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Why aren’t there more PC-first gamepads? Valve don’t know, but they "did see an opportunity" for the new Steam Controller
(www.rockpapershotgun.com)
this post was submitted on 29 Apr 2026
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And those 2 inch touch pads are that much better? Assuming they're exactly the same as the ones on the Deck it's not gonna be a great experience. It takes it from excruciatingly painful, to just very unpleasant but tolerable if you're a masochist.
That is kinda my view too. I feel a trackball would have worked better than a touchpad, but maybe I just haven't used touch pads enough.
That was one of the really cool features of the OG steam controller (and the deck too but I don't use as much), pads can totally be setup to emulate a trackball and the haptics were weirdly good and giving you feedback. I found it really solid for games like warframe, that and gyro aiming (which I've never gelled with on the deck) felt pretty solid to me.
Otherwise, the trackpads can be used for things like rotary menus too which I definitely get a lot more use out of.
I've not used the steam deck, but I have used the original steam controller and the trackpads worked extraordinarily well.