I wondered if anyone had any experience with a controller that they used while docked? If the 20-30 8bitdo is as good as a one of the premium controllers, id prefer to save some money, since I don't own a console. If thought I'd ask the community, to see if anyone had any experience to share!
I use two old Google Stadia controllers (RIP!). When the service shut down, Google reimbursed everyone for their purchases, so the controllers were essentially free to me. They also released a webpage-based service to convert them to Bluetooth instead of WiFi which is super easy to do.
The controllers are great and you can pick them up pretty cheap on eBay etc. now that stadia is closed. They work seamlessly with the deck.
I didn't even know it had a gyro... Does the 8bitdo have gyro? And does it work well with the steam deck? I haven't used gyro controls much in general but did find them super helpful for aiming when playing through Half Life 2 again on the deck itself.
I may be wrong, but my understanding is that 8bitdo controllers do have gyro, but specifically for Switch mode. Most of their switch compatible controllers have a relatively easy way to swap to it and connect via Bluetooth. Unfortunately that does mean no analogue triggers though
Since X-Box controllers don't have a gyro, there is no nice way to slip the gyro data in when you're pretending to be one. And X-Box is the standard way for controllers to talk to PCs.