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Valve Announces New Steam Machine, Steam Controller & Steam Frame (lemmy.world)
submitted 1 year ago by to c/technology@lemmy.world
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Phoronix article: https://www.phoronix.com/news/Steam-Machines-Frame-2026

Also listed here: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/hardware

Valve has already sent support for the new Steam Controller upstream: https://www.phoronix.com/news/New-Steam-Controller-SDL

Valve Announces New Steam Machine, Steam Controller and Steam Frame for release in 2026. There is an image of a Steam Controller, which looks like a hybrid between the original Steam Controller and the layout and trackpads of the Steam Deck.
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[–] 38 points 1 year ago (32 children)

Not gonna lie the controller looks ass but maybe it feels fantastic so I‘ll wait with my final judgement. I‘m interested to see how they will try to push VR since most users are still incredibly uninterested in it.

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  • [–] 36 points 1 year ago (25 children)

    I've wanted to get into VR for the longest time but they all seemed like extremely walled gardens. This sounds awesome to me.

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  • [–] 7 points 1 year ago (5 children)

    The problem is to really make an informed decision you have to try it first-hand. The sensory experience unlike any other device, so descriptions aren't super helpful, video doesn't convey what it's actually like, so you really have to experience it to understand it.

    Also given how common it seems to be anecdotally to get sick from it, no one wants to jump in just to have to jump back out.

    And unless you know someone that already jumped in and can try theirs, a lot of people like me just don't want to commit sight unseen. (I mean I'm also broke, but this would be true anyway)

    I don't have a way to try it out, so until I do it's not on my radar to care. I'm very curious about it. Even if I don't like it I do really want to see what it's like at least once. But I'm not gonna pay for that chance. It's gotta impress me without effort on my part (more than driving to it anyway).

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  • [–] 6 points 1 year ago (4 children)

    Also given how common it seems to be anecdotally to get sick from it, no one wants to jump in just to have to jump back out.

    you can build a resistance to it. It takes time, and it was the case for me

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  • [–] 5 points 1 year ago (3 children)

    Maybe so, but you probably need to enjoy your first exposure to want to drop money on an entire setup for it.

    It's already crazy enough to drop that money just hoping you like it, but if you drop it hoping it stops making you nauseous, that's a much bigger ask.

    I'm still hoping I won't have that problem. I do get car sick on meandering drives, but not even close to as bad as I did 10-15 years ago, but the worse the drive gets, the more I have to stay staring out the car windows.

    I assume the VR effect would be similar, given it's a similar symptom, but backwards. (In VR you don't feel motion, but you see it, whereas in a car, you feel it, but either don't see it from not looking, or if you have wide visibility it looks like you're not moving as much compared to the background)

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  • [–] 5 points 1 year ago* (1 child)

    As someone who used to get sick in cars and boats, I got it, so you might as well

    If the technology interests you, then sick or not, you’ll probably like it. Won’t play every day, but it’ll be a nice experience.

    Start with games with not a lot of motion (beat saber for example), then move to more intensive games. You’ll get sick after 15mins, then 20mins, then 25… until you last for a couple hours, and at this point you’ve built your resistance.

    Just stop playing when you feel sick and try again an hour later when you feel better or a few days later

    But yea, VR isn’t straightforward or an obvious purchase. It requires time and will, and money, obviously

    It’s clearly a luxury and you need to have too much money or be really motivated to purchase it

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago

    Personally that's what I'd like to do anyway. I'm saying that to discuss the growth of the technology among the masses.

    Assuming it doesn't make me violently ill, i like tech and gaming enough to keep it around otherwise. But the potential for the issue and the committal involved off the bat are difficulties for any new, different-enough tech.

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  • [–] 6 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    I've got a Meta Quest 2 as a hand-me-down and yes, it's extremely locked down. It's possible to use a third-party app store, but to make it work you have to get a developer account with Meta and enable wireless debugging.

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  • [–] 3 points 1 year ago (4 children)

    I really want to love VR, but it's just not for me. And i don't think i'm alone with that. To me, VR is something you try in a mall for 20min and think it's cool and not something you want to play around with home.

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  • [–] 3 points 1 year ago (3 children)

    There's a reason we don't see any big Let's Players do more than a couple episodes of VR games.

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  • [–] 4 points 1 year ago* (2 children)

    That doesn't mean they're not having fun, but it's quite physically demanding and the experience just doesn't translate to 2D.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago (1 child)

    I love Half life alyx. I played maybe half an hour, and i don't think i'll ever play more. Just the thought of putting the vr headset back on puts me off. I thought VR would be great for me, because i do a lot of sports anyway and i like to move around. But sweating while playing video games isn't as fun as it seems. Especially when you sweat a lot in and around the goggles. Like i said, it's an experience, not really more. On a side note, i also learned i'm a huuuge pussy when it comes to VR games. I really don't know what it is, i was never scared of a movie or video game or anything really. In vr looking into a dark hole where something might jump scare me, really isn't for me at all.

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  • [–] 1 point 11 months ago

    Fortunately I don't sweat that easily, Alyx was fine for me so far (about 2 hours in). What REALLY gets me going is (modded) Beatsaber. I can only play it wearing briefs and it's a serious workout if you want to challenge yourself, but it's so much fun that I've managed a few play sessions that lasted for over 3 hours.

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  • [–] 9 points 1 year ago (8 children)

    For most of my life VR has been, 'VR is a great way to experience shitty games and you just have to pay a grand or more for this interactive tummy ache, and your unit may not be supported next year! Buy!'

    I'm going to hold out until I can pick up one of these at the pawn shop for a bill.

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  • [–] 19 points 1 year ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 child)

    I got an Index for cheap last year and was very excited to play a number of my favorite games with optional VR mode. Turns out:

    1. the Index ecosystem is more accessible than expected.

    2. the games I was looking forward to all played like ass and made VR seem like a stupid gimmick.

    3. In a desperate move that felt like sunk cost fallacy, I tried several VR-only games, and got TOTALLY hooked on modded Beatsaber. This itself made the buy-in worth it.

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  • [–] 7 points 1 year ago

    VR-only games

    For the most part VR "ports" of traditional games are not worth buying. The developers usually put 0 effort into them. There are exceptions like sim racing titles, but for the most part games developed specifically for VR will be way better designed

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  • [–] 10 points 1 year ago

    ‘VR is a great way to experience shitty games

    Have you tried Half-life: Alyx?

    I recommend you give that, or something equivalent, a go without even buying any hardware. Either ask a friend or go to an arcade. You don't need to shell out a grand to try.

    If you hate it, move on.

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  • [–] 9 points 1 year ago (4 children)

    Edit! I'm a 90s kid, and I'm really disappointed that VR hasn't taken off the way scifi suggested it would. Back then, being absorbed in pure information sounded awesome, but now it is just going the way of 24/7 misinformation advertisements and micro transactions.

    I'll hold off on VR until there is a decent open source unit that isnt $800.

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  • [–] 5 points 1 year ago (3 children)

    I remember trying the first VR headset game 1990 that ran on a Commodore Amiga in like 7 fps and was terrible in every way.

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  • [–] 7 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 child)

    Yegods. My first foray into VR was at a high end arcade at North Pier in Chicago. I think the game was Dactyl. The headset was super heavy and none of the goals of the game were explained to me. I basically wandered around for five minutes, shooting green polygons in the sky, then time was up.

    Dad was pissed that he'd blown $20 on it.

    Edit: For historical reference, in the mid 90s $5 could keep your kids occupied at a regular arcade for a couple hours. $20 could have gotten us a couple of movie tickets and some Twizzlers.

    I'd of been angry too.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago (1 child)

    I mean, you can certainly pick up a used Quest 2 if you wanted to try it out. There's a handful of exclusive stuff in the Quest store you'd be able to use, but not much of value. Resident Evil 4 VR is about it for the Q2. I think there was a Batman game for the Q3. You'd have access to anything the Steam Frame has access to if you're streaming from a PC.

    I think the PSVR2 works as well, but it's wired only.

    Half Life Alyx is certainly worth a blast through.

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  • [–] 8 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    Looks can be deceiving. Coming from someone who uses the steamdeck, that layout looks exactly how I hoped and imagined it would be. The steamdeck is incredibly comfortable to hold and this looks like it would be the same!

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  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago

    It definitely reminds me of that Steam controller someone on Youtube built by sawing a Steamdeck in two and gluing the ends together so to speak. They said it‘s their dream controller so I‘m sure this controller already has some fans. I just can‘t tell by looking at it.

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  • [–] 4 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    The first controller looked the same, but was very good to use once you got used to it. The build quality, though, was...fucking terrible.

    I had to fix my controllers so many times that in the end I was swapping them out almost weekly. Still, felt great in the hand.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago

    I have the first controller, just dug it out the other day because I thought I was going to be able to use it on my new tablet, it still sucks. I never could get used to it, but it's a far sight better looking then this thing.

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