Why can't we use a keyboard/mouse on consoles?

[NuclearPenguin]

Uh, Dreamcast had a keyboard and mouse.

Oh, wait, I'm one of the like 10 people on this site that actually bought a Dreamcast.

Well then, im number 9 then. Dreamcast unite!
Anyway, you can get adaptors, but I find it cheating while playing consoles, It gives drastically improved accuracy and I play consoles because I enjoy the controllers, sometimes I dont want a mouse and keyboard. I just want to relax on my couch and play something.

 

[Lukeje]

Well assuming PC gamers USE A KEYBOARD AND MOUSE I doubt any of them would want to use a console controller. Besides I thinkt he the real reason why k/m can't be used on consoles is because your PC instantly downloads a driver in order to recognize the controller you use, but consoles obviously can't do that, and if they are not BUILT to recognize k/m UBS ports then they can't utilize them. They are basically embedded processors when you think about it.

No the real reason keyboards/mouse aren't used with consoles is because your console is sitting on a floor in the living room and the players are sitting on the floor or on a couch. There's no desk, no surface on which to put a mouse, no way to hold your keyboard without it slipping. Basically it would be dumb.

That's the reason I would have supposed. That, and they're extra peripherals that cost money people aren't willing to spend.

 

[Valiance]

Uh, Dreamcast had a keyboard and mouse.

Oh, wait, I'm one of the like 10 people on this site that actually bought a Dreamcast.

Yeah but did you have a 3DO ? Or an Atari Jaguar OR Lynx ?

Yes, yes, and no, respectively.

And I really loved Iron Soldier on my Jaguar. :/

 

[Zacharine]

I think the one thing that really bothers me more than anything is the PS3 owners that think they are technowizards for owning one. If owning a PS3 makes you a technowizard, owning a cutting board makes me emeril lagasse

The same thing can be said about any gamer (espescially PC gamers).

True to a degree. But the fact is that as a PC gamer, we have to know what it means if a game requires 2 Gb of DDR3 RAM, 7 Gb of HDD, AMD Phenomenon II X3 700-series and a ATI X1800 XL or better, but can run with 4 Gb of DDR2 RAM, GeForce 6800 GT/ATI X1300 XT with 2.0+ GHz AMD.

Then we have to compare those specs to our own machine and know if it fits within those parameters. So, one can't help but learn something when one is a PC gamer. Naturally some people think that just because they know what the above means they are suddenly the local expert on computers/tech in general... Such is human nature.

 

[iTeamKill]

You can use keyboards on a console if they connect to a USB port.

Mouse is the key though. xbox will not support a mouse because they don't want sales of their controllers to go to logitec instead.

 

[iTeamKill]

that is a ignorant view, the reason for console's is that they are a fixed format which makes creating games for them a lot easier on the developer as they don't have to worry about issue's with hardware. Also consoles are for people who don't wish to go out and spend large amounts of money on hardware which will be superseded in 3 months

No, the reason for consoles is they are a closed market where developers who only code for that particular platform get special perks and exclusive sales to said users of that particular platform.

Consoles create a locked down market, kind of like the concession stand in a movie theater. You buy our accessories, use our servers, pay for our updates and stay in our community (not the public free one pc has), pay more for our games, and you get the right to play games we own that no one else can unless they buy into it too.

and for the record, when I went off to college, I built a machine for about $1800. with that I got a 1980x1200 monitor, a tv tuner, blu-ray, two graphics cards on xfire, and 1.5 terabytes of storage. I built this machine 2 years ago and still have plenty of power for games that will be out 2 years from now. Add up an Xbox 360 when they first came out, HDtv, and all the subscription fees, accessories and update fees. I saved money by sticking with PC.

 

[soul_rever38]

in response to that I agree that that it is a closed market and the people who work on it (programmers) do have more perks, but that is because they have to specialize into which console which they are working on, like in most industry's where people get more money for the specialties.

though you do have to pay for said accessories and the online system which is free on most PC games, the level of customer support I personally find to be a lot better on the console, as I do play both PC and console. and I don't have an issue for paying for the online system as I feel I get enough support and I think it to be better then paying for such things as MMO's even though you didnt really mention them.

just to firstly point out on the consoles that I have i have never once been charged for a update so i do not see where your point about being charged for updates has come from. secondly I am running my Xbox through a PC monitor which has equal display to a HDTV and in total I have spend roughly over £500 total so far which isn't near your $1,800 mark, even though I can see that your hardware has lasted, not everyone can afford to get the best of the best straight off and generally from the people i know they get what they can afford and upgrade later on down the line, that is how my friends computer store has lasted so long.

 

[Danny Ocean]

that is a ignorant view, the reason for console's is that they are a fixed format which makes creating games for them a lot easier on the developer as they don't have to worry about issue's with hardware.

That's not really an issue as the games are programmed in a high-level language. When they port a game, all they really need to do is a recompile, a few code tweaks, and perhaps alter the gameplay slightly to better suit the platform(s) being ported to.

the level of customer support I personally find to be a lot better on the console, as I do play both PC and console. and I don't have an issue for paying for the online system as I feel I get enough support and I think it to be better then paying for such things as MMO's even though you didnt really mention them.

You say that, but then this guy didn't have to pay for his support. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.157007#3877007] Stuff like that happens all the time. On the PC-centric sites they often have whole forums allocated to troubleshooting, and it's all fantastically free.

As for MMO's: Yeah, I agree, I wouldn't pay a yearly subscription for a game, either.

*Stuff about price*

Price is a difficult subject to settle on as there are so many different set-ups in the world, put together at so many different price points. It can be argued that any platform is cheaper through quoting various real or hypothetical examples. In the end, it's impossible to prove either way, so I'd advise doing no more than touch upon it, if possible.

 

[soul_rever38]

that is a ignorant view, the reason for console's is that they are a fixed format which makes creating games for them a lot easier on the developer as they don't have to worry about issue's with hardware.

That's not really an issue as the games are programmed in a high-level language. When they port a game, all they really need to do is a recompile, a few code tweaks, and perhaps alter the gameplay slightly to better suit the console being ported to.

i am fully aware on how most video games are made as a video game programming student, but in the current market a larger amount of games are starting to be programmed in XNA instead of high level languages such as C++, and just to clear up the majority of the time it takes a fair amount of time, its not just a few tweaks.

 

[Danny Ocean]

i am fully aware on how most video games are made as a video game programming student, but in the current market a larger amount of games are starting to be programmed in XNA instead of high level languages such as C++, and just to clear up the majority of the time it takes a fair amount of time, its not just a few tweaks.

Alright, but it's not as much as most people believe it to be. It's not like they re-build it from the ground up.

 

[Spitfire175]

If I could use my PS3 as a computer, and still be able to play games the way I like to, I wouldn't even bother owning a PC anymore..

My question is always why anyone bothers using a console in the first place. Its just a retarded computer.

Of course, "build a system so simple that even a fool can use, and only a fool will use it."

Boom, headshot and overkill.

 

[soul_rever38]

i am fully aware on how most video games are made as a video game programming student, but in the current market a larger amount of games are starting to be programmed in XNA instead of high level languages such as C++, and just to clear up the majority of the time it takes a fair amount of time, its not just a few tweaks.

Alright, but it's not as much as most people believe it to be. It's not like they re-build it from the ground up.

well no, it has felt like that, but the majority of the time its fairly simple, but most of the commands and things within the languages are different

 

[Sonan]

I had a Dreamcast! I was stupid enough to use it during a nasty storm and the transformer outside got struck by lightning. The TV and the Dreamcast got fried :'(

In relation to other comments: I have a PC. I spent $600 buying parts to make it AWESOME. I play games on it occasionally.

I also have a Playstation 3. I much prefer gaming on consoles. Even using a controller on a PC game, I get head-shots and frequently get first-place on a server. I'm good with controllers and prefer them over keyboard and mouse.

 

[zidine100]

well my theory is,

right look at the nes, mostly its games consited of platformers sidescrolling beat em ups, rgs, and basically games in which a controler is neccessary.
Playing for example mario with a keyboard is a very diferent expereance (emulators for those who are wondering)

Now look at todays games, im sad to say they are mostly fps games from what i can gather (not saying theres anything bad with fps games, but its just my oppinion) with less of any other genre being produced. And since the console fps games evolved using the gamepad, im assuming they are still stuck in there roots, or have evolved to use the gamepad efficently enougth to justify the non use of keyboards for specific genres, which would more than likely make some other games somewhat akward to play in general compaired to controlers (yes some games are easier to play with controlers rather than a keyboard, my oppinion no need for a argument over it).

Oh and also its hard to justify buying a keyboard for a console from a companys point of view, since of course keyboards are available everywhere, and well they wont get a profit from them, where as gamepads are console specific, and with this in mind they can charge whatever the hell they like for them without having to many competitors to deal with and since consoles usually come with the manufacturers controler most people assume that its the best one to buy.

okay okay it wasnt just one theory, i got somewhat bored.

sorry if this doesnt make any sence.

 

[Guitarmasterx7]

If I could use my PS3 as a computer, and still be able to play games the way I like to, I wouldn't even bother owning a PC anymore..

My question is always why anyone bothers using a console in the first place. Its just a retarded computer.

Of course, "build a system so simple that even a fool can use, and only a fool will use it."

The different games, the convenience, the price, the ability to play on your 60 inch flat screen TV as opposed to your 20 inch computer monitor, and some people (like me) greatly prefer the controller to the mouse and keyboard.

 

[Red|Zombie]

I think the one thing that really bothers me more than anything is the PS3 owners that think they are technowizards for owning one. If owning a PS3 makes you a technowizard, owning a cutting board makes me emeril lagasse

The same thing can be said about any gamer (espescially PC gamers).

Especially PC gamers? I think you get dickheads on any platform of gaming, it's a common ailment.

 

[auronvi]

If I could use my PS3 as a computer, and still be able to play games the way I like to, I wouldn't even bother owning a PC anymore..

My question is always why anyone bothers using a console in the first place. Its just a retarded computer.

Of course, "build a system so simple that even a fool can use, and only a fool will use it."

Thus the Wii and iPhone were born!!!

 

[FalloutJack]

Come on, people. There's a reason there's a separation in all this. Consoles are mostly JUST gaming systems and PCs are simply capable of RUNNING games, because they're built for everything else. Which makes more REAL logical sense for gaming? Do you pay thousands of dollars for a PC system (and whether that includes the best sound card, video card, ram chips, harddrive, etc. determines how MANY thousands you're paying and how many you'll pay for future upgrades) OR do you buy a console with games attuned for it automatically for merely X-hundreds of dollars? There's an entire zero of price-difference, usually.

So, argument of which is for gaming and which is for everything else aside, the controller-keyboard question. That's actually an easy one. Anyone who likes computers will say keyboards are better and anyone who likes consoles will say controllers are the way to go. This holds an exception with people who do both, but you see where I'm going with this, right? It's all perspective. Frankly, I don't like people who complain about controller configurations because you're suppose to practice and get better. I've used keyboards in games and I find THAT awkward. I do NOT ***** about it. I get better at it.

So, in summary, all these arguments are moot because y'all are just too lazy to adapt.

 

[slowpoke999]

I never really understood why people don't play on their PC because they already have one and the graphics card,cpu,ram sucks. Think about it,if you plan on playing games 3+years down the road, the cost of upgrading your computer will cost less the buying new generation of consoles, and if you buy games through digital distribution, you'll probably see the investment in a couple on months time.

Then again,people still use credit cards because there excuse is they're too poor to straight out buy stuff,some people don't like maths i guess.

 

[Cid Silverwing]

because those controls are too complicated for the console tards

I lol'd.