The First Major Change for the Steam Controller Trades a Touchscreen for Normal Buttons

Course correction for prototype controller should help with backwards compatibility.

Steam Dev Days has brought on the biggest announcement regarding the Steam Controller since its announcement. "The retail controller will no longer have a touchscreen. It'll have a DPAD and ABXY buttons for backwards (compatibility)."

The Steam Controller is built around its dual haptic trackpads, and its design is meant to serve in place of both a traditional controller (360/PS3 style) and a keyboard and mouse combo. One feature that had been touted but not yet implemented, was the center touchscreen.

When originally announced, Valve had said that the prototype Steam controllers would have four extra buttons in the place of the touchscreen, with the touchscreen to follow later.

The obvious issue though has been the controller's lack of traditional buttons. By removing the touchscreen and adding two four button clusters, the controller immediately becomes more accessible for both existing users and games.

Other details about the Steam Controller that have come out of Steam Dev Days include the use of AA batteries and the ability to support 16 controllers on one device.

Source: Valve

Author: Brian Hoss

See what people are saying about this story in our forums area, or check out other recent discussions.