dragontology

There really is an easy solution to this. Firmware locking, like how phones do. Like how if you steal my iPhone, you can’t use it because it’s tied to my Apple account, and you don’t have the password.

Tie each Steam Controller purchase to a Steam Account. Lock it to that account for one year. After the year, the user can connect the Steam Controller to their computer running Steam, and unlock the firmware.

This would make it so the scalpers wouldn’t be able to resell them. Well, they still would, but once word gets out that it’s locked to their account for a whole year, two things will happen. One, they’re gonna lie and say it’s unlocked and they’ll rip a bunch of people off and no one will trust them. Two, they will offer to be your agent, you will need to give them access to your Steam account so they can buy it for you and then sell it to you.

The problem with the latter, and the Steam controller in general, is the thing is $100, and with everything going up, you can get a better controller for half that or less — you just don’t get the trackpads. But, give it time. Someone else will add them, and then you can get basically the same thing without contributing directly to Gaben’s eighth yacht, or his ego.

This question gets a lot more complicated if you allow custom firmware discussion, e.g. of Android phones.

My Galaxy S3 had a nice one, but it almost certainly was not from the stock firmware. I remember a glowing ring that would fill up.

Here’s the thing though: they’re gonna run ads, and GamePass Ultimate isn’t going back to $15 and the Series X isn’t going back to $500.

Sony can say “no ads on PlayStation”, but they will just jack prices up again. They aren’t the good guys here.