Well, on the one hand... having more demand than you can actually fulfill is the kind of problem most busineses would like to have...
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Assuming they're actually moving a lot of units.
I mean... even if they're not moving a lot of units, its still broadly a good problem to have -> considerably more people than you thought, want to buy the thing you sell.
So at bare minimum you've over delivered in terms of product design.
The extremely obvious capitalist response to that would be to raise prices on that thing. Win win, right? The extra profits go toward more capex to make more future production.
... But they haven't done that.
They haven't done that because they care about their image more than their profit margins on this particular product.
And/or because in the current environment... basically, the cost/reward on spending more capex isn't worth the reputation hit.
The capex spending to meaningfully ramp up production would be so expensive, that it'd end up being a net loss, in terms of reputation damage.
... At least this is my semi-informed guess.
Well, at least it's an update. I was just about to post in here if anyone had received a purchase link from their reservation yet. I made mine on May 10th; maybe that means I'll be in the "this year" batch.
Or maybe you'll get the link tomorrow and it will ship alarmingly fast like mine! ¯\(ツ)/¯

Yup, I got mine on day one (spam that F5 ppl) and it was here on the second day, surprised me, pleasantly, they said a week.
I made my reservation in the first minutes when it was possible and clicked the buying link as soon as I got one sent. The controller was delivered 10 days ago. I am located in Germany.
"So behind"
They're dealing with exorbitant demand during a time when tech and hardware prices are skyrocketing. They're doing quite well given the circumstances, imo.
Oh they're showing estimates now? Let's check.

:(
I put my order in about 30 minutes after the reservation queue went live and I also show a September estimated date. I'm interested, when did you get your reservation in?
This worries me that this is foreshadowing the situation with the Steam Machine
I have no doubt it is with the way the prices have been with memory and gas for a while now at this point. Not necessarily Valve’s fault, but it’s gonna suck ass regardless.
What a curious way of saying this product is in very high demand, it's almost like the publication wants to project failure and perhaps even ill-will onto the vendor. Veeeeery interesting. Anyone seen Mr. Sweeney lately by the way?
They just take old Switch articles and swap out the names.
I reserved on May 15th, and mine says 2027 ship date. "Some" is doing a lot of heavy lifting in that title.
Seems valve really cocked up the launch if the first orders are going to take more than 6 months to fill.
They got the first shipment of manufactured controllers - one estimate is around 40k based on some import data - and sold them out in minutes, then started taking backorders.
I'm very happy I managed to snag one. For anyone waiting: it'll be worth it.
My wife was supposed to get hers for Mother's Day. Now she's hoping Christmas? But even that's iffy at this point.
"Your present is still being manufactured, please hold"
"Oh honey, I'll cherish this "Estimated Time of Shipping : Next May" email close to my heart whenever I need to feel appreciated for being a mother."
I hope she eventually enjoys it. I just wanted to make a joke of a shitty situation you ended up in.
I suspect that part of the problem is that they seem to have the steam machine bundled with the controller, or at least that seems to be an option. Presumably they're keeping some controllers back so they can fulfil those orders.
I can wait. There's no rush
yay got my notification today. Reserved on the 8th. Just leaving this here as some hope to the people that haven’t received anythng yet
The longer the controller has been out, the less hyped I have become about it. At this point, I'm probably gonna end up in the future buying some other controller and calling it good.
Definitely need something better than my PowerA switch controller since I don't like how the triggers and bumpers are all or nothing, but I've basically lost all hype for a Steam controller.
People that require a controller for their living room pc are the target market. Or those that want to prioritize inputs over anything else.
Otherwise, there are many cheaper alternatives. There are also many more premium controller out their.
Scarcity may have saved you from holding a awkward symmetrical sticks controller with two giant trackpads that need SteamInput to be useful.
I completely forgot about the reservation and only got it in 4 hours later. Estimated is December 2026.