This is the configuration used on the Xbox Elite controller. According to Valve, the patent refers specifically to elongated, protruding buttons extending from the top to bottom of the controller. Meanwhile, Valve’s lawyers claim Ironburg’s patent does not apply to the Steam Controller’s buttons. They said of Valve, “Goliath does what Goliath wants to do.” They claim SCUF’s CEO informed Valve of the potential infringement in 2014 after seeing the Steam Controller showcased at the CES trade show. In opening arguments Tuesday, Ironburg’s lawyers compared the case to the battle between David and Goliath. RELATED: Pokemon Go Wins Lawsuit Against Cheat Maker Microsoft previously leased this patent for its high-performance Xbox Elite Controllers, according to Law 360. The complaint pertains to the buttons on the underside of the Steam Controller, as Ironburg’s lawyers claim Valve violated a patent for buttons that allow players to use more than just their index finger and thumb to interact with games. Ironburg Inventions, the intellectual property arm of controller manufacturer SCUF, filed a lawsuit in Washington state. However, Valve may have a bigger problem than an underperforming peripheral, as the company is now fighting a lawsuit alleging it stole one tech company’s design feature and used it on the Steam Controller. As an attempt to bridge the gap between PC and console gaming, it fell flat, and Valve discontinued the Steam Controller in 2019. Those hoping to secure a weird little piece of gaming history (or just, you know, a replacement unit in case of future mishaps) might want to keep an eye out, should more stock come in.The Steam Controller was far from the most successful product Valve ever launched. Demand, it seems, was high - the Steam page has intermittently reported the controllers as out of stock throughout the day, although I did randomly manage to grab one a little earlier. Yesterday, as part of its Steam Autumn Sale, Valve discounted its last remaining Steam Controllers by 90%, reducing the price from £39.99 to £4.00 (although delivery costs £7.40). And I'm genuinely a little sad to think that when my Steam Controller eventually shuffles off to device heaven in a tiny sigh of defeat, there may be nothing similar to replace it. It's got shoulder bumpers, buttons, haptic feedback, gyroscopic aiming, two wonderfully handy rear paddles, all of which can be combined and assigned in myriad useful, even invaluable ways - and a game's community can share its configurations on Steam too.įor someone like me, whose PC gaming set-up is, through necessity, entirely based around a sofa and living room TV, it's been an absolutely essential addition, and I wouldn't have been able to comfortably play the mouse-driven games I've enjoyed over the last few years without it. That's because Valve, in an ambitious bid to controller-fy the PC's mouse-and-keyboard interface, ditched one stick in favour of two trackpads.ĭespite its problems though, the Steam Controller is a mini marvel of configurability, with Valve's accompanying software offering a huge amount of flexibility in terms of customisation. the huge number of console ports now on PC. It's true that the Steam Controller got several things wrong it felt cheap and flimsy compared to its established console counterparts, and it was never really all that good for playing games designed with two analog stick in mind - ie. Valve has confirmed to The Verge that the current lot of Steam Controllers will be the last ever batch to be produced. Branded Steam PCs have long been a thing of the past following its unceremonious demise, and now its weird - but, as far as I'm concerned, genuinely wonderful - input device is defunct too. The Steam Controller initially launched back in 2015 (after much revision), as part of Valve's rather half-hearted Steam Machine initiative. Not only has the company confirmed it's no longer manufacturing the device, all remaining units are rapidly being snapped up following heavy discounts during the current Steam Autumn Sale. Valve's divisive Steam Controller is officially no more.
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