The Future of Game Controllers: A Comparison of the Steam Controller and Xbox Elite Controller

Hey guys, this is Austin. Is this the future of game controllers? Valve usually does things differently and the Steam Controller is no exception. Pop open the box and you'll see the controller itself and a few accessories like a USB cable, the included wireless dongle, and AA batteries.

The Steam Controller has a very different layout that you're probably used to, we've got a single traditional stick and face buttons but two trackpads on top. Everything about this controller takes a lot of getting used to, even something as simple as having the face buttons on the bottom right feels totally backward. The single control stick works well enough, it has a grippy surface with a convex shape like the PS3.

You'll see the traditional shoulder buttons and triggers on top and a pair of built-in paddles on the back, this actually works really nicely although you'll probably have to remap these manually as most games assume you're using a 360 controller. One thing I'm not a huge fan of is the feel in the hand. The plastic feels a little cheap and it doesn't have the same reassuring heft that the Xbox controller has.

The shape buries itself into your palms which feels fine but there's a fair bit of glossy plastic which gets coated in fingerprints almost immediately. The weirdest thing by far though are the trackpads, that name isn't a coincidence, they feel a lot like a laptop touchpad where you would normally find a thumb stick.

The other side is a giant D-pad which works fine although it's definitely not the most precise thing I've ever tried. On the complete other end of the spectrum we've got the new Xbox One Elite Controller. Open this up and you're immediately greeted by a hard shell carrying pouch, while this might be a little unnecessary for a normal controller it comes in handy for the Elite as it's modular.

The thumbsticks and D-pad are interchangeable and all of your options fit inside the case. One of the first things that jumped out to me is just how rock solid it feels, it has a satisfying heft and feels like it's up to some serious abuse. Flip the controller over and you'll find something else that makes this special, customizable paddles.

These can be mapped to any of the normal buttons on the controller and you can pull them off easily thanks to magnets, it's a really dope setup. You'll also find a pair of bump stops for the triggers, this allows you to shorten the amount of travel independently which can be helpful for some types of games.

For the thumbsticks you have three options, the standard sticks from the Xbox One controller, a convex stick and the standard option that's much taller. Like the paddles these are magnetic which makes swapping them dead simple and they still feel solid while gaming.

You can mix and match these as much as you like which could lead to some interesting combos depending on what games you play. The same goes for the D-pad, you can use the normal style or a faceted version which feels a little mushy but makes a lot of sense for fighting games.

WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enHey guys this is Austin. Is this the futureof game controllers? Valve usually does thingsdifferently and the Steam Controller is noexception. Pop open the box and you’ll seethe controller itself and a few accessorieslike a USB cable, the included wireless dongleand AA batteries. The Steam Controller hasa very different layout that you’re probablyused to, we’ve got a single traditionalstick and face buttons but two trackpads uptop. Everything about this controller takesa lot of getting used to, even something assimple as having the face buttons on the bottomright feels totally backward. The single controlstick works well enough, it has a grippy surfacewith a convex shape like the PS3. You’llsee the traditional shoulder buttons and triggerson top and a pair of built in paddles on theback, this actually works really nicely althoughyou’ll probably have to remap these manuallyas most games assume you’re using a 360controller. One thing I’m not a huge fanof is the feel in the hand. The plastic feelsa little cheap and it doesn’t have the samereassuring heft that the Xbox controller has.The shape buries itself into your palms whichfeels fine but there’s a fair bit of glossyplastic which gets coated in fingerprintsalmost immediately. The weirdest thing byfar though are the trackpads. That name isn’ta coincidence, it feels a lot like a laptoptouchpad where you would normally find a thumbstick.The other side is a giant D-pad which worksfine although it’s definitely not the mostprecise thing I’ve ever tried. On the completeother end of the spectrum we’ve got thenew Xbox One Elite Controller. Open this upand you’re immediately greeted by a hardshell carrying pouch. While this might bea little unnecessary for a normal controllerit comes in handy for the Elite as it’smodular. The thumbsticks and D-pad are interchangeableand all of your options fit inside the case.One of the first things that jumped out tome is just how rock solid it feels, it hasa satisfying heft and feels like it’s upto some serious abuse. Flip the controllerover and you’ll find something else thatmakes this special, customizable paddles.These can be mapped to any of the normal buttonson the controller and you can pull them offeasily thanks to magnets, it’s a reallydope setup. You’ll also find a pair of bumpstops for the triggers, this allows you toshorten the amount of travel independentlywhich can be helpful for some types of games.For the thumbsticks you have three options,the standard sticks from the Xbox One controller,a convex stick and the standard option that’smuch taller. Like the paddles these are magneticwhich makes swapping them dead simple andthey still feel solid while gaming. You canmix and match these as much as you like whichcould lead to some interesting combos dependingon what games you play. The same goes forthe D-pad, you can use the normal style ora faceted version which feels a little mushybut makes a lot of sense for fighting games.It also has a switch to move between customprofiles along with the same headphone andheadset jacks from the latest Xbox One controller.The cool thing about the Elite controlleris that all of this works not only on theXbox One but also on Windows. Setting thingsup is simple, just download the Xbox Accessoriesapp and you can load premade configurationsor make your own. You can really go in-depthwith this by remapping buttons and even adjustingthe sensitivity of the triggers and sticks.It’s not all great news though, the Elitecontroller still comes with AA batteries outof the box and while it works wirelessly withthe Xbox you’ll need to use the includedcable or buy a wireless adapter to play onPC. So when you put it all together how dothe Steam Controller and Xbox Elite stackup? The Steam Controller is weird. Very weird.Not only does it have odd button placementbut the touchpads just feel backwards. Thebest way to use them is less like a laptoptrackpad and more like a typical thumbstickwhich in theory works but in practice is incrediblyhard to get used to. With enough practiceyou could probably get good with the padsand they make sense for some traditional PCgames that use a mouse and keyboard but forthe most part it really feels like Valve aretrying to fix something that just isn’tbroken. The Xbox Elite on the other hand isthe traditional controller taken to the extreme.As it’s based on the Xbox One controllerit feels familiar but they’ve tweaked thefeel of the buttons and sticks and it’sa welcome change. The paddles can be helpfulfor when you want to keep both thumbs on thesticks and the bump stops are nice for quickreactions especially with shooting games.There’s really not much to complain about,especially once you start customizing thingsit’s a rock solid controller. The SteamController is a lot cheaper and while it triessome new things it just doesn’t make muchsense when you can spend $10 more to get anormal Xbox One controller. The Elite on theother hand is about as premium as it gets,Microsoft made what’s one of the best controllersperiod but it comes with a steep $150 pricetag to match. So what do you guys think aboutthese controllers? Let me know over on Snapchatand I will catch you in the next one.