I think that article's headline is incorrect. Valve's article said that 10% of controller sessions are Steam Decks, not 10% of Steam Input sessions. Here's Valve's article: https://steamcommunity.com/games/593110/announcements/detail/4142827237888316812

So weird that only 15% of Steam sessions are using controllers. I thought everyone had a controller. Most games are just better with a gamepad.

59% of controller sessions are using Xbox controllers. Not surprising, but I wonder how many of those Xbox controllers aren't actually Xbox controllers. I use an 8BitDo Pro 2, which uses X-Input on PC. Though the majority of my gaming is done on Deck now.

So weird to see a PlayStation IP on Switch. I wonder if LEGO pushed for that since LEGO games have a big audience on Switch (as far as I can tell based on very limited research and big assumptions.) But I really have to wonder-- If the goal is broadening the audience, why on earth is this game on Switch but not PS4? I'm not mad or anything, but that's extremely weird. Maybe it's an attempt to sell more PS5s?

I've noticed that the games that dominate this list every month are very long games designed to suck players into their gameplay loops for hundreds of hours. Nothing wrong with that, but it makes me wonder if there are short games that are very popular, yet get left off of this list just because they end in 10 hours. I would like to see a top 20 list sorted by number of players rather than playtime.

Low profile circle pads for joysticks aren't bad at all IMO. Some people dislike them. Depends on the person.

I don't think I would want a Steam Deck in this form factor. The current Deck honestly feels like the perfect size for me. Not too big to be unruly, not too small to be uncomfortable. I totally understand the appeal of a pocketable device, but I've come to realize that I really just don't have a need for a device that portable and would rather have something bigger. A device this small wouldn't have the same number of inputs and would greatly compromise on comfort. That's mostly a me thing, though. Plenty of people want smaller handhelds, so a smaller handheld PC could probably find an audience.

I would love an Android smartphone that's like this. Not a gaming-centric device like a Retroid Pocket, but something that could be my daily driver smartphone while also offering physical controls for a quality gaming experience. Basically the Xperia Play, but modern. It would be far less cumbersome than carrying around a gaming device in addition to my phone, making it much more practical for me.

What do people think of the new massive team attack? Does it mess with the balance too much? Is it easy to ignore if it does?

Taki Udon went pretty in-depth with thermals in their review. The already great thermals have been drastically improved. The OLED runs cooler in general and does a better job of keeping the heat away from your hands. The fan is quieter than the old model. I linked to the part of the video where they discuss thermals, but the whole video is pretty interesting.

Funnily enough, I had a weird idea before for a dual screen hybrid console. As a handheld, it would be like a DS. To dock it, you can take the screens apart, dock the top screen, then use the bottom screen as the controller, like a Wii U. I thought this was a dumb idea and that Nintendo would never want to repeat the Wii U, but... Hey, who knows?

That controller has an 8BitDo logo on it. Two-handed N64 controller from 8BitDo soon?

I put the image in paint.net and increased the exposure, the results of which you can see here. Looks like the 8BitDo Ultimate Controller, but with N64 buttons. The analogue stick has an octogonal gate with a circular pattern on the cap, much like the GameCube controller's left stick. Now I'm wishing that 8BitDo would make a GameCube-like controller with hall effect sticks.

I'm honestly kind of shocked at how few people bought a GameCube. It was such an amazing console, it deserved better. I guess that's what happens when you're in the same console generation as the PS2.

I can say the same about the Wii U, to be honest. Yeah the hardware was gimmicky and weak, but it had some stellar games. What's sad is that most of its killer apps are on Switch now, so the Wii U is all but obsolete. Obviously it's great that they're on Switch, but I know it's gonna hurt the Wii U's legacy in a few years when the Wii U and Switch are both retro. "I'm gonna emulate some retro games! The Wii U has some excellent titles, let's play- Wait, these are all better on Switch."

After playing this game for close to seven years, just last night I discovered that touching the screen during a race pauses the game.

MK8DX has been a top selling game for years. It's insane how much staying power that title has. It feels like everyone who wants it surely has it by now, and yet it just keeps selling.

SteamOS's UI is incredible. It's not always easy for a UI to be feature rich while also being intuitive and easy to use, but Valve did a wonderful job. I love pulling up the Quick Menu to check the battery and time or tweak a setting without needing to pause the game or go back to the Home Menu.