Discussion
Been binging watching steam controller reviews and multiple reviewers have said they'd want a gamepad without the touchpads and then admit they never even tried using it... Imagine how cursed it would look without them! What's your favorite touchpad feature?
I love the feature where you can create a grid of hotkeys that appear on screen when you touch the pad. It made modded minecraft really enjoyable on the deck since i could have xaero full screen map and mini map toggleable with the left touchpad among other hot keys like chat, toggling distant horizons, shaders, waypoint overlay etc. And then having the right trackpad for camera control and inventory mangement is amazing.
I've always thought minecraft could never be a couch controller type game because of just how janky the controls on console tend to be. Until i tried actually going through all the settings of steam input to make a layout myself.
It kinda sucks that a lot of the reviewers who got a controller just keep dissing the trackpads but then never even used them on the deck. It would've been nice if a real deck user reviewed the controller.
I'm really looking forward to being able to play more mouse and hotkey heavy games on the TV that i wouldn't normally be able to like factory sims and stuff like that.
Anyway, what's you guys favorite touchpad features and for which games? Any layouts you've created for yourself that really surprised you how well it works? Any game you now prefer on the deck vs pc just because of the control scheme? (and I guess will now be able to play on desktop with the controller)
Remember back in 2023 when the Xbox product roadmap leaked and there was a new controller with gyro and haptic rumble coming in 2024? Also the weird cylindrical all-digital Series X. But of course Microsoft abandons and reworks their Xbox plans two or three times a year so we’re still stuck with no gyro like it’s 2005.
I love my touchpads, but admittedly gyro can get you 90% of the way there for precision aiming and would dramatically improve the dual-analog experience, but cross-platform game developers absolutely refuse to implement any features that aren’t universal across all platforms so gyro gets neglected. It doesn’t matter that PlayStation and Nintendo have had gyro support for 20 years (and good gyro support since the early 2010s), Xbox lacking it holds the entire industry back.
I've said it before and I'll say it again: M$ is holding controllers back. We're still stuck on the same design Sony nailed in 1996 because M$ refuses to get with the times.
I mean, are they? I would argue the steam controller is an example that it's not. Valve has advanced controllers through steam input. I would say m$ is holding back controllers on windows.
It's MS and Playstation who has been holding gamepads back. Their gamepads have slow polling, no gyro, no hall effect (or TMR) joysticks, every third-party gamepad maker is doing that and much more. The result is that, in order to avoid stick drift, every game comes with 20% of inner deadzone (that's 20% of center not used for movement at all).
For MS, some problems are because tech-debt and bad choices way back, that's why they are moving away from Xinput to GameInput. Playstation just greedy and sucks.
I think Xbox essentially tricking Sony into releasing their exclusives on steam was a good thing. But yeah otherwise, them gobbling up all the game studios only to close them is really messed up.
Considering they made a lot of money for Sony, PS games releasing on Steam might not be going away. They might delay it longer to make PS people feel like they got better value but plenty of people are happy to wait and Sony wins a crap load of cash out of it.
The touchpads are something I’m looking forward to on PC as a Steam Deck lover, but I also prefer the Steam Deck’s ergonomics over Xbox or PlayStation controllers. The shape and button placement are much more comfortable for my large hands, and the new Steam Controller seems to share that same design philosophy, so I’m very excited about it.
The Steam Deck’s ergonomics are the most baffling thing about it, because visually it looks ridiculous but it’s so comfortable. I guess it shouldn’t be a surprise after the weird looking Steam Controller was so comfortable and ergonomic, but it was still kind of a shock how good it was.
I’m in the minority of thinking it is ergonomically very comfortable for trackpad use too, albeit with the caveat that you need to alter your grip in a way that makes the face buttons and analog stick unusable, but with the four back buttons that’s not a problem and it means you can access all the buttons without ever moving your thumbs for much more intuitive gameplay. So while a lot of people in this sub seem to be a bit disappointed we got a Steam Deck layout instead of a trackpad-focused Steam Controller 1 layout I think the Steam Deck layout is perfectly ergonomic and the extra buttons and feature parity for cross-device layouts are well worth the tradeoff.
I don't see why you would get the steam controller if you didn't care about trackpads. You would be paying a good amount more for something you wouldn't even use.
Every other popular controller at the regular price uses standard potentiometers, except 8bitdo ultimate 2. The potentiometers do, and WILL wear out. Stick drift is an inevitability for them.
Steam controller 2 uses magnets, is insanely repairable, and the battery can be swapped out just like that. You pay a slightly higher price for a controller to never buy a controller again.
All I care about is that it's symmetrical because I find a symmetrical layout more comfortable. Maybe I'll use the trackpads and maybe I won't, but options are incredibly sparse when it comes to symmetrical controllers.
I bought one of the og controllers back in the day when it went on that clearance sale that one time. Never got around to actually really getting into using it. I didn't see the light until i got a steam deck. Literally makes PC gaming at the couch actually reasonable.
Their weak points are breakable bumpers and somewhat quickly wearing hat. Fortunately there's a mod that repairs bumpers, and hats can be replaced. But I do have 4 spare OG controllers (5 in total). 😅
for me it's just a naked thumbstick (no more rubber) and the right touchpad "click" never worked reliably. and yes it did take a few tumbles onto a hard floor over the years.
Really fortunate move for the OG, since there would have been like no third party batteries available for it. So battery situation would be really bad for people who continued to use wirelessly controller. Still using eneloops in mine.
I've been preaching on this sub about dual trackpad use.
I have the OG steam controller.
For dual input grants that allow M&K and controller at the same time you get the best of both worlds.
Left trackpad map joystick as touch and not click.
Bind run/ sprint to outer ring. Bind the click function of the track pad to healing or some emergency action.
Right trackpad bind to mouse with gyro on touch. Bind melee to click.
I can now do various important things without moving my thumbs from the trackpads. Your fingers aren't moving off the camera and movement 2 very important functions during FPS.
High learning curve but you get used to sliding your finger around the trackpads. Once you do you cannot go back.
I’ll be honest, this is sort of my personal linguistic hobby horse, literally no one uses it correctly in the real world. We all naturally assume “steep” means difficult and therefore the more time consuming one.
Right, the steam controller is such a no brainer to me because of the touch pads, after using them so much on the deck. I hate the controller layout for city building games and baulders gate 3, and Jerry-rigged the games to use the desktop layout. My only hope is that I can take the layout and apply it to the steam controller out of the box and don't need to remake the controller maps for the controller proper
btw I hate how reviewers just use it as a normal controller and don’t try the touchpads outside of web browsing or desktop mode, the same goes for gyro
Fr!!!! Are you kidding me??? It’s literally one of the only mainstream controllers with a full on touchpad for mouse control, this is seriously ground breaking for pc gaming. It makes me so frustrated and gives me the impression that they don’t really know what they’re talking about
I think its just that the buttons are all so far from the touchpads, unlike with the original Steam controller, so no one can find a valid use case for the touchpads here.
I pray my fears will not be confirmed. I LOVED using the touchpads on the original controller, but only because they didn't take my fingers away from every other button on the controller.
I bought a prebuild pc for living room gaming recently and it just doesn't hit the same with dualsense or xbox or switch controllers.
It kinda locks out a lot of games that are heavy on the mouse. Unless you use a mouse and keyboard at the couch. but then it's really awkward and uncomfortable hunching over the coffee table.
I'm so excited to play shapez 2 and satisfactory on the TV and not feel like i'm forcing it to work with lacking controller mappings. And actually be able to kick back like with a regular controller.
if you want a steam controller without the touchpads and don't care about the super customizable gyro controls just get an 8bitdo ultimate 2, it's great and has a couple more features than the SC
if you want completely universal couch gaming (or as close as you can get realistically) then get an SC
deck made me trackpadpilled lol i can't go back haha. Personally still not convinced by gyro yet, but i played metroid prime 4 with gyro recently and it kinda convinced me to try again with steam games. I can finally finish doom 2016 hah
I've recommended the 8bitdo ultimate 2 wireless a lot of times, since it was one of the first non Sony controllers being sold I came across that had dinput mode so you could map gyro in Steam Input while retaining analog triggers. And you could individual bind the back buttons and the extra bumpers. So much cheaper than the dualsense edge too, and I wasn't going to buy a dualsense edge for the price they were asking for just to get back buttons.
Lets say it that way, I do not even consider a handheld no matter how good it is without the touchpads, they are so good for pc games, especially older ones!
You can clearly see that those people critisizing that are console players not even even having bothered with a mouse keyboard input. Also they are clearly superior for camera control and for mouse emulation than a stick and add on top, that you can add overlay shortcut menus triggered by them. and literally enablers for second controller schemes!
A reviewer who wants a gamepad without touchpads is a complete idiot never gotten past plain console gaming, period!
I hear you on the handheld thing. I want to get one of those Lenovo dealios so I could run games at higher frame rate and resolution when docked but I can’t justify it without the dual trackpads!
So many reviewers are completely missing the fact that the touchpads can be used to bring up custom popup radial menus with shortcuts and macros for any game
It's so frustrating to see that almost noone is even mentioning the extremely solid software solution for setting the controller up exactly as one wants it. The settings let you activate gyro at any event, it let's you switch between for example gyro steering in a vehicle while disabling gyro on foot in GTA, it can be set to only activate at left trigger full pull or while touching a joystick... The deadzones, linearity and much more is easily adjustable...
It's so much more than a simple controller with two useless touchpads. People are truly missing out on the huge benefits of those pads.
In rpgs I set the touch pads to a radial menu with shortcuts to map, inventory, skill tree, journal, weapon sets, quick save and much more... In shooters I have a four slot shortcut pad with quick change weapons, in games like house flipper I have a menu with shortcuts to all the tools. The sky is the limit and it's a shame that almost nobody seem to be even aware of this feature set!
Can't wait to have it and play Nuclear Option and other space and smis games with it...finally decent space on desk, DCS from a couch, no mor hotas needed
Jake Baldino from GameRanks has some great insights into the touchpads and setting up custom control configurations.
Sad to hear most people review it as a regular controller when in reality it has some of the coolest innovations compared to other controllers on the market.
Also, doesn't make sense that people are treating this as something new when steamdeck has the same features...
I would love a Steam controller touchpad pro that brings back the 40 mm circular concave shaped touchpads and put them in the upper positions even if it means losing other inputs due to the space it would take up. It wouldn't sell, but I'd be sure to get multiple before it got discontinued even if it was double the price of the $99 Steam Controller.
I'm sure a lot of tech people are looking into moving the touchpads up and joysticks down. I've already mapped out teardown videos and think it's plausible.
They already have a Steam controller minus the touchpads, it's called the Wireless Hori Pad for Steam and it's as mediocre as you would assume a Steam controller minus the touchpads would be.
Well that's depressing lol. Using trackball mode feels sooooooo good in so many games. It's objectively better than using a joystick because the sensitivity is completely dynamic.
Not to mention the myriad of other things they open up.
I play the Sims 4 with the OG Steam Controller. (and Sims 3 before that) I made a pretty complex binding for it, it's quite popular (I would like to make some changes, because the game added some new stuff, and it still uses mode switching rather than layers, but the thought of losing all those downloads irks me, i wish they would let us make tweaks to existing community bindings, somehow. Make it only apply to new downloads, so people don't suddenly have it change, but... something. anyway....) Now, Sims 4 does have gamepad controls, but they suuuuck. The game is meant to be played with a mouse. It just is. and with the touchpads, i can use that mouse cursor for everything, and i have all the basic controls bound to all the buttons and the left pad is camera controls, it's great. I prefer it to using the actual mouse and keyboard.
To be fair, I think they did the best they could... they had to do it because the corporate overlords decreed it would be released on console, and then had to figure out how to translate a mouse-centric game to a gamepad, where there won't be a cursor available.... in a game where the primary input is clicking on spots on the ground to move, or on objects/people, and selecting actions from a menu with up to 10 options.... i mean, the results are bound to be clunky if all you have to work with are joysticks. the SC is so great for it simply because you can... click stuff. But also the back buttons are great, as well as mode shifitng
So, those reviewers want features they don't use removed, therefore, by removing the touchpads and gyro sensors, what do we have in the end? A cursed Xbox controller. GOTCHA!
The SC isn’t the best gyro controller (others have a better polling rate) but it might be gyro’s best ambassador. I saw a lot of reviewers say “man I’ve gotta try gyro more” or similar. Whereas gyro’s just mentioned as an afterthought in other controller reviews.
I guess something about the SC just puts people in the mindset of “okay I’m trying to replace a mouse here, let’s give this a shot.” So it might sell a lot just for the gyro feature!
I have a preset touch menu I can add to the touchpads that include all the buttons and joystick directions of the other side of the controller specifically so that I can pet my cat with either hand and still somewhat play the game
I didn’t wanna call any specific review out but yeah that was the one that inspired me to make this mockup lol. Like who even benefits from this review? Lmao
Exactly. "Never even tried using it"
Ridiculous. These people don't deserve the steam controller, there too used to one of Sony's "premium" controllers. These are the people it was made for, payed 100 bucks for a controller and didn't even try to use the features (if they got if free for a review then that's even worse). Go get your overpriced stick drift sony slop remotes
The menus are the goat. Most games, that's what I'm doing.
In FFXIV, you can't use keyboard shortcuts in controller mode. I plan on using the right one for camera controls (mouse plus right click on touch) when I need more precision than my joystick affords me. The left one will move my mouse and pressing it will be a left click, that will let me pick up elements and press hot bars that aren't mapped to my controller buttons
Even on steam deck community most players only play 2d platformers what didn’t use trackpads or gyro.
On reviews I have seen a guy what plays Doom on it once, and that guy was Valve’s engineer…
that's just the people on that subreddit. the people actually using gyro and trackpad i think are in their own sub. at least gyro gaming has it's on subreddit. or maybe they're too busy actually playing games instead of talking about it like us lol
When I say I play online shooters on my deck, then it’s always tons of questions about how I play, do I use right trackpad to aim?
Also I have never seen other gyro player in any game
i haven't played online but i have played Control with just the trackpad and no gyro and i really like it. in the track ball mode i can flick when i need to but then also super precise when i need to.
i only know one other gyro player IRL but that's in Splatoon 3 lol
side note: only thing that sucks with that game is it doesn't support mixed input so i had to rebind the keyboard to the buttons and all the prompts are wrong. but it plays really nicely. i've always been pretty bad at controling fps with an analog stick. love mouse too much. the trackpads were an amazing middle ground and argubly better in some ways since i can hit more buttons at once with a controller than with keeb and mouse.
Yeah I was also PC gamer only. Using stick for aiming is just a bad design.
No wonder why console gamers are always using strong aim assist.
GTA games on consoles is just shooting without aiming.
Valve really loves using action binds and I hate them! I don’t want bind only one action instead of the whole button.
So games made for mouse and keyboard only, IMO are easier to play on SteamDeck than games with any controller support
Games with any controller support are trying make you play the same lame way as on consoles.
So use stick to aim with strong aim assist.
In many cases it’s next to impossible to fully switch to PC settings in game and use Steam inputs to make your own inputs.
And Valve instead of making it easier, is trying to add some similar features to their own games.
In TF2 where every millisecond mattes they put some features from Xbox 360 port.
For most people they’re not actually gonna be for gameplay, but for navigating your pc. When trying to play games on the couch there are countless times where something pops up and you need to go and find a mouse or whatever. This makes those moments where you’re forced to navigate a desktop much more painless
"I want to strip the steam controller from its unique feature" I don't think valve would have made a controller just to provide a minimal if any improvement over others just in quality
Besides creating a grid of buttons, touch is the perfect replacement for left click or a right trigger when using a gyro. Zero trigger shake, and super fast, low energy, rapid activation times.
It's the same for the Deck. Most people have actually never used the pads in-game, maybe not at all even.
This is why the OG SC was so controversial as it forced you to use the right trackpad, as Valve intended for a PC experience. Aiming / moving a camera with a trackpad is, IMHO, such a better experience, but people are stick in their ways and rated the OG SC as "bad" just because it wasn't like everything else.
Those reviewers’ opinions are worthless. They want a Steam Controller without the Steam Controller, what’s the point? Just get an Xbox controller. Maybe I’m rough, but that criticism genuinely bothers me. It’s like asking for a laptop that only works plugged into a wall, at that point it’s useless since desktops exist. Same way, asking for a Steam Controller without Valve’s unique design and features means you’d be happier with an Xbox or PlayStation controller.
The lackluster reviews are great for us at this point! Because there is more of a chance scalper bots wont rush the store on Monday and beat it to us. Let the bad reviews keep coming and let us get the controller we’ve been waiting for
I was so looking forward to the end of the embargo but there was hardly any review I saw where people even knew what the Steam Controller can do. They highlight gyro aim like that's the be-all-end-all of a bindable gyro. They talk about the touch pads like it's just for mouse emulation. They talk about the touch sensors like it's just a switch for the gyro.
The lack of imagination and experience with the original Steam Controller makes these reviews so disappointing. Same for the interviews. And even the price comparisons feel disingenuous when the amount of features makes then a competitor with the "Elite/Pro" offerings from Xbox and PS.
The moment a reviewer says they don't like the screws showing, dismiss the touchpads or gyro, or miss the rubberized finish of other controllers, I close the tab. It's like they don't know THE POINT OF THE CONTROLLER.
The entire reason I've wanted this controller is because I wanted the ability the Steam Deck provided to play niche titles I'd normally need KB&M, but from my main PC.
If that's not your main use case, there are cheaper options.
Weren't the touchpads supposed to be the main selling point of the Steam Controller? I have the original Steam Controller and I loved its touchpads. After the Steam Deck came out, I've always wanted another controller with such a feature.
My favorite is using the trackpad for souls games movement. Click on the trackpad to roll, hold the border to activate run mode (hold B). In run mode, release touchpad or click to cancel run mode. Make souls games way more comfortable to play.
The only reason I want the steam controller IS the touchpads. If you don't want touchpads then buy a different, better controller. We are spoiled for selection these days and a controller designed to be compatible with all my games is what I want not yet another dpad, 2 analog, abxy with triggers and back buttons like everything else on the market.
Loved them on the OG steam controller, HTC vive, and steam deck (My favorite implementation so far).
I got my SD OLED 3 days ago and i never played with joysticks, I always been a PC gamer, and the trackpads help a lot to aim, are game changers, my aiming acuracy increase a lot with trackpads than joysticks
Same! (Sorta) I started with ps3 and Nintendo as a kid but basically taught myself mouse and keyboard because of Minecraft. I always thought I just sucked at shooters but really I just suck at analog stick. I’m at least decent on mouse and keyboard and with trackpad it’s the closest thing. Specially the ball mouse style that steam input does. I’m a fan of it for sure
Elite with a controller is a bit nuts, last time I checked it has over 200 mappable functions, but with controller layers and touchpads and combos it is more than doable.
When the deck came out I ported my SC1 setup over and I'll reverse that for SC2.
When the og Division came out I played it through with the og steam controller, using the touchpad for camera and aim. It was so easy to land every shot.
There's a gazillion "steam controllers without the touchpads", touchpads are the whole fucking point of the controller compared to any other. Coming from Steam Deck, I'm super excited to have the same controller features on my gaming PC.
There's a few games, mostly smaller indie titles, were I'm using steam's controller config to make them playable with controller on PC for me, but I'm always missing the touchpads and extra back buttons.
Yeah I saw a review where they said they wished there was a cheaper option without track pads…I thought what a bizarre take that was! I doubt the extra R&D and manufacturing costs of making two SKU’s would bring the cost down at all not to mention it would be comparatively quite a bit less popular.
The whole point of the Steam controller is to make a controller with parity to Steam Deck controls (with a few refinements), if you want a controller without track pads just buy one of the many, many other options already available.
I want to get this controller specifically for the touchpads. I play WoW on a controller, and it drives me nuts that I can't pop over to my second monitor to navigate the browser while im in game and have to reach down on to my mouse and use it every time I want to do something on it.
Does anyone know if this will be possible with this controller? I would love to be able to use it to navigate it and queue up videos or do some browsing or whatever then seamlessly switch back to the game without letting go of the controller. I feel like if I could get speech to text working on my setup it would be a huge productivity game-changer as well.
That's like order a Fajita and then asking no onions and bell peppers. Brother, that's the whole point of a fajita. The touchpads are the whole point of the Steam Controller. Go get a standard Xbox controller if all you care about is standard inputs that already exist....
Typing on keyboard with dual touchpads is my favorite feature. I am not sure why it cannot be done with dual joysticks, but I don't want to type anything when I am using external gamepad with Deck.
I think reviews misunderstood how the controller was built so you can play whatever weird upcoming surrealist gem slop the indie scene creates like that controller was made so you can play cruelty squad without sacrificing its idiosyncratic controls now you can reload as was intended haha
The touch pads are the main event, I use them for precise FPS aiming/camera (which doesn’t get covered in any reviews even though Valve mentions it’s great for, feels like I’m taking crazy pills). All any reviews mention it’s for mouse navigation and RTS games, the lack of coverage on the touch pads god tier FPS aiming for a controller pisses me off. I can never go back to aiming with a thumbstick
The touchpads increase accuracy an insane amount as well as the ability to turn or aim quickly in a game.
They also for me make an excellent d pad.
But the reviewers are correct, the majority of people don’t like the touch pads. I’m sure someday they’ll be gone. But I’m glad I have them right now.
They’re so much better than the first steam controller too. The steam deck ones just feel good from the moment I start using them. Combined with gyro it’s hard for me to go back to any other controller for gaming.
Gonna be honest I wouldn't mind a cheaper Steam Controller Lite. While the Touchpads are pretty damn nice, the biggest feature I'm looking forward to is the Grip Sense and the Capacitive Sticks.
Those things make Gyro Aiming much more viable, specially on games without Mixed Inputs, so you don't need to have gyro only while aiming, and still not have ratcheting eating an entire input.
Really wish the Steam Compatible Program went somewhere besides the Hori
My favourite touchpad feature is the ability to control the operating system without having to put down the controller. My second favorite feature is being able to play games developed for mouse with no controller support nor suitable controls for emulation on thumbsticks, most recently it was Pillars of Eternity 1&2, which are perfect games for Steam Deck but didn't have any controller support whatsoever.
Curious about the touchpads - I've got Stremio added as a 'non Steam game', and hoping to be able to use it through Steam Link. Would they work in the same way the Apple TV remote trackpad works?
I think it would work more as a mouse. But I think you can set it up in steam input where the further you are from the center of the trackpad, the faster the d pad presses so it could simulate the Apple TV remote somewhat.
Also heads up you can actually sideload the Stremio ipa on Apple TV now.
I’m curious what keys you use with all these minecraft mods and stuff lol
If I can play a minecraft modpack more simply on controller that’d be…wild. So..so…so..many binds.
The initial hill of setting up the key binds sucks ngl. But once you set it up it’s perfect.
It’s all down to what you want quick access too imo and the modpack.
I’m using the controlify mod and then also mapping the hotkeys to keyboard buttons in game and then mapping it again in the steam controller menu.
X to set a waypoint in xaero mini map, z to open the big map, b to open the list, g to toggle the waypoint overlay
And then on the left trackpad I just swipe my finger to the correct position in the grid. You can have it show as letters or even add icons. There’s a whole bunch of them included in the menu.
it's really good in say helldivers 2. you have to input d-pad sequences in order to call down equipment, and with virtual menus you can make multiple virtual macros with binds to input them for you. it's great for disabled players that can't correctly or quickly input the sequences manually.
there's plenty of other uses, but that's a recent one. and I just got Xcom 2; I'm excited to see if the navigation is better with it.
edit they also have Haptic feedback. you don't know you want it till you use it.
yea it's difficult to describe. it makes the tp really pop. like with virtual menus lets say 8 each (typically my max) it vibrates as you're moving between selections, and distinctly.
A controller made by Valve without the touchpads would be pointless LOL Just buy other controllers if you don't want to use or at least explore the possibilities of the touchpads 😄
I personally use an OG Steam Controller and most of the time use the left touchpad for movements and right touchpad in trackball mode for camera controls or aiming. Sadly, I don't think this will translate well on the new one so I will have to wait and see what OG fans will say about it 😄
My favourite use of touchpad on the old one and Dualsense/dualshock is buttons on the second layer activated by clicking and gyro on on touch. I loved my 150h+ on Borderlands series with this config. However like gyro activation on stick touch that's why I spent most of that time on steam deck.
That's kind of the point of the Steam Controller: to have a controller that lets you play your entire Steam library. And obviously that implies having touchpads.
People give the touch pads so much hate. Yes and mouse is better but the touchpad is perfect for turn based pc games that requires a mouse. Currently playing Battletech and just finished another play through of Rome 2 total war. Wouldn’t be possible without the touchpad. Wouldn’t be able to play them conveniently on a hammock without them
Ive been a user of steam controller 1 since the start, and while i am excited for the sc2, i do think they're taking a bit if a different direction this time around. The trackpads are what set the controller apart from the rest, but i will miss them being a central feature instead of a secondary 'nice to have' thing.
I thinj my ideal steam controller 2 would have been sc1 with the additional inputs, new haptic engine, and somehow a similar layout the the sc1.
I didnt used touchpad that much on my Steamdeck, maybe for some RTS but ended uninstalling and just play them on PC.
They were so useful for desktop mode though.
But for 100$ I could buy 4x controllers with enough features I need
I mean I haven't tried the touchpad (Though I guess I have with the Dualsense Touchpad but I hear its not as good as the Decks) so I can't say on its quality, I may consider getting it down the road, but I think most people are fine with using both a Keyboard and Mouse + Game Controller setup.
Like from what I've seen it's pretty useful for games that exclusively use Keyboard and Mouse, or using to navigate the PC as well, but for every other game that has Game controller support, it becomes a bit more niche, and if you are already fine with your KB&M + GC setup (which I am), there aren't many reasons to get the Controller exclusively for just the Touchpad, and if you want the other features it comes with there are cheaper alternatives that are just as good.
I remember the touchpads on the OG steam controller were very uncomfortable for my thumbs, the new one's seam to be more ergonmically placed and sized.
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u/Emilyxc May 01 '26
I feel like the touchpads are the main reason to get it. If you don't want them you're better off with an 8BitDo or Xbox controller.