r/SteamController • u/TheNewerFlisker • 10h ago
Discussion Why are trackpad gamepads treated so differently?
A fightstick is a game controller and yet it is not judged by it's ability to play games that expects a d-pad and two joysticks
A sim racing wheel is a game controller and yet it is not judged by it's ability to play games that expects a d-pad and two joysticks
A flight stick is is a game controller and yet it is not judged by it's ability to play games that expects a d-pad and two joysticks
So why is it that when the first Steam Controller came out so many people insisted it was the lack of a d-pad and second Joystick somehow made the controller useless?
Why is it accepted to own any of the above in addition to a traditional gamepad but the Steam Controller didn't got that courtesy?
Why are other controllers allowed to have niches and yet trackpad game controllers are expected to do absolutely everything with no downsides
1
u/TheLocalHentai 5h ago
Because the layout was counterintuitive out of the box and even though it had the potential to be amazing, people couldn't just plug it in and play like they can do now. On top of Steam Input still kinda being meh and its support for the Steam wasn't what it is now. Without those options, the pads and gyro were just fighting for the KBM space, and we know which is superior, but with how Steam Input is now, it's actually made its own niche and that's a huge reason why people are fond of theirs (I have three).
You also have to remember the landscape for controllers back then was absolutely abysmal, it was all xinput and wrappers, ds3 support was unheard of, even if it was the objectively superior choice for powerusers (so many options due to the touchpad plus the back button upgrade).
As for why the others aren't under as much scrutiny, it's because miscellaneous peripherals aren't just to add extra controls but they also bring other things to the table, like action-based feedback, immersion, and precision and the first SC brought little but had a lot of glaring omissions.