[swores]

> "which were just those companies’s normal hardware design"

For Alienware (not sure about the others, but AW was Valve's lead partner on it anyway) you're right in that it was a computer designed by Alienware not Valve, however it was a) very different to other Alienware PCs, and b) Valve were genuinely part of the development process, they didn't just say "hey make a small computer". They also shipped with the first gen of Steam controllers, which were created by Valve themselves. (Unfortunately, due to delays with SteamOS, the first version of the AW "Steam Machine" actually launched running Windows only, but with the Steam Controller, because Alienware weren't willing to delay their launch further and instead developed their own controller-based UI for Windows in a rush job...)

(Source: me, I was in the loop on those goings on at the time.)

To this day, I think the Alienware Alpha (as the Windows version got called) was one of the nicest machines Dell ever made and one of the best small PCs I've ever seen.

[ok_dad]

> first gen of Steam controllers, which were created by Valve themselves

The best goddamn controllers ever made, too, I still have one in a box somewhere around here and I won't use it because it's so awesome I don't want it to break. Pretty dumb eh? The two touchpads were the absolute best, I've never had control like that in an FPS and to this day I can't play any FPS with a stick because I was ruined on the Steam Controller.

[alias_neo]

Funny how people differ in that regard.

It's the absolute worst controller I've ever used (Joy-Cons are a close second).

I didn't use it because I hated it so much, put it straight back in the box after a few days of trying to use it and eventually I sold it for as much as I paid, and I was glad to see the back of it.

The size/shape of the controller as a whole was fantastic but I just really hated only having touchpads instead of sticks, and that made it unusable.

[ok_dad]

You had to get used to it, it was weird but once you figured it out it was great!

[alias_neo]

I struggled with keeping my thumbs on the pads properly, probably needed sensitivity adjustment too but I just couldn't get myself to _want_ to try harder with it.

Sticks work really well for me in terms of controllers, I just wish we weren't being shafted by stick drift all the time when manufacturers could be using hall-effect sticks; I've got 2 PS5 controllers and 3 PAIRS of Joy-Cons with drift, while I also have my original 2 x PS1 controllers from my childhood, neither of which has drift.

[swores]

100% agree. I still can't believe it didn't become a long running product that everyone uses.

I've never been a console/controller gamer, but I remember the first time I saw it - it was an early fake, that looked and felt very similar to the end product but inside it just had a metal weight and no actual electronics, and it seemed like such an exciting product, it was genuinely hard to keep that secret...

(And come to think of it, I think I misremembered when writing my last comment - I might be wrong, but I think the Alienware Alpha that launched with Windows actually shipped with an Xbox controller, and the steam controller was only available once the proper Steam Machine version was out. Not 100% sure, maybe we just needed the Xbox controllers for the press sessions before launch...)

[pipes]

Do the steam deck pads achieve the same thing?

[jdiff]

Close in a lot of ways, better in a few ways, like haptics. Steam Controller haptics are not great, and the physical click is loud and echoes within the controller. Deck haptics are fantastic, but there's something about the large circular trackpads that feels better. Maybe it's just the larger touch area.

[geoffpado]

Perhaps I am unfairly lumping Alienware in with some of the other Steam Machines, which very much did look almost identical to their manufacturer’s other PCs at the time.

As someone who at the time was VERY into buying the “console-like” PC gaming experience that Valve was seemingly selling, I remember being pretty disappointed not just by the SteamOS delays, but also how much most of the Steam Machines still basically looked, to me as an uninformed buyer, at least, to basically just be a different SKU of their regular lines rather than the true “Steam experience” that I was hoping for (and which the Steam Deck eventually delivered).