The Steam Autumn Sale is in full swing, and there's one surprising fire sale on a piece of Steam hardware. PC gamers can grab a Steam Controller for just $5 during the sale, plus shipping (which for US buyers will bring it to $12.99). This is the lowest price for the controller yet.
However, there is a catch. After this set of Steam Controllers sells out, they're gone for good. Valve is discontinuing the production of the unique controllers, so this is the last chance someone can grab a controller before they're forced to go to a second-hand market for the gamepad.
That's right, the set of Steam Controllers currently on sale for the Autumn Sale will be the final ones made. This isn't too surprising, really - with Steam PS4 controller support added years ago and Xbox One generally functioning well on any Windows computer, the Steam Controller was a bit redundant in the current market. While the Steam Controller could still be great for games that typically required a keyboard and mouse to play, it also required players to really want to use a controller over a keyboard and mouse.
Originally, the Steam Controller, along with the similarly ill-fated Steam Link device, was a part of the Steam Machines initiative. The aim of Steam Machines was to bring high-end PC gaming to console players in a more console-like form, and Valve tried to set it up as a competitor of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. However, Steam Machines largely failed, being too high of a price to entice console gamers and too difficult to upgrade for PC users.
Now that streaming technology for gaming is being seriously tested, perhaps a new form of a Steam Controller and Steam Link can be unveiled in the future. Of course, given the Google Stadia's rocky launch, true gaming and streaming technology may be a ways off, but there's no doubt that Steam will want to get a piece of that pie once it's perfected.
For now, though, Valve has other issues they may need to deal with regarding Steam. Perhaps with the looming threat of the Epic Games Store it will increase the Steam revenue split for game developers?
The Steam Controller is available for $5 plus shipping at Steam's website.
Source: The Verge