Valve posts video demonstration of their controller

They demonstrate a few different games using the controller (Portal 2, Civilization 5, Counter Strike: Global Offensive, and Papers, Please), each seeming to control well with it. Seems pretty cool, so far.

I still say it looks like WALL-E's evil parallel universe opposite: STEAM-E

Of course that's not to say I don't want to try it or think it's bad.

That's a great picture.

I'm interested in this controller, they helped sell me on the device when showing off Civ5. I want to game from the couch with the comfort of a controller, not a keyboard and mouse combination. You just can't relax the same way. This seems to solve the issue. But I would like to see a bit more as well as the hardware they may be releasing.

@c_rake: Usually if you just press the video button and paste the link in, it works. Different browser maybe?

I'm not sure how I feel about this controller. The sensitivity of the right thumb pad is really awesome, but constantly swiping your thumb left and right looks uncomfortable, but in practice it might not even be an issue. In any case I'm really anxious to get my hands on it like I was with the Wii U GamePad. It's just so different that I'm really excited to try it out for myself.

I would like to see how it copes with RTS where people use a lot of keyboard shortcuts

looks fantastic, i really want to try it out.

Swapped to Chrome and got it working. Guess it doesn't like Firefox. Figures.

EDIT: No, wait -- it was just NoScript getting in the way. Problem solved!

Yeah, but at least the Wii U gamepad had a bunch of traditional controller features on it. The big ol' screen is about the only unconventional thing about it. This, on the other hand, is completely different all around. Really hope it works as well as it looks to, because it would be amazing to have a controller that works with just about every PC game imaginable.

This is extremely impressive stuff. The fact that you can play Civilization V on it makes it the best controller ever by default. It's also important to note just how fast the aiming was in Portal 2 and Counter-Strike. Other controllers are much slower than this.

I have some reservations regarding the trackpads, but the bottom line is that I trust Valve to make a high quality product. Just please tone down the ugly.

The Wii remote's problem was that it was too precise. Even the slightest movements of your arm would cause the cursor to visibly shake about the screen. Made anything involving pin-point accuracy a pain to work with. Generally, however, it worked well, I agree.

Ok, this doesnt convince me to get one, i like my thumbsticks and both the xbox and ps controller are great.

So i wonder who this is marketed at?

Yeah, I mean being able to play games like Civilization V so comfortably on the couch would be a pretty deal. I've got to imagine though that the Steam Box would be pricey.

I think in order for Valve to really find success with it they'll need to get it out into as many people's hands as possible. In store demos and big events. If they're planning to just leave it on the store shelves with a traditional marketing approach, I don't think people are going to invest without really knowing what they're getting into. So, I hope Valve takes the appropriate approach an it becomes a huge success. Not only for the controller, but for SteamOS. I'm a big Linux guy so it's pretty awesome to see Valve becoming so open to Linux :P.

Not really impressed by this. Especially for games in the first person perspective, constantly having to swipe your right finger to adjust your view instead of just being able to hold an analog stick in one direction seems like it could be irritating. And the keyboard/mouse still seems better and more practical, save when someone might be playing on the couch. Which I guess is what this controller is probably aimed at.

Well he said it's customizable, you can make it work like a regular controller I suspect. It seems good for now, it's not spectacular, but better than regular controllers because you have more options

The marketing for this thing is weird. It should be more focused on games like Civ 5, which virtually nobody is currently playing with traditional gamepads, instead of wasting so much time trying to convince us to play FPS with it.

Fighting traditional gamepads head-on is very stupid from a marketing standpoint. Just ask Nintendo. They should focus on providing an alternative to keyboard and mouse in genres in which there is essentially none, and then and only then tell people "btw, it works great in traditional gamepad genres too!"

I expected to be disappointed, but it actually looks like it works quite well. Thing is ugly as SIN, though.

I'm still interested.

You have to drag multiple times to turn around in an FPS? Stick to M&K at this point.

@c_rake:

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I think it looks good so far.....I really like how Valve is pushing innovation, rather than sitting on the sidelines waiting to see if an idea is accepted and than duplicating what someone else has done. The steam machine, new controller and family sharing plan is a nice way to shake up the monotony in gaming.....

Just me that thinks that those prototypes look they have been hand made and look really tacky? Well still I would love to get my hands on one to test it out seems promising, I would actually put a steam box in my living room if this controller works properly.