Steam Controller Review - Kinda Funny Gamescast

Summary

Kinda Funny Gamescast – Steam Controller Review (April 27, 2026)

Episode Overview

In this episode of Kinda Funny Gamescast, hosts Roger Porny, Tim Gettys, and Andy Cortez (with regular shoutouts to Greg Miller and other crew) deliver their first impressions and in-depth review of Valve’s new Steam Controller (2026 model). The team breaks down its design, features, price, and compatibility, while also discussing what its launch might mean for the long-awaited Steam Machine and Valve’s broader hardware strategy. The conversation is energetic, highly opinionated, and peppered with both technical details and the crew’s trademark banter.

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Key Topics and Insights

1. Steam Controller Reveal and Initial Impressions

(Starts ~07:00)

• The controller’s official “add to cart” date is May 4, 2026, retailing for $100.
• First roundtable impressions were positive, with all three hosts praising its feel and design, despite its unconventional look.
• Andy Cortez (08:15):

  “At first glance, Steam controller just as wonky looking as the first... It’s almost just like holding a block... but I think this is the best feeling controller I’ve ever used. Perfect back paddle placement. The stick resistance, button resistance... the layout, the ease... for $100, that’s insanely competitive.”

• Tim Gettys (10:30):

  “Andy, you and I, big controller boys... I really love a lot of the different functionality, especially when it comes to haptics. Rumble matters a lot. This controller really shines in, in pretty much all of those ways.”

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2. Ergonomics, Build, and Unique Features

(08:15–16:00)

• Physically resembles the first Steam Controller but closer to a traditional controller in feel, with larger handgrips and a “deceptively light” build.
• Unique haptic trackpads mirror the Steam Deck but are even more seamless and unobtrusive when holding the device.
• Roger Porny (13:54):

  “I do think this is the best controller I’ve ever felt, and I’m kind of angry it doesn’t work on every single piece of hardware I own. It’s... a feat of engineering of like, it’s there when you need it, but when you’re holding the controller it just feels like a normal controller.”

• The back paddles and button remapping are exceptionally refined; the included “puck” for charging and low-latency wireless operation is called a “game changer.”
  • Tim Gettys (12:55):

    “I’ve never had a controller with more optimal back paddle placement. I love these back buttons so much. Two on each side seems like overkill. I love it though...”

  • Andy Cortez (09:33):

    “For $100, I was expecting way more. Based on the pricing... this thing is awesome.”

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3. Functionality and Use Cases

(16:00–25:00)

• Steam Controller shines in setups involving PCs in living rooms, Big Picture mode, Steam Decks, and docked play, thanks to trackpads and easy mouse emulation.
• Use of “the puck” (a small USB-C dongle/dock) solves interference and latency issues common to other wireless controllers.
  • Tim Gettys (19:52):

    “The puck is awesome. It functions as a magnetic charger but also helps with latency to eliminate lag. It’s so minimal and effective... oftentimes some of the docks just get bulky for no real reason. This is kind of like the dream for me.”

• Consistency in button feel across all inputs (face buttons, paddles) is highlighted.
• Compatibility: Not natively compatible with Xbox or PlayStation, but works seamlessly on PC and Steam Deck (Bluetooth or via Puck USB).
• Early software quirks (e.g., with mixed mouse/controller input in games like Slay the Spire) are expected to be ironed out soon.

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4. Price and Value Discussion

(25:14–29:41)

• Retail price is $100—higher than some expected, but justified by quality and features.
• Compared favorably with other premium controllers like the DualSense Edge, Xbox Elite, and Switch 2 Pro Controller, all of which are in or above the same price range.
  • Andy Cortez (25:56):

    “As somebody always buying new controllers, I don’t feel like that’s overpriced. DualSense are $80, Elite is $100+, others like Scuf or Razer are $200+. I was very, very shocked this thing was $100.”

  • Tim Gettys (27:25):

    “It’s the perfect price. The amount of tech and quality feel... I do not think that anybody’s going to be let down by their purchase with this.”

• Community questions about repairability—team speculates it should have some part-replacement capability, similar to Steam Deck.

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5. Trackpads, Haptics, and Build Quality

(29:07–30:29)

• The haptic feedback and responsiveness of the trackpads are called out as particularly excellent—compared to Apple’s “magic touchpad,” even for nuanced gaming use.
  • Tim Gettys (29:10):

    “Not just have trackpads. Amazing trackpads... it feels like magic sometimes when you’re touching them.”

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6. Controller Software, Modes, and Customization

(35:13–39:59)

• The Steam Controller supports in-depth remapping, though most changes are done through the Steam interface, not with physical on-controller shortcuts.
• Discussion of Puck Mode vs Bluetooth Mode, and the sometimes-clunky process of switching between them.
  • Tim Gettys (37:24):

    “There’s essentially two modes... You can’t switch between Bluetooth and Puck mode unless the controller is off... I wish that controllers, when they have these functionalities, just put a button. I shouldn’t have to memorize combinations.”

• Trackpad sensitivity customization currently requires menu navigation, but Steam’s UI likely to remain the remapping hub.

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7. D-Pad and Button Feel

(40:51–44:18)

• D-pad is described as nicely “rounded” and comfortable, especially for gamers who roll their thumb on the pad—unlike sharper D-pads found on Nintendo controllers.
  • Tim Gettys (40:59):

    “I’m so. I’m a D-pad boy. I love D-pad games. I love the D-pad on the Steam deck. I love it here... for me, it goes a long way.”

  • Roger Porny (42:08):

    “My issue is always... their D-pad is too sharp. For this one, it’s a very rounded type of vibe... great for rolling your thumb.”

• Face buttons described as “globular” and satisfying, even converting those who don’t usually like convex buttons.

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8. Gyro and Capacitive Grip Features

(21:08, 44:19–45:53)

• Gyro aiming (especially for shooters like Deadlock, Pragmata) and new capacitive grip sensors allow for more natural motion controls, theoretically activating gyros when the user is gripping the controller.
• Not all gyro features worked out-of-the-box (e.g., Pragmata had setup trouble), but it's expected improvements and community configs will address this.

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9. Super Chat Q&A (Audience Questions)

(35:13, 39:57, 56:17, 59:17)

• Comparisons made to the Gamesir and 8BitDo Ultimate controllers; ultimately preference and specific feature needs are dictating picks.
• Screenshot capture: Button remapping makes it easy, and users can assign any button to screenshot function using Steam’s UI.
• Compatibility: Puck can connect up to four Steam Controllers to a single device, and some USB dongles may help bridge compatibility with consoles like PlayStation 5.
• Several personal anecdotes and quirks discussed, e.g., rolling thumb wear-and-tear and which D-pad suits whom best.

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10. Steam Machine Discussion: Impact and Predictions

(46:08–53:57)

• The early, separate release of the Steam Controller signals potential delays or changes to Steam Machine plans.
• Hosts speculate the Steam Machine’s price will be very high—possibly around $1,000, given hardware costs and the ongoing “Rampocalypse” (RAM/pricing crisis).
  • Tim Gettys (52:19):

    “I think $1,000 is the price for what this thing is trying to be... for PC gaming, we can’t just make things cheap. There’s a cost to hardware and that cost is larger than it’s ever been.”

• They agree Valve must release Steam Machine this year (2026), or risk losing its competitive window against current-generation PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo hardware.

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11. Broader PC Gaming & Review Use-Cases

(53:57–56:17)

• Increasingly, new releases and review codes are distributed for PC first, making a great PC controller more critical than ever.
• Steam Machine is anticipated as a dedicated, living-room-friendly PC that will outclass the Steam Deck’s docked experience for power and usability.

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12. Notable Quotes & Moments

• Andy Cortez (09:33):

  “I love this controller. This thing is awesome.”

• Tim Gettys (13:54):

  “It is such an easy recommendation and I do think that this will be a lot of people’s one and only controller for the next 10 years.”

• Roger Porny (16:34):

  “I recommend to everybody that has a PC that is into PC gaming that also likes controllers.”

• Andy Cortez (25:56):

  “[I was] very, very shocked that this thing was $100.”

• Tim Gettys (37:24):

  “I wish...controllers just put a button. I shouldn't have to memorize combinations.”

• Tim Gettys (49:55):

  “If they wait too long, it's going to be too outdated...I think this thing is done. They are just stressing about the price.”

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 07:43 – Steam Controller release details and first impressions
• 08:15 – Andy’s in-depth hands-on impressions
• 10:30 – Tim’s perspective, functionality highlights
• 13:54 – Roger on universality, trackpad usage
• 16:34 – Value, repairability, and broad-use recommendations
• 19:52 – Puck design, charging, and latency solutions
• 21:08 – Back paddle feel and button consistency
• 25:14 – $100 price point discussion
• 29:07 – Haptic feedback, comparison to Apple/other tech
• 35:13 – Q&A: Remapping, on-the-fly controls
• 40:51 – D-pad & button feel debates
• 44:19 – Gyro demo and pragmata troubles
• 46:08 – Steam Machine implications and predictions
• 53:57 – Game review processes & Steam Machine use-cases
• 56:17 – Audience speculation: Half-Life 3, release predictions
• 59:17 – Final Q&A, compatibility tips

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Conclusion

Valve’s new Steam Controller scores big with the Kinda Funny crew, who agree it offers a uniquely versatile, ergonomic, and forward-thinking design that sets a high bar for PC game controllers. The hosts’ few critiques—quirky multi-mode switching, limited out-of-box compatibility with other consoles, and some early software bugs—are far outweighed by its well-executed haptics, remappable controls, premium-feel paddles, and value-packed price.

All hosts recommend it wholeheartedly to PC/Steam Deck gamers—especially those who value flexibility and crave next-gen modularity. The episode closes on hopes (and speculation) that Valve’s Steam Machine will follow soon, ideally at a competitive price point, and possibly alongside landmark releases like Half-Life 3.

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“This could be your one and only controller for the next 10 years.”
— Roger Porny (16:34)

Transcript

[Roger Porny]

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[Tim Gettys]

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[Roger Porny]

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[Roger Porny]

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[Roger Porny]

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[Tim Gettys]

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[Roger Porny]

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[Tim Gettys]

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[Roger Porny]

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[Tim Gettys]

if you want to get our shows ad free and our exclusive shows go to patreon.com kinda funny.

[Roger Porny]

What is up everybody and welcome to the Kind of Funny Games cast for Monday, April 27, 2026. I'm one of your hosts for today, Roger Porny. And I'm joined by my main man, Andy Cortez.

[Andy Cortez]

Hello, Roger.

[Roger Porny]

And my second main man, that's me, Tim Geddes by Tim Host.

[Tim Gettys]

How you doing?

[Roger Porny]

I'm doing great, Tim. And I know it's a Steam controller review. We got a lot to talk about, a lot of exciting stuff. But I do have something exciting for you, Tim.

[Tim Gettys]

Oh, man. What?

[Roger Porny]

Of course, Greg Miller, he was back. He came back to kind of funny finally. Right. So then we got him merch. Right. Nick Scarpino, he came back to kind of funny.

[Tim Gettys]

Saw that.

[Roger Porny]

Yeah, we got him merch. We missed Tim Geddes. You came back finally.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah.

[Roger Porny]

From Japan. And now we got you a merch line.

[Tim Gettys]

A merch line.

[Roger Porny]

A merch line.

[Tim Gettys]

Okay.

[Roger Porny]

Barrett, Courtney, if you can pull it up whenever you get a chance because we have a whole merch line just for you, dedicated to you because we love you so much.

[Tim Gettys]

This is going to be great.

[Roger Porny]

I think you're going to love it. It is the Tim.

[Andy Cortez]

I don't see it on the website.

[Roger Porny]

Okay, it's not on the website, but it is the Tim Reaper collection. So all of the shows that you have canceled in T shirt form. So we have psi. Love you. We have X cast, we have KFAF hats and shirts up there right now.

[Tim Gettys]

We wanted to honor you a cafe of hat. Sounds dope.

[Roger Porny]

Yeah, it is. I mean, we've had it before.

[Andy Cortez]

You get to look at the blood on your hands. It's out there.

[Roger Porny]

Yeah, it's out there. And of course, we don't have any other anything for you specifically.

[Tim Gettys]

Okay. Ones look kind of cool, you know, like that people, I've been gone. I came back. I went away again. Now I'm back again.

[Andy Cortez]

If we go to all products, I can see the.

[Roger Porny]

Oh, there it is.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah, I can see party mode.

[Roger Porny]

Beautiful. Yeah, yeah.

[Andy Cortez]

All the beautiful stuff.

[Roger Porny]

Wow.

[Tim Gettys]

I know. We. So we are going to jump immediately into this Steam conversation, which is going to be great. But I just want to quickly say I was in Japan for.

[Roger Porny]

For a while.

[Tim Gettys]

I got to play a little bit of Forza Horizon 6. My first time with it. I know y' all did the. The. The preview. Oh, my God. This game's good. I got to do the whole opening. What an open. Okay. I'm just like, yeah, I can't wait for May 19 to play more of this game. And then just real quick, I have two more things. One, three things. Wow. Be replaced. Finally. Oh. And it lived up to everything I wanted it to when I was playing and I was saying, I was like, ah, it might be a 7.5, but I love it like a 9. And if it. If it gets where I need it to go, it's just straight up a nine, and it's a nine. No, I'm giving this a nine. This will be very, very high on the contender list for Tim.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

Wow.

[Tim Gettys]

Separately, Soros booted that up last night, baby. About two hours in. Oh, yeah.

[Roger Porny]

Oh, yeah.

[Tim Gettys]

Oh, yeah.

[Roger Porny]

Oh, yeah.

[Tim Gettys]

We're cooking with in all the right spots. And then what I do on the plane to Japan. Andy no near automata.

[Andy Cortez]

Whoa.

[Tim Gettys]

Only got. Only got to play about six hours. My Steam deck died.

[Roger Porny]

That's still pretty deep, though.

[Tim Gettys]

Yes, that's good. Yes, that's great. Yes.

[Roger Porny]

You like it?

[Andy Cortez]

Put. Put sauce aside.

[Tim Gettys]

Oh, I don't know.

[Andy Cortez]

Put sorrows aside.

[Tim Gettys]

That's insane.

[Andy Cortez]

Here's the thing, though, Andy. Top 100 is due, like, this week.

[Tim Gettys]

I don't think I can get it done.

[Andy Cortez]

I don't think Tim's gonna get you.

[Roger Porny]

Guess that's what I'm gonna do. I got. I know. I got Disco Elysium. I'm pretty sure it's gonna be about the 40s. Yeah.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah.

[Andy Cortez]

That's insane.

[Roger Porny]

You know what I mean?

[Tim Gettys]

I'll figure it out.

[Roger Porny]

I did that the first time for Undertale. I was like, two hours in. I sure this is gonna be 42.

[Tim Gettys]

That's so funny. I don't want to take up too much of this with ne because we can talk either offline or on a different show at a different point as I play more. My one thing is the game feel isn't my favorite.

[Andy Cortez]

Okay.

[Tim Gettys]

It's a little floatier than I want it to be, even with just the Amy and stuff. That's the one thing that's keeping me from being like, oh, my God. I want to keep going, like, right now. More like, all right, I'm going to make my way through this as I go, but I'm doing it.

[Andy Cortez]

A lot of cool upgrades, a lot of cool abilities and just the most transformative narrative ever. Ever.

[Roger Porny]

Well, talking about game feel, you can feel near Automata with your Steam controller that I just connected to something. I don't know what I'd be connected to because we are going to be reviewing it and telling you all about the Steam controller. But before we do, let me tell you a little about kind of funny games because if you're watching live, be a part of the show by super chatting on YouTube.com kindafunnygames and also Barrett, can we have the YouTube chat so I can see those super chats up there. Remember we couldn't do this without our producers on patreon.com kind of funny. So thank you Carl Jacobs, Omega Buster and Delaney the Psalm Twining for now, let's begin with topic of the show. The Steam controller review everybody. It is here out of nowhere so I have some stats kinda, kinda sort of some stats right here. The current at to date cart add to cart date for the Steam controller is Monday May 4th. So get ready to press those buttons and put that in your cart.

[Tim Gettys]

But what does that mean?

[Roger Porny]

I think you could add it to your cart. I don't know if you could check out with it. I will do more research on this. I'll do more research on that to see where if we have an actual like legit release date. But that is the add to cart date for it and the controller is going to be US$100. Of course pricing varies between on region and everything. But I have a lot to talk about. You guys been playing with it? I've been playing with it. Andy, let's start with you. What are your thoughts overall on the Steam controller?

[Andy Cortez]

At first glance, Steam controller just as wonky looking as the first Steam controller. It's an odd shape. It's an odd. Just you know it's. It's almost just like holding a block.

[Tim Gettys]

It looks a little droopy.

[Andy Cortez]

It does. It does look like it started melting near the bottom of it. And those the spots at the bottom of it are for the you know touchpad mouse controls like they haptic much like they have on the Steam deck. Much like they tried to do on the first Steam controller back in the day where it there were no analog sticks. It was all just big gigantic circular mouse controls. I think this is the best feeling controller I've ever used. I think it fits perfectly in the hand and again that all. It's all just a, you know, different jokes for different folks. The back paddle placement for this is like near perfect for me. The stick resistance, the button resistance, the layout of everything, the ease of use, awesome for me so far. I know that may not be the case for Tim in some circumstances, but I think this is like for a hundred dollars it's like that's insanely competitive pricing. I was expecting way more.

[Roger Porny]

Oh interesting.

[Andy Cortez]

Based on the pricing of, you know, Xbox Elite. Based on the pricing of PlayStation, you know, Edge Edge which is their version of their Elite. I love this controller. This thing is awesome. It feels great. It has all the functionality I want and it's got the remapping like you would like. I'm constantly remapping stuff on my Steam deck and the little Puck is one of the coolest little things that makes, that just makes functionality a lot easier, makes connecting a lot easier. Especially you know, I got to interview a couple of the devs and then mentioning how much they hate dealing with controllers that have interference problems. And back there around all of that, around all those devices there's like usually going to be some sort of computer things. They said what if we USB connected in, get the Puck in a nicer place, be able to charge the controller, be able to sync a lot easier. I think this thing rocks. I love this controller. Tim Geddes, how about you?

[Tim Gettys]

I love this controller so very very much. Andy, you and I, big controller boys, we've owned many over the years third party, first party, premium. Not premium, gimmicky like anything that there is. We've tried it. Me and you are probably some of the only fans in the games media space authentically of gyro controls when it comes to first person shooters. And Roger as well. There we go. You got all three of us right here. But I, I really love a lot of the different functionality especially when it comes to like haptics. Rumble matters a lot to me like quality of Rumble. Like there's just like a lot of things I look for in a controller and the Steam controller really shines in, in pretty much all of those ways. I don't think that it is going to replace all my controllers as my number one. It is just the only go to but I'm now in a very healthy of. I have my DualSense Edge, I have my Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller and I have the Steam Controller. Those three will be the things that I trade off for different use cases depending on what exactly I'm trying to do. But what this controller specifically adds with the haptic pads is such a game changer for playing PC games on a tv. Like when you're using the. The big picture mode, there's always that one weird little thing where you need to use a mouse for a little bit and there are ways around it. Like, for example, what I've been doing for my home setup is I have like an app that allows me control my mouse with my phone. It's just a little more annoying than I want it to be to have to pull out my phone just to move the mouse one time to click a dialog box X out. Because we can't do that with the controller or whatever it is. Having these right there to be able to so seamlessly when the controller is already in your hands, it always feels like it does what you want it to do. Which wasn't always the case even for me on the Steam deck with these things. Like there's something about it. Because I think the Steam deck also having the touch screen, sometimes the input of what I was trying to do would get kind of caught up in the wrong way or like it would just break my brain in a way where it's like, this isn't working how I want it to. So far this has worked so great in terms of premium feel. Like they're not positioning this as, you know, the ultra high end premium controller, but I actually do think it's closer to those than it is to the entry level Dualsense or just Xbox controller. Like you were saying, Andy. I've never had a controller with more optimal back paddle placement. I love these back buttons so much. Two on each side seems like overkill. I love it though, especially playing a game like replaced. I ended up just mapping L1, L2, R1, R2 to it. And that's like how you're moving a lot. And it was so, so much better than just using the controller just to give me the options of what I'm doing. And being able to remap the controls is one of the better experiences of doing that. I feel like everyone's gotten pretty good at that these days. But I've been very impressed with this and the Puck is awesome. It functions as a magnetic charger to charge your controllers, but also it helps with the latency to kind of essentially eliminate any of the lag that you're going to get from wireless controllers. That admittedly hasn't been too big of a problem for me with the, with the controllers I've been using, but it Is nice to know that this is even that much better. And it feels so great. It's as premium feeling as the Steam deck in terms of the plastic and all that, but in terms of best feeling controller, it's still not the Switch 2 Pro controller. That silky finish. I don't know what magic they use to put there. And at the end of the day, the DualSense Edge still fits in my hands a little bit better. But I love this thing.

[Roger Porny]

Yeah, I think I'm closer to Andy with it when it comes to. I do think this is the best controller that I've ever felt. And I'm actually kind of angry at this controller because it doesn't work on every single piece of hardware that I own, right. It doesn't work on my Xbox, doesn't work on my PlayStation. I just want this for everything like it is. Has the perfect back paddle situation. I adore the way that the. When you look at it, right, you're like, okay, the trackpads. I saw people in the chat being like, oh, I want to take out the trackpads, right? I don't. When you're holding it normally, like, you don't really notice that the track at all like, it is. It is kind of like a feat of engineering of like, it's there when you need it, but when you're holding the controller just feels like a normal controller.

[Tim Gettys]

The handles are both a lot more, like, there's a lot more depth to them, which I think kind of places your. Your fingers and thumbs in a different spot than a controller normally does. So, yeah, the pads don't get in the way at all.

[Roger Porny]

Exactly. It's like kind of like a fun little treat of like, oh, shit, I can. Oh, yeah, I can. I can use the trackpads. That's perfect. I think my biggest issue with it are things that are going to be fixed within the next few days, months, Weeks. Like, this is going to be. The biggest issue is I'm playing games like Slay the Spire or just games that are more mouse controlled. And I'm like doing like the. The semi input, right where I'm using the controller input with like one stick and I'm using like the. The trackpad with the other. And I'm just getting weird funky things with like the software, depending on what game it is, right? Where some games, it's like, so Inspire was like freaking out when I was playing it. Like, it was like, oh, using controller, not using controller. Like, so I need to go in the back end and like, actually have you know, remap everything. And I think that that's not going to be an issue when the game comes out, when this controller comes out, because people are going to be like, okay, well, I'm just going to make it all, you know, keyboard inputs and then it's going to be no issue. Right. So this is just, you know, playing it early and using it before everyone's fully adopted it. But I love this controller. It is so cool to have these trackpads and have like this premium feeling controller that doesn't feel overly premium. And I think that that's the best way to describe this for me, where it's not like, hey, we're putting texture where texture doesn't need to be had. And then, you know, like the Xbox Elite controller, where it's like, I like the grip, but then also it's fallen off, like after a year. Right. Like this doesn't have any of that. It just feels like a nice, solid controller. And it's honestly a controller I recommend to everybody that has a PC that is into PC gaming that also likes controllers. And it isn't just like a, you know, keyboard master race person. Like, just because it has everything, it has all the haptics you want, has the gyro and for 100 bucks, like this. I haven't seen the repairability of it all, but if it's anything like what the Steam deck is like, I, I would assume that you would be able to replace these sticks, replace the haptics of a price, whatever it is. Like, this could be your one and only controller for the next 10 years.

[Tim Gettys]

I think it will be for a lot of people too. I think. Yeah. This is such an easy recommendation and I, I do think that there's like, I was talking about for my use cases, like the. I've had just enough issues with the DualSense on the PC that this one, it hits everything. More than good enough, it's great enough. And I feel like the way that I play games, which is a multitude of ways, like, it's not just, oh, only sitting at my monitor, it's sitting on monitor, sitting at my tv, sitting upstairs on my Steam Deck, my Steam Deck docked to my tv, like, there's just a lot of different things and this one follows me with that way more seamlessly than a lot of the other controllers, even though they are PC compatible.

[Roger Porny]

Yeah. So for me, actually, I've been running into issues with the 8 bit dose or certain controllers where I'm connecting to my switch. I mean, my Steam deck and there's just some compatibility issues or, like latency issues. Like, my controller just starts acting weird and bugging out. So, like, having this puck and like, knowing for sure you have a solid connection no matter where you are, and testing it around my house, where I'm able to plug it into my Steam deck and walk around the house and like, be like, oh, is the telling the answer? Hey, is the thing moving? Oh, it's moving.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

Oh, my gosh.

[Roger Porny]

Like, it's crazy that Bluetooth. My house is so weird where, like, Bluetooth just, like, if you just start walking away just a little bit, it just starts desyncing and it's horrible. And, you know, probably have lead in the walls and, you know, mold. It's probably fucked up everything.

[Andy Cortez]

It's probably horse hair in the walls.

[Roger Porny]

Yeah, that's what Kevin always has brought up.

[Andy Cortez]

KE just hit us with that drop that dead fish on our desk.

[Roger Porny]

But yeah, no, it's. It is so nice to just have this. And again, I, I saw a lot of. We can talk about the price now. I think that's probably like the thing that got everyone, like, freaking out this weekend.

[Tim Gettys]

Before we get there real quick, I just want to say, speaking on the puck, I'm very impressed with this thing because we've had a lot of different controller makers, whether it's first party or third party, come out with like these kind of like, doc Solutions. Right. Of like being able to charge. Like, PlayStation's official one has room for two controllers you put in. And I actually really love that one. Like, it's very esthetic looking. It matches the PS5, you know, white, black, blue ethos very well. And it, like, it seamlessly kind of fits into the aesthetic that they've. They've built. And I love it. And it charges very well. All that stuff. Then there's some that are just like a little bit awkward. And I feel like the Steam deck is a perfect example of, like, why is the dock, like, not. Why can't I just put my Steam Deck in and it charges? Yeah, you know, like, I have to, like, attach the cable to the USB on top. Like, that just seems like a design flaw. I'm sure there's a reason for it, but even the PlayStation Portal, you could buy a charging stand that it just perfectly goes in. You have this weird little dongle you put on the back and it's clean and nice. This is just so great because it's so minimal and so small that it's just a USB cable. Whatever one you want. Going to this tiny Little magnetic puck that, like. Can I show this real quick? Like, it. You can leave the puck on the controller and it doesn't ever get in your way. You could put the controller down on a can of Monster. You can put it down, like, flat on the. On a table or something, and it's like it doesn't even come close to touching the table. It's just. Is out of your way. And then you just go and put it back on the charger. Strong, nice magnet. Like, it's just very impressive how small and effective this thing is. Where I feel like oftentimes some of the docks just get bulky for no real reason. This is kind of like the dream for me.

[Andy Cortez]

I'm also just. I love the consistency in the way the buttons feel. I think a lot of controllers will. A lot of the ones that I try out, you know, whether they be the ones that are meant for crazy like esports, and it's, you know, either like Razer or Scuf or Asus, where the back buttons will have a distinctly different feel than the rest of the other buttons. The face buttons feel like they are the same exact thing as the back buttons. And more importantly, I always felt like the. And this is just definitely getting kind of into nitpicky territory where you. There's a great chance you don't have the issue that I have, but I've always felt that the Steam Deck back buttons were like 15% too hard to push. I think 10 to 50% too hard to push.

[Tim Gettys]

Like I thought they were.

[Andy Cortez]

I thought they were just a little too hard. This is like the perfect button press to me.

[Tim Gettys]

Well, these are buttons like, these are. These are actual. Like, is there any way we can. What's the best camera to try to show this off?

[Roger Porny]

There it is.

[Tim Gettys]

There we go. Like, there these are. There's depth to these buttons. Like, they're popping out in a way that most back paddles don't do. Like, even like the. The eight bitdo ones. Like, they're more indented, ones more similar to the Steam deck. Right. These are awesome, man. And like, to Andy's point, it feels just as premium as the face buttons or the shoulder buttons.

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah, I really love that. And then the one thing I could not quite get working on a game that is already kind of built for it was Pragmata. Pragmata has gyro controls on the PC version. And this controller has what they call capacitive grip sense, where invisible on the back of the controller are kind of like these pressure readers that feel your Hand on it and will know that you're trying to activate the. The sort of, you know, gyro controls. I had issues getting that to work. I got to assume that with, you know, like Roger mentioned, some of these issues could be ironed out within the first week or so or whatever. But I was really looking forward to getting the. The actual like gyro controls working on Pragmata and was not unable. Was unable to get it done, unfortunately. And it was just kind of a little wonkier for me than I would have liked. But the idea of there being these sensors that know that you are trying to do that, I don't even. I haven't even tried to successfully or I haven't even tried to activate that. So I don't even know what that looks like in practice. I'm. I would love to see like a demo from them or something like that, but the idea of it even being there is like super sick.

[Roger Porny]

Yeah. And it's. It. First of all, let me just jump into super chats. DJ Kento asked a similar question. I just want to play Pragmata with a controller, but use the mouse pad for hacking. Anyone test that? So theoretically you can, you can do that here. Did you try that at all? Try to do like the mouse pad for the hacking in terms of like going there. The trackpad?

[Andy Cortez]

No, no, I didn't try that.

[Roger Porny]

Pretty cool.

[Andy Cortez]

I was mainly just trying to get the gyros working and once that didn't work, then I just went back.

[Roger Porny]

Yeah, but no, yeah, the. This is coming off of the Steam deck. That has like the pressure sensitivity on the sticks itself, which I think is so cool. And like, that was a game changer for me when I was playing Matt Max Payne 3. I would like do that. I would have make sure like, okay for my fingers touching it, then I can use the gyro and everything. Like adding that on the back of here is just so smart. So smart. And it adds so many layers where you can see people just getting in there. And I'm so excited to see what the community is able to do with some games like Prague Moda and weirder games that have control schemes like that.

[Tim Gettys]

It's so funny because at the end of the day, like, if. If you all have a Steam deck, you can piece together kind of what this is.

[Roger Porny]

Yes.

[Tim Gettys]

Because I feel like it really does just nail what the Steam deck did. But I think every single thing is better. Every single thing is like I think two points higher on my review scale for, in terms of feel in terms of button size and placement. Like, even the Steam deck, like, the. The pads get in my way. Like, I don't like where they are, and I don't like that the analog sticks are almost next to the face buttons in D pad, as opposed to a little bit more of the dualsense type layout. It's so much better for me here. And just the face buttons and D pad are just slightly bigger than the Steam deck. So it just gives you, like, a way more conventional feel of, like, controllers that we've been playing with forever. And I'm just very impressed where it's like, damn, they nailed something so well with the Steam deck. But, like, this controller does feel like the pro version of that controller.

[Roger Porny]

Yes. And it's. It's a perfect weight, in my opinion, especially with the puck and everything. Like, it's. It has some heft to it, but it's. It's not too heavy. It doesn't feel like you're picking up a Steam deck. You know what I mean? So much technology in here. Like, you would assume this thing would be heavier than it actually is.

[Tim Gettys]

I love the weight.

[Roger Porny]

It's. It's. I think it's a great weight.

[Andy Cortez]

And also, yeah, I would say it's the most deceptively light controller.

[Roger Porny]

Yeah.

[Andy Cortez]

Because of how much space there is for the touchpads.

[Roger Porny]

Yes.

[Andy Cortez]

I think that makes it look like you're getting a chunk. Really not.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah, exactly. It's like, I think a lot of has to do with the. The weight of the plastic like that. It's very premium plastic, but it's not thick plastic, you know, so it does kind of like create this thing where there's a lot of tech inside weighing it down, but the. The shell is light enough that, like, it just balances well. And a big concern I had was, is it going to be unbalanced because it's like, such a square. Right. Like, there's just so much more kind of just surface area of this controller because of the. The trackpads. And I think it's distributed very, very nicely.

[Roger Porny]

Yeah. Going into the actual release date, it does seem like it is. Add to cart means, like, you can buy it on May 4th. Awesome. So it. I don't know when the shipping is or what that looks like, but add to cart means you can available May 4th is what it says on their website. We have so much to talk about here when it comes to specifics, but I just want to have that conversation of, like, hundred dollars for me. Like, I saw so many for some in my mind, I thought 70, 80 originally, and then I saw a lot of those same sentiments online. And when it leaked this weekend, a hundred dollars was probably the release. The, the price. I saw a corner of the Internet being like, whoa, this is way too much. I could not believe that a controller would be that much. What do you think about the pricing? Is that right? Is this too much? Is this about right?

[Andy Cortez]

As, I mean, as somebody who was in the controller game, always buying new controllers, I don't feel like that's overpriced at all. I'm not, you know, trying to tell you that this thing is cheap and you should be able to afford it, but like, I, it seems in line looking at the fact that DualSense are 80.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah.

[Andy Cortez]

I don't remember what the standard Xbox controllers, but like the standard Dualsense doesn't have back buttons. You know, the. If I were to try to get the Xbox Standard Elite, that's $100.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah.

[Andy Cortez]

The, the one without the sort of charging block and all of that stuff. That's $100 controller.

[Tim Gettys]

Switch 2. I'm pretty sure it's 90.

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah. The Switch 2 Pro controller is a $90 controller. And a lot of. That's a satin feel, I heard.

[Tim Gettys]

I mean, hey, I mean, it feels great.

[Andy Cortez]

It feels great. I, it, it felt totally in line. I, I was. When Greg was kind of teasing the price to me and Tim, I was like, oh, is this thing about to be like 175? I've gone on the Gamescast or I've, I've been on, on Gamescast and Games Daily talking about this razor controller that's 250.

[Roger Porny]

Yeah.

[Andy Cortez]

This scuff controller that is 220. Because of the, the esports sort of like, you know, they're, they're taking out this given there. Yeah, yeah. And I was very, very shocked that this thing was $100.

[Roger Porny]

Yeah.

[Andy Cortez]

And is that also a nice way to maybe kind of cancel out what the price for the Steam Machine may be in the future? We'll have that car. Who knows?

[Roger Porny]

Tim, what do you think?

[Tim Gettys]

I think it's the perfect price. I mean, I, obviously you always want things cheaper, but I think, yeah, having the amount of tech in this and the quality feel and the Puck, it's like that's what the puck to me is the difference between the Switch 2 Pro controller and this. Right. But I, I do not think that anybody's going to be let down by their purchase with this. Whereas there's been a lot of controllers that even cheaper ones I feel like, oh, that kind of was a waste.

[Andy Cortez]

Like the.

[Tim Gettys]

There are elements of this one I like, but other things I really kind of are a turn off and I end up stop using them after a couple months. And like, at the end of the day, I can't stress enough how much I've defaulted to over the last couple years. Switch to Pro Controller for Nintendo games and DualSense for everything else. And this is going to replace, now that I'm playing more PC games than ever. Like, this is going to take up a huge chunk of my gaming time with the controller.

[Roger Porny]

Yeah. And also it's not like this is an ever evolving controller. Like, of course, physically you can't change, you can't change anything about it. You're not removing the sticks or anything like that. But when it comes to the software and what they've done for the Steam deck, like, you can only imagine that they're going to be updating this thing to fucking hell. Like every single month you're going to see insane updates. You're going to see the things that, oh, well, what if it did this thing better? They will do that. And like, I trust Valve and I trust their ability to continue to make this thing even more of a value in the future. And like all those controllers you're talking about, like, yeah, sure, some of them have like trigger stops, some of them have different features that this one doesn't have, but none of them have a trackpad. None. None of them have the, you know, capacitive pressure sensors on the back. Like, they don't have all of these things in here. For 100 bucks. Like, again, I think that this is going to be a lot of people's one and only controller for the next decade. So 100 bucks works for me.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah. And not just have trackpads. Amazing track.

[Roger Porny]

Yes.

[Tim Gettys]

Like these trackpads like it, it feels like magic sometimes when you're touching them and they don't have the haptics going. And then when you're actually moving the mouse and you feel it's great optics,

[Andy Cortez]

it's like, well know how it works.

[Roger Porny]

I think it's maybe better than what Apple has done. Sometimes like Apple's like magic touchpad or whatever, it gets a lot of like, love. Like, I think this is incredible pull, right.

[Tim Gettys]

Oh, I don't think this comes anywhere close to. Yeah, that's just like the magic pad is literally magic.

[Roger Porny]

Yeah. But I think something about like the rolling of it, the way that they're able to like make it feel like it is Like a ball that is rolling. Like it's. It's incredible stuff.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah.

[Roger Porny]

For gaming.

[Tim Gettys]

I mean, that's the thing is I love the feedback of this.

[Roger Porny]

Yeah.

[Tim Gettys]

I'm a feedback boy, though. I like that vibration. I like feeling the, you know, sound turned into the. The vibration in your hands and stuff. So, yeah, I. I love this stuff. My point is it works incredibly well. Like, I'm very impressed with it because I can imagine trackpads being something. I'm like, all right, I don't need these things. But on this, it's like they, they really deliver what they're trying to do. And again, this is their push into trying to get people playing PC on TVs. Right. That's why this thing exists, is part of this whole ecosystem. The trigger stops, though DJ Kento says does have trigger stops, it doesn't. And that is a huge bummer to me because one of my weird Tim things is like, I really like the shortest travel time for the L2 and R2. Like, that's one of the reasons I love the dualsense edge so much. I like COD Pro, dude. I like them little clicky clickies, man.

[Roger Porny]

We have so much more to talk about the Steam controller and maybe some Steam machine talk after a word from our sponsors.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

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[Andy Cortez]

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[Roger Porny]

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[Andy Cortez]

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[Roger Porny]

Now a teenager who calls them vintage will offer that same small fortune back.

[Andy Cortez]

Sell them easily on Depop. Just snap a few photos and we'll take care of the rest. Who knew your questionable music taste would be a money making machine. Your style can make you cash start selling on Depop where taste recognizes taste.

[Tim Gettys]

Ryan Reynolds here from Mint Mobile. I don't know if you knew this but anyone can get the same Premium Wireless for $15 a month plan that I've been enjoying. It's not for celebrities so do like I did and have one of your assistant's assistants switch you to Mint Mobile today. I'm told it's super easy to [e-mail]

[Roger Porny]

Switch upfront payment of $45 for 3 month plan equivalent to 15 per month required intro rate first 3 months only then full price plan options available, taxes

[Tim Gettys]

and fees, extra fee full [e-mail] and we are back.

[Roger Porny]

We're going to jump into some super chats Mike like like Mike like music super chats and says I have the game sir. Like Andy's should the Steam controller replace it? How does it compare? Remap controllers on the fly, Adaptive triggers rapid tap.

[Andy Cortez]

So

[Roger Porny]

rapid tap. Oh then also I'm just laughing at the whole thing like you have a controller named game sir. What the is wrong with you?

[Andy Cortez]

That's been my default controller all year because I know ball that controller rock and it is also cheaper than this and if you love that controller you should probably stick with it.

[Roger Porny]

Oh wow.

[Andy Cortez]

Because the field might just be overall different for you. The remapping stuff on the fly. I still find it easier on the game sir because I am it's doing the hardware bound stuff.

[Roger Porny]

Yes.

[Andy Cortez]

I didn't try to get into the hardware bound remapping. I was just doing it inside of like the Steam menu like I do with my Steam deck.

[Roger Porny]

Yeah, that's one thing I'm unclear on. So if any one of you have any more knowledge on this. Is there any like physical remapping I can do with these trackpads specifically? Because my issue is like I'm playing my games and it's like every single time the trackpad is just automatically too low so I have to go in the settings, make the thing really high and then go back out and it feels like it's an in game thing. I don't know if I can just do that for the controller I want. What I want is to be able to like quadruple click this and it's like a DPI button and I wanted to be able to have like oh no matter what like you're Just going to have super fast track that.

[Tim Gettys]

I mean, Steam.

[Andy Cortez]

Steam has a lot of custom mapping things you can do where you could say, I want this button to be this.

[Roger Porny]

Yeah.

[Andy Cortez]

Similarly to when I was trying to custom do gyro stuff. I could set gyro to mouse. I could set gyro to right stick. There's a lot of different options in there. I would not be surprised if you. There was a way to kind of

[Roger Porny]

hotkey figure that out, because I'm sure there is.

[Andy Cortez]

Just because of how much customization Steam normally has. Anyway.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah, I don't. I don't think any of it's like you can do it just with a controller. You still need to go into the settings of Steam, but the settings pages, you know, there's the normal controller settings and then you can go into the individual controller settings and have even more.

[Andy Cortez]

Okay.

[Tim Gettys]

And yeah, that brings up my. The one issue that I had personally with this, which I do think is a use case other people will have

[Roger Porny]

because I ran into it too.

[Tim Gettys]

Okay, good. Is that there's essentially two modes on the controller. There's Bluetooth mode and then there's Puck mode is what I'm gonna call it. But that's. That's the way that, like, if you can, you should be using the Puck. Absolutely. But you can't use the Puck for the Steam Deck. Or at least maybe you can if you plug it in with usb. But you're not gonna do that like you use Bluetooth for the Steam deck. My problem is my PC's downstairs in my house. My Steam Deck was upstairs in my house, docked on my upstairs tv and I had my controller downstairs and I stopped my game to go up and I was going to switch off. You can't switch between Bluetooth and Puck mode unless the controller is off. So the way you do it is you hold R1 and then the. Oh, yeah, yeah. Steam button and either the A or the X or whatever the hell to switch between.

[Roger Porny]

Yeah. B for Bluetooth and then A for

[Tim Gettys]

A for Puck mode. Right. Yeah. So that is like, cool. That makes sense. I feel like most controllers are like that to some extent. It's a little unclear. Like I. I wish that controllers, when they have these like, functionalities, just put a button.

[Roger Porny]

Yes. You know what I mean? Just give me a flip.

[Tim Gettys]

Exactly. Some switch that has the. The two things just so I know, like, I shouldn't have to memorize combinations. Yeah.

[Roger Porny]

Because I'm putting out cheat code.

[Tim Gettys]

Exactly. And it's not the end of the world.

[Andy Cortez]

Like I'M going into a dev menu.

[Tim Gettys]

It is always something where I'm just like, oh. Like that's why. Another thing that I like about the DualSense Edge is having those buttons at the bottom. It's like, okay, cool. You know, hitting these is going to bring up the menu to remap stuff. But the problem I was facing is switching from Puck mode to Bluetooth mode. For the Steam Deck, I had hit the controller, so the controller was on, which meant it was in Puck mode. So I had no way to switch it to Bluetooth. So I just had to sit the controller down, wait for it to just turn off and then do it. Or I had to go all the way back downstairs and plug it in and do that. So that's something that I, I hope that they can fix and they probably can. But that was my. The only thing that got in my way of like loving this controller so

[Roger Porny]

far and really quick. I saw a little confusion here and there of like, what is the Puck? What is this Puck? The Puck is the. This little thing right here that connects magnetically that you then can connect through USB C to your Steam Deck, to your PC, whatever. And it has, what is it, 2.4 GHz wireless connection and 8 milliseconds full end to end controller thing. So basically it is. There are proprietary low latency connective tissue between your Steam controller and your PC

[Tim Gettys]

and up to four Steam controllers can

[Roger Porny]

use 1.1puck, which is really fucking cool. And a few more super chats. Really quick, silly question, but how's taking screenshots with this? I love my 8bitdo ultimate 2, but being able to take pictures has been my one hang up. Anyone took in a screenshot?

[Tim Gettys]

No, but I mean like to the point we keep making like the button remapping is pret insane and so there. I don't think most people are going to have a use case for the D Pad. The analog and the trackpad all being in use at one time. So you'll be able to just make up on the trap trackpad, take pictures or whatever. There'll be some button that you can map and be happy about being your screenshot button.

[Roger Porny]

And also shout out to Clawmaster who super chats. $100 says lunch is on me, folks.

[Tim Gettys]

Whoa.

[Roger Porny]

I think they accidentally meant to put

[Tim Gettys]

the add to cart.

[Roger Porny]

Yeah, add to the cart. Right. I appreciate it though.

[Andy Cortez]

Thank you so much.

[Roger Porny]

While we're talking about it, D Pad, we haven't really talked about it much. What are your thoughts? I know D Pad is a Very tricky subject for a lot of people. It is how we feel about it.

[Tim Gettys]

I'm so. I'm a D pad boy. I'm 2D over 3D with games pretty much 9 out of 10 times. Like, I. I love D Pad games. That's why Dualsense tends to be my go to because of the placement of the D pad being so prominent. And it's the same thing here. So I love that. I love this thing. I love the D pad on the Steam deck. I love it here. And it's funny because that seems to be a fairly unpopular opinion. Like, I see a lot of people very critical of the Steam Deck D pad and I don't really understand why I love it. I think it feels really nice. And I said this earlier about the face buttons, but the D pad on the Steam controller is also just slightly bigger than the D pad on the Steam deck and that goes a long way for me.

[Andy Cortez]

I haven't really messed around with the D pad in a significant way to notice any issues with it. Like, I've. I was able to boot up a little bit of like Silk Song here and there and I. I had no issues with the way that the. The D pad feels. I'm definitely a lot less particular about D Pad feel anyway, though. But I think it feels totally great, you know, But I've. I know that there are probably a bunch of controllers that I would say, yeah, that D pad's fine. And some people go, no, that's awful. So I'm not the best D pad person to ask.

[Roger Porny]

You know, as. As Andy knows I have very sensitive thumbs. And I run into. Yeah, we've talked about. I've sent you photos of my thumb.

[Tim Gettys]

Oh, you're right.

[Roger Porny]

My issue is always with these controllers is, especially the Nintendo Switch Pro controllers, is that their D pad is too sharp. So then when I'm rolling my. I'm a rolling of the thumb guy.

[Tim Gettys]

The switch controller is sharp.

[Roger Porny]

It's a sharp one. Someone bring it out because it is. It is sharp as fuck. Ah, cut my finger and I'm bleeding everywhere. You know what I mean? I'm bleeding everywhere. Oh my God. But. But if you're for this one, it's a very like rounded type of vibe and it's great for rolling your thumb. And that's like my. That's my vibe is that I'm always rolling the thumb. Yeah. And then I don't think I'm ever going to use this and play Hollow Knight and fucking, you know, be bashing my head against the wall. And have to. Yeah, thank you. And be like, oh, yeah. And have to send a photo of my red bloody thumb.

[Tim Gettys]

Well, I mean, he's right. Like, like they have sharper edges, but that's the Nintendo D pad.

[Roger Porny]

Yeah. And it hurts when I'm trying to roll my thumb, you know, I mean, I'm just causing pain. Bring it to me, Bring it to me.

[Andy Cortez]

Let.

[Roger Porny]

Let me try that. Let me try it out. Let me try.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah, I get it. That's.

[Roger Porny]

No, but it is, like, so my finger is always, like, at the edge, like right here. I'm edging right here. And then it's, like, hurting my thigh. It's. Right now it's already hurting my thumb. It's. Look at this, Andy. Look at my thumb right now. It's a little red right there.

[Andy Cortez]

He's in pain right now.

[Roger Porny]

So this is great for my thumbs. I feel really great. Roger campaigning for a class action here. I am. I'm letting you know. We don't talk about it enough, but yeah, I love the roundness and I love the roundness of the buttons because also with the stuff with the Switch 2 Pro controller, those buttons are too sharp as well.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah, I mean, I get what you say. I like, I prefer the, the sharpness of those. But I mean, again, I, I. These are the nicest feeling round buttons I've ever had. Because I'm a. I'm a pretty anti round button guy overall when it comes. Really?

[Andy Cortez]

I didn't know.

[Tim Gettys]

And that's why I like the dualsense as well, which is. I know those are circles, but, like, they're not bulbous. You know what I'm talking about?

[Andy Cortez]

I don't know. I don't.

[Tim Gettys]

These face buttons.

[Andy Cortez]

I know you're talking.

[Tim Gettys]

They're globular.

[Andy Cortez]

Globular.

[Tim Gettys]

Globular.

[Roger Porny]

Okay.

[Tim Gettys]

Okay.

[Roger Porny]

They're spherical.

[Andy Cortez]

Convex.

[Tim Gettys]

Yes, exactly. Whereas, like, dual sense. They're a circle, but they're flat.

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah, I see what you're saying.

[Tim Gettys]

You know, like the Earth.

[Andy Cortez]

I'm playing.

[Roger Porny]

Yeah. What are you playing right now?

[Andy Cortez]

I'm playing Deadlock right now with the gyros.

[Roger Porny]

Whoa.

[Tim Gettys]

Look how freaking receptive that is.

[Andy Cortez]

It's pretty rad.

[Tim Gettys]

You might need to, like, do some awkward thing where you get up and turn this around and show the people.

[Roger Porny]

Yeah, he's in the middle of. He's like, oh, my gosh. Wow. It's actually.

[Tim Gettys]

No way you're gonna play off this TV like that.

[Roger Porny]

He's top fragging right now, everybody.

[Tim Gettys]

Because I want them to see, like, how Responsive. The gyro is.

[Andy Cortez]

You can kind of see it. You can kind of see it right there.

[Roger Porny]

Yeah, it's very.

[Tim Gettys]

It's very impressive in real life, seeing it, it's just like, damn, dude, it's.

[Andy Cortez]

It's rad. It feels. It feels awesome. The.

[Tim Gettys]

When.

[Andy Cortez]

When I was interviewing the. A couple of the engineers on it, they mentioned first I asked him, you know, this wouldn't be a good interview unless I asked if there's anything else to announce that day. Yeah, about any product, a machine and

[Roger Porny]

maybe a third entry of something.

[Andy Cortez]

And they said, if you're talking about the other things, no, we're still working on them. Still dealing with the. And he was like, but luckily, like, it's good to know that we're not the only ones dealing with it. And I was like, right. Like when somebody else doesn't turn the essay in, you're like, oh, thank God. Yeah, yeah, we're all dealing. Everybody's dealing with the global economic issues with RAM and all that shit. And then I asked, will there be any functionality with Deadlock, your game that's currently in development? And he said, well, nothing official, but all of our Valve teams have controllers. They're all working on things. And. But yeah, they're. They're. And he said, they're still finishing that game. I was like, what do you mean finishing, Tim, what do you mean by question? What do you mean by finishing the game?

[Roger Porny]

This is such a nothing. Like, he told me this and he's like, oh, like, so they're finishing again? Like, yeah, they're working on a video game. What are you talking about?

[Andy Cortez]

What do you mean, finishing?

[Tim Gettys]

Finishing.

[Andy Cortez]

He's gonna say, they're still working on it.

[Tim Gettys]

Still working on it.

[Andy Cortez]

You say finishing.

[Tim Gettys]

I'm like, there's a journey in this 2020 station. Finishing sounds like a destination.

[Andy Cortez]

I didn't ask. I felt like I was pushing it.

[Roger Porny]

I got. That's what good journalists do. You have to give.

[Andy Cortez]

You have to give up your number one game journalist title. My brain got all excited. Well, you talked an absolutely nothing statement.

[Roger Porny]

You blacked out the rest of the interview while you mentioned it. You asked them sort of about maybe other things like the Steam Machine. Steam Machine is not mentioned here. If you go to the website, still the same that it was before, where it says early 2026 is what they're looking for for the Steam Machine and the Steam frame here. Does any of this knowing that they've come out ahead of time. Just put out The Steam Controller, 100 bucks, maybe a Little bit higher than we thought it was going to be. Does that change what we think the Steam Machine is going to be? How much it is when it's coming out? What are the current vibes of it?

[Tim Gettys]

I. I mean, I think it pretty definitively says it won't be early 2026. I think that this is them kind of being like, well, we're at the end of early 2026. We can't put out the Steam Machine. Obviously the plan probably was put everything out either together. At the very least, the controller and the machine, the VR thing could be a separate, you know, drop and I think that that would be acceptable, but if it dropped at the same time, that would work too. I think now this is them definitively being like, yeah, the Steam Machine is not ready for whatever reason that is, whether it's like actually not ready or they're not ready to put a price on it because it's going to be higher than they feel is acceptable to launch this thing. Because they, this is, this is potentially entirely market shifting. Drop if they get this right or it's just another thing that happened and clearly they don't want it to be that they want to be competitors in the living room space.

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah, I'm of the mind that if it releasing it now tells me that it's further away than we thought because I, I'm of the mind that if we were close at all, they would have just done it all together.

[Roger Porny]

Yeah.

[Andy Cortez]

And if this, if the Steam Machine were actually ready to go in a month or two, that they would have just waited for the controller. Putting this out now seems like, well, this thing's been done. We might as well put it out because the other thing won't be out for a while. That's just all me assuming and making, you know, jumping to a lot of conclusions, but I don't, I don't have a whole lot of faith that the Steam Machine would come out in the next couple of months.

[Roger Porny]

Yeah. I'm so part of me, I think for sure the, the thing that this says to me is that the Steam Controller will not be a part of the Steam Machine. That was originally what they said. They said they were going to bundle them together. If you bought the Steam Machine, you got the Steam controller. I don't think that's the case anymore. Yeah, I would assume that this is going to be their moment of like, hey, go get the Steam controller if you want, get it early. Okay. Now that you all hopefully have gotten it, here's the Steam Machine by Itself. Right. I still have a little bit of hope. Just maybe it's just copium, right. Because like I'm playing this, I'm using this thing on the Steam deck and it is just like man, I can see how amazing this would be with the Steam Machine. Like playing Disco Elysium at you know, maybe 720p on my TV with this at 40fps it's like, oof. Imagine this at 4K. Imagine this with the Steam Machine and the Steam Controller. Like that is all I want. And I think, I do think we're getting it this year. I actually, I would assume we are getting this around August. I don't. I think we're getting it this year and I think we're getting around August.

[Tim Gettys]

Well, the thing is I feel like we kind of have to get it this year because if they wait too long, it's going to be too outdated and the price is necessarily going to go down. I think that there's this certain point that they're going to hit of like well, we already have these things.

[Roger Porny]

We have to do it and we

[Tim Gettys]

need to get them out the door. I think right now, if I had to bet, I think this thing is done. They are just stressing about the price.

[Roger Porny]

Oh yeah. They're trying to figure out what they're. What they're willing to do. And also I actually do think that to Andy's point earlier about this being a hundred dollars and you would assume the, the actual parts of this is not. Is way less than a hundred dollars that they're looking at. Okay, how much can we eat when it comes to the Steam Machine? Are we looking for, you know, how much percentage of margins are we looking at for the Steam Machine? Can we maybe lose a little bit of money on it and then gain a lot back on the Steam Controller itself? Because I do think genuinely that Steam Valve does not want to release a plus thousand dollar Steam machine. I think that that's like antithetical to what this thing is.

[Andy Cortez]

I agree.

[Tim Gettys]

When they, when they first announced this thing and then we were all like predicting what we think it was like, I was the first one to say this thing's gonna be $1,000. And then y'. All.

[Roger Porny]

That was before the Rampocalypse.

[Tim Gettys]

Yes, exactly. And then y' all made me feel very crazy immediately. The more I think about it, I'm like it. I do think that this is a thousand dollar product and I think especially with the RAM stuff. But the question is how much of a hit are they willing to take? On it. And you know, we see Microsoft the last week talking about everything that they've been talking about. It's like I do think that they, we're gearing up for a place where these hardware distributors are going to have to take hits if they want to get machines in houses. Right. Like it's, it's like it's not so much about the like maximizing money that you can make, it's more about getting these things in. So more people are buying games on the Steam store, right? Yeah, yeah. I don't know.

[Roger Porny]

Yeah, I mean this is the time to do it. I think if you miss this year when it comes to the Steam machine, you've kind of missed your shot. Like you don't have a new PlayStation console, you don't have a new Xbox console. Like you have the Steam, the Nintendo Switch has already been out for a minute. Like Switch show you have this beautiful moment, this beautiful year of like you can just fucking run it up of like everyone's excited about Valve and if Half Life 3 is actually a real thing, right. Like you can do all of those things together and people are going to flock to this thing. It's going to be insane. I, is $1,000 too much for that? Like are they willing to be like hey, the dream is we want this to be the no brainer PC that you buy when you want, when you want to start playing video games. No matter where you're at, if you just want a living room console or if you're just trying to get into PC gaming. Is a thousand dollars just that, that like too much for them? I don't know. Yeah, I mean I think 800 is probably where they want to be.

[Tim Gettys]

I mean I'm sure, yeah, they want to be as low as they can again to sell as much as possible. But I, I think a thousand dollars is the price for what this thing is trying to be and just being realistic for PC gaming. Yeah, like what that means. It's like we can't just make things cheap just because we want them cheap. Like there's a cost to hardware. That cost is hard, like larger than it's ever been.

[Roger Porny]

Yeah.

[Andy Cortez]

Just a reminder as well of like the, there's the two models, there's the 512 gigabytes and then there's the two terabyte. And so like then you have to also think about, like if you're thinking, if we're talking base model thousand dollars, then we also have to think about is like what they're trying to figure out of like, what's too much to ask for the higher model as well?

[Tim Gettys]

There's something to put out there.

[Roger Porny]

Yeah.

[Tim Gettys]

I mean, like, look, look at the prices of all the wrong allies at this point. It's like there's no number. It makes me want to. Unacceptable. Yeah. No, it's like these things getting price increases by the 500s.

[Roger Porny]

How much is a PS5 at this point?

[Tim Gettys]

Where in the world? Hopefully not in the Philippines. Or else you're getting.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

Absolutely.

[Tim Gettys]

They just changed 650.

[Roger Porny]

Okay now. And that's just a base.

[Andy Cortez]

One pro is 900 hundred.

[Roger Porny]

Jesus.

[Tim Gettys]

That's where we're at.

[Roger Porny]

Yeah. So I mean, $1,000 steam machine is like, okay, that's not that far off. Jesus Christ. 650 for just a 650 base. My God, man, what a, what a

[Tim Gettys]

nightmare we live in right now, everybody.

[Roger Porny]

What a nightmare.

[Andy Cortez]

You're getting sorrows at 1220p. It's crazy.

[Roger Porny]

Yeah, man. I, I, I desperately need the Steam machine in my life. It is all I think about, it is all I dream about. And then this is just kind of making it harder for, for me.

[Tim Gettys]

It's really crazy, man. Like, years ago, when they first announced the Steam deck, I remember on Games Daily being like. And I say this a lot when it comes to a lot of the things we talk about, it's like, I need a use case. For me, like, the thing might be cool and I can talk about it for like the global gamers and whatever, but like, for me to be excited about it, I need a Tim Gettys use case. And I was like, I just simply don't have a use case for a Steam deck. Like, there's no world in which there's anything appealing about this to me. Overall, by the time the OLED came out, that was a completely different story. Like, obviously the OLED stuff means a lot more to me because of portability

[Andy Cortez]

and where you were in your life with port, with needing a portable and

[Tim Gettys]

also just with where PC gaming got like, we started finally getting to the point where it's like third parties were releasing on PC day and date. And like that's just, that's a newer thing. Newer now five, six years. But like that we're now at a point which you can kind of expect a game to come out on PC and if it doesn't, that's a big deal.

[Andy Cortez]

And the nature of how we review things, like, we're at the point now

[Tim Gettys]

where Steam codes are the Greg has

[Andy Cortez]

already told everybody, if you want a game On Switch. And you want to review a game on Switch, ask for it later. Review it on Steam first. Because Switch codes and other console codes are always like, we wait the day of, the day of, you'll get the console codes, but we have Steam codes ready. And that's just kind of like, well, shit, we have to play it on PC then. Because it's just, how else am I going to be a part of this review, you know?

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah. And then the other thing too, for me is like the advancement in all the cloud gaming tech stuff and how well that works on a Steam Deck or whatever. So now that I'm at the point that I have my PC, I had the Steam deck, and it's like, I never would have had a use case for a Steam machine. I very much do now. You just were talking about it, Roger, like plugging your Steam deck into the tv. It's like, I just need a little bit better tech. And also I just need something that could just be dedicated, that just sits there to be able to either natively play games or even use Apollo or Moonlight or whatever to stream from my PC itself. And I bet the Steam Machine is going to do that a lot better than a lot of other devices because it's kind of meant to do it.

[Andy Cortez]

You were telling me about moonlight before you left, and that's a. That's a. A streaming platform.

[Roger Porny]

Yeah, it's. It's a streaming platform now. It's. What is it? Sun something.

[Tim Gettys]

Sunshine. Well, the sunshine and moonlight. And then there's Apollo.

[Roger Porny]

Yes, it's a local streaming service. Yeah. You can use your PC to your

[Andy Cortez]

tv mom and pop.

[Roger Porny]

Yeah, exactly.

[Andy Cortez]

Okay.

[Roger Porny]

It's really cool. Yeah. I could send you some stuff about it, some super chats before we end this show. Great episode, y'. All. Mr. Person super chats and says, I think announcement in June, out in July for Half Life 3. December. Wait, what?

[Tim Gettys]

These announcement in June that it's coming in July and then Half Life three is.

[Roger Porny]

Oh, okay, sorry. I thought this was all for Half Life 3.

[Tim Gettys]

I'm like, yeah, dude, like, obviously Half Life 3 sounds like such a joke to talk about. I firmly believe still that it is real and it's happening. And I think that the Steam machine being announced didn't just come out of nowhere. I feel like you tie those things together and I. It's just wild to me if they were to drop the sea machine and Half Life 3 is not part of it. If Half Life 3 is real, which I think it is. So because of that, I think that they line up this.

[Roger Porny]

The Rampocalypse is horrible. Of course, might be the best thing that's ever happened to Jeff Keighley. Because now there's sort of a chance June coming up. I mean, like, what if he looks around, he's like, hey, listen, come on, you know what I mean? We find out he's been buying up all the chips. He's like, I have this great idea. June.

[Tim Gettys]

June would be interesting.

[Roger Porny]

Like, it's not a bad prediction right there.

[Tim Gettys]

Well, I. I would only go against it just because I. I think Steam is in that unique position where why would they compete with all the other Summer Game Fest announcements, right? Like the other. That era, the timeline where Xbox has its showcase. You imagine Nintendo is going to have something. It's like, why even do that when you could just like focus on way more like Steam? I do put in that category of the Rockstar with gta where they can drop at any point, anytime. Having said that, it's like I. When we were leading into last year's Game Awards, I was saying because the rumors were all this stuff was going to be announced not at the Game Awards for like, around it. I was like, why would you do that? You have the most audience at the Game Awards and any argument you make otherwise, it's just additive. Like, if you're like, oh, they'll get more views than anything just putting it out by themselves, it's like, well, cool. They'll also upload it to their YouTube and you get the most viewers live, whatever, every year watching this shit. But all that went out the window when it wasn't a preorder now type situation. Like, remember, we were all kind of surprised by what this announcement ended up being of. Just, hey, we have these products.

[Roger Porny]

Yeah, here it is. Yeah, that's it. Yeah. You know, Zeke Speak says it's embarrassing how much I want a Steam machine, but I'm so worried with how much it's going to cost. If they waited a year, will ram prices go down. I'm sure it will probably, but I do.

[Tim Gettys]

It will.

[Roger Porny]

I mean, it's already going slowly down. I mean, comparatively to where we are now. I don't think it's going to be the same price to more like, I think we're going to be at a lower point. How much?

[Tim Gettys]

I don't know, man.

[Roger Porny]

I don't know.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah, I feel like there's a lot of these things that even when the Rampocalypse is over, the price isn't going to go down just because it's going

[Andy Cortez]

to take a few years for it to, like, correct itself, even if we get to the point where we're no longer in it.

[Tim Gettys]

But it's also not just ram, it's hard drives, it's solid states. It's like every piece of tech that goes into a Steam machine.

[Roger Porny]

Yeah.

[Andy Cortez]

And y' all didn't really want to use memory loss, huh? It's crazy.

[Roger Porny]

Kuma Bob OMB says candy fund for Barrett. Oh, I like that. BGZ K. NESLA says I'll stick with Mad Cats, thank you.

[Tim Gettys]

Hell yeah.

[Roger Porny]

And then my thing is breaking. Meta3.1 8 says I finally got around to beating Half Life Alex recently. No spoilers, but yeah, Half Life three is happening. Yeah, it is. And then let's do one more specifically for Andy. It's a very specific one for you, Andy. Oddly specific use case. But does it connect to the In Thor? I am Thor. Sure it does, right?

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I haven't tried it, but yeah, theoretically it would. And that would be a weird situation.

[Tim Gettys]

The eight bit do USB dongle. Like, it's. Yeah, $15, I think.

[Roger Porny]

Yeah.

[Tim Gettys]

Like, if you wanted this to work on a PlayStation 5, it's that easy.

[Roger Porny]

This.

[Tim Gettys]

I mean, I imagine my. I like. You can use that thing to make pretty much any controller work with things you're trying. That's what I've been doing.

[Andy Cortez]

They've been doing a little, like, yeah, Brick thing.

[Roger Porny]

So it's just. Okay. I thought it was just like, specific controllers.

[Tim Gettys]

No, it's. It's just a USB Bluetooth dongle, so.

[Roger Porny]

That's hot. Changes my life right there, everybody. This podcast changed my life and you all changed my life. Thank you so much for watching the Kind of Funny Gamescast where each and every weekday we get together to talk about the biggest reviews, previews and topics in video games live on YouTube, Twitch and podcast services around the globe. If you love what we do, support us with the Kind of Funny membership on Patreon, YouTube, Apple or Spotify to get all of our shows ad free and get a daily exclusive show. Next up is going to be Kind of Funny Games Daily. And then after that is the big old stream. Oh, no, sorry. It's Kind of Funny Podcast after that. And then Greg Miller's gonna be locked in a room playing Starfield for as long as you want him.

[Tim Gettys]

Holy shit. It's his birthday.

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah.

[Roger Porny]

Yes. And it's his birthday. That's crazy. It's fucked up. You didn't say.

[Sponsor/Ad Voice]

Wow.

[Tim Gettys]

That's fucking crazy.

[Roger Porny]

We were all watching you kind of waiting for you to say happy birthday to.

[Andy Cortez]

We were all talking.

[Roger Porny]

Yeah, we're all talking about it. We're all making fun of you.

[Tim Gettys]

I gotta let y' all know I've been in Babyland, right? Then I come back here for a week, discombobulated as all shit. Then I just go to Japan.

[Roger Porny]

You go to Japan?

[Tim Gettys]

I can't believe it's April 27th. That is insane. Happy birthday, Greg.

[Roger Porny]

Happy birthday, Greg. We love you so much. And until next time, it's been our pleasure to serve you.