Unless Valve manage to convince developers that using Steam controller gimmicks is a good way to limit piracy.

Most cracks for Steam games simply totally remove Steam; but if the games requires the controller and the controller requires Steam for basic gameplay things like displaying the inventory, switching weapons, display map, etc..., it would become a lot harder to crack them.

It's true that tying a game to a specific hardware to try to limit piracy is something absolutely nobody would ever thought of doing... (and in case it wasn't clear, I never said it "was" the case, just that it wouldn't surprise me too much if it was)

Fair Point. I was trying that clicking, I can see how that'd be difficult for some people.

I'm incredibly skeptical. Sure, its been in development for 4 years, but its...aesthetically displeasing, and almost seems too overloaded with buttons. Not to mention, I can't see this working for mashers, platformers, racers, and so many more games.

Kind of off-topic but you know what's worse? When you prefer southpaw (aiming with left stick and moving with right) and there's a sprint button mapped to the A button that you can't change to any other button. I'm looking at you, Gears of War.

Yeah, a larger TV screen is actually smaller than a good monitor because of how far away from it you are. I can't see playing classics through Wine on a TV with this thing, the text and details would be illegible unless you have a 70" monster TV.

If I love the controller I could see reclining and using it at my desk with a nice footstool though.

I... can't see this taking off honestly.

That's disgusting.

I don't get how people are heralding this as the next 'dual analogue'. The fact that other people are comparing it to a rumble function but apparently better didn't help either.

Iv just realised im going to have a major problem with this if i ever get my hands on one. :(
Since an operation i have one side a lot drier than the other and this is greatly noticed in my hand - due to the lack of moisture it means at times i have major trouble with ANY form of touch screen and trackpads, basically sometimes it just doesn't recognise, really hope the do something so this wont happen with the controller, im not the only one with this problem so it would severely mess up peoples gaming options ><

e: Please see previous posts to reassure yourself im not going nuts and that i do not like it!

This controller just looks stupid, it makes the Boomerang style prootype for the PS3 look better :P

I rather play with the WiiU Touch Pad Controller than this.

Laughing my arse of at all the comments that can be summarized this way "No way. Fail, Hahaha it sucks" even before trying the thing out.

I guess it's true that opinions are like buttholes - everybody has one. This is mine :)

I understand that, but to me its not the track pads its the XABY button placement they look so counter intuetive.

They don't intend to use the XABY buttons the same way they are used currently. Look at the example of the way it should work with Portal.

I can't say fo sure if that will be good or not. I'm giving it a benefit of doubt.

The trackpads are an interesting approach considering that in practise they could work in two different modes, depending what they are trying to emulate in a given game:

- direct mode where you swipe to imitate mouse movement, like with laptop trackpads

- indirect mode where they are emulating analog sticks, ie. the farther away your thumb is away from the center of the trackpad, the faster you go.

For the latter, it might be better if the trackpads were e.g. concave, as then you could tell more easily without looking, how far from the center your thumbs are.

But Ultimately I am more concerned of how this Controller and Steam OS affects Steam as it is now on Windows (and Mac) PCs.