When comparing Steam Controller vs 8Bitdo NES 30 Pro, the Slant community recommends 8Bitdo NES 30 Pro for most people. In the question“What are the best PC gaming controllers?” 8Bitdo NES 30 Pro is ranked 3rd while Steam Controller is ranked 7th. The most important reason people chose 8Bitdo NES 30 Pro is:
The controller supports both wired and wireless connections.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Developed specifically for PC games
The trackpads built into the controller make it simple to play certain games that would otherwise be impossible with a controller, such as Civilization and Cities: Skylines.
Pro Integrates well with Steam
Considering this is a controller designed by Valve, it should come as no surprise that the integration with Steam is quite good. The user can easily launch into Big Picture mode straight from the controller for ease of use. The controller is plug and play, so there is little to mess around with in order to get going. For those that would like to customize the button layout, Steam allows for this in their settings.
Pro Good battery life
A user can get around 80 hours of play out of a single charge on the device, which is a considerable amount of playtime. This frees the player up from having to constantly worry if their controller is charge on every use.
Pro Good mouse emulation
Some games don't support joysticks and you need to use a mouse. Joysticks are very poor at emulating a mouse, but the touchpads on the Steam controller do a much better job.
Pro Can also be used as a remote control
Since it emulates mouse and keyboard you can also use it as a remote.
Pro Comes with a wireless receiver
Comes with a wireless receiver to to avoid most of the Bluetooth issues.
Pro Professional use
You can assign the buttons to macros or shortcuts for other apps, such as the Adobe Creative Suite.
Pro Extremely flexible
Custom configurations for various apps allow it to be used in a massive variety of settings.
Pro Wired and bluetooth options
The controller supports both wired and wireless connections.
Pro Great battery life and fast recharge
The 480mAh battery lasts around 18 hours and is rechargable in just 1-2 hours via USB. Recharging is convenient and the battery lasts long enough for a few days of gaming.
Pro Crisp and clicky D-pad
The D-pad buttons are crisp and satisfyingly clicky. They are said to be better than for example the Xbox One remote's D-pad.
Cons
Con Only for Steam games
Most features won't work without Steam.
Con Feels cheap
The controller does not have much weight or heft to it and the entire things is made out of light plastic giving it a cheap feel, something akin to a $20 controller for one Android or iOS device. The face buttons on the device are also small, with the shoulder buttons feeling stiff. Overall the lack of attention to detail with the buttons and the overall feel of cheap material gives a sense that this is not the most well designed or thought out controller on the market.
Con Emulated joystick on trackpad difficult to use
Con No D-Pad
No D-pad here.
Con Non-rechargeable
Needs two AA alkaline batteries.
Con No vibration motor
There is only an option to emulate force feedback with the haptic motor however its not strong enough to create a real vibration.
Con Small buttons
The ABXY buttons are very, very small, and positioned in an area that feels awkward, especially when compared to the XBOX or even the four buttons on a PS4.
Con Not as accurate as keyboard and mouse
The touchpads on the device are designed to emulate a mouse when playing games, but they are not as accurate and will at times require a lot of swipes in order to just turn a character around or even just look around. This lack of accuracy and delay in how long it takes to get the movement required may be difficult to get used to.
Con Shoulder buttons are weak
Button box isn't securely attached to the board and the buttons themselves have no stops to keep you from pressing a little too hard.
Con Poor quality thumbsticks and oddly placed controls
The thumbsticks are low-quality and unconvenient to use. The overall button layout is awkward, so it's easy to accidentally slide over the wrong buttons.
Con Requires a firmware update
The controller basically doesn't funtion out-of-the-box. You need to update the firmware first.