Switch Pro Controller IMG

The traditional design of the Pro Controller makes it a favourable choice for classic video game experiences on the Switch. Nintendo did such a fine job, Valve added an option to pair the controller with its digital game service, Steam. Valve has now compiled all of its data about controller gaming on Steam together. It turns out the Switch controller is actually "pretty popular" for a new device.

Valve explains how as soon as Pro Controllers became available in 2017, players began connecting them to their PC. When Steam then added in official support in May 2018, the result was an acceleration in registrations of the Pro Controller. This made it the 7th most popular controller on Steam, with just under 500,000 registered users.

As for old-school Nintendo gamepads, the SNES controller had 195,914 users, the GameCube had 129,783 registrations and the Nintendo 64 was lumped under the "Everything Else" category, which was a combined total of 118,410 users.

Pro Controller Graph 1

In terms of the competition, Xbox controllers reign supreme. Valve classes it as essentially the "default controller" for PC games. Nearly 40 million people have connected the Xbox 360 and Xbox One controller - representing 64 percent of all controllers connected to Steam in total.

The PlayStation 4 controller is "surprisingly abundant" at 20 percent. In terms of an actual figure, there are roughly 12 million users. Valve notes, historically the PS4 controller has not been treated as a PC controller, with built-in support uncommon. This often requires players to use software which translates their input to the Xbox style and can result in confusion for players, according to Steam playtime data.

Pro Controller Graph 2

As for the future of controllers on Steam, Valve plans to add even more support. On the Nintendo front, it recently made the Hori Pokkén Tournament DX Pro Controller compatible with Steam.

Tell us in the comments if you own a Switch Pro Controller and if you've used it with your Steam client before.

[source steamcommunity.com]