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Valve announces new hardware: Steam Frame, Steam Controller, and Steam Machine
Product Links:
- Steam Frame (standalone VR headset)
- Steam Controller (gen 2 design)
- Steam Machine (first-party mini PC)
Video Links:
Shipping in early 2026. Prices haven't been announced yet.
My brain is fully aware of the fact that I don’t need any of these, but I am staring at them with lust in my heart just the same.
I will also put myself on record as someone who didn’t like the original Steam Controller on account of its lack of a d-pad and second stick. The touchpads were cool and did enable some unique and intuitive uses, but I thought those came at the expense of some basic functionality.
They fixed that with the Steam Deck and now this new controller. Adding trackpads without taking away the other components only helps. I don’t use my trackpads a whole lot, but whenever I do, I’m glad they’re there.
I got home, booted up SteamVR on my Index, played some Synth Riders, and had a great time. I did this because, after longingly looking at the Steam Frame, I was feeling my fidelity falter and needed a reminder to love the one I’m with.
Thankfully, the Index is still a fantastic headset that more than meets my needs. So, I’m going to stick with it, as it’s done right by me so far.
But if it breaks I am SO getting a Frame. 😂
I will add that I’m excited about this making VR gaming more accessible to people. I know it’s still a niche interest, but it’s something I genuinely love. I have put hundreds of hours into Beat Saber and Synth Riders alone. I genuinely consider my Index fitness equipment for how I can get my heart rate up and have so much fun at the same time.
I hope the Frame enables more people to discover what I love about VR gaming — that moving your whole body inside a game world can be awesome.
Also, I have a set of XReal Air glasses that I sometimes use with my Steam Deck. You put them on, and you have a virtual screen in front of your face. I find this much more ergonomic for the Deck. If I’m sitting up, I don’t have to tilt my head down. If I’m lying down, I don’t have to hold the Deck up (and have my arms fall asleep in the process).
Again, already having those glasses means that I have even less of a reason to get a Frame, but, just like I’m excited that VR gaming will be more accessible, I’m also excited that pancake games are getting a proper first-party headset treatment too. It really is a nice way to play regular games.
If the frame isn’t too expensive, I’d love to pick it up. I played a lot of Beatsaber in college on my Oculus (before it was acquired by Facebook). But I haven’t played in years since it was wired and a hassle to set up, and space constraints.
Wireless is a big plus, and not being owned by Facebook is an even bigger plus.
As someone whose first VR experience was buying the Meta Quest 3, I’ll have to wait to see the price but I’m tempted to pick up the Frame. Sunk cost notwithstanding I put pretty significant value on not having Meta all up in my stuff.
My first experience was the Original Oculus (Now Meta) quest. I still love the device, but I was disappointed by how short the support was. To put it into perspective, the valve index released within the same month, and is still being supported with software (just not being manufactured) while my oculus quest stopped getting software updates in 2023, and security updates in 2024. Valve has a good track record of supporting the things they release. The fact that this headset won't have facebook is a HUGE plus. At some point I won't be able to get the apps I paid for in the apps store because of the updates. Heaven help me if I need to reset my headset for whatever reason. Like you, I put a lot of value of not being tied to facebook.
I’ve been looking at xreal for a while now - how are they?
The Air pro 2s are relatively cheap, I’d be down to just get them if they’re good enough for movies, basic games, etc
They’re good, but not great. I would recommend buying something better than the regular Airs, but I haven’t used any others so I don’t know which model to recommend.
Things I like about the Airs:
The aforementioned ergonomic benefits.
You can buy prescription lens inserts for them since you can’t wear glasses with them on.
My little dog can snuggle up on my chest while I play my Deck lying down. This is priceless to me. 🥰
Things I don’t like about the Airs:
Unavoidably, it adds a cord to an otherwise cordless setup when I use it with my Deck. Not a huge issue, but worth noting.
I can’t quite get the full frame in focus. There is always some edge that is a little blurry. If I bring the glasses further onto my face to alleviate that, my eyelashes hit the lenses, which is a non-starter. I just choose to play games on it where the edges of the screen are unimportant. I guess I could also trim my eyelashes? Probably not going to do that though.
The movement that @gary mentioned can be off-putting. I’ve gotten used to it so it doesn’t bother me anymore, but I can definitely see how it would cause issues for people.
Image clarity feels a little on the low side. I’m not sure if this is because of the resolution it runs at or some other aspect of design, but I’m assuming better models would alleviate this. The games I play on it are mostly chunky pixel art games anyway, so it’s not really an issue for me. That said, the newer models might run at significantly higher resolutions that could exceed the Deck’s hardware capabilities, so there’s probably a balance to be found.
The marketing for these devices makes it sound like you’ll have the equivalent of a giant TV in front of you. In my experience, it’s more like if I held my Deck screen closer to my face. The intended illusion doesn’t come through for me, but I don’t need that to work. Instead, I’m happy just having an easy external monitor for my Deck that I can use while lying in bed.
I haven’t used them on a plane flight yet, but I also think they would be great for that (if you don’t mind looking a little odd to the other passengers). I love playing my Deck on flights, but the cramped space of an airline seat means my neck is in an even worse position than normal. This would let me keep my head up instead of craned down.
They are definitely a “nice to have” rather than a “must have” IMO, and I think the Airs I have are likely the entry level hardware that have some tradeoffs for their cheap cost. If you already are on board with the concept and know they’ll work for you, I’d recommend paying more for a better model to sand away some of the rough edges.
Not that good in my opinion. Unless you have a way to anchor the screen, the movement makes it uncomfortable to use for long. There's a lot of micro movements even when you think you're quite still. It's only when I lay down that it was mitigated enough for me to not care. I believe it may be possible with an Android phone? Their Beam hardware paired with the Air 2 Pro does and that thing is just an Android phone. I upgraded to the Xreal One and it was a better experience.
Just for an alternative, I have the Viture Pro XR glasses. They are great! I usually use mine with my phone every night to watch an episode while my wife is falling asleep next to me. If you have a Samsung phone and access to Dex, I think its worth it. You can always buy on Amazon and return if you hate them.
Honestly, if anything breaks with my Index I am going to get the Frame. I have some wonkiness with my controllers right now. The price to replace them is stupidly high. The ability to just whip my headset out whenever would be a big win as well. Right now I put it away for periods at a time due to space requirements, and when I do bring it out it is a commitment to play for at least month.
If I remember correctly that was a pretty common complaint when it was released. I ended up growing to like it, since I found the trackpads so effective at replacing the trackpad and the dpad. It's to the point that my initial reaction to the new Steam Controller was "oh wow this looks crowded, did we really need a trackpad and a d-pad?". Granted I've never touched a Steam Deck, so maybe it's a non-issue.
I loved the original steam controller touchpad for games that didn't expect a traditional controller. For actual controller optimized games I often found it lacking to the point that I bought a xbox controller specifically for those games.
On the one hand there's a lot of "people don't like change" but as someone who plays fighting games adjusting from dpad to stick can be frustrating for many, and there's no way those people were going to even try the track pad (I certainly didn't but i'm not betting its impossible).
I always liked the right trackpad for aim. But recently I've started using the left for WASD and the left stick for radial menus.
This works quite well for many games, but I could see how it wouldn't work well for someone expecting the tactile feedback of a dpad.
I own Steam Deck and OG controller. They are great. I will likely be seriously thinking about buying Frame, but I ahve yet to see the lrice and hatdware requirements for games, as I have old and even at the time not decent computer.
But I was thinking about going VR for a long long time and I was thinking specifically Index. Well, seems I may be getting its successor in the future.
Super excited for the Steam Frame. I was sour on the Meta Quest/Apple Vision/etc because they're still ultimately toys where one company decides what you can run on them. A VR headset that's actually a full Linux capital C-Computer sounds fantastic and worth the investment.
I'm super ready for the Frame, too.
Even though I've had a lot of fun with my Quest 2, desktop connectivity is an afterthought at best and a buggy mess that Facebook can't seem to not periodically break. It's a huge pain in the rear to try to use under Linux too and is one of the only things keeping my gaming tower stuck on Windows.
I almost sprung for a Bigscreen Beyond 2 (which I think is probably the most practical and balanced PCVR headset on the market today), but needing to set up lighthouses and the lack of SteamVR controllers that are good for Beat Saber dragged down its appeal. This will (probably) solve both of those issues.
I'm the same camp as you, I was hovering over the big screen 2 buy button for a while, especially with the raving reviews. But I held back because honestly, I'm not sure I can justify the price for the time I know I'd use it.
The Frame... I dunno, there's things I like the look of. They say it's extremely comfortable in a short session which is great, but I need to know more about it from hands on before I buy.
I do also like the idea of it being just a pc, fuck Facebook and Apple with their walled gardens.
I think the price will make a HUGE difference too.
The cool thing about the Frame is that they've explicitly designed it to make headbands interchangeable, so even if the stock one doesn't measure up for longer sessions there will almost certainly be third party straps to close the gap. A much, much better situation than I had to deal with on my Quest 2 where the best available strap is a Vive Deluxe Audio Strap bodged onto the headset with 3D printed adapters.
Hahaha I did the same thing for my Pimax 5k for a few years until I finally got their official deluxe strap. And it still wasn't great.
Yeah, it'll be interesting to see. I think it'll depend on the number of sales like most of these things.
I wanted to get into VR for a while and finally bought a headset last year. I plugged my nose and bought the Meta Quest because it was the best option at the time. I regret not waiting for this because YES, it's a Linux COMPUTER.
I'm hopeful that we'll see real development in VR workspaces now and that it'll be open source and free (as in freedom).
I still have my reservations with the frame in terms of gaining market share from meta's quest. Facebook has the marketing and the appeal to actually breach into the mass market (for a while they did at least). I trust valve, other than the very first steam machines and the index, I'd own just about all of their hardware endeavors, including the steam controller and the steam link! Buying all three of their hardware releases will be a no-brainer for me, but I realize I'm a nerd that is into niche things. Hopefully it can the same success that the valve index had.
I don't see them going toe to toe with the meta quest... but that combo of steam machine, controller, and frame... its going to really push stuff in what I hope is a positive direction.
I’m in a similar situation but having looked up some specs last night, I’m really conflicted — it seems like resolution, FOV, and top frame rate are pretty similar, but my Quest has colour passthrough where the Frame has only b&w passthrough. The headset is slightly lighter but the controllers seem like a bit of a downgrade from what came with the Quest.
Oh? Can you please share more of your thoughts on the controllers?
My caveat being this is all from websites that list specs, so there’s a chance that the steam frame controllers actually have features that aren’t mentioned, but the capacitive features come to mind.
Having capacitive triggers, capacitive face buttons, and capacitive joysticks mean you can do much finer gestures than just “button is pressed or not” and even “trigger is held X%” — there aren’t a lot of games that I’ve played which use it, but being able to see my in-game hand slightly curling because my finger is close to, but not actually touching, the trigger is something that I’ve enjoyed experiencing.
Having that extra input can allow for much more dexterous interaction, and I think adding more inputs is always better for the games that want to explore those options.
They definitely said everything on the Steam Frame controllers was capacitive. [edit: I'm likely wrong? perhaps?]
Dang, I'm a little shocked they finally followed through with the steam machine after all these years!
Camera tracking on the headset is a big deal. It makes it so much more accessible.
I wasn't a fan of the previous steam controller - this one looks a bit better, but I'm still not a fan of trackpads.
I'm very interested to see how these perform and how well they're received.
Edit: If the steam machine does end up being popular, it's really going to push Linux support - which is great for anybody who wants to break out of the Mac/Windows oligopily
The trackpads make Civ much more bearable on the Steamdeck. Having a natively mapped button for next turn was also really handy.
Source: One more turn.
I don't personally use the Steam Deck trackpads much, but where I do their existence is so immensely useful. Specifically they let me deal with games that almost have controller support but also have some mouse-only menus. Binding trackpads as mice makes those games work pretty well on Steam Deck, but then those same games barely work when docked because of the lack of controllers with those features. For years any time I talked to anyone in person about the Steam Deck I would comment that I need a screenless Steam Deck for when I dock it just because I want all the buttons.
I certainly did not expect Valve of all companies to make the Linux Mac Mini.
If it's around 500 bucks this could just be my new go-to deployment for small operations. Just slap regular Linux or even Windows on it. This could be big. Currently volunteering at a small library, and we desperately need new computers. If two of them run me around a grand, it would be amazing.
I doubt it will be $500 for that much machine with a GPU attached. $700 low end, $1000 for it kitted out?
DDR5 RAM has gotten very expensive recently though, so not sure if that will have a big impact on the price or not.
Edit: probably not a huge impact since “only” 16gb.
Presumably the deals have already been made for production, so maybe it slips under the wire, but there's also the massive economic flux that everything has to deal with so who knows?
I really hope they don't have multiple versions. Devs will be more likely to optimize if there's a single SKU, just like they do for the Steam Deck right now. Especially with the Steam Machine compatibility badge.
OTOH, because it's still basically just an AMD PC, the need to hard optimize a single model is significantly less so long as devs fix AMD and Linux issues, which benefits the whole ecosystem.
If there's multiple versions, it probably won't be different from the Steam Deck. configurations that change how much ram and storage it has, and not too much more.
Valve does advertise this as "just a PC", though. So it's probably going to be easy to change out most parts.
Looking at the internals, the only thing that is swappable is the M.2 SSD - everything else is soldered on or custom designed/built, such as the motherboard. Not much you can upgrade, but I guess certain parts can be replaced for the same SKU if that's what you meant by 'change out most parts'
From the LTT video, it uses ddr5 sodimm memory, so you can upgrade the ram as well. The CPU is BGA, so no upgrades on that without very extensive board repair experience.
I'm really excited for Steam Controller 2.
One of my core memories from the pandemic was playing Among Us, before they added controller support, while completely wrapped in a blanket since I could map the mouse controls to the gyroscope on my Steam Controller. If you put the time in, you could really make control schemes that transformed how you experienced games. Hopefully, Valve figured out a way to make that configuration a little less daunting.
I'm sad that I can't justify buying the new controller, since because I still own 4 of the originals (3 of them are still in their boxes) :(
Releasing a new Steam Machine right now makes so much sense. Valve has proved that they can provide a compelling console-like experience with the Steam Deck. This increased compute power addresses one of the Steam Deck's growing weaknesses without making Valve renege on their "no new Steam Decks for a while" promise.
The pricing is going to be so interesting. They could potentially go incredibly aggressive and price this around the Steam Deck's price, by leveraging increased spending on Steam to make up the difference. Which is notable given the context that the next Xbox is alleged to be a "a Very Premium, Very High-End Curated Experience" (translation: $$$$$).
The one thing I wonder about is whether it's viable to sell the Steam Machines at a loss. For consoles, it's an easy decision because you're locked into the console ecosystem and storefront, making that money relatively easy to recoup.
But since this is just a standalone PC, the (near) guarantee of purchases on the storefront is not there.
That's true but don't underestimate the default effect. Most users will use Steam by virtue of it being baked into the OS, and them coming with SteamOS installed by default
Yes it probably is. Valve is a retailer for games first and foremost. The more included you are in their store page, the more games you'll buy. PC gaming is already massively increasing worldwide, mostly Steam users, and making this easier than ever for even console households has potential to make them go stratospheric.
Going off of SteamOS is possible but why would you? The desktop experience is already pretty smooth (speaking from Deck experience) and the game side is what people have wanted from Linux for decades.
I'm not worried about Steam right now, but they're sucking up vast amounts of market share and creating hardware that we'd be hesitant to buy from others lest it vendor locks us to them. Luckily they're consistent with their open software policy, and it appears they're releasing developer kits for the VR set too so we can expect a lot of interesting things to happen with.. well the entire lineup of new stuff.
Like @kfwyre I probably don't need any of their new stuff but dang it looks good across the board. That little square desktop unit is pretty.
The PS3 offered the ability to install Linux via its "OtherOS" feature. As a result, people bought the PS3 and used it in supercomputers due to it being below-market-rate commodity hardware. As a result, the PS3 had immediate shortages and the price shot up towards market rate for commodity hardware, as is economically expected.
I think you might be misremembering history. The PS3 launched with an atronomically high price in 2007, and essentially handed the market to Microsoft. The MSRP for the small-storage model was $500, or $820 in 2025 dollars. It also had virtually no launch titles. After the initial hype burst after 2 days, sales plummeted and retailers cancelled orders. A lot of sales were to scalpers flipping them on ebay for $1000. The legs got cut off the scalpers and it was selling at MSRP inside of 3 months, to the point there were news articles about scalpers getting stuck with dozens of consoles. The supercomputers were a rounding error, the largest such system was still less than 2,000 units.
By contrast, the Xbox 360 had already been out over a year, and the expensive model retailed at $400.
And the PS3, due to its weird architecture, had games that looked basically like the Xbox ones for 4 years.
Yeah I think part of the reason the PS3 was bought in bulk for supercomputers was that Sony had to do drastic price cuts to compete with the Xbox 360. But also the weird CPU made it very well suited for certain types of computations.
I actually installed Linux on mine, hoping it could cover my desktop needs, but the user experience turned out to be awful. The PS3 has so little RAM that everything ran dreadfully slow, and the GPU was unavailable, which I believe Sony did intentionally to avoid piracy. If I recall correctly, hackers still found a way to access to GPU, which led Sony to quickly patch out the OtherOS functionality. My PS3 ended up collecting dust next to my 360.
I think that a lot of people wouldn't go outside of the walled garden even if that wall is more akin to a single line of bricks. Given the percentage of all PC game sales that are on Steam even without it being their hardware, they're probably pretty safe.
Verge is reporting that Android Games will be coming to Steam with the Frame, and side loading will be available. Wonder what this means for Android Apps in Linux integration now, and what compatibility layers in the future can put Windows games on arm and mobile hardware?
https://www.theverge.com/news/818672/valve-android-apps-steam-frame
There's a lot of talk about FEX, which can apparently translate x86 calls to ARM with very little overhead. Seems like Valve is planning to adopt it into Proton like they did with WINE.
https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/vr-hardware/steamos-launching-for-arm-fex-translation-layer/
Exciting to see development in the ARM Linux space, hopefully Valve will generalize whatever integration they have to other devices as well and not just the VR space.
Verge spun it out into it's own article.
https://www.theverge.com/news/818698/valve-steamos-arm-potential-handhelds-laptops
I was literally thinking about this last night as I once again looked at my windows upgrade path.
I think a LOT of devs don't understand the insane effect gaming has had on the wider coding and computer ecosystem. I grew up on macs but got a PC when I was the only kid who got a free scrabble disc when everyone else who got to visit westwood got Red Alert.
So many people onboard into development and coding from simple things like "Fuck it i'll mod it myself" or just spending 2 weeks getting the perfect skyrim mod stack going and realizing most tech is similar.
Just as W11 is really pissing people off in all sorts of directions there might finally be a "buy it and play" box for linux. There's still LOTS of issues rolling out a linux box in an office, but those are mostly software side. If the next generations decide to just get Steam box's instead of windows machines/PSWhatevers/XboxZ's I think this could be the REAL push for linux to actually become something more than "That thing your nerdy friend swears always works but complains about more than they realize".
It will depend on a lot, but Steam has already done so so much for the world of linux with the steam deck and actually forcing some clean standardized development for average user use case. Not 400 pages of forum argument over years of what boot system to use.
Honestly the Steam Machine sounds really promising. Once it starts being reviewed by people I'd like to see if it's worth replacing my semi-functional laptop with it...
Then again, I have a Steam Deck.
I have a family of 4 that is into PC gaming. If this can get me 4k/60fps in the ballpark of a Deck pricing, it's almost an insta-buy. Substantially cheaper and smaller than having a third gaming pc.
I was already on the verge of picking up an OLED deck as my LCD is finally starting to succumb to the numerous drops and other beatings (the Deck was just fine in the OG case when a 40 lb child started jumping on it absentmindedly).
Now I'm gonna have to buy 2 new Steam controllers, an OLED Deck, and a Steam Machine. Valve realized they tapped out my wallet on Steam sales and just need to mine the hardware train instead.
I have to commend Valve for nailing down precisely what gamers want out of their hardware.
My hat is off to a marketing team that listens to customers rather than dictating terms to them. I think I'll take at least three, possibly four of these... just one VR headset (because VR tourism is fun), with lots of extra controllers. I was looking at making some home theater PCs to replace my aging Nvidia Shield devices, something built out better for gaming and emulating older consoles. This is the perfect replacement. This machine can handily emulate every prior console, run HTPC software like Kodi or Plex, and run about 98% of all PC games that exist. I'd be hard pressed to top the hardware with any of my own builds.
Since this is a real PC, the modding scene will operate here with total freedom. That's never happened in the console space before, though the modding scene for the very first Xbox is about as close as we got. That was a lot of fun, so many programs and apps and emulators were ported to it and grew out of it (including Kodi). Actively stamped out by all latter generations of every platform, of course, because it defeated their walled garden mentality. Valve is going the other way, jungle mentality, and that's going to profit them handsomely.
If this platform hits a certain level of critical mass, the mod tools are going to start supporting it (and linux by extension) directly on Valve's standardized hardware. That's a swift path to one-click installs of mod collections for thousands of games and better linux mod tools. I hope Nexusmods is paying attention, wouldn't take much for Valve to become a competitor if they put some more effort into the steam workshop.
at the same time, I'm not quite sure how high the demand will be for yet another pre-bult PC. Unless they want to price these very aggressively (and their words seem to suggest against this), I'm not sure what really maes these stand out outside of branding. But the brands in the desktop space aren't small startups like it was for handheld PC's.
The Steam Deck was a good compliment to a lot of Pc gamers's desktop setup. At best the Steam machine may simply be a very luxurious secondary gaming machine. Maybe a starter machine for a loved one (should finances permit).
I don't think their target audience is people that want to put it on a desk and use it as a PC. I think their target audience is people that want a controller-first alternative to consoles that's less hassle than setting up a TV PC. Both setting up and using a TV PC are kind of a pain due to just about everything on them being keyboard+mouse first, but this should be plug and play.
Opening up the Steam library to controller-only one-click couch play is significant. It's a library that is both huge and also holds games that were available in previous console generations but not the current one. And on top of that it, like the Steam Deck, seems likely to become a popular emulation platform. That stuff will probably still require going to the desktop mode to install RetroArch or something, but it wouldn't surprise me if they eventually streamline that too. In theory game mode access to the Discover store plus a built in "add to Steam library" button in that integration would get very close to most people never needing desktop mode even to do things like emulate.
Tildes tends to be a quite technical crowd that may think, "What's the point? I could make my own controller-first TV box with Bazzite or whatever." I don't think that attitude is reflective of the market at large. Even the professional game devs I spoke to are interested in it specifically because they want to game on their TVs without rolling their own TV PC. Personally I have the skills to do a TV PC and still can't be bothered because it's more work than I'm willing to put in.
One thing I saw mentioned is the HDMI port on the Steam Machine has CEC enabled which would allow you to have the Steam Machine automatically turn on when you turn on your TV. That feature is harder to find on PC components.
Yes, it is a bit confusing to me why you don't find any other pre-built, install steam, and set it up to run Big picture mode on boot up. Windows or Linux, that really feels like the gist of "running PC games on your TV" at this point.
I suppose I'm skeptical because there's have been many other "console for PC/mobile" solutions, and their results are varied. Those more technical audience don't need a set top box's convenience, those not technical enough find a Playstation or Nintendo or Xbox. The console market is just very hard to box into.
Because it's a lot of work and expense for a poor experience. It may as well be impossible to set up and maintain (think updates and stuff) without a keyboard and mouse and I'm not interested in dealing with that in the living room on my TV. And then at the end I have what? A box with poor controller support, probably without CEC, probably poor performance (budget prebuilts can be rough to game on since they don't optimize the hardware choices for games), significantly more work to maintain, and probably doesn't even fit in my entertainment center.
A TV PC sounds nice on paper, but for me isn't worth the work with regular non-TV OSes. It's effectively a project PC for a project that I'm not really interested in doing. Even just configuring WiFi, doing system updates, and all that are just annoying to do on a TV without interfaces designed to use a controller, which is specifically what SteamOS handles fully out-of-the-box. I have used a laptop for this purpose in the past and needing to pull it out to do basically anything except launch a game got so old that I just stopped.
I have a TV PC, and while I found a workable setup (enabled mainly by a ThinkPad keyboard, which allows cursor control with its trackpoint without making the keyboard huge with attached trackpad), it's not nearly as polished of an experience as a Steam Machine would be.
Updates breaking things, having to fight Windows when it refuses to pair my controller for some bizarre reason, etc. Linux might improve the situation, but it's still not going to be as smooth as a Steam Machine since it doesn't have a corporation pouring resources into tailoring a Linux distro to my machine. Its main saving grace is its sheer power… if it weren't for that I'd buy a Steam Machine, no question.
I agree the interface is annoying with a TV PC. That's one place I ultimately found the Steam controller I got on a fire sale to be really nifty. A gamepad with built on mousing was great, once I got used to it.
I understand your situation, but I mainly wonder for people with your problem how many wouldn't simply choose a console instead of go for a "PC console". The latter will still have some configuration overhead to do anyway. But it's mostly down to branding.
A few major advantages that a PC console has over a traditional one:
Those three alone would quickly save the buyer a lot of money and will only become more relevant as Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft push to eliminate physical game media (and thus, eliminating cheap used game discs/carts).
A PC console is also capable of emulating practically everything that can be emulated, opening up access to a vast library of old games without a monthly fee or restrictions to the titles Sony, etc have chosen to offer on their retro game service.
So in theory, there’s a lot potential buyer might find attractive. Historically attempts at PC consoles have flopped due to a combo of poor specs, poor big screen UI, and not fully plug and play experience, but the Steam Machine fixes all those issues.
I'll also add in that Steam has started to curate an ecosystem that people would like to have brought to their TVs. The jump from desk to Steam Deck meant people could both play with their existing set of Steam friends and have their library of saves follow them between devices. As a personal example, I played Hollow Knight on my PC, my Steam Deck on the go, and my TV and it was super nice that everything "just worked" in a way that it wouldn't have if I had a Steam copy and a PS5 copy. If not for being able to dock my Steam Deck, which basically just makes it a weak Steam Machine, I would've needed to choose between TV and everything else.
Just out of curiosity, what's the hassle with a TV PC? I've had one for well over a decade and we don't have any particular trouble with it. My non-technical wife uses it and my kids also use it without issue.
Nothing special setup on it either, it's just Windows. Boots directly to desktop and then the kids know how to navigate to Firefox, Steam or Minecraft. Otherwise we have a link to our folder of movies on my server and just browse that with the wireless keyboard/mouse.
Obviously, it's not as easy as just having a controller you point at the TV, but it's not that much more difficult either.
Edit: I see your response further down. I don't necessarily agree, but I find the experience fairly trouble free unless I actually need access to the PC internals, which is a hassle given it's an ITX build.
I think it's aimed at console gamers hoping for an easy in to PC gaming
I think this is exactly correct. While I think the Steam Machine is pretty cool, I have no need for one with all my various PC's, including a TV PC. But I watched this video yesterday from a creator who is pretty explicitly a console gamer and just wants a plug and play experience.
He mentions being frustrated or uninterested in PC gaming because it's often a faff, but loves his Steam Deck because, "It Just Works." and while I, as a techinical person and PC gamer of 30 years thinks PC gaming is incredibly easy these days, there's definitely a hurdle to overcome for people who don't want to fuck with things all the time and just play games. That's exactly who this is for.
The main draw for me is longevity and quality of the hardware. Valve's been good at that, and frankly, I'm tired of controllers that break after a couple years of use and don't allow for battery replacement.
Not directly related, might even remove in an hour, but If anyone is interested and has the knowledge, I've been tinkering on something similar to the Steam Machine w/ a custom OS and distributed modular components, and thinking about bringing more people onboard since it isn't just for gaming - message me on here.
should mention: I am a roboticst, hardware and systems engineer, and the systems automation architect for walmart corporate, so not a teenager with a "world changing!!!! idea" lol
The GabeCube is real
One of my friends called it a “legally distinct GameCube” and I guffawed.
I don’t see any mention of pricing in any of the coverage yet. I think pricing will make or break this. Looking at the specs on the Frame, I can’t imagine it will be less than $999. I paid around $1,200 for my Pimax Crystal last year and the this has similar specs.
Optimistically, I think $500-$550 max for the Frame, that it would easily be profitable at $700, but they will be desperate to get the cost as low as possible.
They would also expect a sizeable sales boost to Half Life: Alyx.
The index was at around €1000 when I got it, I think somewhere around that price is a realistic point, even with less parts and stuff like AA batteries instead of built in the controllers... Would be amazing to see a lower price, though!
VAT aside, that's the full kit. But don't forget the cost of the base stations, which are independent devices. I had to replace mine this year and they cost €130 each, plus VAT (on Steam; everyone else sells them more expensive). So just subtracting the cost of the base stations could get you to 700.
I luckily had the base stations from an OG Vive so I only had to buy the hmd and controllers, so I did spare a bunch of money
Off topic but what's your thoughts on the Crystal? It was on my list before the big screen beyond 2 hit the market. I'm the proud(ish) owner of a 5k super but it's definitely got a heap of issues!
I was so looking at the Bigscreen Beyond and went with the Crystal because it offered adjustable IPD and worked with glasses, so my SO and I can both use it. The first Bigscreen Beyond didn’t offer either of those options since they’re custom made for each person.
I really like the Crystal. The it is great for gaming and if you don’t mind the bulk, it’s comfortable. It also doesn’t require any external tracking set up, so you can just pickup and go.
I also have a Vision Pro and the screens in that blow the Pimax out of the water since they’re much higher resolution and OLED. The Pimax is good but you can see the difference when doing anything except gaming.
One thing I dislike about the Pimax is that the pass through is terrible. It’s basically good enough to find your spot in the room and that’s it. It only does grainy black and white video. After using the Vison Pro, that was the thing that stuck out the most since the Vision Pro does pass through better than any other headset I’ve used.
Thanks for the reply!
They said it will be less than 1000, so I expect 999 too.
Wow... just wow.
Steam controller was the best controller I have ever used. It took me a few weeks to adapt to a normal xbox controller, the track pads were super comfortable and it was really easy to fix when things broke. I have passed the last years thinking I really had to buy a new one when they sold the last pieces... and now they sell it again (but it's even better).
... and also the steam machine is pretty cool. I am just wondering about the prices now...
I'm so glad there's at least a few other people who loved the original steam controller! Mine is still in constant rotation, and fortunately it still works after almost 10 years. The virtual trackball right pad combined with gyro can be amazing for mouselook. I'll admit does sometimes require messing with configurations, but once it clicks its just perfect. Last year I (re)played Max Payne 1 and 2, which have no controller support, and had a wonderful time with the steam controller. Except for the platforming sections of the first game, but those were always horrible anyway!
All that's to say I'll be buying the new controller as soon as they let me!
Steam Frame sounds great but it seems like it may not have the greatest display for video playback or productivity for cost cutting reasons. It will be disappointing if that's the case. I hope the reviews prove me wrong.
I don't have any interest in the Steam Machine but it will be interesting to observe how well it does. I'm rooting for it because the better it does, the better and more ubiquitous gaming on Linux will be which would be fantastic.
The detail about the steam frame using eye tracking to make areas of the screen more detailed seem absolutely wild to me. Crazy cool technology if it works well, but might be a train wreck if it doesn’t.
The term for this is foveated rendering, if you'd like to read into it a little bit further. I've always been a little dubious that the cost of eye tracking would offset the performance gains, but enough companies seem interested in the technology that I'm starting to think there's something to it. It does likely make more sense as pixel densities continue to increase.
Presumably that eye data could also be exposed to games to create more realistic avatars in multiplayer scenarios.
ETA: It looks like because they're combining this approach with streaming technology, they're actually branding it "foveated streaming". Though I'd assume they use a more typical foveated rendering for on-device games.
Foveated rendering requires the developers to modify their games, but foveated streaming allows any game being streamed to the Frame to look better.
I think foveated streaming is an awesome feature that is meant to enable pcvr titles that aren’t efficient enough to run on the onboard mobile chip to be streamed from a more powerful pc. I think the hope is that if foveated streaming is a decent enough workaround to enable mass adoption of the Frame, foveated rendering will become more common in future game updates and new titles.
This is just the first time I’ve heard of it, so I didn’t think to use the term.
The Apple Vision Pro uses foveated rendering, and does it quite well.
My current gaming PC is too old for W11 and I'm not really interested in the "features" of it. I've been watching game support on linux increase over the past several years, and would be pretty happy to drop windows altogether (my laptop is already running fedora). There are still a few games that won't run due to anticheat or other reasons, but I'm tempted to give them up when I next do a hardware refresh. If the price is right, then I might take the leap.
Man I'm unlucky. I've been waiting for years for a new steam controller, but I got tired of waiting and bought a new different controller a few weeks ago.
Anyway, Steam Machine looks interesting. Not for me since I already got a better desktop, but I can see myself recommending it to others depending on the price.
Steam Frame, here' hoping that it has a competitive price agaisnt Meta Quest
I lucked out on getting a Steam Controller during the firesale several years ago. Should've bought two! I like it, but honestly, I don't even use it that much anymore. So easy to use other non-Steam controllers with Steam these days that I just use my various Playstation controllers. I even picked up some 8bitdo small controllers for travel.
Anyone else amused that the Steam Frame controllers use AA batteries? Been a while since I've personally seen a gaming device or accessory use those instead of rechargeable batteries. I think the most recent one I own would be my Wiimote.
I think they got a huge amount of negative feedback with the index controllers because people would either:
Having a bunch of AA's around (especially rechargeable ables) seems like a no brainier for this case
Which is ironic that they ditched the AAs for the Steam Controller v2.
Steam Controller V1 also had the most satisfying battery change process of any other device I've ever had. Like loading bullets into a bolt action rifle.
I mean, I think for a controller the difference is you can just plug it in and keep playing if you run out of battery. It's annoying yes but you can still play.
VR you absolutely cannot play with two cables running from your fists as you wander around a room lol.
Quest 2/3/3s controllers use AA batteries...
I like this decision, actually. With my Quest 2 when the controllers are running low I swap out the single Eneloop AA's and I'm off to the races. No need to remember to dock or plug the controllers in, no waiting for them to charge (assuming you keep a set of spare batteries in the wall charger).
My Logitech G604 Lightspeed mouse is nice for the same reason.
I believe Xbox console controllers use AA too don't they? Surprised I'm not seeing that mentioned yet. I think there's an argument to be made that most users are not servicing controllers with proprietary, rechargable batteries to replace them, so whole controllers become e-waste if the battery fails in some way, though mass disposal of AAs has its own problems.
Yes, as did the 360, though they sold a battery pack too.
Batteries need a proper recycling/disposal incentive in place, something like "you get paid $0.25 for every returned reusable or disposable AA or AAA battery."
Meta Quest controllers also use those, and that's my biggest complaint tbh
It's not the worst problem in the world of course, but it's inconvenient to swap them and charge them
Long shot but: since the Frame runs a reasonably open platform... if the people behind UEVR (injector to VRify any Unreal Engine game) manage to make it run on it, it's going to be epic! (pun intended)
Damnit Valve. I already got hooked with the deck, now you're tossing me a cool headset, a GameCube, and a good controller. Honestly the controller is the thing I most want - I have tons of custom layouts for all sorts of stuff in my library. I play on the deck more than my bigger machine because of those layouts, they're more comfortable and in some instances make the game more interesting to interact with. Being able to flip over to a more powerful machine and use the same things, yes please. I will be heretical and say, finally I can be free of the mouse and keyboard forever - your day has come, my poor, strangely damaged wrists. I don't know why, but KB/m becomes painful after about an hour. Controllers though, no such limit.
I have to wonder how they'll go about supporting these once they're out. The deck got constant improvement, if they've got this array of hardware out there they can do some more "ecosystem" type stuff, I'd be interested in what comes along. Crossing the streams by running the Frame off a mobile chip seems like the beginning of bigger things. It would be sick to one day have steam input include touchscreen layouts/controls and just run all your stuff on anything.
The cube, if its priced well, is phenomenal. If their goal was to be hitting 60 at 4k with upscaling, I am confident me with my 2k monitor will be happy with what it can do.
Sorry wallet, I know I know we were doing good there for a while but I'm about to blow all that to hell.
I've seen it been called the "GabeCube" and it got me.
I’m interested in the Steam Frame but I’m going to have to wait and see how well it works for productivity. I have a Quest 2, but I don’t use it much because it’s uncomfortable to wear, the IPD adjustments aren’t exactly right for me, the lenses aren’t very good, and the resolution isn’t good enough for reading text comfortably. I also don’t play a ton of VR games, so having a HMD that was designed with flat screen gaming in mind is definitely appealing. I am open to VR titles though, so having access to pcvr titles like Half Life: Alex would be great over the lackluster games on the Quest store.
I am more certain that I would want the Steam Machine. People are complaining that it only has 8GB of VRAM, but my current PC has a 2060 with 6GB of VRAM, so the Steam Machine spec sounds pretty good to me! Small form factor PCs have always seemed appealing, but basically having a guarantee that it would be able to play games well is nice for peace of mind.
Also somewhat unrelated, but Tildes was listed as a source in Kagi News!
I also have a Quest 2 but my issue is that after I played through Half Life Alyx I looked around the market and realized I’d already hit the peak and there wasn’t much reason to try out lesser experiences. I’d say Alyx is an amazing piece of art and technology. Not the best game ever but a fairly good one and the execution on everything made the immersive experience memorable.
I don’t want to play some random game that could have just as easily been a 2D game but now it’s running on a headset. I want an experience tailored for VR from the ground up. Because honestly the ergonomics of VR are poor. It’s uncomfortable and the screen tech isn’t good enough. Without the extra polish it’s just a worse version of playing video games.
This thread is HUGE, lol.
I'm gonna toss my hat into the ring, I'm extremely excited for the frame. I just recently did a lot of research into the state of the VR market, to see what i could run well on linux. This looks like it.
I don't think I've been around to see a thread with this many comments in my time here! Seeing the
(100 new)was a bit surprising.When I saw this post I got so physically excited, I've been praying for a steam controller 2 for so long, and exactly what I wanted was "the steam deck controls without the screen". I've been enjoying couch gaming ever since I got my projector setup, but for some games it's hard to forego the trackpads, and the Xbox controllers placement of the D-Pad makes D-Pad-Based games a lot less comfortable than the native deck controls. Now I will get to have my cake and eat it too, and while they don't always get it right on the first try I can always trust Valve to stand by their products
I really appreciate finding people such as you who are on the same page as me about this. I see a lot of whining and criticism of Playstation controllers for their left analog stick position, but for me there's absolutely zero difference or preference in PS or Xbox position for left analog stick while using the analog stick.
However, the effect this has on using the D-Pad is tremendous, and while I love the 8bitdo Ultimate that I currently use daily as my PC controller, I have sometimes pulled out my Nintendo Switch Online SNES controller (it's just a SNES controller that I can connect to my PC basically) for some emulated/retro/indie games because of the D-Pad position. Not that I completely want to retire the NSO SNES controller, the novelty of it is still fun enough that I'll probably keep using it occasionally for emulation, much like how I have one of these and a real N64 controller specifically for emulating N64 games (or playing recompilation stuff!) because I dislike mapping N64 to modern controllers, but I could definitely see myself retiring the 8bitdo Ultimate and using the Steam Controller for both modern 3D AAA type stuff as well as more D-Pad focused games.
I've still only rarely used the touchpads on my Steam Deck actually in an in-game context instead of mousing around desktop mode. I played Va-11 Hall-A on Deck and used them for that, and that's pretty much it. I'm still open to the idea and seeing how I can harness them to my advantage.
I've had my Deck for three and a half years now and it took me awhile to get the hang of them. I started by playing and configuring some pretty basic stuff, such as playing a lot of Transport Fever 2 and using the right pad as my mouse and changing the left to act as a scroll wheel when I circle my thumb on it one direction or the other. Kind of stopped there for awhile until I started playing Vanilla World of Warcraft on my Deck and realized I could set hot keys and the like to the trackpads.
So as another example, if I play Vanilla WoW, I have my right trackpad set to regular mouse, but my L4 switches to a seperate controller profile that inherets most of the controls, except now converts that right trackpad to scroll. On the left trackpad, I have it set to a circular hot key menu, so I can move my thumb in any given direction and a little circle with assigned hotkeys/actions will appear on screen. From there, I can easily select some of my more uncommon skills I need to use on my character that aren't assigned elsewhere.
Similarly, L4 now switches that left trackpad to a different set of hotkeys I don't need that often, such as Quest Log, Map, Character Panel, etc.
I played through the original Half-Life recently and had the left trackpad set as (upper half) Quick Save and (lower half) Quick Load.
There's all kinds of stuff you can do with it, but I think it's difficult to understand until you see how someone else uses it. The way I discovered uses for it was downloading various controller profiles for different games that had stuff setup in different ways; it gave me ideas for how to configure things, as well as got me to delve into the settings and start messing with stuff. Now I can't live without them and will absolutely be buying a new Steam Controller day 1.
My deck is also a launch unit and so I must've had it equally as long so I don't think the problem is necessarily one of time but rather what types of games I'm putting on it.
I've pretty much only got full controller support games on it, that aren't stretching the limits of the traditional set of controller buttons to the point that I'd reach for the PC binds for extra functions.
Like you are talking about playing very classical PC games: an MMO, an FPS, I'm guessing the transport game is like a mouse-centric sim game. The installed library on mine isn't even close to titles like that. I doubt a single title I have installed on it has FPS campaign style quick save or quick load for instance, and a lot of them are the kind of games that don't expect mixing input methods, where if I bound one of the keyboard binds, I'd get the HUD controls displays flashing keyboard controls when I press one until I press a controller input again - not the end of the world or anything but should illustrate the point.
There's like JRPGs, Puzzle Games, Platformers, stuff like that on my Deck. All stuff that also have console versions. I don't think I have a specifically PC-centric game installed on my deck at all.
Ahh ok..I've been a PC gamer for a long time, so maybe that's it..just the idea that I could play my favorite games comfortably on the couch was a huge sell, whether I had a physical mouse or not.
I am very, very intrigued.
I was between buying a Steam Deck and a Switch 2 for couch gaming at home & during plane travel, and ended up getting the Switch 2.
Depending on cost of the Steam Machine, I’ll be seriously considering picking that up so I can play my Steam games on the TV without having to hook my computer up to it, or trying to set something up with using Moonlight (or something similar), and a Raspberry Pi…mainly because I haven’t gotten around to doing that yet and I’ve been thinking about it for over a year at this point.
I much prefer Steam over the Nintendo Store since things go on sale on Steam much more frequently…but the Switch 2 was mainly picked up for Mario Kart, other Nintendo games, and Silksong anyway.
I honestly love everything about this
If only I hadn't already gone through three different iterations of the Quest, with each one collecting more dust than the last, I'd be very interested in that Steam Frame. I think I'm at a point where I'm more or less done spending money on VR though, until the tech advances to the point where you can have it in an otherwise normal-looking pair of glasses form factor (ideally something I can switch on and off in my actual glasses that I wear for vision anyway).
I’ll have to wait for long term reviews to really know how comfortable it is for long sessions, but I think the emphasis on flat screen gaming will make this way more useful than the Quest lineup.
It’s risky to buy hardware that plays games that you are unsure you will enjoy, but if you can just default to playing the games you know you already like, comfort becomes the biggest hurdle to overcome.
LCDs? Maybe they are imagining a refresh with OLEDs?
Apparently Valve tried OLED first, but couldn't push the brightness high enough to offset light loss from the pancake lenses.
I don't know enough about this stuff to say whether that explanation makes any sense or not, so make of it what you will.
Makes sense, the space for VR headsets is crowded, and if they're trying to target budget models, the quality difference isn't so huge that it outweighs a lower opening price.
I've been wanting this controller practically since I got the Steam Deck. I really like the functionality on the Steam Deck itself and am always disappointed by other controllers when I use the Steam Deck while docked, which I do regularly. I love the back bumpers and the ability to use trackpads to get through some compatibility issues with games that mostly, but not completely, support controllers but losing those every time I dock it is pretty annoying.
The wait isn't over, but the wait for a Steam Deck without the screen is finally ending and I'm so glad to see that its literally exactly what I wanted it to be.
As for the Steam Machine, it seems like it could be interesting depending on the price point. I don't feel like I really need one, especially because I play very few games that don't already run pretty reasonably on a docked Steam Deck. I'm curious how well it would work as a games-first PC though. A prebuilt computer with a managed Linux distro preinstalled and configured is pretty rare and could, at least in theory, make for an easy Linux experience for people that want a Linux box that "just works".
I'm curious how these Frame controllers will compare to the Index -- they mention finger tracking, but will it be the same as the old ones? It seems strange to me if the new product didn't have the same support for Alyx
The store page says the new ones are fully backward compatible, so I assume yes they use capacitive pads to do finger tracking.
But there's also some reporters saying the finger tracking is a bit rubbish https://www.uploadvr.com/valve-steam-frame-hands-on-impressions/
I'm so into the Steam Frame and more than a little disappointed that it didn't retain the name Deckard. Nonetheless, I'll be a mid-cycle adopter. VR is the most amazing thing, and now with a Quest 2 to go with it, it'll be two player time at my house!!
Deckard was a cooler name, but I can see how the similarity to “Steam Deck” would probably cause a lot of confusion.
I've been waiting literal years for Valve to release a new VR headset, extremely looking forward to trying it out, just feels unwise to do redundant purchases with how precarious the job situation is haha.
The controller looks great to me as well. I know a lot of people online are saying that the placements of the sticks is questionable, but I'm sure Valve has thoroughly QA'ed them with dozens and dozens of people and wouldn't have made it that way unless they got close to unanimous agreements, so I'm going to trust them on their comfort. I imagine it'll be even more comfortable than the steam deck to hold due to lightness, and it's great they're including TMR. I made a previous topic saying I was looking for a new controller, will definitely wait for reviews about this one!
The Steam Machine is I think the most questionable of the devices. Great for the console people who want a 'no fuss' gaming experience, but with lack of HDMI 2.1 support, a 8 GB VRAM GPU, and limited anti-cheat compatibility, I don't see this being a 'big screen' device that would appeal to the masses, and I doubt they would even know about the aforementioned weaknesses I just mentioned.
I can't find the source for it right now but I read the lack of HDMI 2.1 support was due to the HDMI foundation not allowning open source drivers for it.
Digital Foundry vid says valve told them the physical port is a 2.1 and that if all that can get solved they could potentially "activate" that on the software side at a later date, just not by launch.
Number 342,589,734 on the list of "tech-related things that should be illegal".
You are correct, the HDMI Forum and AMD have been having disputes over it. It is still a drawback of the Steam Machine nonetheless, hence I pointed it out.
As a Steam controller obsessive, I'm more concerned the trackpads are.
I really hope this takes off to the point that they'll manufacture multiple types of Steam controller. At this point, I'd love a variant that is just a V1 with 4 back grips and a dpad where the left analog stick is.
I have a Meta Quest 2 that my wife and I barely use, so the Frame doesn't particularly interest me.
That said, I'm all about that new controller. I have two original Steam Controllers and while I love them, I find them a bit too large and uncomfortable to use and I'm a bit of a freak too, my fingers from the knuckle to the tip (middle finger) is 4", so I dunno what it is about the size of it. I also haven't found a great use case for them when I actually need two sticks or a proper D-Pad, but I absolutely adore my Steam Deck and configuring the touchpads in all kinds of wacky ways, so to have that option soon in a regular controller is great.
I don't have a lot of income, but I can easily see myself saving up the extra money to pick one up as soon as it's available, especially because it makes my gaming laptop into more a Steam Deck that can run more stuff.
I didn't see anyone else comment, but is no-one concerned about the controller placement of the track pads?
It looks to me like you'd brush the track pad with your palm by accident when using the tumbsticks. I mean I'm sure valve have tested the thing throughly and it's probably fine, but looking at it, I can't imagine how you'd not accidently do it.
On the deck, it's got a more intense curve away from the thumb stick I feel, it looks like there's less reaching. Even though the placement is similar.
I'm not concerned about that. If I am correctly imagining what you're describing, there'd be sort of an inward twist of the wrists (clockwise for left wrist, ccw for right) to even try to do that, which just doesn't match how I hold controllers.
My immediate question was actually the shape of the controller, because the handles look slightly too straight, i.e. not flared out enough to avoid having those wrists turned inward and potentially brushing the trackpads. What's worse is that that wrist position is not ergonomic at all and becomes painful over time. The 8bitdo Ultimate 2 controller I tested earlier this year is pretty close in shape and that quickly made my forearms hurt... considering how popular that is, I must not be hardcore enough.
But as kaffo said, they've probably tested it to hell and back so this is probably all moot.
An 8bitdo Ultimate (1, not 2) is my current main controller for my PC since May 2024 without any discomfort or complications.
I find it a little surprising and confusing trying to consider what you're describing regarding the angle of the handles.
May I ask, how do you hold a SNES controller? Do you fit the ends of the controller all the way into your palms, or do you hold it pretty much entirely with the "pads" of your fingertips and thumbs? I would feel pretty comfortable taking a guess that nobody fully palm grips SNES controllers because there's an absence of handles, so everybody who has ever used one should be familiar with the idea of using the controller entirely in their fingertips.
(Sorry I can only show one hand in the photo, other hand was handling the camera of course.)
So basically, I do something pretty close to that albeit slightly different for all modern controllers as well (more contact with the surface of lower joins of my pinky and ring fingers cause they curl around handles when they're present)
Basically the weight of the controller is not "gripped" by my palms but just supported by the fingers on the underside, and usually my hands rest in my lap. Held more horizontally than in the above photo, the base of my thumb isn't making any contact with the front surface of the controller, just the "thumbprint" area. It could explain why I haven't taken to back buttons yet because those backside fingers aren't technically "free" to use them if they don't land exactly where my fingers want to rest. (spoiler: they never do)
Anyway, I couldn't imagine fully gripping any controllers all the way into my palms, even the ones with more angled handles like my DualSense controllers that I have. Maybe it's because my hands are generally on the larger side? If anything though I think all this just supports the notions that there's grip variety and should be more controller shape variety as well because our hands aren't all the same.
I think I'm gonna give the new Steam controller a go, when I can.
I've used an SNES controller maybe twice ever so I can't really remember for sure, but any controller I use now I hold all the way into my palms, and I think I would have done the same then. I've done the most gaming on DualShock controllers though so it's possible that shaped my habits after the fact. I used to hold NES controllers more like the way you do but since those were smaller, substantially lighter, and had way less inputs, I don't know how much that mattered. I quite liked the Ultimate 2 otherwise, it's a shame.
It makes sense that there's at least some level of variation in how people hold controllers, so of course designs should take that into consideration. I'd wager your style is the minority nowadays though. Even looking at the actual announcement video you don't see anyone holding it that loose.
Edit: Also worth considering is where/how you sit. I'm typically in an office chair, resting my elbows on the armrests and the controller in my lap, giving my forearms a wider approach. If I were on the sofa or just didn't have armrests, I'd probably hold the controller out further and straighter, resting it more on or past my knees, and I wouldn't get any pain like that. Ergonomics and product design is interesting!
There’s capacitive touch on the thumbsticks and capacitive grip sense on the handles. I imagine a combination of those is used to determine grip position to disengage the touchpads while you’re using thumbsticks for control. Given the deliberate decision to depart from the original Steam Controller design I’m willing to give Valve the benefit of the doubt on having thought this through.
That being said, I’m somewhat disappointed with the lowered trackpads and skeptical that it will be comfortable to use properly, but I will likely see for myself once I get my hands on them. I’d still prefer the original Steam Controller design of a top-right concave trackpad, as that is the most natural position for thumbs to go. Maybe I’ll still keep my OG Steam Controller for mouse-heavy games.
Steam Machine Companion Cube skin from dbrand interest check is now open. Honestly, what console skins were made for.
https://dbrand.com/shop/limited-edition/companion-cube
The Steam Machine has my attention as I was interested in the original iteration of the concept a decade ago. The Steam Deck finally proved Linux gaming was viable albeit not perfect, and my experience with that has been good enough that I'd be happy to have the cube replace my docked Deck connected to my TV.
I'm maybe the perfect target for it as I don't need the most powerful machine, don't mind tinkering with things to make some games work compared to a console, and don't generally want to play any games that need Windows for one reason or another (e.g. anti-cheat). In theory I could stream games from my Windows PC, but one game I tried that with ran into some severe graphics issues like not rendering text or a character on the screen though I could see it working fine on my computer monitor. The same game didn't have those issues running on the Deck directly, it just didn't run as smoothly so I'd like the upgraded hardware directly hooked up to the TV.
If I didn’t already make an SFF PC, the Machine could’ve been nice.
If it is fairly affordable it could make a good entry point for PC gaming for people that want to go from console to PCs.
Or a secondary PC for living room.
Not that excited about the controller but I may consider picking it up.
Frame is cool but I wouldn’t pay the hundreds of dollars it needs to just play a couple of games in VR.
Valve also needs to figure out worldwide shipping, I got my deck from someone who already got it from
valve.
I for one adore the touch pads and the general layout of the Steam Deck controls. I was so happy to see them reveal a controller that is basically just that in controller form. It's literally what Ive seen people mock up on the Deck subreddit, and it's perfect!
I have a quest 3 but not being on the meta ecosystem and having that dongle for the video streaming from a PC is a huge thing for wireless VR gaming. I might sell my Quest and buy the frame. I was just playing Lumines Arise in VR last night and the amount of sparkling FX really makes the video compression apparent at times on my current setup. Having a dedicated connection for the streaming with the dongle and the foveated streaming should make games like that look loads nicer
I went to check the Tech Specs of Steam Machine was this was a bit of a letdown:
So that's not an ARM processor. I guess only the goggles are. Not sure why I expected it to be, some kind of an ARM hype thing I guess.
The Steam Frame is ARM, and can play a number of Steam Games off of x86, so the infrastructure is there. I think it's only a matter of time before we start to see ARM powered Steam clients raring to go.