Dell’s Working On a Controller for PC Gaming in the Living Room

Valve ’s hardware dreams are currently doing well than ever thanks to theSteam Deck , but once upon a time , the house of Newell also wanted to own your animation elbow room . TheSteam Machine , the forcible Steam Link , and even theSteam Controllernever quite took off like the Steam Deck has , but ascloud gaminghas become more normalise , other company are coming in to carry on Valve ’s dreams . We saw Dell’sConcept Nyxat last year ’s CES , where it was revealed as an data-based , not - for - sale home gaming server that basically works like a personal GeForce Now to glow your games across your home . This year , Concept Nyx is back , and while it ’s still not for sales agreement and the mechanics of the server have n’t changed much , Dell gave us some clock time with a new , also experimental and not - for - sales event comptroller it ’s test to go with it . Already , it ’s looking like it could become one of the most comprehensive and well-situated ways to control a microcomputer from your lounge .

The Steam Controller made waves when it came out thanks to its treble haptic touchpads , a annotation that Dell is taking to heart with its new concept controller . It ’s got the same four - button , two - stick layout you ’re probably intimate with by now , and even boasts the same back boat paddle you ’ll get on premium accountant like theDualsense Edge . But in plaza of the directing pad is a undivided haptic touchpad that ’s hypothesise to brag quite a bit of functionality .

basically , it ’s there to give you a stellate menu . With the crush of a button , the touchpad becomes a way to navigate a quick access menu of 8 or so microcomputer preferences ( it ’s customizable ) . Which PC options the stellate carte access is up to you , and the idea is to allow you set those in software package .

Graphic: Dell

In addition to the touchpad — there are touchpads on Sony ’s controllers , after all — the Concept Nyx controller also has two scroll wheels , which officiate just like those on your shiner , positioned below the stick . Dell ’s also toying with a fingermark detector for flying log - ins , and the back paddles can be used as shift clit to temporarily swap the accountant to fresh mapping schemes , which you will determine in the software package .

Perhaps the most impressive part of the controller is the shoulder joint push button , which have haptic jot feedback that also allow them to mould in a similar agency to a gyre wheel . You just need to sweep your finger’s breadth across them .

Still in the works are even more ripe features , like the ability to set custom resistivity for your quarter round sticks . The control ’s also supposed to have adaptative triggers much like Sony ’s Dualsense , where it will offer different levels of force for dissimilar in - game activity , although I did n’t get to test this . The controller ’s also guess to recognize you and establish you the right way back into whatever game you were last playing when you pick it up — perhaps via the fingerprint proofreader — but I could n’t try out this either .

Graphic: Dell

Graphic: Dell

All of this is , of path , still a concept , but the ideation here is promising , particularly for people who care to flirt games like MMOs with a controller , or who hate navigating a living way personal computer with a wireless keyboard and mouse . I would count myself among both of those chemical group . I did n’t get a probability to play any game with the Concept Nyx controller at a demonstration set up by Dell where I got to hold it , but I was impress by the solid physical body lineament . The haptics , curl wheels , and scrolling shoulder buttons were also already working as intended when I demo’d them , and it was easygoing to differentiate between a novel practical nick whenever I brushed my hand across the shoulder push button .

We ’ll see if you ’ll ever be able to actually buy this accountant . As shown byConcept UFO , Dell ’s concepts often do n’t pass on that stage . But the gauntlet is now thrown at everyone who thought the controller flesh factor was already perfect .

CESComputer mouseComputingDellGamepadInput / output

Graphic: Dell