Rejoice! It feels like it's taken way longer than it should, but the Steam Controller — the first of three brand-new hardware ventures Valve announced last year — is finally here. The price is a full hundred dollars before shipping and tax, more than either Xbox or PlayStation are asking for their flagship controllers. According to Valve, however, it comes with a range of premium features that justify that price point.
Oh, and it's gone. Yeah, it sold out while you were watching that trailer. Sorry.
In the 30 minutes after its release today, the Controller's page showed its estimated wait as 3-5 business days, then 6-10, then, well, never. The surge of orders was so immense, in fact, that Steam itself crumpled, becoming virtually unusable under the weight of thousands endlessly refreshing their controller orders. Scalpers seem to have placed their orders just fine, though, and you can already find Controllers for resale on places like eBay for upwards of $150.
If you were hoping to get one of these for yourself, I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news. Might want to stick to that old Xbox 360 gamepad for a little longer… and get up earlier if you're hoping to snag the Steam Frame or Steam Machine later this year.
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