Steam Controller revealed

Valve has announced its own input device, a gamepad called Steam Controller.

The Steam Controller is designed to work with all the games on Steam: past, present, and future. Even the older titles in the catalog and the ones which were not built with controller support. That's because the controller offers a new control scheme, all while enabling you to play from the comfort of your sofa. The buttons found on the controller correspond to keyboard bindings instead of those of a standard controller, thus allowing any game to recognize the inputs.

The central elements of the Steam controller are its two circular trackpads. Driven by the player’s thumbs, each one has a high-resolution trackpad as its base. It is also clickable, allowing the entire surface to act as a button.

The controller is also built around a new generation of precise haptic feedback, employing "dual linear resonant actuators". These weighted electro-magnets are attached to each of the dual trackpads. They are capable of delivering a wide range of force and vibration.

In the center of the controller is another touch-enabled surface, this one backed by a high-resolution screen. The whole screen itself is also clickable, like a large single button. So actions are not invoked by a simple touch, they instead require a click. This allows a player to touch the screen, browse available actions, and only then commit to the one they want.

There are a total of sixteen buttons on the Steam Controller. Half of them are accessible to the player without requiring thumbs to be lifted from the trackpads, including two on the back. All controls and buttons have been placed symmetrically, making left or right handedness switchable via a software config checkbox.

A beta stage for the controller is underway and will run alongside the Steam Machines beta. Players who applied for the beta will also qualify for this one. The first 300 or so beta units won’t include a touch screen, and they won’t be wireless.

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