Steam Controller Drops Touchscreen

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It looks like Valve is doing away with the touchscreen on its Steam Controller in favor of buttons. Kind of a bummer, I think the touchscreen went well with the overall concept of the new controller.

It turns out that Valve's hardware beta was an actual beta: the Steam Controller is dropping its touchscreen and adding some physical buttons before going up for sale via Steam and at retail later this year. It's unclear exactly where the buttons will be, but we're seeing reports that they'll approximate a d-pad and the standard A/B/X/Y configuration.
 
Well, don't put them in the middle. In the middle works for a touchscreen display, but I don't want to do finger acrobatics just to press buttons. Finger acrobatics I save for ur mom.
 
One of two cool things down. I hope they don't drop their "trackballs" in favor stupid sticks next.
 
nothing can beat buttons just like wifi can't beat wire.

try to use universal remote with touch in the dark, then you will find the pain.
 
Why? I was excited for the touchscreen.

Probably a cost versus benefit thing. Touchscreens are useful in some applications, but trying to integrate them into an interface for the sole purpose of saying such-and-such has a touchscreen is gimmicky and costly without yielding a tangible benefit over a controller with buttons on it. Sure, it'd make the controller different, but it wouldn't really be beneficial and I think that as the "integrate touch into everything" fad loses novelty and industrial momentum, you'll see this happening in a lot of other human interface and human control mechanisms that are better off as buttons, levers, and dials because of their tactile feedback, longer useful lifespan, and lower design and sale cost.
 
Probably a cost versus benefit thing. Touchscreens are useful in some applications, but trying to integrate them into an interface for the sole purpose of saying such-and-such has a touchscreen is gimmicky and costly without yielding a tangible benefit over a controller with buttons on it. Sure, it'd make the controller different, but it wouldn't really be beneficial and I think that as the "integrate touch into everything" fad loses novelty and industrial momentum, you'll see this happening in a lot of other human interface and human control mechanisms that are better off as buttons, levers, and dials because of their tactile feedback, longer useful lifespan, and lower design and sale cost.

Levers and dials would fit in better with the Steam motif.
 
I wonder if they could adapt one of the touch pads into a low-rez touchscreen.

but i really didnt see any usefulness for most steam gamers and games. Who looks at their controller?
 
I'm ok with that. Make it cheaper and use less power. Just don't pull an Atari jaguar phone pad... lol
 
I wonder if they could adapt one of the touch pads into a low-rez touchscreen.

but i really didnt see any usefulness for most steam gamers and games. Who looks at their controller?

WiiU and PS4 players. I used to back in the day with those cool button overlays on my old Intellivision.
 
How bout making it wireless also?

They were always going to be wireless, just not the beta units.

Steam Controller FAQ said:
How will the beta controller differ from the one that’s for sale next year?
There are a couple important differences: the first 300 or so beta units won’t include a touch screen, and they won’t be wireless. Instead, they’ll have four buttons in place of the touch screen, and they’ll require a USB cable.
 
I still miss being able to have a competitive smartphone with a sliding physical keyboard.
 
WiiU and PS4 players. I used to back in the day with those cool button overlays on my old Intellivision.

This! You couldn't play Mousetrap on the Colecovision without looking at the overlay on the number pad :D

Actually, the Atari Jaguar was the last console I had with an overlay like that. I miss that.
 
While I'm sure the touchscreen would have looked pretty, without tactile feedback you cant effectively play an intense video game and utilize that space. You'd constantly be missing the touchscreen icon, or double checking after doubting you really hit it, etc. It just sucks.
 
setting aside the ::coolness:: factor of the touchscreen would look cool, but I'd imagine it be more of a gimmick, and this decision would have been fed by the feedback of the better users as well. I imagine also functionality wise, it won't be quite useful for a number of games.
 
One of two cool things down. I hope they don't drop their "trackballs" in favor stupid sticks next.

Would be the best thing that happened to it.

Mouse and keyboard is overwhelmingly my preferred method of control. However if I am going to be using a controller with my console, I'll take thumbsticks over that horrid abomination known as a track pad any day of the week. I already can't stand trackpads on a laptop. Why anyone thinks something that inaccurate is somehow an upgrade over a thumbstick is beyond me.
 
That's fine. It allows for d-pad and a/b/x/y buttons, plus it makes it possible to sell for under $100. It would have been very expensive with a touch video screen on top of everything else.
 
Would be the best thing that happened to it.

Mouse and keyboard is overwhelmingly my preferred method of control. However if I am going to be using a controller with my console, I'll take thumbsticks over that horrid abomination known as a track pad any day of the week. I already can't stand trackpads on a laptop. Why anyone thinks something that inaccurate is somehow an upgrade over a thumbstick is beyond me.
Have you read any of the user feedback on the controller so far? The trackpads on the Steam controller provide haptic feedback and are supposedly fairly intuitive and powerful. The entire point of the controller is making games that are otherwise unplayable from your couch with a 360 controller, like Civ 5, Starcraft, etc usable as well as improving the FPS performance. Normal sticks work great for some games and I use a 360 controller on my PC regularly, but they are terribly inaccurate for anything that requires precision. Switching back to a thumbstick design would nullify the whole point of this controller.
 
Oh well, whatever works best I suppose. Still keen to mess around with one of these things.
 
Might as well save some money and extend the controller support to all 3rd party controllers and cease R&D on the steam controller itself.

With this news I'd rather just keep using an XBOX 360 controller.
 
Good, I think the touchscreen was a bad idea. It's a waste of battery (assuming wireless) and I don't think it would work well. A lack of tactical feedback is a big deal. Nobody looks at their controller or keyboard, you just know by feel that you are going to be pressing the correct button before you do. With a touchpad there is no 'I feel the button, I know its the right button, now im going to press it for the desired outcome'... you just have to put your finger down and hope you put it in the right spot, because your going to automatically get the action associated with wherever your finger lands.

That said, if the picture posted in the link is real, I think that's sort of ugly. Buttons on the bottom are to close together, and there is too much wasted space. Also its now left with less buttons than a console controller (no back and start). I think they should take the safer road and turn one set into a real D-pad, and add a few more buttons in the empty space.
 
Sure, it'd make the controller different, but it wouldn't really be beneficial and I think that as the "integrate touch into everything" fad loses novelty and industrial momentum, you'll see this happening in a lot of other human interface and human control mechanisms that are better off as buttons, levers, and dials because of their tactile feedback, longer useful lifespan, and lower design and sale cost.

Brilliant line right there and 100% on the money right there, glad someone else sees this. Hard to believe companies are wasting hundreds of millions on just that - a fad. Things like touchscreen laptops are the prime example - the ergonomics simply aren't there. FWIW, nobody I know that picked up a touch laptop in the past year uses the touch aspect (and I make a point of asking every few months). Wii U and its tablet gamepad is another casualty. More will follow.

Although the early mockups of the Steam Controller were certainly sexy with the touchscreen, I imagine the cost-to-usability ratio just wasn't there. Perhaps at some point they will introduce one with a screen but a lower entry price at least initially is probably smarter since it will inevitably be price-scrutinized against PS & Xbox controllers.
 
Would be the best thing that happened to it.

Mouse and keyboard is overwhelmingly my preferred method of control. However if I am going to be using a controller with my console, I'll take thumbsticks over that horrid abomination known as a track pad any day of the week. I already can't stand trackpads on a laptop. Why anyone thinks something that inaccurate is somehow an upgrade over a thumbstick is beyond me.

Why anyone the Steam Controller features "just a trackpad" before having actually tried it is beyond me.
 
Brilliant line right there and 100% on the money right there, glad someone else sees this. Hard to believe companies are wasting hundreds of millions on just that - a fad. Things like touchscreen laptops are the prime example - the ergonomics simply aren't there. FWIW, nobody I know that picked up a touch laptop in the past year uses the touch aspect (and I make a point of asking every few months).

Not to derail this thread, or call you out as being wrong, but this is interesting to me. Everyone I know that has a touchscreen enabled lappy with Windows 8/8.1 (about ~15) people LOVE the touchscreen and use it regularly..The few that I know that opted for the non touch lappies with 8/8.1 constantly complain to me about "Windows sucks now" and wish they had spent the extra money on the touchscreen.
 
This doesn't really surprise me a lot. Before the steam machine hoopla, steam used a LOT of pictures of the Logitech F710 controller in conjunction with Big Picture mode. I own an F710 and think it has benefits over a 360 controller. It uses an almost identical layout but has a better D-Pad, and a nice switch at the top switches the controller from X-Input to DirectInput for older game compatibility. I still plan on picking up a Steam controller just to try it out, but it's gonna be hard for it to take the spot of my F710 those times when I'd rather use a gamepad over mouse/keyboard.
 
Not to derail this thread, or call you out as being wrong, but this is interesting to me. Everyone I know that has a touchscreen enabled lappy with Windows 8/8.1 (about ~15) people LOVE the touchscreen and use it regularly..The few that I know that opted for the non touch lappies with 8/8.1 constantly complain to me about "Windows sucks now" and wish they had spent the extra money on the touchscreen.

A laptop is with integrated touch input is not the same as holding a controller in your hand and looking at your TV 15 feet away. The analogue would be touching your TV when playing games.
 
THANK YOU STEAM

The touch screen was one of the worst ideas for a controller. Take your eyes from the TV and your fingers from the trackpad to see a small screen and touch it. Bang you are dead. :rolleyes:
 
THANK YOU STEAM

The touch screen was one of the worst ideas for a controller. Take your eyes from the TV and your fingers from the trackpad to see a small screen and touch it. Bang you are dead. :rolleyes:

Why would a game dev add in a popup or mini game in the heat of battle? I think that's a bit of a manufactured "concern".
 
Was it a "touchscreen" with a display or more of a "touchpad" like the Ouya where you just moved your finger around?
Since I wasn't in the beta and have had no hands on I can't say whether this was good or bad or what the function was like.
This could be good or bad, wish I could have gotten my hands on the prototype.
 
Not to derail this thread, or call you out as being wrong, but this is interesting to me. Everyone I know that has a touchscreen enabled lappy with Windows 8/8.1 (about ~15) people LOVE the touchscreen and use it regularly..The few that I know that opted for the non touch lappies with 8/8.1 constantly complain to me about "Windows sucks now" and wish they had spent the extra money on the touchscreen.

Try using a console emulator on a phone/tablet with on-screen controls and you'll have a better idea of why this was a good move. If you've ever tried to use touch-screen controls and their lack of tactile feedback, you'll know it doesn't work well for gaming.

And comparing UI usability between touch/non-touch on Windows 8.x is just ... no. The UI was MADE for touchscreens so of course the experience will be better for them. I actually like the new start screen when in a touch-enabled environment but I utterly loathe it for normal desktop work for that exact reason.
 
I just realized something, that means the 300 prototypes that got sent out are going to become REALLY rare collectible items, aren't they?
 
I just realized something, that means the 300 prototypes that got sent out are going to become REALLY rare collectible items, aren't they?

None of them had touchscreens, but yes. Prototype controllers will likely be collectors items.
 
Would be the best thing that happened to it.

Mouse and keyboard is overwhelmingly my preferred method of control. However if I am going to be using a controller with my console, I'll take thumbsticks over that horrid abomination known as a track pad any day of the week. I already can't stand trackpads on a laptop. Why anyone thinks something that inaccurate is somehow an upgrade over a thumbstick is beyond me.

Was it a "touchscreen" with a display or more of a "touchpad" like the Ouya where you just moved your finger around?
Since I wasn't in the beta and have had no hands on I can't say whether this was good or bad or what the function was like.
This could be good or bad, wish I could have gotten my hands on the prototype.

Beta units didn't have it anyway. From what I could tell it was just a touch screen where it was broke into different "buttons" so like the top right did one thing the top left another... From what I noticed from their drawings and 3d renderings it shouldn't have required looking at the controller anymore than pushing buttons in the middle now. You just wouldn't have the feeling of an actual button which is what they are doing now
 
I still miss being able to have a competitive smartphone with a sliding physical keyboard.

That's why I bought one of these:

IrUo0O4.jpg


Plays everything up to the N64 and PSX pretty well. I'd love to have an updated version of this with a 4.3 or 4.5" screen and a current SOC.
 
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