With the development of the ‘Steam Machine’ gaining speed, considerable changes of the controller have been announced. Valve’s new console, which will be running on Steam OS, is to be released within this year. While most aspects, like specs, features and compatibility are still largely unknown, a new controller design has announced recently.
The old controller was criticized for looking rather weird with its trackpads instead of sticks, no D-pad and general odd button design. It was clearly innovative of Valve to try something unique, but apparently gamers were concerned about compatibility with new and old games. Game designers would have had to do two or more layouts, since it bears little resemblance to other, currently available, controllers.
The new controller was mostly overhauled. The touchscreen in the middle was completely removed and swapped with what looks like ‘select, connect, start’ from the Xbox-Controller. In general, it now looks like a controller for Xbox with trackpads and a steam logo. D-pad on the left, ‘XYBA’ on the right. There, however, seem to be extra buttons on the handlebars of the controller, which could come in handy.
The streamlining of the new controller for Steam Machine will hopefully do wonders for the compatibility with older games. It unfortunately now lacks a hint of innovation, which would have been a blessing for the shopworn consoles of our generation. It currently can’t be said if there will be further changes to the design.
