The New Hori 'Steam Controller' Is Totally Different Than Before

The Verge reported that peripherals manufacturer Hori is making an official Steam-branded controller set to release in Japan on October 31. While this is a Steam controller, it's not a Steam Controller if you take my meaning. But this is the first time Valve has licensed the Steam branding to a third party hardware manufacturer since the quiet death of the ill-starred Steam Machines.

Like many beautiful things in this fallen world⁠—the works of Vincent van Gogh, RPG powerhouse Troika Games, the 1995 film Johnny Mnemonic⁠—the Steam Controller was not appreciated in its time, only getting a wistful, bittersweet reappraisal after the fact. Yes it definitely needed a second analogue stick, and maybe could have benefitted from a rechargeable battery instead of two double-As, but it was something strange and new, and its software support helped usher in a new era of customization for gamepad controls on PC.

The Wireless Horipad for Steam, meanwhile, just looks like an acceptable but replacement-level mid-budget controller. As The Verge points out, it seems to be based on (and a slight upgrade to) Hori's previous Horipad Pro for Xbox Series. You get Bluetooth wireless and some programmable buttons⁠—definitely some steps above a super budget controller like the Logitech F310 favored by doomed submariners everywhere, but nothing that gets me super-excited like drift-proof Hall Effect analogue sticks.