I think Valve has a good track record for high quality stuff, and doing things that make sense, so I'm very interested in trying it. I'm not going to sit behind a screen and say it "looks like trash" because it doesn't look like what I already use, I'll just try it when I can get my hands on one.

That said, I really want a PC controller that allows me to play PC games (including RTS or non-controller games) on a livingroom TV. I don't want to have a keyboard on my lap and a mouse on the sofa cushion. If they can make that work then that would be amazing.

If there one thing I learned from some recent console releases it's that designing a controller is hard work. You can get a nice idea and a basic setup but it's the little details that make a controller good. Amazon and the Ouya had terrible controllers. I will wait and see before I judge yay or nay.

Looks like shit, but I'd like to get my hands on one.

Hardware is an entirely different thing.

@sinusoidal: You missed the point. They know quality and they also don't do things until they get it right. If they couldn't handle hardware then they would not have even attempted it. There's a reason this thing keeps going through revisions.

They have an eye for quality which goes a long way.

Yes, it does, but you also missed my point. Valve is a company of software engineers. They've never made hardware before. It's like trusting Apple to make a bicycle.

@sinusoidal: I've made your point personally and I've read it quite a bit before you posted it.

It doesn't really have anything to do with what I said though.

Imagine the gifs if this fails miserably after all the hype.

I think it's a cool idea.

Most importantly, this is the first time since the wiimote that I can recall a company trying to move forward with controller development, in lieu of just doing the snes controller over again.

I dunno, maybe don't call something dumb till you try it? I mean they're going for something totally new that will change the way you play games. If it makes playing Civ comfortable on a couch then I'm all for it, at least.

Not that I actually plan on playing games anywhere else than my desk any time soon...

Civ being comfortable on the couch isn't dependant on the controller you're using. The UI elements won't be readable unless you have a REALLY big TV, sit really close to it, or run the game at like 480x640.

And trying something new worked for nintendo because their whole platform was built around that. Every game they made was made with those controls in mind and most 3rd party ones were too. Valve doesn't do first party outside of Dota (which will never work with a controller) and every game out there with existing controller support is designed around a completely different controller layout, which makes experimentation and trying new shit much less appealing.