Keyboard and mouse are losing the FPS market

[Vault101]

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2013/02/sorry-to-say-it-but-keyboard-and-mouse-are-losing-the-fps-market/

and the rebutal

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/02/18/mouse-keyboard-still-a-major-player-in-fps-market/

so....yeah people say the darndest things somtimes

I dont know about anyone else but I find it...ironic that FPS has become the staple genre of the current gen...on consoles with gamepads...I mean thats just friggen hilarious in a way

personally it kind of irks me a bit because I find gamepads can make games some games damn near unplayable (ok thats hyperbole but still) I mean honestly if you need artifical asstance with aiming your systm is kind of broken.....

that uhh...wasnt too inflamatory was it? I'm just being honest

 

[daveman247]

snip

Not being funny but whats the discussion here? Another keyboard VS controller one or commenting on the articles, or what?


EDIT: Well i'll follow the others i guess Obviously the mouse and keyboard is still popular, as already proven by this thread.


I personally prefer the controller. Probably due to using them waaaaaaaaaaay before i even touched a keyboard or mouse for gaming. I just can't get used to using hotkeys and such on the keyboard :S Getting better though.

And genrally the controls (if done right) do not need much, if any autoaim assistance. If they can get the senitivity settings and look acceleration right they can be just as accurate/ quick i think. especially in todays shooters where we have the iron sights (fine aim) button in most.

 

[tippy2k2]

That's funny because I can't play a FPS on a computer because I find the keyboard/mouse setup makes them damn near unplayable

Frankly, I'm going to let the little girl in the taco commercial take over here...

Why not indeed taco girl....why not indeed.

EDIT: I tried to find everyone who has responded to me but it was a lot of people so if I missed it, here was my response to the most frequently asked questions about this stance:

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.401462-Keyboard-and-mouse-are-losing-the-FPS-market?page=5#16546863

Please read this before you quote this; my poor inbox is getting flooded by people making the same argument against poor little taco girl

Thank you for your cooperation and have a pleasant day.

 

[WoW Killer]

I can't help but see them as separate genres. And personally I prefer the keyboard + mouse FPS genre. So it ain't losing. Not for me.

 

[BathorysGraveland2]

Just recently, I started playing the old Delta Force games and the first F.E.A.R. on PC and the controls are so much smoother than what I remember playing on my PS2 many years ago, such as Medal of Honour: Frontlines. Maybe it's just an individual thing, but analog sticks are the damn devil for me. Last weekend, my friend brought his PS3 down and we played Uncharted 3 and I couldn't hit shit due to the controller and those accursed sticks, and that's with the sensitivity all the way up.

Keyboard + mouse just seems and feel so much smoother, fluid and responsive to me. As I said, it could just be an individual thing though.

 

[ShinyCharizard]

Just recently, I started playing the old Delta Force games and the first F.E.A.R. on PC and the controls are so much smoother than what I remember playing on my PS2 many years ago, such as Medal of Honour: Frontlines. Maybe it's just an individual thing, but analog sticks are the damn devil for me. Last weekend, my friend brought his PS3 down and we played Uncharted 3 and I couldn't hit shit due to the controller and those accursed sticks, and that's with the sensitivity all the way up.

Keyboard + mouse just seems and feel so much smoother, fluid and responsive to me. As I said, it could just be an individual thing though.

In Uncharted 3's case I don't know if I'd blame the controller. The aiming in that game is just plain shit in general.

OT: I pretty much prefer the controller for every fps except Counter Strike and Battlefield 3

 

[Weaver]

Just reading the first article I don't understand the comparisons at all.
It's like "Counter Strike averages 100,000 players a day. BUT GEARS OF WAR 3 HAD 300,000 ON LAUNCH DAY! BAM! Take that, PC!" It then admits that the numbers are obviously skewed, as they dropped off significantly since launch. wut?

Also, you simply can't argue sales anymore as valve does not release sales data.

Even if his numbers are 100% correct, if we follow a similar train of thought then the controller is on the way out and everyone should just be making touch devices because touch screen games can have several million concurrent users every day, for games of all genre.

 

[thesilentman]

That's bullshit. Keyboard and mouse is meant as an option, not some magical be-all, end-all to games. I like my controller for Dark Souls, but I'd rather sit up straight and use my keyboard and mouse as I can't use controllers for FPSes. Options are a good thing, Ars Technica.

 

[shrekfan246]

I prefer keyboard and mouse controls for shooters or RPGs.

I prefer controllers for action games, racing games that are poorly ported, and platformers.

If a port of a shooter is really bad, though, I'll use a controller. For example, the first Dead Space. Mouse sensitivity was so low that it was practically non-existent, so it might as well have been played with a controller even on the PC.

Don't know how a shooter being primarily developed for consoles means that the keyboard & mouse are losing, though. PCs aren't the primary focus of development... boy, there's a shocker that nobody who's paid attention to the gaming industry for the last seven years would've known.

 

[Strelok]

The first articles statistics are strange and a little funny, bragging that CoD sold 8 million copies on XBox and PS3 while only 400 000 on PC. PC gamers have higher standards I guess, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. sold 4 million copies on PC alone. Made the head of GSC 50th richest person in the Ukraine. Anyway consoles congrats on your CoD win. ROFL!!!!

~SNIP~

Also I agree with this, playing Killzone with a controller is not awful, I find a mouse and keyboard a little more precise and natural though, didn't stop me from enjoying Killzone a great deal though.

 

[J Tyran]

Both have their strong points, mouse is better for aiming but the game pad is better for movement and button placing. Analogue triggers are handy in some circumstances too, like in FPS with heavy vehicle usage. Having a variable accelerator/brake can be a god send in some of those.

 

[Aaron Sylvester]

There's a very good reason why neither XBox 720 nor PS4 are showing any signs (not even rumors) of having optional KB/M support, despite having hardware+software platforms closer to actual PC's than ever before. And you know, us living in 2013 lol.

Both Microsoft and Sony know that if they allowed KB/M support on consoles, mouse-users would DESTROY gamepad users in multiplayer first person shooters to the point of humiliation.

Yesterday I booted Crysis:Warhead campaign, except this time I plugged in my Logitech F310 (gamepad) for giggles - jesus christ it was difficult. With mouse I could simply rain back-to-back headshots due to enemies hardly moving, but with the gamepad I had to nudge the analog sticks constantly to adjust aim...nudge too little and I fell short, nudge too far and I'd keep scrolling past the enemy. It was like trying to aim a real-life howitzer/mortar using XY coordinates. "Holy shit" I thought, "people actually play competitively like this?".

 

[AndrewF022]

While I don't think M&K will ever be 'phased out' as a control option in shooters (or any game for that matter) I do think there is less need for that M&K precision in most modern shooters, especially now with many people now having controllers being a permanent attachment for their PC. I used to put my Xbox controller away when I was finished playing a game that required it, now its always sitting right next to my keyboard.

Also, as said before, why not have both? haha. Hell sometimes I will switch between the two mid game, Borderlands is a good example of this, I will run around and drive with the controller and then switch back to M&K when I need that precision for say, sniping/shooting aerial enemies. I just hope that in the future, when developers port games to PC, more of them allow this seamless transition from one control scheme to another.

 

[Twilight_guy]

Yes let's have a slap fight over our preference in physical controls for FPS games, THIS WILL BE FULL OF ENLIGHTENED DEBATE AND REASONING!

I like a mouse and keyboard more for an FPS game but I know people who have said they prefer a gamepad. I think it really comes down to preference. A mouse might be more accurate, but that doesn't mean shit if you don't like the feel of it or just like a gamepad more.

 

[Vault101]

While I don't think M&K will ever be 'phased out' as a control option in shooters (or any game for that matter) I do think there is less need for that M&K precision in most modern shooters.

why? because they are dumbed down?

 

[Vault101]

There's a very good reason why neither XBox 720 nor PS4 are showing any signs (not even rumors) of having optional KB/M support, despite having hardware+software platforms closer to actual PC's than ever before. And you know, us living in 2013 lol.

Both Microsoft and Sony know that if they allowed KB/M support on consoles, mouse-users would DESTROY gamepad users in multiplayer first person shooters to the point of humiliation.

why not just sell a K/M peripheral to get "a competitive edge"

 

[Vault101]

They found that one out the hardway back testing that old Shadowrun deathmatch game. Origionally it was planned to be a big cross platform title "Compete against PC and Xbox users on the same game!" Ect, until they releaized that the people one the consoles really had no way of winning.

so they actually tried it?

makes me wonder though because they REEEEAAAAALLY should have seen that coming

 

[Candidus]

I own a 360 for Halo 4.
I own a PS3 for... oh, for The Last GuardianWELL,SHIT.

But I prefer a mouse and keyboard for all genres, and in every individual case. I'll only use a controller to play that thing I absolutely MUST play if it doesn't exist in PCspace.