This weekend, Valve sent out an apology email to everyone who had pre-ordered Steam Controllers or Steam Links for Mac. For the time being, neither piece of hardware will fully work with Apple computers.
“We expect these problems to be resolved as we update firmware and drivers over the next few weeks,” the email read. Valve recommends that all Mac users opt-in to the Steam client beta so that they can get every update as soon as possible.
As an apology, Valve is sending each affected person a free copy of the Valve Complete Pack for Steam, which includes every Valve game ever (“past, present and future”). The Valve Complete Pack ordinarily retails at $99.99, and these users will get to keep it even if they ask for a refund on the hardware.
The Steam Controller, which retails at $49.99, has two touch pads, and the ability to emulate a mouse and keyboard or to behave more like a standard console controller. The controller will still have keyboard/mouse emulation for Mac on launch. However, the gamepad functionality is out (for now).
The Steam Link allows players to stream games from their PC (and eventually from their Mac) to a television, and also costs $49.99. It’s a great solution for players who love high-powered games but miss the console/sofa experience. You do not need a Steam Controller to use the Steam Link.
Anyone who preorders the Controller or the Link (for any platform) gets a free copy of Portal 2 and Rocket League. Both pieces of hardware come out on November 10. For PC, at least. Hopefully Mac won’t be far behind.
