A new video released Friday morning on Valve’s official YouTube channel offers a more detailed look at the company’s upcoming controller, which is set to be part of its multiple hardware and software releases later this year, including the Steam Machine, Steam Link and SteamOS.
The video shows how the controller aims to deliver on its initial promise of providing middle ground between mouse and keyboard and a traditional gamepad, by offering great accuracy with its pads meant to imitate that of a mouse’s tracking ball and scrolling wheel.
To that end, the minute and a half presentation shows the Steam Controller being used to play a number of games, including Paradox Interactive’s Cities: Skylines – which has been released only for the PC as of yet and is theoretically one of the games which cannot be played with usual controllers due to its user interface being heavily reliant on the mouse.
Another interesting aspect is the fact that the controller seems to have also been optimized for easier typing – the video shows how it can be used to easily surf the internet while playing by using a virtual keyboard.
Apparently, the Steam Controllers allows different control outputs for every game, and interestingly enough, one screen shows that in can be used in combination with a mouse and keyboard. The most popular control schemes for a specific game can also be downloaded from the Steam Community.
The Steam Controller is different in layout to standard gamepads by also taking full advantage of its back, offering both an analog pull and a digital switch. While not being specific about how they will be used (though during that part of the video the user is shown aiming his/hers gun while playing the first person shooter Wolfenstein: The Old Blood), this will certainly help with involving all of your fingers, a problem which gamepads have faced since their beginning.
The controller is listed for pre-order on the Steam store for $50; those who pre-order will receive it on October 16th, when it will be shipped in limited amounts. For all the others, the worldwide release is scheduled for November 10th. According to its Steam page, the controller will be shipped with two AA batteries which can power it for approximately 80 hours and a USB wireless paring dongle.
Image Source: PC World
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