The original Steam Controller is undoubtedly one of the coolest pieces of gear I own—and one of the most innovative, too.
I got mine right when it launched in 2015. I wanted to solve a very real problem: I was trying to turn my PC into a console.
You see, Valve had Big Picture Mode, which truly turned your PC into a console-like experience. The problem was that some of my favorite PC games didn’t support controllers. They were keyboard-and-mouse only.
But then—here comes the Steam Controller. Suddenly, I was able to reprogram all the inputs. I could take basic keys, like the spacebar, and map them to a button on the controller—like the A button. And once you did that, you could share your controller configuration with the Steam community, or reuse a config someone else already made. It was pretty awesome.
And those dual trackpads? They were swank. Incredible for first-person shooters and real-time strategy games. They were the next best thing to a mouse. And because of the angle of the handles, it all felt very comfortable in the hand—probably the most comfortable controller experience I’ve ever had.
It’s funny—just a little over five years ago, gamers hated it. Not because they ever used one, but because it was a failure. And as we all know about gamers, there’s nothing they hate more than a failure. It was dismissed as a novelty—something no one would ever use again.
Well, Valve had the last laugh. A few years ago, they released the Steam Deck. And what do you know? It’s a direct evolution of the Steam Controller. And now everyone loves the Steam Deck.
Just take a look at it—it’s got so many of the same things the Steam Controller had: dual trackpads, back paddles, the ability to remap buttons and customize layouts. Having owned a Steam Deck since launch, I can say this confidently: the most killer features on the Deck originated with the Steam Controller.
That said, it wasn’t perfect. There were a few quirks I wish they had fixed. For one, it would’ve been nice if it had dual analog sticks instead of just one. Using a trackpad in place of a right stick is fine in theory, but let’s be real: a trackpad does not replace an analog stick.
Also, unlike most modern controllers, this one didn’t have a rechargeable battery. You needed AA batteries. Now, to be fair, those batteries lasted a long time—but it still would’ve been nicer to just recharge it and forget about replacements.
Then there’s the back paddles. Only two of them. In hindsight, yeah, Valve knew they needed to evolve. I’ve grown so used to having four back paddles on the Steam Deck. They’re incredibly useful—especially in games with lots of inputs. Just good to have.
Still, this was one of the first mainstream controllers to even have back paddles. So hats off to Valve for that.
Honestly, I really wish there was another Steam Controller on the market. I know Hori makes a licensed controller for the Steam Deck in Japan, but it’s missing a core feature the original had: the dual trackpads.
To me, the dual trackpads make the Steam Deck experience. It’s something almost no other handheld has. My wife has a Legion Go, and it does have a trackpad—but only one. And honestly? That makes all the difference. It’s fine. But man… it would’ve been a better handheld with two.
Definitely one of the most innovative controllers ever made.
And yeah, I still use mine. I use it when I dock my handheld. Or when I’m on my living room PC.
I have 2. I absolutely love it. I prefer it for playing 3rd person games like the witcher and monster hunter too. I like the granular control and momentum for panning around the world.
I bought the second one for $5 when valve was doing the discontinuation liquidation sale. Someone commented that the Vive wands use the same track pads and other parts, so it’s a no brainer to buy one to have the parts on hand. At this point the Vive wands are extra parts for keeping my steam controllers going.
I’ve had a PS5. Gave it away. I still have an Xbox. I don’t even know if its plugged in. The steam deck got me back into gaming in a way that I haven’t been in years. I feel like a kid again with the amazement of a piece of technology that can entertain me the way the steam deck can. I even bought a dbrand skin for it just because I love it so much. I’m playing prototype 2 and my fiancee is playing baldurs gate. When we have money we want to buy another one so we don’t have to share lol
Mine hasn’t gotten much use lately because the steamdeck itself has indirectly usurped it but man I love my steam controller. It’s genuinely the best controller ever made for certain types of games. I find it very difficult to play FPS games without it (or the steamdeck) due to getting so used to gyro aiming with the capacitive touch sensors. My only real gripe with it is the subpar build quality. They’ve learned a lot since then in terms of hardware manufacturing so I can’t wait for them to put out a new steam controller.
I have one of these, and it’s my least favorite controller I’ve ever owned. The touch sticks feel like the touch controls in my car… They leave me wanting real, tactile controls.
It’s funny—just a little over five years ago, gamers hated it. Not because they ever used one, but because it was a failure. And as we all know about gamers, there’s nothing they hate more than a failure.
Nice try, but that’s not why I hated it.
This smug revisionism triggers me hard. As a hard core steam fan I loved the idea of the SC, I bought it and really tried to use it, but the reality was just too clunky for primary use. It has no dpad, a single crappy convex analog stick, terribly placed ABXY buttons, horrible shoulder buttons, and just a bit too much input lag on the trackpads. On top all that was (actually, still is) a remapping system that’s way too convoluted to use regularly. There’s also the sad fact that alarmingly many games don’t allow simultaneous gamepad and mouse inputs, and simulating the mouse through right stick inputs feels like shit. I really didn’t find any use case where it’s ergonomically superior to a regular gamepad beside the always cited Civ on the Couch, and I’ve tried with sooo many games.
The deck’s control layout fixes most of the issues – the placement is better (except maybe the Salvador Dali inspired B button but I digress), there is a great d pad, two pretty good analog sticks and the input is snappier. Surprise surprise, the deck is a success.
Was the SC innovative, bold and ahead of its time in many ways? Sure. Was it a good controller to play games with? Hell no.
I bought it and really tried to use it, but the reality was just too clunky for primary use. It has no dpad, a single crappy convex analog stick, terribly placed ABXY buttons, horrible shoulder buttons, and just a bit too much input lag on the trackpads.
Hard truths.
Why did they feel the need to replace analog controls with these weird, inconsistently responsive, difficult to map touch controls when every other console platform had already demonstrated why that’s a bad idea?
Was the SC innovative, bold and ahead of its time in many ways?
NO. It was kitsch and poorly engineered and obviously not play tested sufficiently before release. It was a hobbyist’s attempt at reinventing the mousetrap that got shoved into a major distribution pipeline when Playstation and Nintendo and XBox had already demonstrated why you don’t build controllers this way ten years earlier.
I have one somewhere. The right track pad can work like a joystick, but without the physicality and feedback it just was awkward and unpleasant. Using tracking as a mouse also felt off whenever you needed any sort of precision. Right track pad/dpad seemed to be impossible to click just right to press a direction without also activating the trackpad mappings sending both inputs at once or the wrong one. I could not really get use to it and forgot about it in a box somewhere.
Didn’t hate it, just couldn’t find a use that mouse and keyboard couldn’t cover enough to get a feel for it.
If only the gyro from the PS5 controller were used more by games, (like for aiming) and it had better battery life, it’d be no question the PS5 controller would be one of the best. Trackpads vs gyro (and a right stick) is no contest.
It has two trackpads, which can be used as an alternative to joysticks. It’s actually kinda cool since it kind of works like a mouse with quick flicks and whatnot.
Eh I am not a big fan of the track pads, I have them on my deck and the only real useful ness for them is having them emulate a mouse in games so I can use a mouse for ui navigation instead of the joysticks or dpad. Having to constantly readjust my thumbs to keep moving in a direction and lack of ability for smooth continuos motion just makes them super impractical
I don’t like them either, but that’s because I prefer the feel of joysticks, not because of any functional reason. For the Steam Controller trackpads, you don’t need to readjust anything, you just hold in the direction you want the camera to be changing, just like a joystick, and they’re massive so you have a lot of range of motion for controlling speed.
It’s a different feel than on the Steam Deck, so I can totally see someone liking the SC trackpads and not the SD ones.
Ah that makes sense, I’ve never tried the SC so I just assumed they worked in a similar manner to the decks track pads. I think I would still probably prefer joysticks but now I can see the appeal for some regarding how the SC track pads work.
Understand the Steam Controller came out 10 years ago and was meant to be used in the decade or two prior to that when “real PC games” didn’t support gamepads. Contrast that with today where CRPGs and RTSes often have official bindings.
There are two ways to use a trackpad. The first is to swipe (like a laptop trackpad) and the second is press and hold. For the former, the delta between where your thumb is and where it was is used to translate to cursor movement. For the latter, think of it like an analog stick. The center of the trackpad is 0 and your input is the delta between 0 and the location of your thumb at this moment.
So press and hold lets it emulate an analog stick and swiping is very useful for moving a cursor on the screen. And there are/were plenty of ways to switch between the modes on the fly.
I’ve had one since the release 2015. The best controller and, unfortunately, the most worn out of em all. I really need a SC2. It still works just like the first day (well, better since it got software updates), but it’s so damn worn out.
Fuck, I’m actually, seriously considering paying those crazy amounts people are selling them (HAS TO BE NEW!) for online. It’s sick how good it is.
I would love to get ahold of one for my PC. I’m hesitant to buy a used one though. Maybe one day Valve will make more or even better, make a SC2. Until then my PS5 controller will continue to serve me well
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I have 2. I absolutely love it. I prefer it for playing 3rd person games like the witcher and monster hunter too. I like the granular control and momentum for panning around the world.
I bought the second one for $5 when valve was doing the discontinuation liquidation sale. Someone commented that the Vive wands use the same track pads and other parts, so it’s a no brainer to buy one to have the parts on hand. At this point the Vive wands are extra parts for keeping my steam controllers going.
I’ve had a PS5. Gave it away. I still have an Xbox. I don’t even know if its plugged in. The steam deck got me back into gaming in a way that I haven’t been in years. I feel like a kid again with the amazement of a piece of technology that can entertain me the way the steam deck can. I even bought a dbrand skin for it just because I love it so much. I’m playing prototype 2 and my fiancee is playing baldurs gate. When we have money we want to buy another one so we don’t have to share lol
Mine hasn’t gotten much use lately because the steamdeck itself has indirectly usurped it but man I love my steam controller. It’s genuinely the best controller ever made for certain types of games. I find it very difficult to play FPS games without it (or the steamdeck) due to getting so used to gyro aiming with the capacitive touch sensors. My only real gripe with it is the subpar build quality. They’ve learned a lot since then in terms of hardware manufacturing so I can’t wait for them to put out a new steam controller.
I have one of these, and it’s my least favorite controller I’ve ever owned. The touch sticks feel like the touch controls in my car… They leave me wanting real, tactile controls.
It was truly a piece of shit. Imagine trying to play a game with a cheap touchpad. Worst controller I’ve ever owned.
this thing looks like an abomination to mankind
My sister still has a working one that she treats like a religious artifact, as it’s the best way to play mouse/KB games from the sofa.
I see why they discontinued them though. They need custom configs for most games, and I think post people don’t like that much tweaking.
No. The touch pads were fucking stupid and it needed 2 actual joysticks.
Any move towards less physical controls and feedback is bad.
With respect, this doesn’t make any sense. If you want a joystick controller, just buy an Xbox controller that everything’s compatible with anyway?
The trackpads shine when one needs to emulate a mouse/kb in non-controller games; a nightmare with joysticks.
Nice try, but that’s not why I hated it.
This smug revisionism triggers me hard. As a hard core steam fan I loved the idea of the SC, I bought it and really tried to use it, but the reality was just too clunky for primary use. It has no dpad, a single crappy convex analog stick, terribly placed ABXY buttons, horrible shoulder buttons, and just a bit too much input lag on the trackpads. On top all that was (actually, still is) a remapping system that’s way too convoluted to use regularly. There’s also the sad fact that alarmingly many games don’t allow simultaneous gamepad and mouse inputs, and simulating the mouse through right stick inputs feels like shit. I really didn’t find any use case where it’s ergonomically superior to a regular gamepad beside the always cited Civ on the Couch, and I’ve tried with sooo many games.
The deck’s control layout fixes most of the issues – the placement is better (except maybe the Salvador Dali inspired B button but I digress), there is a great d pad, two pretty good analog sticks and the input is snappier. Surprise surprise, the deck is a success.
Was the SC innovative, bold and ahead of its time in many ways? Sure. Was it a good controller to play games with? Hell no.
Hard truths.
Why did they feel the need to replace analog controls with these weird, inconsistently responsive, difficult to map touch controls when every other console platform had already demonstrated why that’s a bad idea?
NO. It was kitsch and poorly engineered and obviously not play tested sufficiently before release. It was a hobbyist’s attempt at reinventing the mousetrap that got shoved into a major distribution pipeline when Playstation and Nintendo and XBox had already demonstrated why you don’t build controllers this way ten years earlier.
I’m struggling to wrap my head around how a controller without two joysticks is supposed to word in the year of our lord 2025
I have one somewhere. The right track pad can work like a joystick, but without the physicality and feedback it just was awkward and unpleasant. Using tracking as a mouse also felt off whenever you needed any sort of precision. Right track pad/dpad seemed to be impossible to click just right to press a direction without also activating the trackpad mappings sending both inputs at once or the wrong one. I could not really get use to it and forgot about it in a box somewhere.
Didn’t hate it, just couldn’t find a use that mouse and keyboard couldn’t cover enough to get a feel for it.
For real it looks like complete garbage. Joysticks are good, not bad. I’ll take a Playstation controller any day over this shit
If only the gyro from the PS5 controller were used more by games, (like for aiming) and it had better battery life, it’d be no question the PS5 controller would be one of the best. Trackpads vs gyro (and a right stick) is no contest.
It has two trackpads, which can be used as an alternative to joysticks. It’s actually kinda cool since it kind of works like a mouse with quick flicks and whatnot.
That’s sounds truly awful lol
Some people really like it, especially combined w/ the gyro. I think it’s fine, I just prefer the feel of joysticks.
Eh I am not a big fan of the track pads, I have them on my deck and the only real useful ness for them is having them emulate a mouse in games so I can use a mouse for ui navigation instead of the joysticks or dpad. Having to constantly readjust my thumbs to keep moving in a direction and lack of ability for smooth continuos motion just makes them super impractical
I don’t like them either, but that’s because I prefer the feel of joysticks, not because of any functional reason. For the Steam Controller trackpads, you don’t need to readjust anything, you just hold in the direction you want the camera to be changing, just like a joystick, and they’re massive so you have a lot of range of motion for controlling speed.
It’s a different feel than on the Steam Deck, so I can totally see someone liking the SC trackpads and not the SD ones.
Ah that makes sense, I’ve never tried the SC so I just assumed they worked in a similar manner to the decks track pads. I think I would still probably prefer joysticks but now I can see the appeal for some regarding how the SC track pads work.
Understand the Steam Controller came out 10 years ago and was meant to be used in the decade or two prior to that when “real PC games” didn’t support gamepads. Contrast that with today where CRPGs and RTSes often have official bindings.
There are two ways to use a trackpad. The first is to swipe (like a laptop trackpad) and the second is press and hold. For the former, the delta between where your thumb is and where it was is used to translate to cursor movement. For the latter, think of it like an analog stick. The center of the trackpad is 0 and your input is the delta between 0 and the location of your thumb at this moment.
So press and hold lets it emulate an analog stick and swiping is very useful for moving a cursor on the screen. And there are/were plenty of ways to switch between the modes on the fly.
I use mine everyday. Best controller I’ve ever bought.
I have three. One still fully packaged for when the other two die
I prefer the Wii U Pro Controller, similar layout but with a proper d-pad. I got to have a proper d-pad.
I still have one, but never used it.
Wanna sell it ?
Sure, if you’re in the EU. PM me
I’ve had one since the release 2015. The best controller and, unfortunately, the most worn out of em all. I really need a SC2. It still works just like the first day (well, better since it got software updates), but it’s so damn worn out. Fuck, I’m actually, seriously considering paying those crazy amounts people are selling them (HAS TO BE NEW!) for online. It’s sick how good it is.
I would love to get ahold of one for my PC. I’m hesitant to buy a used one though. Maybe one day Valve will make more or even better, make a SC2. Until then my PS5 controller will continue to serve me well