Waiting to get your hands on an official Steam Machine but have been waiting for the controller to ship? Us, too. Over a year has passed since the introduction of the Valve-designed Steam Controller, which is a key ingredient in the Steam Machine recipe. Vendors can't ship a Steam Machine without it, thus they're forced to release their solutions early and packed with an Xbox controller or similar solution.
So when will Valve's Software's controller be ready for the masses? As it stands now, the device may never see the light of day. The controller was originally set for a 2014 release, but thanks to tons of feedback from the beta participants, Valve decided to delay its release to 2015. The controller also saw its first redesign in July, and now an image supplied with the most recent Steam beta shows yet another design change.
On Tuesday ValveTime reported that it discovered a new image of the controller in the latest Steam Client update. The site points out that the left touch pad now includes a four-point directional guide. The image doesn't label the new feature, so its official purpose is unknown as of this writing. However, we assume that the left touch pad will offer a more accurate means to in-game movement than if the company merely offered a standard D-Pad.
Given that it's the end of 2014, we expect to see the controller undergo even more design changes before it's released to the masses in 2015. Based on the most recent image, the controller looks like it should be done and ready for gamers. However, the beta participants may disagree.
