic, and works well for Switch (though the button layout was "incorrect" but perhaps it can be changed)
Personally, I prefer the Cyclone/X-box style controllers better. Well, Xbox does not own that style but, in my opinion, they helped to perfect it.
(I guess it was Game Cube the started that style officially)
Never liked the Playstation controller where the analog sticks were at the bottom. However, this new Steam one might be OK as the sticks are higher up.
We shall see.
Excited for deck 2.0 in a few years too, maybe 2027/8.
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