[P]

So, I was sitting down at the iMac, rebooted into Windows, because I decided that I wanted to play a little Arkham Asylum again - basically deciding if it was good enough that I should get Arkham City now. I rarely use that partition, and when starting AA, it didn't log in to Games for Windows Live. Without that, you cannot load or save games, so it's a fairly basic feature, and there were zero error messages. After restarting Steam, checking file integrity, and updating the Live service, it turned out that I apparently needed run Windows update for something - because obviously, using my offline profile might be a network security risk or something. This updating and rebooting took 45 minutes out of the hour I had for gaming, which left me rather annoyed - and since Arkham City will have the same bullshit Live requirement (not merely support for it, like Fallout 3), I won't be getting it yet - and so I got to thinking.

I fondly remember the old Nintendo days when you could just pop in a game and be gaming in seconds. I realize that that's not necessarily the case with modern consoles - cue rants about forced console updates - but it ought be better, at least. A lot of games now are console only, or console first. I never bothered with them, because the games I mostly play are strategy stuff for which a controller is beyond pointless, but really - there is no technical reason why they couldn't support mouse & keyboard. Why don't they? They have clearly realized that the dual stick controller is not the last word in controllers, given their painful experiments in motion control. What's stopping them from throwing in mouse & keyboard support? While Arkham Asylum might honestly play better with a dualstick, any shooter works better with mouse&keyboard, so it seems like an obvious thing to try.

[The Final Dakar]

Uneven playing field (Not that it applies in the case you're referring to). Though I'm under the impression the PS3 allows kb/m use to at least some degree.

[ajprice]

Logitech PS3 keyboard with trackpad - Logitech Cordless Mediaboard pro (Bluetooth) (PS3): Amazon.co.uk: PC & Video Games

The Logitech Cordless MediaBoard Pro makes it easy to communicate on your PLAYSTATION Network. Forget entering text with a standard controller: use this Bluetooth keyboard to set up profiles, manage accounts and send text messages. A built-in touchpad means there is no need for a separate mouse and with smart features like the vertical scrollbar and L/R mouse quick-keys, navigating menus is a breeze. Thanks to its lightweight design with a slim, stylish profile, the Cordless MediaBoard Pro is easy to handle, use and store away. Works up to 10 metres (30 ft) from your PLAYSTATION3.

So its for menus and text entry, no game input. It would have been used for PS3 Linux installs too back in the days when Sony allowed that kind of thing.

[exca1ibur]

The game input depends on the game for the PS3. The hardware has supported it from day 1, just only a handful of games have. Most recent I know that uses it is Dark Souls. Battlefield 3, I think, will support it since it will have PS3 vs PC support.

[mattyb]

Plenty of keyboard and mouse adapters for the Xbox. Guy in my clan only uses keyboard and mouse with an adapter for CoD on Xbox, dunno which make, I'll ask him.

[The Final Dakar]

I wonder how many guys I thought were hacking were instead using this.

[P]

So it's clearly possible. Why isn't everyone jumping on the bandwagon, pushing the dualstick controllers onto the dustheap of history? Mouse&keyboard is clearly superior for a lot of genres.

[mattyb]

Originally Posted by P 

So it's clearly possible. Why isn't everyone jumping on the bandwagon, pushing the dualstick controllers onto the dustheap of history? Mouse&keyboard is clearly superior for a lot of genres.

Sitting in front of your TV on a sofa isn't the best place for a keyboard and mouse.

[mattyb]

Originally Posted by The Final Dakar 

I wonder how many guys I thought were hacking were instead using this.

I only know of one person who uses a kb and mouse on his Xbox, and he is indeed very good, especially in S&D.

[The Final Dakar]

Originally Posted by P 

So it's clearly possible. Why isn't everyone jumping on the bandwagon, pushing the dualstick controllers onto the dustheap of history? Mouse&keyboard is clearly superior for a lot of genres.

Because I don't enjoy it at all. Superiority ≠ simplicity, comfort.

I imagine what you grew up with is a huge factor here, too.

Honestly, I think WiiMotes are more likely to hit the dustbins of history than controllers.

[P]

Originally Posted by mattyb 

Sitting in front of your TV on a sofa isn't the best place for a keyboard and mouse.

Maybe, but it works. I used to do it with the HTPC a lot. The big problem is storing the keyboard. I'm actually thinking of something more like those special shortcut keyboards that are made for SC and stuff like that, not a full 101-key with a full number pad.

[P]

Originally Posted by The Final Dakar 

Because I don't enjoy it at all. Superiority ≠ simplicity, comfort.

I imagine what you grew up with is a huge factor here, too.

Honestly, I think WiiMotes are more likely to hit the dustbins of history than controllers.

I grew up with Nintendo 8-bit. I'd love to have a controller that works, but for the games that I play, they just don't, and never did. If one of the consoles started getting strategy games with mouse&keyboard support, I might get one just to not have to bother with keeping a Bootcamp partition working. Since controllers is something developers are focusing on, I just wonder why none of the vendors has considered the obvious one.

(alternate idea: A 6770 in that old Core 2 PC in the closet and a DisplayPort cable to the Mac. At least it lets me update drivers as needed, and lets me nuke&pave whenever it gets too freaky. Not happening now, but it might in a generation or two when the iMac GPU starts feeling too slow.)

[mattyb]

I used to play CoD (FPS) and Age of Empires and Civ on the PC using a mouse and an N52 (older version of this) controller. But IMHO, you need a flat surface around you.

As someone who has changed from PC to console gaming, I don't regret the change. I found that there are many more hackers on the PC, especially when a game has been out a while. Of course, I'm all about on-line multi FPS games, not strategy stuff.