Valve's £85 Steam Controller price divides gamers ahead of May launch

Valve's £85 Steam Controller price divides gamers ahead of May launchJust nowShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleLaura Cress,Technology reporterandRichard Irvine-Brown,Senior Technology reporterBBCValve has announced its new Steam Controller will be available to order from 4 May, and will cost £85 in the UK and $99 in the US - prices that have raised eyebrows among some gamers.The second generation of the gamepad, it will be compatible with PCs and Valve's handheld console, the Steam Deck.It is also designed to work with the company's own upcoming gaming PC, the Steam Machine."The Steam Controller may be more expensive than the standard controllers from Nintendo, Xbox and PlayStation, but we do live in a time where companies including Sony and Microsoft are selling premium controllers for £150-£200", said Chris Scullion deputy editor of Video Games Chronicle.There has been a negative reaction from some gamers on social media though.The price changed it from "insta-buy to thinking about it", according to a comment on Reddit reacting to an early reviewHowever, another on Bluesky felt the cost made "sense" given the "more premium" tech involved."The early hands-on verdicts on the Steam Controller appear to be positive, so while I don't see it taking over the Xbox Wireless Controller as the most commonly used PC controller, I can still certainly see it selling reasonably well among the smaller group of core enthusiasts willing to pay more for such a peripheral," Scullion told BBC NewsValve v consolesReviews have been largely positive about the wireless controller's use of haptic trackpads, which let players simulate mouse controls in PC games, and of a magnetic 'puck' to sync the pad to PC, as well as charge it. However, reviewers also pointed out the lack of "swappable parts" and customisation in the controller.The pad is designed to only work with devices running Valve's...