Keyboard and mouse are losing the FPS market

[KillaBC]

I use both, mostly game pad for vehicles and flying and the Mouse and Keyboard for straight up shooting. Then again I play mostly FPS's on console as that's where most of my friends are. I will say this, without aim assist FPS's on console would almost be unplayable. The analogue sticks don't have the right sensistivty or precision but they work to a point so it depends on your choice.

 

[Tom_green_day]

I find mouse and keyboard really hard and stupid to use but that doesn't mean I think they're unplayable, just for a different kind of gamer to me.

 

[deathbydeath]

Yesterday I booted Crysis:Warhead campaign, except this time I plugged in my Logitech F310 (gamepad) for giggles - jesus christ it was difficult.

I support that gamepad. It is wonderful.

On a note addressing the OP: It's because most FPSs these days are built to work with a gamepad. Shamus Young [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/columns/experienced-points/8066-Before-There-Was-Halo] addressed this will, and Total Biscuit's WTF is BLOPS2: Multiplayer? also touched on this a bit. Anyway, it all has to do with how the game plays. Quake, for example, is pretty much impossible to play well on a pad, because it is impossible to successfully move the pointer as quickly and as accurately as you need to with two thumbsticks.

Anyways, I forgot where I was going with this, but things.

 

[deathbydeath]

In a perfect world, I'd be using a controller-esque analog stick and buttons in my left hand, while using a mouse in my right.

This is why people need to give the Wii Nunchuck a way to hook up with a USB.

 

[Tufty94]

I cannot play an FPS on a controller. If it wasn't for auto aim on consoles they'd be impossible to use. If you want to see what I mean, play BF3 PC with a controller.

I do all the time...for piloting the MAV and Heli, and I have a Saitek for planes. M/K for infantry and tanks though. My desk is crowded.

I was talking more about the core gameplay. I do see how flying in that game would be much easier using a controller though.

 

[Abomination]

I use a mouse + keyboard + joystick combo alternating between mouse and joystick depending on type of game and situation. A joystick/controller is always preferable when it comes to maneuvering a vehicle/character with a limited max turning/aiming speed but a mouse will always trump the controller when it comes to an "infantry" FPS accuracy.

 

[The AmeriCanadian Gamer]

"Nobody wants to play a shooter with a keyboard and mouse anymore"

Hrmm lets see;
-Team Fortress 2
-Tribes Ascend
-CS (1.6, source, GO)
-Blacklight Retribution
-Quake Live

Just to name a few.

Not to mention the large number of open-source shooters such as Xonotic and Alien Arena. Yea I would say the PC market is pretty heavily invested in shooters.

 

[michael87cn]

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?".

Here's an easy fix, Microsoft and Sony should include a cheapo Mouse and Keyboard with their system. They seriously (combined) cost less than those controllers do.

 

[Whitbane]

I love the sexy feel of the Xbox 360 controller in my hands, it's just sleek and smooth and right in every way (except the D-pad), but the mouse and keyboard setup feels good as well.

I don't want to cheat on either of them!

 

[sagitel]

well its diffidently KB&M for me. i have only played to FPS games on console (final fantasy VII:dirge of Cerberus on PS2. and crysis not sure which on X360) and i found both of them pretty hard. final fantasy had me aim for like 5 secs for a sniped head shot and ... lets not talk about crysis. maybe its because i have been a pc gamer for a like 13 years now (im 18 ) and haven't played much FPS on my PS1 before. anyway i think that for me KB&M is the best for any kind of game. i find gamepads to be extremely little for racing. and extremely slow for rpgs. i think they are only good for sports and fighting games.

 

[Adeptus Aspartem]

The moment you tell me how i can play a DotA Hero with a controller i'd give it a try just for the lulz.

 

[Ashadowpie]

im really...REALLY bad at aiming in FPS's with a contoller but a mouse?...ZING! head shots all around! i think its because the mouse is faster for me. quick reflexes i guess? i dont know but i know i perfer mouse and keyboard FPS over controller. any other game though, i prefer a controller, your left hand cramps after a while if you're playing a game on the keyboard. kinda sucks if its a really fun game

 

[AnthrSolidSnake]

I don't see how mouse and keyboard can possibly by losing the FPS market, seeing as how anytime I get on a forum and ask a question about using a gamepad with a game (most recently being Battlefield 3 for singleplayer) I get flammed by almost every person responding to me asking why would I even bother using a gamepad or they simply say I'm a moron for wanting to use a controller and add nothing to the discussion. Personally, I prefer controllers to games that allow them, but I have no problem using a mouse and keyboard as long as there is a button to toggle running and walking. I like building my own pace in a game, so being able to get to my destination while also going at a pace that I can admire the atmosphere or enviroment is a must for me. Online is a little different. I never do too bad when using a gamepad online, in fact, I do pretty well. But, 90% of the time I use a mouse when playing online.

 

[demoman_chaos]

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.

If both were used, Mouse users would dominate. Without serious auto-aim someone with the sticks will be slaughtered by someone with a mouse. You can turn faster with a mouse, and also adjust your aim slower and more precisely. Every FPS I've played on consoles, I've wished that I could plug my USB mouse in and take care of business.

 

[AT God]

I used a controller until I learned about advanced PC gaming, up until then I hadn't bought any big titles on PC and that all changed with Battlefield 1942 and Counter-Strike 1.5. I haven't looked back after then, I have a gamepad for my PC which I use for games like Super Meat Boy, Braid, and Jet Set Radio but if the game requires accurate shooting, I use key and mouse. I recently played a game that had auto aim, for keyboard and mouse or controller. After playing a few minutes, I got tired of auto aim because it slowed me down. Auto aim tries to hit people in the body but if you have played kb&m for any extended amount of time you learn that body shots are boring and are a waste of bullets.

I got used to keyboard and mouse extremely quickly, that said, I probably used the game with the toughest learning curve, CS 1.5. If you want to get good at FPS keyboard and mouse, you can download lots of old freeware games that have solid FPS controls. Or buy an old Medal of Honor game (I recommend Allied Assault) and just play through the campaign.

My issue with these which is better arguments is what determines which is better? Joysticks are more common so more people use them, they often have auto-aim which is easier, but they aren't more precise. There is a reason Counter-strike/TF2 haven't been overly popular on consoles, the games require fast accuracy which aren't easily attained on a gamepad.

What is the argument trying to prove, keyboard and mouse are much faster than gamepads, but keyboard and mouse in my experience can have higher levels of mastery. Anyone who ever played with any CPL or MLG pros on a pub server understands that the keyboard and mouse is far more advanced.

If the console market ever starts using keyboard and mouse I think PC will be in trouble, since most games aren't allowed to be modded.

 

[fwiffo]

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"

Unreal tournament 3 for ps3 had K/M support. Did anyone play that? Or know if the K/M people destroyed the pad people?

Really, if the lack of support is purely to protect players with crappy controls, seems pretty weak. I suspect its a lil more complicated than that (pushing their own hardware).

 

[DrunkOnEstus]

A wise man told me "sticks are like moving your head, mouse is like moving your eyes". The PS Move with a machine gun is like shooting a fucking gun! Yeah, that's more fun that it has any right to be.