If we’re going to throw out the entire script of console gaming, we can’t leave any game or control scheme off the table. Xbox’s next-gen console, dubbed Project Helix, is likely going to be a PC in all but name. But if we’re actually going to play our entire PC game library from a couch, it’s time Xbox becomes the shameless vandal it was always meant to be.
Valve’s Steam Controller offers some of the easiest mouse-based controls from a couch I’ve ever used. It’s all thanks to the haptic trackpads stationed under the joysticks and face buttons. If Microsoft’s gaming arm is still ruminating on these issues, Valve won’t give a damn if the competition copies its controller. In a video interview with Gizmodo, Valve programmer Pierre-Loup Griffais said, “Everything we’re introducing, we want it to be valuable new options for PC gaming. It doesn’t really matter who’s doing it.”
“As long as there are many ways to play a bunch of good, quality games, we’ll end up in a good spot because some of those users might want to play things on Steam as well,” Griffais added. Valve doesn’t have to mention that the vast majority of its revenue comes from the 30% cut it takes on all game sales on its platform. The more people on PC, the more likely they’re going to buy on Steam.
Everybody benefits from making the Steam Controller’s haptic touchpads standard. When you stroke the Steam Controller’s pads, you’re greeted with a staccato rumbling sensation that flows over your fingers. Valve’s controller engineer, Jeff Mucha, told Gizmodo the trackpad was designed to offer these vibrations based on the speed of your finger and cursor. If you flick across the pad, the cursor will keep moving for a short distance, only stopped by some imaginary resistance. It’s all so seamless and visceral.
Valve’s revised gamepad is essentially an improved version of the controls found on the Steam Deck. The new version enables better mouse-like movement on any sized monitor or TV. It’s even more customizable than any other controller out today. You could set one of the trackpads to enable miniature menus. You could put a weapon selection wheel on the trackpad or enable an entire custom menu for functions like accessing your crafting menu or map in an RPG.
Mucha said that Valve is using a newer generation of chips to reduce the latency of the trackpad. It’s “pretty much the same technology” as the original Steam Controller from back in 2015 with its satellite dish trackpads. The force feedback “trains your brain” to help you use the controls without having to glance at the controller during gameplay. Valve has entered early controller testers into a Pavlovian exercise. The more time it took to learn the Steam Controller’s idiosyncrasies, the more I realized I couldn’t just go back to using any other gamepad for PC gaming.
Xbox already follows Valve’s lead. The upcoming Steam Machine, despite lacking a price point and a release date, will likely sit on our TV cabinets for more than a year before Project Helix hits the scene. Xbox could also take inspiration from Nintendo’s Switch 2. Griffais complimented the Joy-Con 2 with its optical mouse sensor built into the controller. That feature has proved invaluable in Minecraft-like block-building games such as Pokémon Pokopia.
Microsoft and Valve have already ensured the Steam Controller won’t work nearly as well outside of Steam. Valve expects players to use the “Add a Non-Steam Game” function in its launcher to enable customized controls on third-party titles. I’ve had mixed success getting this to work in titles on the Epic Games Store. It’s even more difficult for games tied to your Xbox account. The executable files of games in your Xbox app are nearly impossible to access by the average PC user, and that’s by design.
An Xbox controller relies on Microsoft’s XInput API that’s built into Windows. Microsoft likely won’t adopt the Steam Controller API, namely Steam Input, into Windows any time soon. If the company wants a more PC-friendly console, it shouldn’t feel bad about ripping off what works. It could also come up with its own novel controller design, but if innovation is off the table, then its only choice might be to copy what already works. If Valve is not gonna be butthurt about it, why the hell not?
Source: Gizmodo