Talk:Steam Controller (1st generation)

Release and Reception

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Steam Controller (2015)

Requested move to Steam Controller (2015)

The following is a closed discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. Editors desiring to contest the closing decision should consider a move review after discussing it on the closer's talk page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

The result of the move request was: no consensus. After two relists and only one participant (excluding nominator), there was insufficient participation to gain consensus for a move. (closed by non-admin page mover) — 🔥Illusion Flame (talk)🔥 02:05, 18 July 2026 (UTC) Reply

• Steam Controller (1st generation) → Steam Controller (2015) Steam Controller (2015)
• Steam Controller (2026) → Steam Controller (2026)

– The articles fall under Wikipedia:WikiProject Video games. The convention is to use disambiguator in form of
"category", e.g. (video game), (console);
"year", e.g. (2000);
or combination, e.g. (2012 video game).
There are no results for articles featuring ordinal followed by the specifier "generation".
Using combination/category may be too verbose, as the device already includes the word "controller" in its name.
No WP:NC covers the subject.

I propose to rename this article to use distinctor of the device used by the manufacturer, developers, and media.

My prior WP:BOLD behavior per WP:RMNOT was not positively received, for which I apologize. Hopefully the proposal will result in more constructive discussion and resolve any potential controversy of the move. Tracerneo (talk) 19:20, 26 June 2026 (UTC) Reply

The term "generation" also has specific meaning in the context of video game electronics, which may be needlessly confusing. Tracerneo (talk) 19:28, 26 June 2026 (UTC) Reply

• Oppose The COMMONNAME approach would suggest staying with first and second generation. There are very very limited sources from Valve themselves 2015 or 2026 except as page titles to distinguish the two so there's no way to judge them as "official", and we still use COMMONNAME schemes over official ones. Most sources on the control, to distinguish from the 2015 version, call it the second generation, and that's consistent with other hardware devices that have the same name. And when it comes to hardware, "generation" is very well defined. Masem (t) 19:59, 26 June 2026 (UTC) Reply

  I'm sorry, I can't reproduce your findings.

  Google Trends

  reddit discussion

  Searching for "Steam Controller" in Google, DDG, and Bing gives credibility to "2026" term, too, as it appears many times in big text in both search results and headers starting article bodies.

  Steam Controller (2026) review (pcgamer.com)

  Steam Controller (2026) Review: One Gamepad to Rule Your Steam Library

  "The new Steam Controller is a terrific-feeling, feature-packed gamepad that leaps multiple generations beyond its predecessor and works with your PC, Steam Deck, phone, or tablet."

  Steam Controller (2026) review: I've finally found the perfect PC ... (this one pops up in this form in search results, the article body does not use 2026, it starts with the term "new")

  Steam Controller: The Ars Technica review

  "Valve’s upcoming Steam Controller (not to be confused with the 2015 controller of the same name) is the Steam maker’s effort to replace those controllers with something more explicitly designed for the PC, and for the upcoming Steam Machine."

  Tracerneo (talk) 20:43, 26 June 2026 (UTC) Reply

  We don't use article titles for content since those are not considered part of the reliable sources. Nor do we consider USERG sources like reddit.

  The phrase "Steam Controller (2026)" only appears in page titles (its otherwise very hard to search on this because they all refer to 2026 as the release date but not as part of the name). On the other hand "Steam Controller" "second generation" or "first generation" gives multiple page hits. Masem (t) 21:15, 26 June 2026 (UTC) Reply

  ^{[citation needed ]}

  Read the proposal again. Support page has both names in body. Interview is also a reliable source. WP:PRIMARYINPART WP:PRIMARYNOTBAD

  I don't claim it's part of the name, but that it's an appropriate and commonly used disambiguating term. WP:UCRN WP:NC()

  Google Trends search contradicts you. WP:UCRN WP:SET Tracerneo (talk) 22:02, 26 June 2026 (UTC) Reply

  Literally, on the support page it is only used in header or subheader content. It's not in any prose content.

  And another problem with using the date is that like most hardware devices there are minor revisions that occur over its lifetime. If Valve releases a minor revision in 2027, then "(2026)" is inaccurate, whhereas "(second generation)" will always remain applicable. Masem (t) 22:11, 26 June 2026 (UTC) Reply

  That is not a concern, just as it's not a concern for Titanic (1997 film) having had VHS release in 1998, DVD release in 1999, DVD re-release in 2005, 10th anniversary release in 2007, Blu-ray release in 2012, or 4K release in 2023.

  Or DualShock 3 having 2 revisions with different battery. And being different from Sixaxis.

  If such hypothetical minor revision happened, then it would be a minor revision, and probably wouldn't even get a note on Wikipedia. Just like at least 10 revisions of Steam Controller (2015) don't get their own pages. And if such hypothetical future device would come to be, it would either get its own section or whole page. Tracerneo (talk) 22:58, 26 June 2026 (UTC) Reply

  Films and other works are always distinguished by the year of their first release. We don't hav a disambiguation problem with the various versions of the DuelShocks because they are specifically named with a number after them (used throughout sources) and thus are automatically disambiguated. That said, when we talk about the series of PlayStation or Xbox consoles, while we don't need to disambiguate their titles, sources recognize that these come out in generations, eg the Xbox Series X/S is the fifth generation of Xbox. And we know that Valve iterated on the original 2015 controller to make the new one, so generation very much applies here as well. Masem (t) 23:22, 26 June 2026 (UTC) Reply