I think this might be a hot take, but as the cliché goes, please hear me out.

First of all, what I define by “new and radical” is something that is not only significantly different from what we had before, but it must also fulfill another criteria: it must become ubiquitous.

So, for gaming input devices, I would say that what Nintendo tried to do with the Wii didn’t stick. The technology wasn’t new, but its implementation was new and radical. It was a gamble, for sure. I loved it for what it could do (and, honestly, I miss it), but it’s been almost exactly 20 years now, and the Switch 2 has the double joystick, d-pad, ABXY, quadruple shoulder button combo that all other controllers have. That basic form factor is what became ubiquitous. Motion controls didn’t go extinct, but apart from aiming via gyroscopes, they’re not that common. Classic controllers though, they’re here to stay. In fact, in these last years, I’ve seen the market for controllers explode. It’s wild.

What Nintendo did with touch screens on the NDS/3DS did become ubiquitous though (even if they kind of pulled out of it): That input method is what mobile games rely on. Its home hardware are mostly smartphones. What was new and radical about it (and something that Steve Jobs explained well when he introduced the iPhone) is the idea of having one stylus/finger tip as the tool for for the input, and then designing the input methods (swipe, tap, hold, etc.) around it. Again, the technology wasn’t new, but its implementation was a radical departure from conventions at the time, and again, it became ubiquitous. I don’t see smartphones ever going away (or rather, slabs of glass that we swipe, tap, and hold our fingers on).

I think that there was a hot minute there where we all thought that VR was going to become the next big thing. The input for that doesn’t use technology or methods that are radically different from controllers (they are still just buttons, gyroscopes, and accelerometers, as far as I can tell), but combined with the (supposedly) immersive VR experience, they could have made up for a package that feels new and radical, except that... it became a niche, and I don’t see that ever changing. Baring a leap in technology that allows us to instantly plug into The Matrix, without any complicated setup, I don’t see VR becoming important in gaming, even if it becomes significantly cheaper. It’s just not convenient enough, and in the end, I think that convenience is king, and controllers/touch screens are the ultimate convenience.

You may be thinking about what Valve is doing with touch pads, on both the Deck and their new controllers, but I don’t see it catching on (not to mention that it doesn’t really feel all that radical to me). I’d love to be proven wrong (and I know that those touch pads can do way more than just replace a mouse, since they also have “zones” that can be mapped to, etc.), but in the end, I don’t see it replacing the third pillar of gaming input devices: keyboard and mouse. For PC games, especially certain genres, nothing will ever beat the convenience of that combo.

So, for gaming inputs, I think that we have reached the end of the line. If before the end of my time on this earth, something new and radical comes along that becomes ubiquitous, then feel free to come back here and rub it in my face. I’m willing to bet a lot of money that it won’t happen.

Now, let’s have a talk about form factors, or rather, the hardware.

I think that the Switch 1 and the Steam Deck really kicked off a golden age of handhelds. Indeed, it feels to me as if some new handheld device releases every week. It’s absolutely wild. I don’t know what changed since the launch of those two consoles. We’ve had handhelds since... what? The Game & Watch? Maybe earlier? I don’t know, but it’s been decades. Yet only now has the market for them finally grown big, maybe too big.

Why do I say too big? I would like to know why these companies keep developing new models. Are they really selling that many units and making that much profit? If they are, then wow. Good on them. I’m skeptical though. I hope it doesn’t lead to some market crash. I should add that, as someone who feels lukewarm about handheld gaming at best, I don’t understand why they sell so well (again, if they do). Yes, every time I see a new handheld, I want to buy one, just out of FOMO, but look: I have a Switch 2 and I always play it docked.

I had a GBC/GBA/NDS growing... for the sole purpose of playing Pokémon... always at home. With a couple exceptions on the NDS, I never cared for much else outside of that. It may be that I was conditioned to feel this way about handhelds, since my first console was a Nintendo 64. My preferred way to play games, is to comfortably recline on a chair, turn on a TV (the bigger, the better), grab the controller, and play in the comfort of my home.

I cannot relate to people who have the courage to take their $200, $300, $400, $500 (or more expensive) handhelds out into the wild, where they could drop from their hands (I’m very clumsy), get stolen, or worse, only to play on a tiny screen while sitting very uncomfortably. If you do this, please explain to me why you enjoy it. I genuinely don’t understand. I’m scared spitless just from yanking out the Joy-Cons from my Switch 2, let alone unplug it from the dock. I also don’t care much for mobile games for similar reasons: screen too small, games not that interesting for me.

Alas, I have to admit that handhelds have become ubiquitous. I’m not 100% sure, but I think that, as a form factor, they might stay around forever. I don’t think that smartphones, the other form factor that is ubiquitous, are going to completely replace them. Handhelds have the added convenience of analog sticks, buttons, and being gaming-first devices. Smartphones don’t have that.

The third and last ubiquitous form factor would be consoles and PCs. I group them together because I have a feeling that sooner or later consoles are just going to morph into PCs. I don’t know what Nintendo will do though. They seem determined to have complete control over their ecosystem, but that will require them to keep releasing new consoles with walled gardens. Can they become the Apple of gaming? Can they make this business model sustainable in the long term? I’m not 100% sure. Either way, “big, stationary gaming machines” as the third category, are here to stay.

VR could be a new and radical form factor, but for the reasons that I mentioned before, I think it will forever remain a niche. Other than that, I can’t imagine what else we could come up with.

Do you agree? Do you disagree? Do you have a different take? Do you maybe have an idea of what could become ubiquitous in the future? Is there an input device or form factor you’d like to be more commonplace (like Mii with the Wii) or be invented (if it hasn’t been yet)?

Maybe I should reserve this for a different topic later, but I also don’t see video games themselves coming up with any new and radical gameplay mechanics anymore. I think we already have all the genres that we could possible come up with, and everything that feels new is really just a mashup of something that came before, arranged in a way that hadn’t been thought of yet... kinda like music.

I managed to put a scratch into the d-pad on my steam deck and the replacement process looks more involved than I care for (gotta go through everything in the back to get to it). It's fairly shallow, about 1mm x 5mm, but right on the down button so it can be pretty tactilely distracting.

So I was thinking I may be able to 'refinish' it in some manner to get back a smooth, consistent feeling, but wasn't sure what I'd be able to use to achieve it. Any tips? I'm not too big on how most silicone button caps feel, but maybe I'll try one if it can adhere on the top and not try to fully cover it? Most seem to be going for some aesthetic though, which is also tactilely distracting.

Worst case scenario, maybe I use it as an excuse to replace the ABXY buttons too, they feel a bit loose and their friction when they slide against the edge instead of straight down is also a bad tactile sensation, so replacement button recommendations are also appreciated :)

SOLVED! I tried the suggestion from @mat first, which involved using acetone if it was ABS, and it was. I used several q tips, a cotton pad, and nail polish remover. Steps:

1. Clean area
2. With q tip lightly dampened with nail polish remover, swipe away from the middle of the d-pad, along the scratch, towards the edge.
3. Dry off/wipe down with cotton pad
4. Repeat until smooth!

It feels smooth to the touch and it even looks a bit better!

Product Links:

• Steam Frame (standalone VR headset)
• Steam Controller (gen 2 design)
• Steam Machine (first-party mini PC)

Video Links:

• Official announcement
• Tested hands-on with additional details

Shipping in early 2026. Prices haven't been announced yet.

Hey all I own a pixel 8a if that's relevant and am looking for a controller that is Bluetooth and costs 50 dollars or less on Amazon. I'm not too picky as long as it can hold the phone and is of good quality. Thank you!

Pretty much the title. I want to move away from OEM 1st party controllers due to quality and inevitable joystick drift. I have an 8bitdo Ultimate, but it's not working for me on CachyOS.

Anyone else have experience with good quality controllers on Linux? The Flydigi Vader Pro 5 caught my attention, and I am a pretty competitive person for certain games (mainly Halo 3 and Halo Infinite), and like tight controls for platformers and souls-like games as well.

Edit: I primarily used my controllers wireless, especially on the living room PC. I am more okay with wired on my personal computer.

Found a solution!!

Edit as of Tuesday, October 28th 2025: https://www.reddit.com/r/linux_gaming/comments/1iceer5/8bitdo_controller_fixes_for_linux_my_impressions/

Fixes for 8BitDo controllers running under Linux.

sudo mkdir /etc/udev/rules.d

sudo nano /etc/udev/rules.d/99-8bitdo-xinput.rules

ACTION=="add", ATTRS{idVendor}=="2dc8", ATTRS{idProduct}=="3106", RUN+="/sbin/modprobe xpad", RUN+="/bin/sh -c 'echo 2dc8 3106 > /sys/bus/usb/drivers/xpad/new_id'"

sudo udevadm control --reload

Change Product ID according to your controller:

Product ID 8BitDo Ultimate/Ultimate C 2,4Ghz: 3106

Product ID 8BitDo Ultimate 3-Mode 2,4Ghz: 200f / alternate Product ID: 201b

Product ID 8BitDo Ultimate 2C 2,4GhZ: 310a

My general question ... where do you folks go when searching for replacement parts for aging technology, particularly pertaining to game consoles? I've come across iFixit, and of course there's Amazon and eBay as well, but I've been having some difficulty finding a particular part.

My specific issue is, I have an old Dualshock 4 (model CUH-ZDT2U, with PCB/motherboard model JDM-055) that is on the outs. It started experiencing some stick drift, so I took it apart to clean the contacts in the joystick housing to the best of my ability. In doing so, one of my kids managed to get a hold of the controllers' guts and break off the vibration motor wires from the board.

So, after taking the board and chassis to a local Makerspace, I got the wires soldered back onto the board. So far so good! However, the stick drift is still an issue and the vibration connection isn't that great. So now, I'm hoping to find some replacement parts - namely, a replacement board with the chassis and motors included.

One of the main reasons why I'm trying to refit this old controller, rather than replace it outright ... is because my wife bought the controller (and the PS4 it came with) as an anniversary present years ago. I'm the sentimental type and I'm trying to keep as much of this old controller going as I can, Ship-of-Theseus style. In addition, these controllers don't come cheap - $70 seems to be the basement these days for a new, in-box controller.

I've taken a swing at purchasing replacement parts off eBay - however, while the controller models matched, the board models did not. iFixit has the exact parts I need, but they are out of stock and their stock is inconsistent. I found another site - Fasttech.ca - that purports to have the same parts, but looking around online I've found a fair bit of discussion surrounding this site and the fact that it may be less-than-reputable.

Any advice on where else I might be able to look for parts?

So I'm looking for a solution that's basically just a remote to scroll the web while I'm slouched down in the couch. Something that doesn't require a flat surface to work.

I'd also be interested to hear your solutions for your living room PCs. Thanks!

Now the topic may be inflammatory, so let me walk it back and say "in some cases" - let me explain;

Just got me this gamepad and I absolutely adore it - for folks not wanting to click on a link, think of it as a fancy SNES pad.

I got it as a fightpad and for that it is marvelous - and while I have no intentions of playing a 3d action game with it, I booted up some 2d indies and platformers to take it for a spin ... and realized that apparently, 6 buttons + dpad just aren't enough anymore.

Since when do you need to have a light and hard attack as separate buttons? And need an analogue stick on top of the dpad to navigate through inventory? The amount of "simple" games needing to use all the buttons on the modern controller - without a viable alternative - is ridiculous.

Yes, there are some workarounds but just wanted to vent.

I'm installing some random titles from my backlog (I have 800+ on my backlog through bundle deals, giveaways, etc.) and it's a crapshoot, not in my favor.

Thanks for coming to my TedTalk.

Edit: Yes I realize the modern controller is standardized to the "two sticks + pad + 4 face buttons + 4 shoulder buttons" design; what I'm saying is that while for some game that design is essential, a lot of other games use up all the buttons without a baked-in viable alternative, or worse yet, use buttons for the sake of using buttons!

Context: Last year I struggled for a long, long time to make my new Xbox Elite Series 2 gamepad work properly with Steam. After more than a day of frustration and following various trails of other discussions on the topic, I finally figured out the exact series of actions needed to solve the issue. I posted these steps on Reddit, and they ended up getting me dozens of comments and messages, even as recently as yesterday people still let me know that I saved them from the same frustration. With reddit in its current state of uncertainty, I'd hate for this guide to be lost, so I'm hoping new readers and controller fanatics will find it useful here.

The Problem: You have a Xbox Elite Series 2 Controller, which you are trying to use in Steam on Windows. When using the default (no profile lights) profile mode, the paddles are detected and can be mapped in Steam Controller config. However, they still register no input in-game when pressed. Here is how to fix your problem:

The Solution:

Step 1: You must first revert the firmware of the controller to version 4.8.1908.0. On a PC with your controller plugged in, open the Xbox Accessories app (from the Windows Store), then hit Windows + R to open the Run dialog. Run this command:

xboxaccessories:\firmwareupdate?legacyDowngrade=true

This should give you option to revert. Do it.

Step 2: In Steam Big Picture, go to Gear Icon -> Controller Settings and Enable Xbox Extended Feature Support if it isn't already checked. After enabling it you will have to Reboot. If it's already enabled, there is no need to reboot.

Step 3: Back to the desktop, make sure the Xbox Accessories app is CLOSED. If it is open, you must close it, then disconnect the controller entirely, then power it off, and then finally reconnect it to the computer.

Step 4: Press the central profile button on the controller a few times until it cycles through the profiles. You need to cycle it until the profile light turns off, indicating the controller is in its default layout.

Step 5: Open Steam's controller configuration for your game of choice, and you should now be able to re-map the paddles therein.

Every time I have done the above process, the paddles on the default profile (with no lights on) are now mappable in Steam and usable in-game. I have completed this successfully now with five total controllers, and all worked with Steam flawlessly afterward.

Notes & Clarifications:

• You do not have to uninstall the Xbox Accessories app. However, if ever you use it to modify the controller at all, you must repeat step 3. If you try to use the steam-remapped paddles in the game with the app open, they won't work. You have to turn off the app, disconnect and power cycle the controller, and then reconnect, and very specifically do not re-open the accessories app. I'm assuming this is because the Accessories app inserts some kind of override layer that only goes away after removing the controller and closing the app.
• This process will almost certainly make the Bluetooth connection wonky, if it even works at all. Instead, you'll want to use either a direct cable connection and/or the official wireless adapter. In fact, all of the above steps worked for me with the wireless adapter connection just as well as with the wired connection. As a bonus, you can seamlessly transition between wired and wireless mode this way by simply plugging or unplugging the cable.
• At least as of May 2023, I've received now multiple reports saying that newer purchases of the Elite 2 controller are being shipped with the controller now pre-flashed with a default firmware that is newer than the one that was available in the above post. As a result, this means that rolling back the firmware might not work, as it can't be rolled back to version 4.8.1908.0 anymore. However, I have since purchased two more new controllers of my own since then, and neither had this issue, and in fact both worked with Steam immediately out of the box (after telling Xbox app "no!" to firmware upgrades, that is).

I hope I have posted this correctly (it's my first post here!), and that others continue to find it useful.

I started playing Rocket League at the beginning of Season 9, and am only plat (1s/2s) and gold (3s), so take with a grain of salt. However, knowing that it's very difficult to adjust to new controller bindings, I took a lot of time to find a layout that was as ergonomic and low-effort as possible. I think this is objectively better than the alternatives.

These bindings are for a DS4 with the official back button attachment. They can apply to any traditional controller layout with at least one set of back paddles.

The key points:

1. Reverse is moved from an analog trigger to a binary button, freeing up an analog input for boost
2. Boost is moved from a binary button to an analog trigger, making feathering the input easier
3. Directional air-roll is bound to the right thumb-stick, giving analog adjustment precision

Full control bindings:

• LB: powerslide
• LT: drive forwards
• L paddle: drive backwards
• RB: jump
• RT: boost
• R paddle: toggle ballcam
• LS: pitch and yaw
• RS: directional air roll left and right

Camera bindings can be put on the face buttons or sacrificing some of the d-pad buttons. If you're using DS4Windows, you can also do a macro to make holding L3 toggle RS into a camera input. In either case, you lose precision since the camera input is no longer analog, but I think that tradeoff is worth it because most camera use is just checking teammate position before kickoff.

My beloved Duke controller has developed an extremely squeaky right trigger. It sounds like a mouse or bird is in distress every time I play something. My dog is getting concerned.

When I search the issue online, seemingly everywhere says to spray WD-40 on it, with people immediately saying “don’t do that” without offering any real alternatives. Given WD-40’s toxicity, I’m not comfortable using that for something that’s going to be in my hands for a long period of time anyway (plus it’s even more potentially toxic to my dog).

What’s the right, preferably non-toxic way to fix this issue?

What are the best controllers for console and PC that you've used that aren't just official console controllers? I'm a nerd when it comes to getting a million different input methods for games, and I'm always looking for new ones to play with.

Glad we'll never go back to the hellish days before Valve and various FOSS projects fixed the nightmare that controllers on PC used to be.