Valve are trying to give developer a bit more data on what controller / gamepad they're using, which is a good reminder for developers to make sure they are testing for more than just a mouse and keyboard.
In the announcement, Valve mentioned how "48 Million players have used a controller in a game on Steam, with about 10% of daily game sessions being played with a controller" - that's a lot of people, and of course it does heavily depend on the genre.
Showing off some sample data from the new reports system, it gives developers a pretty nice clear picture of what hardware people having in their hands (or could have, if developers added better support). Developers will see how many people have played their game with a gamepad, it gives a little league table of popularity to show what exact controller players have been using, daily active users that hook up a controller, graphs over time and much more.
The data that Valve showed for games that weren't named, clearly showed that the Xbox Controller was always top of the list. Not surprising though and I doubt anyone will be shocked by that.
The big example is below to save you a click if you just want to see quickly (click it to enlarge):
Seems like the data has surprised even the folks at Valve, who mentioned that "a lot of players like to play a large cross section of games on Steam with a controller – which is something many people, including those of us at Valve, find a bit surprising".
Nowadays on Steam, if a game can support Steam Input it ends up getting access to a lot of hardware support. As Valve adds support for more, developers pretty much get it free with Steam Input. There's also Gamepad Emulation which is the more basic form of it. For more details see the info here.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
furaxhornyx Feb 25, 2021
Quoting: einherjarI tried Valheim with controller, but I was not satisfied and went back to MK.
For me, controller is a nice experience, except when you need to aim precisely with the bow. But I use the keyboard for fast accessing to menus, and I do use the mouse for sorting inventory (faster and less clunky than with a controller).
Quoting: slaapliedjeI find myself wanting more controller enabled games, mostly because I sit for 10-14 hours a day typing away and wiggling a mouse doing work... I want to be able to lay way back in comfort with a controller in hand to play some games. (or in the case of VR, standing with controllers and punching the living shit out of enemies with the Index controllers).
Same here, to the point that sometimes, I find playing with a controller more comfortable for the wrist, especially when you already spent hours with a mouse for work. I just got myself a vertical mouse to try to diminish the strain.
Quoting: AppelsinToo bad Valve never really wanted to sell them to anyone. Just like the Steam Link. If they'd actually been easily available for purchase then they would have sold a ton. In Norway, you couldn't really get one outside of Ebay.
I own a Steam Link, and to be fair, I tried it a few minutes, then it went back into its box. On a LAN, the input lag on Overcooked was very perceptible, making the game barely playable...
Then again, the stats here are much better in this regard (27%:
https://www.gamingonlinux.com/render_chart.php?id=1010&type=stats
Interesting difference.
Mohandevir Feb 25, 2021
Quoting: dubigrasuSo Steam Controller 2%, much lower than what I expected.
Then again, the stats here are much better in this regard (27%:
https://www.gamingonlinux.com/render_chart.php?id=1010&type=stats
Interesting difference.
... But considering the fact that the "Other" category is 4%, it's not bad either. I didn't expect the Steam controller to be that much popular since there was only one iteration and it's been sold for quite a limited time compared to Steelseries, Razer, Logitech and many other controllers (which are in this "Other" category, I guess).
I might just have put on my rose tinted glasses here.
Last edited by Mohandevir on 25 February 2021 at 2:50 pm UTC
So I have no idea what game these stats are for
And I think Valve has edited the picture because on the announcements page linked in the article it says now "back to Super Fun Game"
Seeing Steam promote its Input API is awesome! Some games are just horrible to play without that configuration panel. And some also have truly horrible keyboard support (Halo: MCC for instance), so having keyboard input go trough Steam input API could be a boon for these as well.
A shame we didn't get to see the Xbox 360/ Xbox One split, but I don't expect it to be much different from the one here.
Quoting: no_information_hereQuoting: sarmadToo bad Steam Controllers are only 2%.
Too bad they are discontinued. We desperately need a second version.
The Steam Controller deserves to be wildly successful. Valve just seems pretty meh when they market hardware.
Indeed. A second version with a better build quality is needed, and is probably all it takes to have the steam controllers take off, aside from better marketing that is. Seriously, why did Valve market these as keyboard/mouse replacement rather than simply a better controller with higher precision?
Quoting: AppelsinQuoting: sarmadToo bad Steam Controllers are only 2%.
Too bad Valve never really wanted to sell them to anyone. Just like the Steam Link. If they'd actually been easily available for purchase then they would have sold a ton. In Norway, you couldn't really get one outside of Ebay.
I agree. Valve doesn't seem to be serious about selling hardware. I still remember the lame launch of the Steam Machines.
Quoting: AppelsinQuoting: sarmadToo bad Steam Controllers are only 2%.
Too bad Valve never really wanted to sell them to anyone. Just like the Steam Link. If they'd actually been easily available for purchase then they would have sold a ton. In Norway, you couldn't really get one outside of Ebay.
I got mine via US Amazon, and the shipping cost almost doubled the price compared to a DS4 in my neck of the woods. I can totally see why a bunch of people wanted one, but didn't get because the cost was too high to justify.
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